My Fintech Empire #170-505
Author: 昭灵驷玉
Date: 2025-10-29T22:13:05+00:00

Hit a Reading Slump? Don’t Panic!

Hit a reading slump? Don’t panic!

Are you out of books to read? Don’t panic! Hear me out.

I’m here to recommend an author’s books. In the entire world, no one understands the author ‘Zhaoling Siyu’ better than I do. Yu’er’s works include Rebirth of the Financial Giant, Global Technology Monopoly, High-tech Tycoon, The Almighty Tech Giant, and The Super Tech Magnate.

There’s plenty to read and it’s guaranteed to satisfy. Everyone who’s read them says they’re great. No time to explain, hop on!

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Chapter 167: We at Stellaris Like to Feast Heartily and Drink Deeply

Penetrating to the underlying assets of Stellaris Capital’s asset structure was, in a word, difficult!

Because it was not a publicly listed company, its various nested structures and pledged guarantees made it nearly impossible for an outsider without inside information to unravel. Even if one was determined to conduct due diligence, how much time would that take? And there was still no absolute guarantee that the due diligence would be thorough.

Based on the information currently available to Xiao Quan, he wasn’t worried that Stellaris Capital would be unable to repay a loan and default. After all, Huayang Group was backing them.

An annual interest of 15 percent was a stable and very considerable return.

However, Xiao Quan wanted more. “President Hua,” he said, “would you consider doing private equity business? If your company starts a private equity fund, Pengrui Capital would not only subscribe on a large scale, but I could also bring in other investors to participate.”

What Xiao Quan called “subscribing on a large scale” amounted to only about one or two billion yuan. Even as a loan, it would be for a similar amount, which was less aggressive than even the coal boss, Li Yongzhi.

Hua Yu was willing to meet and talk with him because he valued Xiao Quan’s ability to bring in more investors. Several institutions combined could easily pool together ten billion yuan.

After a moment, Hua Yu countered, “If we were to start this fund, how much liquidity could you bring, President Xiao?”

“It wouldn’t be a problem for Pengrui Capital to invest two billion,” Xiao Quan said with a smile, then added, “But I can bring in several other investors. Creating a ten-billion-yuan fund shouldn’t be a problem.”

Xiao Quan spoke with great confidence. Ten billion in liquidity—that was a respectable amount, right?

Hearing this, Hua Yu couldn’t help but shake his head with a laugh. “Ten billion is too little. If you were lending this ten billion to Stellaris, that would be acceptable. But for a private equity fund, it’s not enough.”

Xiao Quan was taken aback. He understood the implication: if he wanted that 15 percent annual interest, the loan had to be at least ten billion. Otherwise, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t even take it. You want to lend me money? Sorry, I don’t accept small amounts.

In all his years in the industry, Xiao Quan had never met such an arrogant peer.

“A ten-billion-yuan fund isn’t enough? President Hua, how big are you planning to go?” Xiao Quan couldn’t help but ask. Hua Yu simply held up his hand and smiled. “The fund will start at fifty billion, and Stellaris will take a thirty-five percent cut of the profits.”

It wasn’t that they couldn’t do private equity; they certainly planned to in the future.

But Hua Yu knew Fang Hong’s intentions. The main task right now was to increase the scale of Stellaris Capital’s assets to build its creditworthiness for the future.

Why build creditworthiness?

To borrow more money, of course. The essence of finance is borrowing money, playing with leverage, and swapping future cash flows.

The more assets you have under your name, the higher your credit, and the easier it is to borrow money.

This is because, after due diligence, lenders will deem your probability of default to be low. You have assets to use as collateral, and even in the worst-case scenario, they can sell your assets to fulfill the agreement.

If Xiao Quan could really bring in 50 billion in liquidity, they could start this private equity fund right now.

After all, such a large amount of capital was a different story. Even if the fund only doubled in value, the excess profit share would bring in 17.5 billion in profit for them. That was 7.5 billion more in absolute profit than they would make by borrowing 10 billion and doubling it themselves.

As long as they were sure they could make a profit, there was no reason to refuse.

But at that moment, the mention of 50 billion left Xiao Quan speechless once again. He screamed internally, [Why don’t you just rob a bank? Huh? Do you think fifty billion is that easy to get? This is fifty billion, not five hundred yuan!]

“President Hua, your appetite is truly staggering,” Xiao Quan managed to say. Hua Yu, unconcerned by his thoughts, continued to smile. “A man cannot get rich without a windfall, nor a horse fat without night fodder. We at Stellaris Capital like to feast heartily and drink deeply.”

Xiao Quan couldn’t help but ask, “Is your company absolutely certain you can secure such a grand feast and drink?”

Hua Yu smiled. “President Xiao, that question doesn’t sound like it’s coming from a professional in our field.”

Hearing this, Xiao Quan gave a sheepish laugh.

With matters like this, even if one were one hundred percent certain of a huge profit, they would never say so. What did “investment carries risk” mean? Was there any business in a world that was risk-free and guaranteed to make money?

And if such a business truly existed, would they share it with outsiders?

At this point, Xiao Quan pretty much understood.

Directly investing in Stellaris Capital was nearly impossible unless he accepted their absurd 500-billion-yuan valuation.

Starting a private equity fund was also unlikely. Where on earth would he raise 50 billion in liquidity? And this wasn’t 50 billion in assets; it was 50 billion in solid liquid cash—the same number, but two completely different concepts.

That left only one option.

Lend money to Stellaris Capital and comfortably collect 15 percent in annual interest.

And even for a loan, the starting amount had to be ten billion. Stellaris wouldn’t even consider anything less. The thought alone made Xiao Quan seethe with frustration.

After a twenty-minute meeting with Hua Yu, Xiao Quan took his leave. The meeting hadn’t resulted in anything substantial, but they did exchange business cards.

Even if it was just a loan, Xiao Quan had to go back and hold a proper internal meeting to discuss it.

Neither side expected to seal a substantial partnership in their first meeting, especially since it involved such a large sum.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong returned to his villa at Tranquil Heart Residence around 5:30 PM.

Shortly after the market closed this afternoon, news broke that the country’s top leadership was paying close attention to the recent outbreaks of human-to-human swine flu in countries like Mexico and the United States. They had issued important directives on preparing for domestic prevention and control of the virus.

Currently, no cases of human swine flu had been found in the country, nor had a similar virus been detected in pigs.

However, as the epidemic was still developing in some countries, with cases rising and affected areas expanding, the possibility of it spreading to the country could not be ruled out. A high level of vigilance was necessary. Strong measures, close monitoring, and prevention were required to effectively protect the health and lives of the people and to ensure that social production and daily life proceeded as normal.

The A-share market’s long positive candle today had a significant boosting effect. The pullback since last week had also conveniently filled the two gaps from the beginning of the month, which was a relief to many investors who had been waiting for them to close.

As for the swine flu, there weren’t any cases in the country yet, and the government was already treating it with such high importance. The market had purely scared itself.

Now, everyone had come to their senses. There were no domestic cases yet, and the US stock market was already starting to recover. There was no reason for the A-share market to have fallen so sharply.

With the news coming out, stock investors were in absolute awe of K-God. He had already sold off swine flu concept stocks like Zhongmu Holdings and Jinyu Group yesterday. Today, these stocks failed to achieve a third consecutive limit-up. Intra-day trading was volatile, with massive swings, though they did hit a new high before falling.

But everyone knew that K-God’s move yesterday was perfect. He had seized the best opportunity to sell off his position and walk away with his profits.

Given the enormous size of his capital, it would have been impossible for him to exit his entire position during today’s surge.

If he hadn’t sold yesterday, he would have ended up losing much more. Most importantly, he would have missed out on the profits from today’s rally in the Big Finance sector.

After exiting yesterday, he went all-in on Big Finance, scoring another huge profit today and pushing his account’s assets past the 400-million-yuan mark in one go.

Countless investors now regarded K3478 as the bellwether of the A-share market. If he was bearish on the market, others might not follow, but his millions of fans would undoubtedly share his sentiment. The same was true when he was bullish.

Around 7:45 PM, Quantum Beat posted an update on its official Weibo account, announcing that its platform, Quantum Beat Weibo, had officially surpassed 50 million registered users.

It remained the largest microblogging site in the country.

However, unlike a month ago when Quantum Beat Weibo was far ahead of the pack, the entry of major tech firms into the field had finally brought some strong competitors.

Tencent Weibo and Sina Weibo posed the greatest threats.

Tencent Weibo, in particular, was backed by Tencent and could leverage the user traffic from its QQ product. Its registered users were already approaching the 30-million mark, making it second only to Quantum Beat Weibo, with Sina Weibo close behind.

Judging by user registration numbers alone, Tencent Weibo’s growth rate was terrifying, thanks to its foundational advantages.

The war in the microblogging sphere raged on, and the competition for celebrities and public figures remained the main battleground for all major platforms.

Some celebrities, for example, were receiving several calls a day urging them to join Weibo. At first, they thought it was just a formality, like the blogs of the past—join, and it didn’t matter whether you posted or not.

But after they actually joined, the website’s editors would still frequently urge them to write posts.

At first, they had no choice but to comply for a few days, but slowly, it became a habit.

The topic of swine flu had recently begun to fade in popularity, but the Quantum Beat Weibo platform created another big news story. It began to spread rumors that a hundred celebrities and major figures would be joining the platform.

With 500 million yuan in funding, they were throwing money around, simply overpowering their competition.

In an instant, this became the new hot topic.

The platform only revealed that a hundred celebrities and big shots were about to join, but didn’t specify when or who they were, leaving a lingering suspense.

If they had revealed everything, there would be no topic to discuss.

By creating a mystery, they generated discussion and buzz.

Quantum Beat Weibo was abuzz with speculation about which major figures would be joining. It seemed Xu Jingren’s team had truly mastered the art of creating hype.

Chapter 168: I Just Wanted to Die

The next day, Monday, April 30th.

Today was the last trading day before the holiday; the May Day holiday would begin tomorrow.

After a week of adjustments, the A-share market had staged a strong rebound yesterday with a long positive candle on high volume. Today, both markets opened higher.

However, after the opening bell, the markets did not continue yesterday’s strong bull run, instead entering a pattern of wide-range fluctuations.

The Shanghai Composite Index dove and turned negative twice during trading hours, but was pulled back up both times, ultimately managing to close in the green.

The holiday was starting tomorrow, and the A-share market would be closed for three days, reopening on Monday, May 4th.

Many investors, worried that something unexpected might happen over the holidays, either pulled out to hold cash or, if they weren’t in the market, chose to watch more and act less, waiting until after the holiday to make a decision.

The last pre-holiday trading day for A-shares ended with a small Doji candlestick.

At the closing bell, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +0.38% to close at 2477.56 points, with a turnover of 128.4 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index closed up +1.27% at 9502.52 points, with a turnover of 62.8 billion. The combined turnover of both markets was 191.2 billion.

While most people were worried about negative news over the holiday, Fang Hong held his full position. He also made a day trade today, scalping about 1.5 percentage points for a profit of 6.09 million yuan. His current total assets had now reached 412.66 million yuan.

…

That night, as midnight approached.

On the first floor of Tranquil Heart Residence, Yu Qiu emerged from her bedroom wearing a coffee-colored silk slip. It had to be said, the beautiful house manager’s figure was impeccable, especially her slender waist—so slim it could be perfectly encircled by two hands, a truly exquisite feature.

She was heading to the living room to get a glass of warm water. She let out a silent yawn, her pretty face tinged with sleepiness as she ambled along.

But just as she left her room, she noticed a sliver of light spilling from a door’s crack up ahead, casting a glow on the dim hallway and making it slightly brighter.

Seeing this, the slightly drowsy Yu Qiu became more alert. She glanced at the source of the light and realized it was coming from the master bedroom on the first floor.

Yu Qiu couldn’t help but inwardly complain, Are this young couple in the habit of sleeping with the lights on? And they don’t even close their door properly in the middle of the night…

She didn’t think much more of it and proceeded quietly and gracefully toward the living room.

The hallway led past the master bedroom, and as she drew near, she faintly heard some sounds coming from inside.

Yu Qiu wondered, It’s almost midnight. What are they still doing up?

Suddenly, Yu Qiu stopped in her tracks.

She froze as if petrified, a stunned look appearing on her pretty face. She guessed uncertainly, Huh? They couldn’t possibly be…

She remained dumbfounded for another moment.

Yu Qiu stared intently at the crack in the door ahead. Curiosity and the desire to confirm her suspicions grew stronger, compelling her to tiptoe silently to the master bedroom’s entrance.

Then, she carefully peeked through the narrow crack into the room.

The moment she saw what was happening inside.

Yu Qiu’s beautiful eyes widened, and she subconsciously almost cried out in shock.

But before she could make a sound, her hands reacted faster, clamping tightly over her mouth to stifle the noise.

Just then, Yu Qiu heard He Xuan’s voice from inside, speaking with conviction: “You said you’re leaving Xincheng tomorrow to take care of things in your hometown. That means we won’t see each other for almost half a month. So, before you go, I’m going to collect an advance on everything.”

Huddled outside the door, Yu Qiu pulled back and leaned against the wall, speechless. Her face was a picture of surprise, and her heart was pounding in her chest.

Blushing furiously, Yu Qiu couldn’t resist her curiosity. She peeked through the crack again, and her eyes widened once more.

After a long while, Yu Qiu, who had been secretly watching from outside, started to feel her legs go numb from standing. Still, she had no intention of leaving. As her legs grew tired, she carefully leaned against the wall and sank into a W-sitting position.

It was less tiring this way.

The cool floor against her skin jolted the increasingly dazed Yu Qiu, clearing her head a little.

As the minutes ticked by, Yu Qiu would periodically peek through the crack.

Another long while passed; she lost track of time.

Her face crimson, Yu Qiu silently returned to her room, gently closing and locking the door behind her. She stood motionless with her back against it, her mind buzzing, filled with what she had just seen and heard while spying on her employers.

No one knew what was going through Yu Qiu’s mind at that moment.

A moment later, she walked slowly to her nightstand and knelt down, biting the corner of her crimson lip as if wrestling with a decision.

Yu Qiu opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand and took out an exquisite little box with a miniature combination lock…

…

The next morning.

The door to the master bedroom on the first floor opened slowly, and Fang Hong, already dressed to go out, stepped into the doorway, stretching and yawning.

He had gone to bed very late last night and still felt a bit tired.

He could catch up on sleep in the car on the way back to his hometown, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Today was Friday, but it was also May Day, so there was no school. He Xuan was still dead to the world in the bedroom.

Clearly, she was also quite worn out.

Fang Hong was returning to his hometown over the May Day holiday mainly to sort out matters concerning the family’s Fang’s Apothecary Hall. He had already called his Second Brother, Fang Ping, yesterday to give him a heads-up. Hua Yu had also arranged for a business management consulting team, and they were all set to travel with Fang Hong to Lingyang County today.

“Hmm?”

While stretching in the doorway, Fang Hong happened to notice the floor next to the door. He crouched down curiously for a look. The hallway floor was spotless, except for a small, not-yet-fully-dry wet patch right here.

Fang Hong suddenly reached out, dabbed it with his fingers, and brought them to his nose for a sniff. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “Hmm… smells like seafood?”

Crouching there, Fang Hong fell into a thoughtful silence…

Just then, Yu Qiu came out of her bedroom. As she turned into the hallway, she saw Fang Hong squatting thoughtfully in front of the master bedroom door.

Curious about what he was doing, she followed his gaze to the floor…

In the next instant, Yu Qiu felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her from behind. Especially when she saw Fang Hong’s fingertips, she stood there, stunned, screaming inwardly, Oh my god, I’m done for, I’m done for, I’m done for…

At the same time, Fang Hong saw Yu Qiu emerge from her room. He stood up and greeted her with a smile, “Morning.”

Fang Hong’s greeting snapped the stunned Yu Qiu back to her senses. Flustered, she stammered in reply, “Ah? Uh… mm… Morning!”

Although she had responded, the panicked Yu Qiu was still at a complete loss.

Seeing her like this, Fang Hong asked with curiosity, “Why is your face so red all of a sudden? Are you okay? Are you not feeling well?”

Hearing this, Yu Qiu tried to hide her embarrassment, shaking her head repeatedly. She forced a bright smile and said, “N-No, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, Bro Hong!”

Fang Hong didn’t overthink it. He glanced at the floor again and then said to Yu Qiu, “Oh, by the way, could you clean up this water here later? Someone could slip if they step on it.”

Yu Qiu couldn’t help but glance at the spot on the floor. At that moment, she just wanted to die, but she still managed to nod calmly. “Of course. I’ll take care of it right away.”

Fang Hong turned and left to wash his hands. As he did, he thought back to the spot on the floor by the door and suddenly broke into a knowing smile.

Meanwhile, Yu Qiu returned to her bedroom. She went to her vanity and looked in the mirror. Seeing her own crimson face, she felt like crying as she muttered, “If I’d known this would happen, I never would have eavesdropped and spied… Aigh, it’s too late for regrets now.”

Looking at her reflection, Yu Qiu tried to calm her frantic emotions. The blush on her pretty face gradually faded. After a moment, she left her room, quickly grabbing a mop to clean the hallway outside the master bedroom.

While cleaning the floor, Yu Qiu recalled what Fang Hong had just said and tried to reassure herself, It’s okay, it’s okay. He didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. It should be fine.

At this thought, she let out a breath from her cherry-like lips, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.

After cleaning the floor, Yu Qiu went to the kitchen to make a nutritious breakfast, knowing that Fang Hong would be leaving soon.

…

Chapter 169: Return to Lingyang County

Breakfast time.

Yu Qiu had already prepared breakfast and brought it to the dining table. Fang Hong also came and took a seat. At this moment, Yu Qiu acted as if nothing had happened, trying her best to appear as natural as any other day, and to keep her mind off what had transpired earlier.

A little while later, He Xuan also emerged from her bedroom and listlessly made her way to the table to sit down.

Today, He Xuan was wearing a stylish, single bare-shoulder shirt over a camisole tube top. A thin, transparent strap was visible on her bare shoulder, adding to her pure yet seductive vibe.

The truth was, as long as someone was beautiful with high facial value, any clothes they wore would look good.

He Xuan said languidly, “Morning~”

Her pretty face still carried a trace of lazy weariness, and she let out a groggy yawn just as she sat down at the table.

The three of them ate together. As Fang Hong enjoyed his breakfast, he glanced at He Xuan and casually remarked, “Do you have to be like this? Why do you look so drained right after waking up?”

He Xuan shot him an exasperated glare and whined, “Isn’t it all your fault? And you have the nerve to say that.”

Fang Hong said flatly, “I told you you’re a rookie with a big appetite, but you wouldn’t admit it and insisted on being stubborn with me.”

Yu Qiu: “…”

The beautiful house manager, seated to the side, kept her head down and quietly ate her breakfast without a word. No one knew what she was thinking.

Fang Hong looked at his young girlfriend and couldn’t help but smile. “I told you before, some things don’t have to be finished all in one night. As the saying goes, we have all the time in the world. We’re not in a rush, are we?”

He Xuan glanced at him and grumbled, “Hmph~, don’t get too smug. I still have plenty of big moves I haven’t used. Just you wait until you get back.”

Yu Qiu: “…”

The beautiful house manager remained silent, listening to her two employers bicker while she ate. This time, she understood the undertones of their squabble, but she had to pretend she didn’t.

Yu Qiu muttered to herself inwardly, [It seems he really doesn’t know I was at the door. Phew… Thank goodness. Otherwise, I’d be too ashamed to face anyone.]

The worry in the beautiful house manager’s heart finally settled.

After finishing his breakfast, Fang Hong looked at the two women and said, “I have to go back to my hometown for some business. I’ll be gone for a week at the shortest, or half a month at the longest. If you need anything, just give me a call.”

Both women nodded in unison.

He Xuan looked at Fang Hong and said with a charming smile, “We’re not little kids. With Sister Yu here to keep me company, I won’t be lonely. You be safe on the road, okay?”

Fang Hong smiled and nodded, then rose from the table, grabbed his jacket, and headed out the door.

His chauffeur had been waiting outside for quite some time. By the road outside the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, seven or eight cars were parked, with about twenty or thirty people waiting. They were the management team handpicked by Hua Yu to go to Fang’s Apothecary Hall and provide guidance on modern business operations.

They would be accompanying Fang Hong to his hometown in Lingyang County.

Outside the villa, the team leader, Zhang Taiwen, saw Fang Hong walk out and immediately went up to greet him. “Mr. Fang…”

Fang Hong glanced around at the group and asked, “Is everyone here?”

Zhang Taiwen quickly replied, “Everyone’s here.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded. Without any delay, he walked straight to his private car and said, “Let’s go.”

The chauffeur opened the rear door for him. Everyone got into their respective cars, started their engines, and the convoy slowly drove away from Huayang Mountain Villa. On the way to Lingyang County, Fang Hong took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep, as he had gone to bed rather late last night.

…

Around 4 PM, in Lingyang County.

Fang Hong’s convoy arrived at the Lingyang County town. Zhang Taiwen and the others went directly to their hotel to check in and rest, while Fang Hong had the driver change course to his Second Brother Fang Ping’s address.

He had already called him the day before. Fang Ping had bought property in the county town a few months ago—a 300-square-meter, two-story villa with a yard.

About ten minutes later, Fang Hong arrived at his destination. The chauffeur dropped him off and drove away.

Fang Hong stood outside the villa’s main gate and pressed the doorbell. After a moment, a pretty young woman came out of the house. It was Fang Jingshu. Seeing Fang Hong, she smiled and said, “Third Brother, you’re back?”

“Sister-in-law,” Fang Hong greeted with a smile. Fang Jingshu opened the gate and led him inside.

“Is Second Brother home?” Fang Hong asked casually.

“He’s home. A few bosses just came to visit a little while ago. I think they’re from some asset management company in the city, talking about some partnership. I’m not too clear on the details. You can ask your second brother later,” Fang Jingshu said as they walked.

Fang Hong was quite curious upon hearing about an asset management company. He nodded but didn’t ask further.

Upon entering the house, Fang Hong saw four people in the living room: his second brother Fang Ping, and three other unfamiliar middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes, dressed like what one would call successful professionals.

They were probably the people from the asset management company Fang Jingshu had mentioned.

The four of them were in a conversation. Fang Hong noticed that his second brother had changed a lot in the few months he hadn’t seen him. He was chatting and laughing with the other men, handling himself with ease.

Before leaving his hometown, Fang Hong had spent more than half of his accumulated achievement points to enhance his brother’s abilities. This kind of change was to be expected.

At the same time, Fang Ping, who was sitting on the living room sofa, saw his wife leading Fang Hong into the house. A look of delight appeared on his face, and he stood up. When the other three men saw Fang Ping rise, they felt it was inappropriate to remain seated and stood up as well.

“Third Brother, you just got back from Xincheng. Go get some rest first,” Fang Ping said with a smile, then turned to his wife. “Jingshu, go prepare a room upstairs.”

“I knew Third Brother was coming back yesterday, so I’ve already tidied up a room for him,” Fang Jingshu said with a smile.

At this moment, the three unfamiliar middle-aged men wore polite smiles, but they remained silent.

Fang Hong said, “It’s fine, I’m not that delicate. Sister-in-law, you go on with your business. Don’t worry about me.”

Everyone smiled. Fang Ping didn’t stand on ceremony with his own brother either. Seeing his guests still standing, he promptly made introductions. “Let me introduce you all. This is my third brother, Fang Hong. Third Brother, these are Mr. Li, Mr. Jin, and Mr. Tang.”

All sorts of bosses…

The three middle-aged men also smiled and nodded at Fang Hong in acknowledgment.

Through the introductions, Fang Hong learned that Mr. Li was from an asset management company in the city, Mr. Jin was from the City Development & Investment Company, and Mr. Tang was the owner of a business—not a large corporation, of course, just a small local enterprise.

Fang Ping gestured to everyone again. “Don’t just stand there. Sit, sit.”

As guest and host took their seats, Fang Jingshu poured a cup of hot tea and placed it beside Fang Hong. The man called Mr. Jin smiled and said, “Brother Fang Ping, you’re so young and accomplished. I imagine your younger brother can’t be far behind. Young brother Fang Hong, just from your face, I can tell you have a boundless future ahead of you.”

Fang Hong feigned surprise and smiled. “Mr. Jin knows face reading? In that case, I’ll take your auspicious words, haha.”

From Mr. Jin’s statement, Fang Hong immediately gleaned some information. It seemed his second brother hadn’t disclosed much about him to outsiders. Moreover, it appeared these so-called bosses hadn’t done their due diligence thoroughly; otherwise, they would never have said what they just did.

If they had done proper due diligence, they would have known that the true benefactor of Fang Ping’s wedding was Fang Hong. This was no secret in Fang Village. These men had probably come straight to the county without even sending someone to Fang Village to ask around.

Fang Ping was now a minor celebrity on his own turf in Lingyang County, thanks to the incredibly grand wedding held during the New Year, which had even been featured on the local TV news.

That magnificent wedding had been a huge boost to Fang Ping’s prestige and reputation. It was most likely because of this that these men, having heard he was wealthy, had come to visit, drawn by his fame. This was Fang Hong’s initial assessment based on the information he had gathered so far.

But what Fang Hong was more curious about now was what kind of project these men were here to discuss with his second brother.

After a moment, the group resumed their business talk. Fang Hong acted as though he were an outsider, cracking sunflower seeds and drinking his tea, but he was actually listening intently. A gut feeling, born from his professional instincts, told him something was off about these strangers.

These people looked like they were trying to bluff Fang Ping into a trap.

But this was only an intuitive judgment for now. Fang Hong kept it to himself, deciding to listen and gather more information before drawing a final conclusion.

…

Chapter 170: Oh Crap, We’ve Run Into an Insider. How Are We Supposed to Bullshit Him Now?

“Little Brother Fang Ping, Baijia Shopping Mall in the county has been in operation for many years. You’re a local, so you know it well. The mall is being sold for a very low price right now. What you might not know is that we’re currently holding the creditor’s rights to this mall—ten million in debt against twenty million in assets.” At this point, Mr. Li was talking a mile a minute.

Mr. Tang, sitting beside him, added, “That’s right, Little Brother Fang Ping. Ten million for twenty million. This is a very high-quality asset. Taking it over is a guaranteed win. I’ll put in two million. If you can put in three million, that’s five million from the two of us. Then we’ll get a five-million loan from the bank, and we can acquire the mall together. Making a profit is practically a certainty.”

Fang Hong sat to the side, silent the whole time, calmly sipping his tea and cracking melon seeds as if it were none of his business. But after hearing Mr. Li speak, he had basically figured out what game these men were playing.

He was almost one hundred percent certain they were digging a pit and setting a trap for Fang Ping. Still, Fang Hong continued to crack his seeds.

Mr. Tang struck while the iron was hot. “Besides, Little Brother Fang Ping, the district where Baijia Shopping Mall is located is slated for a massive influx of capital in the future. In two or three years, the land alone will be worth much more than twenty million. It could be forty, even fifty million.”

With that, Mr. Tang pointed at Mr. Jin. “Mr. Jin is right here. I know my words might not be convincing enough, but Mr. Jin is from the City Development & Investment Company. I invited him here today specifically to ease your concerns.”

Fang Ping asked doubtfully, “Mr. Tang, what I don’t quite get is, if this deal is a surefire win, why don’t you just take it for yourself?”

Nearby, Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. His second brother’s tone and question showed that he had shed the mentality of an employee.

He now carried the air of a boss.

At this, Mr. Tang sighed helplessly. “Ah, to be honest with you, little brother, if I had the means, I would have acquired it myself long ago. But alas, my pockets are empty. I had to scrape together everything I could just to come up with these two million in cash. I only came to you after hearing you had the means.”

The implication was clear: If I had the money, you wouldn’t be getting a piece of this action.

Fang Ping asked again, “Can we really get a five million loan from the bank?”

Mr. Li immediately responded, “Don’t you worry about that. We’ve already spoken with the bank. This project is just three million short. As soon as that gap is filled, the five-million loan will be approved in less than half a month.”

As he said this, Mr. Li puffed out his chest in assurance, and Mr. Jin also nodded.

Fang Ping fell silent for a moment. He then turned to Fang Hong, who was still cracking seeds and sipping tea. “Third Brother, what do you think of this project?”

Hmm?

At these words, Mr. Li, Mr. Jin, and Mr. Tang all showed a flash of surprise. They had been talking for so long that they had nearly forgotten about the young man drinking tea and eating melon seeds.

Fang Ping’s question alerted the three of them to something unusual. A simple “What do you think?” indicated that Fang Ping placed great importance on his brother’s opinion, something they hadn’t anticipated.

At that moment, Mr. Li and the others recalled a small detail from earlier: when Fang Hong had first entered the room, Fang Ping had immediately stood up.

Between the two brothers, Fang Ping was the elder. Normally, an older brother wouldn’t need to stand up to greet his younger sibling.

But Fang Ping had. This meant Fang Hong held a very, very important place in Fang Ping’s heart. Suddenly, they became extremely curious about what Fang Hong did for a living.

As for Fang Hong, he took a sip of tea, then turned to the three men with a smile. “Gentlemen, I’d like to ask, how many hands has this project passed through?”

Hearing this, the three bosses froze in unison and exchanged glances.

The living room fell silent. No one spoke.

After a moment, Mr. Li couldn’t help but look at Fang Hong with curiosity. “Little brother, why do you ask?”

Fang Hong smiled. “Oh, just asking casually. No other reason.”

Seeing the young man’s college-student face—though it was possible he wasn’t in school anymore—Mr. Li asked, “Pardon me for asking, but where do you work, little brother?”

Still smiling, Fang Hong replied, “I’m a third-year student at Xincheng University, currently interning at an asset management firm. My boss has had me run a few deals in Xincheng similar to yours, some involving shopping malls and other projects. The smallest was thirty million, and the largest was over one hundred million.”

Beside him, Fang Ping heard this and keenly sensed that something was off. Wasn’t his third brother running a high-tech company? Why would he say he was an intern at an asset management firm?

Why would he lie?

Fang Ping had his doubts but didn’t let them show, nor would he be foolish enough to expose his own brother. In fact, he would have to play along if necessary.

At that moment, when Mr. Li and the other two heard Fang Hong’s words, they couldn’t hold it in. The awkwardness was palpable.

The three exchanged glances again, their eyes seeming to communicate: Oh crap, we’ve run into an insider, and he plays in an even bigger league than we do…

By now, as long as they weren’t idiots, the three of them knew exactly what Fang Hong meant.

He was indirectly telling them to back off. Naturally, they all understood.

By putting it this way instead of exposing them directly, he was allowing everyone to save face. They would drink their tea, chat, exchange business cards, and that would be that. Time to disperse.

They might as well use this time to find the next sucker to hold the bag.

The three men knew in their hearts that this trip had been a waste.

They had never imagined that Fang Ping’s brother would have worked at an Asset Management Company, let alone on similar projects.

“See, what did I tell you? Didn’t I just say it? One look at this young brother’s face, and you know his future is limitless,” Mr. Jin said with a loud laugh. Mr. Li and Mr. Tang forced smiles and nodded in agreement.

It was just awkward.

The two sides chatted for a few more minutes, exchanged business cards, and then the visitors took their leave.

After the three men had gone, the two brothers sat together with Fang Jingshu, who had also taken a seat nearby. Fang Ping asked, “Third Brother, was there something fishy about that?”

Fang Hong nodded while cracking a melon seed. “Yeah, they were luring you into a scheme to help that Mr. Li’s asset management company get out of a bad investment. Their playbook is nothing new. The moment I mentioned I’d worked on similar projects at an asset management firm, they knew they couldn’t fool you. That’s why they immediately found an excuse and took off.”

Hearing this, Fang Ping thought back for a moment and had a sudden realization. “No wonder their eyes started darting around all of a sudden. I was already suspicious. Even if you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have gotten involved. A project that looks like a one hundred percent guaranteed profit—if it were real, why wouldn’t they take it all for themselves? Why share a huge chunk with an outsider like me? It’s not like he’s my blood brother. Why would a deal this good fall into my lap?”

Fang Hong was pleased to hear this; his second brother was catching on quickly. He then explained methodically, “This kind of scheme only has so many variations, all nested within each other. Take the Baijia Shopping Mall, for example. Normally, if they just asked you to buy it out, you definitely wouldn’t. So, they had to bring out a heavy hitter. Then the heavy hitter tells you that this area will see a huge influx of capital from national investment funds or something, and that its value will definitely double in the future.”

“Normally, you’d go ask the urban planning department, but you certainly wouldn’t get any useful information, and you probably wouldn’t believe it either. You would only feel secure if you knew for sure where the national investment funds were going. So they brought out Mr. Jin to provide an endorsement. An ordinary person might have been tempted and taken over the project. On top of that, Mr. Li even puffed out his chest and swore that as long as you take on this project, the bank would absolutely release the loan without a worry in the world.”

At this point, Fang Hong looked at Fang Ping and added, “But you need to understand one thing. Guys like Mr. Li and his friends, they eat, drink, and get foot massages together all the time. You’re not a core player in their circle. Why would they do you any favors?”

“That makes sense,” Fang Ping couldn’t help but nod. Then he asked, “Oh, right. You just said they wanted to lure me in to help Mr. Li get out of a mess. Why does he need to get out of a mess?”

Fang Hong considered it. “I’m guessing that when Mr. Li’s asset management company took on this project, they used non-standard financing. The so-called non-standard method is to find a ‘big brother’ to take the subordinated tranche, then pull in a few ‘little brothers’ for the senior tranches, and pool the money to acquire the project. If he doesn’t cash out quickly, how is he going to answer to his own boss?”

“That’s why they came to you, to get you into this game. If you had listened to them, taken over the project, borrowed your own money plus the bank’s money to finally acquire the mall, you’d be sitting here waiting for it to appreciate, waiting for some national investment funds to pour into the area. You could wait until your eyes glazed over, and it would never come.”

“Gradually, your cash flow would run dry. You might resort to a sale-and-leaseback, getting people to buy the shops in your mall and promising to rent them back to generate some quick cash. But when those people don’t get their rental returns, the first thing they’ll do is cause a scene at your mall. How would you handle that? Could you even continue?”

Fang Hong paused for a moment before continuing, “Alright, at this point, the bank sues you. Let’s say you borrowed six million. The bank can turn around and sell your debt for three million to an asset management company.”

Hearing this, Fang Ping was startled. “You mean, the ten million in debt for Baijia Shopping Mall that Mr. Li’s company holds was sold to him by a bank?”

Fang Hong nodded. “I’m guessing the last sucker probably borrowed over ten million from the bank.”

“Wow…” Fang Ping exclaimed.

Fang Hong continued, “The last sucker who took over Baijia is probably tearing his hair out right now. And then, the asset management arm of the City Development & Investment Company—that is, Mr. Li and his buddies—comes looking for you. They pitch you this debt, calling you ‘little brother’ so affectionately, telling you it’s ten million for a twenty-million-dollar asset, and that you should take it over together. They’ll say the underlying asset is high-quality, and if the other party doesn’t pay, you can just auction off the mall.”

“How do they do it? They bring out the ‘big brother’ again, who takes the subordinated tranche while the ‘little brothers’ get the senior ones. It’s still non-standard financing. But from the moment you raise the funds, that ‘big brother’ has already exited with his principal and interest, because subordinated funds in non-performing asset disposal can be fronted.”

“The default rate on this kind of non-standard debt is incredibly high. They can just list it on some fly-by-night financial exchange for a private placement, and it’s done. So now you’ve pooled your money and taken over the project. Before you even realize what’s happening, the creditor’s rights have been transferred to some other asset management company, which immediately comes after you for repayment. You won’t be short a single cent. If you can’t pay, they’ll auction your mall.”

Suddenly, Fang Ping asked, “Auction the mall? But who would buy it?”

At this question, Fang Hong laughed. “Good question. What happens then? Heh, someone like Mr. Li pops up again. He finds a ‘John’ and immediately says, ‘My friend, I have a shopping mall here that’s been operating for many years. It’s selling for cheap right now. And national investment funds are going to be poured into this area, so its value will surely appreciate. It could even double or triple, you know.’”

“So, John gets excited, scrapes together the money, and buys it. But it becomes a dead weight in his hands and gets auctioned off again. At this point, someone like Mr. Li chuckles, pops up again, and finds a ‘Tom.’ ‘Brother, I have this mall that’s been running for years…’ They run the same scheme all over again. If they manage to revive it, great. If Tom also ends up with a failed investment, they repeat the scheme with a ‘Harry.’ If Harry fails, they find a ‘Dick’… And so the mall passes through hand after hand, changing owners and names every so often.”

Fang Ping was dumbfounded. Seated beside him, Fang Jingshu couldn’t help but ask, “What about the people who bought the shops in the mall?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong glanced at his sister-in-law and said, “That’s just collateral damage.”

Fang Jingshu was stunned. “That’s… so crooked,” she murmured.

Fang Ping sighed. “I never knew the waters here ran so deep. It’s true—aside from a trusted brother, any deal that someone tells you is a one hundred percent guaranteed profit is a trap. You can’t believe any of it.”

After a moment, Fang Ping looked at Fang Hong. “Oh, by the way, Third Brother, how do you know all the ins and outs of this stuff so clearly?”

Fang Hong smiled. “Oh, I’ve built up some connections in the finance world and have been studying up on my own.”

Hearing this, the couple nodded in understanding. They had no reason to doubt Fang Hong’s words; Fang Ping was simply curious.

“Let’s get back to the matter of Fang’s Apothecary Hall. I’ve done some homework these past few months,” Fang Ping said, then turned to his wife. “Jingshu, could you go to my study and get the file from the middle drawer of my desk? Bring the conceptual blueprint for the integrated reconstruction of Fang Village as well.”

Fang Jingshu stood up and left the living room. “Okay, just a moment.”

Sitting nearby, Fang Hong was very satisfied. His brother was taking this very seriously, which was a good thing.

…

Chapter 171: The Blueprint

Fang Jingshu brought over the documents and the redevelopment plan for Fang Village. The two of them unrolled the blueprint and spread it out on the tea table, and Fang Hong took a look at the general layout.

“Third Brother, my idea is to move everyone in our village to this plot in the outer village,” Fang Ping said, pointing to a section of the inner village on the blueprint. “We’ll demolish all the concrete bungalows in the inner village, and all the old residences will be incorporated into the plan. We’ll properly restore and preserve them as our village’s historical heritage.”

Many of the old houses in the village were over a hundred years old, with the ancestral hall being the most ancient.

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. Who knows, in a few years, we might even get it designated as some kind of intangible cultural heritage,” Fang Hong said with a smile, his arms crossed as he looked down at the blueprint. Then he asked, “Are the villagers all willing to move out collectively? Have you looked into that?”

At this, Fang Ping spoke with confidence, “They’ll definitely move. Our Fang’s Apothecary Hall will properly resettle them. There are benefits to moving out, and with the pressure from the Old Master’s prestige, plus the fact that the vast majority of the villagers are willing, they’ll have to move whether they want to or not.”

As he said this, Fang Ping exuded an air of absolute confidence and control. Anyone who didn’t move to the outer village would almost certainly be ostracized by the rest of the villagers, making it impossible for them to get by in the close-knit social fabric of a rural community.

To put it in more sophisticated terms, when the tide turns, individuals cannot go against it; only by going with the flow can one survive.

Fang Ping’s every word and action displayed the decisiveness befitting a superior. Fang Hong was both satisfied and pleased. If his own brother could handle things on his own in the future, he could quickly hand off the Traditional Chinese Medicine industry layout and save himself a lot of worry and effort.

Especially now, with one hand on his hip and the other holding an old-fashioned enamel mug, Fang Ping’s leader-like aura skyrocketed.

After a sip of tea, Fang Ping held his mug and pointed to another section of the blueprint. “Next is the outer village. I’m taking this opportunity to tear down all the houses that were built haphazardly, with people grabbing land all over the place.”

When building new houses in the countryside, villagers would often scramble for good plots of land, even building on what was originally farmland. A house here, a house there—it was an enormous waste of land resources.

After all, a new house needs a road, especially one built on what used to be a farm plot.

“What’s the specific plan?” Fang Hong asked, his eyes on the layout of the draft blueprint. “The advantages of centralized planning are obvious, but we can’t just copy the model of urbanization. The city and the countryside are completely different living environments, with different paces of life.”

Fang Hong turned to Fang Ping. “We must adapt to local conditions and guide the situation accordingly. For example, every household raises a few chickens, ducks, or pigs. We can’t implement a one-size-fits-all ban on that, or the resentment will only deepen.”

“Third Brother, here’s what I was thinking,” Fang Ping began, speaking in a steady, methodical tone. “Poultry like chickens and ducks can be raised in the residential areas, since each house will have a backyard. But raising pigs requires a larger space, and the waste from the pigsties will start to smell after a while. So my idea is to designate a separate plot of land for the pigsties, right here.”

With that, he pointed to an area on the blueprint and continued, “It’s a suitable distance from the outer village’s residential area—not too close, not too far. Each household can be allocated a pigpen that can hold five to six pigs. Anyone who wants to raise pigs can do it here. I also plan to build this piggery with multiple floors to save on land.”

Fang Hong stared at the location of the piggery. “Hmm, I have no objection to a multi-story pigsty. But while it’s a centralized location, the pigs are still being raised by individual households. This isn’t modern industrial farming, so we can’t make it too advanced. For instance, we can’t install things like elevators. Since it’s a multi-story design, we’ll need to add a ramp with a gentle slope. If there isn’t enough space, it can wind around a bit. The point is, it shouldn’t be complicated. It has to be simple and convenient.”

This was the very definition of adapting to local conditions and guiding the situation accordingly.

Many of the villagers had never even ridden an elevator. If raising a pig required them to learn additional skills, the entire concept was flawed from the start.

“That makes sense,” Fang Ping said with a nod, immediately making a note of Fang Hong’s suggestion to revise later. He went on, “The plan for the new residential area in the outer village will be based on national standards, with about thirty-seven square meters of living space per person, and one house per household.”

Pointing to the residential plot in the outer village on the blueprint, Fang Ping added, “I’m not a fan of those perfectly uniform layouts. They feel too rigid. My idea is to find order in disorder. The houses will be of various sizes and styles, with main streets and small alleys. The overall layout will adopt the style of a traditional ancient town with classical Chinese architecture. It’ll give Fang Village its own unique, quaint and traditional character.”

It was worth noting that the village land, including each family’s homestead, did not belong to individuals but to the village collective.

Fang Ping stared at the blueprint and said, “I understand it’s impossible to satisfy every single villager from the bottom of their hearts. There’s no such thing as absolute fairness, so we can only strive for relative fairness and find the best possible compromise for the entire village.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded. “Your thinking is sound. No problem there.”

Fang Ping continued, “So, in this plan, the plot of land for each new house in the outer village will be the same size. That’s relative fairness. But to achieve the overall aesthetic, while the plots are the same size, their shapes will differ—some will be rectangular, some square, some trapezoidal, and so on. The specific style of each house will also be different, and the interior living space will vary. The entire layout must follow the principle of finding order in disorder.”

From his words, it was clear that Fang Ping had put a great deal of thought into planning his village, determined to bring his ideal vision for a new Fang Village to life.

According to Fang Ping’s plan, the smallest home would have an interior area of no more than 115 square meters, while the largest would not exceed 355 square meters, and no structure could be more than three stories tall.

Regardless of the home’s style or interior size, each would come with a yard. After all, since every homestead plot was equal in area, a home with less interior space would naturally have a larger yard, and vice versa.

Fang Hong asked, concise and to the point, “Once the houses are built, how will they be allocated to the villagers?”

Fang Ping immediately replied, “We’ll do it according to the household registrations. I’ve already compiled all the data for the village. Households with two to three people will be in one category, four to five in another, six to eight in a third, those with more than eight in a fourth, and the five-guarantee households in their own category.”

Each family’s structure was different. For instance, there were three families in the village with more than eight members. The reason was their desire for a son, but they kept having daughters. One family even had seven daughters before their eighth child was finally a boy, bringing their household to ten members.

If the eighth child had been another girl, there certainly would have been a ninth.

The village was quite large, with over a thousand households, so the amount of data was substantial, and the number of households in each category was not small.

Fang Ping handed the materials his wife had brought to Fang Hong. As his younger brother looked them over, Fang Ping explained, “The five-guarantee households are listed as a separate category, a group that receives special care from the village. For the regular allocation, a family of three gets a house of no more than one hundred fifteen square meters, a family of up to five gets one hundred eighty-five square meters, a family of up to eight gets two hundred ninety-five square meters, and a family with more than eight gets three hundred fifty-five square meters.”

After a brief pause, Fang Ping continued, “Once each family is categorized by its population, they’ll be assigned a house of the corresponding size. As for which specific house they get, that will be decided by a lottery. Whatever they draw is final, and they can’t switch even if they’re unhappy with the house’s style or location.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod. The plan his second brother had devised was quite thorough; there was basically nothing to add.

It was certain that once Fang’s Apothecary Hall pushed this forward, all thousand-plus households in Fang Village would agree. They would also send their children to study Traditional Chinese Medicine. Even if a few families didn’t want to, it didn’t matter.

Fang Ping’s strategy was to give them the right to choose: he would set aside a separate plot of land for them to do their own thing if they so wished.

But this semblance of choice was, in reality, no choice at all.

No one would dare to make that choice. If they did, they would never be able to get by in the village again. They would become the laughingstock of the entire community, and their own children would be unable to hold their heads high.

That was a price no one could afford to pay. Thus, in the face of such a powerful trend, individuals had no say. Unless one possessed the ability to change the environment and the rules of the game single-handedly like Fang Hong, the best course of action was to adapt to the new environment.

The strong could change the environment and the rules; the weak could only adapt to them. It had always been this way.

As for children who grew up with their own ideas and wanted to pursue other fields, that was also fine. They would be a small minority that wouldn’t affect the overall picture and would be permitted.

Moreover, after some of these children were dealt a harsh lesson by society, a portion of them would inevitably come back obediently to the family enterprise of Fang’s Apothecary Hall. After that harsh lesson, they would understand more profoundly how much better life was under the family’s protection.

No matter what, being born in Fang Village was a benefit. It meant having an extra path in life, with fewer obstacles. It was, in a sense, the blessing of the family.

And it was all because a figure like Fang Hong had come from this very place.

…

Chapter 172: The Ideal is Grand, The Reality is Simpler

“Finally, there’s the Fang’s Apothecary Hall headquarters. Initially, I thought about setting it up in Lingyang County town, but in the long run, since we have the ideal of turning our village into a holy land of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I think it’s better to locate the headquarters in the village. It’s easier to plan, and the land costs are basically nil.”

Fang Ping set the tea mug in his hand aside and pointed to the other side of the outer village’s residential area. “Look, I plan to dig a man-made river here, divert the water from the inner village, and build a few bridges to the other side. The apothecary headquarters will be built against the mountain over there, and public facilities like the village’s primary and middle schools will also be planned for that side of the river.”

Judging by the footprint of Fang’s Apothecary Hall, it was set to be the most magnificent building in the entire village, also constructed in a classical architectural style.

The entire new layout of Fang Village was quaint and traditional. Once completed, entering Fang Village would give one the feeling of traveling through time.

But this didn’t mean abandoning modern life.

Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and the like would all be present. It was just that these modern elements would be subtly concealed within the overall classical design.

Even things like street lighting would be given a classical design to blend into the overall aesthetic.

The expenses for these public village infrastructures would be included in the apothecary’s operating costs. The houses allocated to the villagers would also be listed as an operating cost for Fang’s Apothecary Hall, treated as a twenty-year advance on future employee benefits. After all, in the years to come, the village’s children would become TCM physicians and join Fang’s Apothecary Hall, this family enterprise.

After a moment, Fang Hong asked, “What about the Ancestral Hall?”

Hearing this, Fang Ping smiled. “There’s no need to build a new Ancestral Hall, is there? I feel that a sense of history is what gives culture its depth and weight. We can just renovate the one in the inner village and continue using it. There’s no need for extra expansion either, and it’ll save some money.”

“Mm, that’s fine,” Fang Hong nodded, satisfied. “This overall blueprint is excellent. Given time, it will surely become a unique calling card for the entire country, and the apothecary will become a renowned and distinctive brand.”

Fang Ping looked at the blueprint spread out on the table and said, “It’s just that bringing this to fruition will require an astronomical sum of money.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong was perfectly calm. He then asked, “What’s the rough budget? Have you calculated it?”

Fang Ping replied, “I’ve done a preliminary calculation. I didn’t think much of it until I did the math, and it was a shock. To achieve this kind of layout, a budget of two hundred million is the bare minimum. That residential area with a thousand or so houses, based on a construction cost of 700 yuan per square meter, will require no less than one hundred million yuan alone.”

At this point, Fang Ping looked at Fang Hong. “Third Brother, is this a bit too idealistic?”

Fang Hong stared at the blueprint and replied without looking up, “The ideal is grand, but the reality is even simpler. A budget of two hundred million isn’t much.”

“Mm…” Fang Ping nodded instinctively, but a moment later, it hit him. He stared at Fang Hong, stunned and dumbfounded. “Huh? What did you say? Two hundred million is… not much?”

Fang Hong looked at his second brother and smiled. “Is two hundred million a lot?”

Fang Ping subconsciously replied, “Is it not?”

Fang Jingshu, who had been silent all this time, was also wide-eyed. “My goodness, Third Brother, just how rich are you?”

Fang Hong smiled. “In short, any problem that can be solved with money has never been a problem for me. The plan for Fang Village is excellent. I think apart from minor details, the overall layout doesn’t need any major adjustments. Let’s go with this.”

Seeing Fang Hong so nonchalant, Fang Ping, having collected himself, also came to believe that his brother could truly produce a massive sum of two hundred million yuan with ease.

Fang Hong asked, concise and to the point, “How long will it take to complete?”

Hearing this, Fang Ping said, “A project this massive will take at least two or three years, even if we’re quick.”

Fang Hong responded decisively, “Two or three years is too slow. Get it done for me in about a year. The latest deadline is a year and a half.”

Fang Ping was taken aback. “How is that possible?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Nothing is impossible. You get the quality and efficiency you pay for. It’s just a matter of adding more money. It’s only money, right? Give the construction company another hundred million in their budget, and they’d be happy to live and breathe on the construction site.”

Sitting down on the sofa, Fang Hong smiled. “I’ve brought back five hundred million for Fang’s Apothecary Hall this time. Don’t worry, money has never been the issue. I have it all under control. Just go for it without holding back.”

Hearing the sum of five hundred million, the couple couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath, utterly shocked.

Finally, after they had more or less digested the news, Fang Ping let out an emotional sigh, then nodded, his spirits greatly invigorated. “Then let’s set the goal for the entire project to be completed and concluded in the first half of 2010.”

Fang Hong added, “Oh, right, I’ve already brought the modern business management guidance team for Fang’s Apothecary Hall. They’re currently resting at a hotel in the county town. In the future, this group of people will assist you in getting the apothecary’s management on the right track. While the headquarters is being built in the village, you can set up a temporary office in the county town for the time being.”

Fang Ping nodded. “Mm, no problem.”

…

The next day, in the villa’s courtyard.

Zhang Taiwen and the others had arrived.

“This is my second brother, Fang Ping. From now on, I’ll have to ask you all to assist him in building an outstanding corporate management team for Fang’s Apothecary Hall,” Fang Hong said, introducing him to Zhang Taiwen’s group.

Fang Ping immediately shook hands with each of them, smiling. “Welcome to Lingyang. The conditions in this small county town can’t compare to a big city like Xincheng, so please forgive any poor hospitality. In the days we work together, I hope you won’t hesitate to offer your guidance.”

Zhang Taiwen and the others quickly replied with humility, “President Fang, you’re too kind. We wouldn’t dare presume to ‘guide’ you. It’s an exchange, an exchange.”

No matter what, your younger brother is Fang Hong, my boss’s immediate boss.

How could they dare talk about “guiding” his second brother…

However, after a brief conversation during their first meeting, Zhang Taiwen and his team were surprised to find that Fang Hong’s second brother also had the aura of a superior in his speech. They never imagined that the obscure Lingyang County could produce such remarkable individuals as Fang Hong and Fang Ping.

They were truly amazed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Fang Hong smiled. “It’s getting late. Let’s head back to the countryside.”

Fang Ping suddenly said, “I had someone design and create a scale model of the planned Fang Village. Let’s take it back with us. There’s quite a bit, so I’ll have to trouble you all to lend a hand.”

Of the money Fang Hong had given him, besides buying this small villa in the county town, he had spent almost all of the remaining three million-plus yuan on the planning and design of Fang Village.

Zhang Taiwen and the others smiled and nodded repeatedly. They followed Fang Ping into his villa and then carried the boxes containing the scale model to the cars. It was currently in pieces and could be assembled upon their return to Fang Village.

…

After a drive of about an hour and a half, the vehicles carrying Fang Hong and the others arrived at the boundaries of Fang Village from the county town. Seven or eight cars formed a line and slowly drove into the village, causing the villagers to come out of their homes and stop to watch.

They immediately began to chatter and whisper among themselves. The villagers quickly guessed that Fang Hong must have returned.

The fact that Fang Hong was a big boss was already common knowledge throughout the village, and even people in the surrounding areas had heard about it. It was rumored that Fang Village had a boss worth over one hundred million. However, as the information spread, the rumor somehow morphed into it being Fang Ping.

After all, Fang Ping had been in his hometown all this time. Ever since the Lunar New Year last year, he had completely shed his identity as an employee and had completed a magnificent transformation in just a few months.

The convoy arrived near Fang Hong’s house and parked on the roadside. Everyone got out of the cars. The villagers looked on with CURIOSITY at the group of strangers dressed like city dwellers, discussing them animatedly.

“Mr. Fang’s hometown is truly a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, a land graced with outstanding people,” said Zhang Taiwen with a smile after getting out of the car.

“You’re not wrong about that. Green mountains and clear waters are mountains of gold and silver, haha…” Fang Hong said with a serious expression, though a smile played on his lips. Zhang Taiwen immediately smiled and said, “Mr. Fang, in that case, I’ll take a few people to survey the mountainous areas around Fang Village.”

Zhang Taiwen quickly slipped into his work role. He was here not only to help train a group of management talents for Fang’s Apothecary Hall but also to oversee its operations until it was on the right track.

According to the apothecary’s business plan, the mountain forests of Fang Village would be used for cultivating Chinese herbal medicines in the future. Chinese herbal medicines were different from ordinary cash crops. To achieve the required medicinal properties, many herbs needed to be grown for three to five years, or even longer. Furthermore, not just any herb could be planted. Issues like climate and soil quality had to be considered. They could only choose to cultivate herbs suitable for the local environment, all of which required in-depth investigation.

Fang Hong nodded. “Go ahead.”

…

Chapter 173: The News Is Announced, and the Whole Village Erupts

With Zhang Taiwen and a few others gone, the remaining members of the team began moving the scale model of Fang Village’s new layout. Fang Hong, on the other hand, had nothing to do. The people he had brought back were used to sitting in offices, but at this moment, they were all working diligently.

This team of twenty to thirty people had been handpicked by Hua Yu himself, and they were all aware of Fang Hong’s status. This was the ultimate big boss!

How could they not perform well in front of him?

In truth, every single one of them was as sharp as a tack. They had gladly left their comfortable jobs in Xincheng to come here and endure hardship in the countryside. It was all for a chance to become a familiar face to the ultimate big boss, especially since they were helping him develop his hometown.

The conditions were a bit tougher, but it was also a golden opportunity.

With this experience and connection on their résumés, they would have a competitive edge for promotions within the Qunxing ecosystem when they returned.

“Third Uncle!”

The little girl, Fang Shiyan, spotted Fang Hong and immediately ran over, clinging to him. It was Saturday, May 2nd, and school was out.

After a few months apart, the little girl had grown even more lovely and vibrant. It had to be said that the family DNA was excellent, though the beautiful clothes she wore certainly helped—a large wardrobe Fang Hong had bought for her during the New Year.

At that moment, the team members busy moving the scale model noticed the big boss playing with Fang Shiyan off to the side. They saw the immense affection he had for her. A man who commanded Hua Yu’s complete respect and was treated as an equal by Hua Yongming could act so carefree and doting in front of a little girl, which spoke volumes about his love for her.

The team members all made a mental note of the little girl, classifying her as someone to be treated with the reverence due to a “little ancestor.” They were all sharp as monkeys, often obsessed with the smallest details.

If they could get on this little girl’s good side, it would definitely be beneficial.

However, while they took notice, they didn’t dare to try and scheme or deceive such an innocent child. If the big boss found out, his rage would be absolute, and they would face dire consequences.

A little while later, Fang Hong took the little girl by the hand to see the Old Master. The first thing he did upon returning was to pay a visit to him.

Inside the house, the Old Master, Fang Chengde, asked, “Is it time to announce the plans for the Apothecary Hall to the villagers?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yes, and we’ll need you to say a few words, Old Master.”

The Old Master played a crucial role in this matter. To ensure the smooth rollout of Fang’s Apothecary Hall and the new village plan, his involvement was necessary to overcome the inevitable resistance.

They had to leverage the Old Master’s prestige.

After meeting and chatting with the Old Master for a while, Fang Hong took the little girl back to his own house down the hill.

The scale model of Fang Village they had brought back was now assembled and placed in the main hall of the house. His parents, Fang Ping, and others were gathered around, looking at it.

The scale model was about 2.7 meters long and 2 meters wide.

His mother, Chen Ling, who was watching in amazement, said, “Is this what our village will look like in the future?”

His parents had only just found out about the plan. Fang Ping had given them a rough idea. Before this, only the two old masters, Fang Hong, Fang Ping, and Fang Zheng knew about it; no one else had been told.

Fang Ping nodded with a smile. “That’s right. When it’s completed, it will look almost exactly like this.”

The members of the guidance team who had come from Xincheng with Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. This layout, nestled in the scenic, idyllic landscape of Fang Village, could be described as a paradise on earth.

They knew that the big boss intended to build Fang’s Apothecary Hall, this family enterprise, into a brand-new super brand. He was trying to turn Fang Village into a unique calling card for Traditional Chinese Medicine. The goal was that, years from now, when people thought of TCM, they would immediately think of this paradise-like Fang Village and Fang’s Apothecary Hall.

The layout and planning alone showed a massive investment had been made. Most importantly, they knew this was just the beginning. A significant amount of further investment would follow, possibly accumulating over a decade or more of sunk cost.

But they also knew that for the big boss, money was no object. Pouring in a few hundred million was nothing to him.

Just then, Fang Hong came over, glanced at the to-scale model, and said, “Go get a large glass display case, a tempered glass one. Put this model inside, then place it in the open space at the village entrance for everyone to see. Remember to put up a canopy to protect it from the sun and rain, and to keep mischievous kids from damaging it.”

Fang Ping immediately nodded. “We don’t have a glass case, but I’ll call someone to have one made right away in the county town.”

With that, Fang Ping immediately got on the phone to make the arrangements.

Around lunchtime, most of the villagers were at home.

Suddenly, the village broadcast system crackled to life. The voice that came through was none other than the Old Master’s. All the villagers listened to the broadcast as they ate their meals.

When the Old Master announced he had something major to say that concerned every single villager, everyone pricked up their ears. Many of them carried their rice bowls straight out of their houses, standing outside to eat and listen.

On the broadcast, the Old Master announced the plans for Fang’s Apothecary Hall and the overall development of the entire village.

When they heard that any family willing to send their child to study Traditional Chinese Medicine would be rewarded, the villagers mostly thought it just meant their children could become doctors in the future. But that wasn’t the main point. The real bombshell was when they heard they would receive a new house.

In an instant, no one could sit still!

The Old Master held high prestige in the village, so his words carried immense credibility among the villagers.

All at once, the whole village was in an uproar, as if a pot had boiled over.

After the broadcast ended that afternoon, Fang Hong’s house became as crowded as a marketplace, with villagers flocking over one after another to confirm what they had heard.

Fang Hong, however, had already snuck out to play with the little girl, leaving the matter to Fang Ping. He left his brother at the front to deal with everything. Having to explain the same thing over and over again to each new wave of people was something Fang Hong couldn’t stand.

A swift escape was the best option.

By now, the main hall of the house was packed, with a large crowd still standing outside. Inside, the villagers stared at the scale model, clicking their tongues in amazement. The hall was as noisy as a market, with everyone talking at once.

“This one looks nice, look.”

“This one’s good too. Two stories, and the yard is pretty big.”

“Why aren’t they single-story houses? Single-story houses are great for drying grain.”

“Isn’t that what the yard is for?”

“Over a thousand houses… how much must that cost?”

“If our village really becomes like this, it’ll be incredible. It’s so beautiful.”

“What’s this river about? There’s no river here. Are they going to dig one?”

Meanwhile, Fang Ping stood in the hall and raised his hands to quiet the crowd. Then he said, “…The village will be building a primary school and a middle school. In the future, the kids won’t have to go to town for their education. And there will be no tuition or miscellaneous fees. Just send your children to school, and that’s it.”

A villager quickly asked, “If we send our child to study medicine, do we really get a new house like one of these?”

Fang Ping nodded emphatically. “Of course, it’s true. Would my Old Master lie? This is all his intention.”

Invoking the Old Master was the most effective strategy, and it saved him a great deal of trouble and endless explanations.

With a smile, Fang Ping spoke grandly, “The Old Master said that now that we two brothers have made it, we must also lead everyone to prosperity and a comfortable life. But everyone must follow the Old Master’s arrangements—follow the organization’s arrangements.”

He continued to leverage the highly respected Old Master: if you want to prosper, you have to listen to the Old Master.

Sure enough, when the villagers heard that this was the Old Master’s idea, their belief in the plan grew stronger. It felt reliable.

Bringing out the Old Master’s name was a trick that worked every time.

In reality, this played on the public’s tendency to trust and revere authority.

Of course, more important than this was the fact that the Old Master had spent his life helping people without asking for anything in return. This was the biggest reason for his unparalleled prestige among the villagers.

In financial terms, the Old Master’s credit was exceptionally high. No one in the village would believe he would deceive them. This trust had been built over decades.

Another villager asked, “Is it just an empty house? Will there be electricity? We won’t have to use kerosene lamps, will we?”

Fang Ping didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, though he understood why the villagers might think that, given the traditional, classical architectural style of the houses. He quickly explained, “Of course there will be electricity. What era do you think this is? Kerosene lamps? Not only will there be electricity, but all the furniture and appliances will be fully provided. A refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, a sofa—everything you need will be there.”

As time went on, the news spread like wildfire, passed from one villager to the next.

Chapter 174: Master the Laws of Finance and Making Money is Like Drinking Water

When Fang Hong returned to his hometown, the entire village was once again abuzz with excitement. The villagers were all talking about the scale model, describing it in vivid detail during their chats, which in turn attracted even more people to Fang Hong’s house to take a look.

Around 4:00 PM, Fang Hong, who had slipped away, finally returned, only to find his home was still packed with people.

One wave of visitors had left, only to be replaced by another in a continuous stream.

“Bro Hong?”

Just then, Fang Hong heard someone call his name. He followed the voice and saw a young man three or four years his senior walking toward him. Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “Yo, if it isn’t Bro Hu. Where have you been making your fortune?”

The young man was Fang Hu. Searching the original owner’s memories, Fang Hong recalled that he was a childhood friend from the village, one he used to make mud pies with.

Fang Hu was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looking quite dapper and successful. He laughed heartily and said, “Hey, what fortune? I’m nothing compared to a big shot billionaire like you, returning home in glory.”

The two stood to the side, catching up and exchanging some mutual flattery.

“Bro Hong, I didn’t expect you to be playing such a big game. Actually, I was also planning to build a scenic area in the village. See that mountain over there?” Fang Hu pointed in the two o’clock direction. “I’m going to build a temple there.” Fang Hong glanced into the distance where he was pointing.

Fang Hu lowered his arm and looked at Fang Hong again. “I just saw that scale model. Man, it’s incredible. And I realized it complements the scenic spot project I want to do perfectly.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong felt something was off about this kid.

The moment he heard about building a scenic spot in the village, he sensed something was wrong, but he kept a straight face. “Oh? You think just building a temple on that mountain can turn it into a scenic area? Can it make money?”

Fang Hu replied with absolute confidence, “Don’t worry, my method is a hundred percent guaranteed to make money. To be honest, I’ve been feeling frustrated and unrecognized these past few years, hoping for a good judge of talent to discover me. I never thought I’d actually meet one. I received guidance from a master and learned the way to make a fortune.”

Seeing his spirited expression, Fang Hong said with interest, “Guidance from a master? Was building a scenic spot in the village the path to wealth this master of yours showed you?”

Fang Hu smiled. “That’s right.”

He then pointed again at the distant mountain. “Just as that master said, once you grasp the laws of finance, making money is as simple as drinking water. Look, if you could dig a gold mine out of this mountain, it would have one price. If you planted fruit trees, it would have another price. Even if it was just covered in grass for grazing cattle, it would still have a price. This mountain has no gold, isn’t good for fruit trees, and isn’t great for cattle either. It seems worthless.”

As Fang Hong listened to him drone on about finance and making money, he was secretly amused. Fang Hu clearly had no idea he was showing off his meager skills before a true expert.

Fang Hong didn’t expose him but, his interest piqued, continued to listen to Fang Hu’s grand speech. “Bro Hong, you think this mountain can’t make money? You’re wrong. As long as you build a temple on it, it becomes a scenic area. Build a road in front of it, put up a fancy gate and a visitor center at the entrance, and set the ticket price at one hundred and fifty yuan.”

Fang Hong remained silent, quietly watching him pontificate. He already had a good idea of what kind of despicable scheme his so-called ‘master’ had taught him.

Fang Hu continued, unstoppable, “You might wonder why the ticket is priced at one hundred and fifty yuan. Don’t we need to do market research? Don’t we need to do stress testing? What if tourists can’t afford it? What if they don’t come?”

Fang Hu had heard that Fang Hong ran a high-tech company, so he figured that while he might be out of his depth talking about technology, finance was another story.

When it came to finance, Fang Hong had to be an amateur, right?

Answering his own rhetorical questions, Fang Hu said, “The reason the ticket price is set so high is because it’s not for the tourists at all—it’s for the financial institutions. So, you set the price as high as you can. Why? For example, if a ticket is one hundred and fifty yuan, and you get one hundred thousand tourists a year, that’s fifteen million yuan in revenue, right?”

Fang Hu went on, “If you pledge the future earning rights of that fifteen million yuan in ticket revenue, you can easily get ten million yuan back. If you pledge it for ten years, that’s one hundred million! This mountain instantly becomes worth one hundred million. I ask you, would you do it? Anyone would jump at the chance!”

Seeing Fang Hu’s face glow with excitement as he described his vision, Fang Hong let out a silent laugh. After remaining quiet for so long, he finally spoke. “You think you can get financial institutions to lend you one hundred million with just your empty words about a barren hill? Are you taking them for fools? Those people in finance are shrewder than monkeys.”

Fang Hong had already mapped out the entire future direction for the village, and he would absolutely not allow him to make a complete mess of things.

Fang Hong added, “Let me be honest with you, I’m an insider in the world of finance. Don’t get involved in these fancy schemes. Just go and honestly help my Second Brother manage the apothecary hall. The world of finance is deep; you’re in over your head.”

Searching his original memories, Fang Hong’s evaluation of his childhood friend Fang Hu was: a person desperate to change his destiny.

To put it more bluntly, he wanted to get rich. His character wasn’t a major issue, so he was someone who could be nurtured.

“Uh…” Fang Hu was completely bewildered by his words. “You… aren’t you in high-tech?”

Fang Hong smiled. “I’m in everything.”

A moment later, Fang Hu started to speak, “But…”

Fang Hong cut him off directly. “I know what you’re going to say. That so-called master who’s guiding you, did he tell you to go find the county leaders? To tell them that once this scenic spot is built, it won’t just improve the landscape but also boost the GDP? With an annual revenue of at least one hundred and fifty million, you’d have cash flow, wouldn’t you? The scenic area would also need staff, which would help solve some unemployment issues.”

“And if I’m not mistaken, the leader would delegate this to someone else, let’s call him Zhang San. The leader would have Zhang San talk to the financial institutions for you about getting a loan to build the scenic area. The financial institution would send someone to do due diligence. They’d come to this remote corner of the countryside, take one look, and find it hard to imagine any tourist with their head on straight would come here to visit. They’d most likely refuse to invest.”

“At this point, Zhang San would say that the county can provide annual subsidies for the scenic area. The problem is, Zhang San knows the county has no money to give. So why would he dare say that? Because he knows that once the scenic area is built, you’ll need shuttle buses to get from the entrance to the mountain, right? You can take the future earning rights for these shuttle buses, contract them out to someone else in exchange for some initial cash flow, and then you’ll have money.”

“As for whether there will be any tourists later or if the contractor can make their money back, that’s none of Zhang San’s business. So, Zhang San finds Li Si. Li Si listens and shakes his head, saying he can only give you the money if his own income is guaranteed.”

“Originally, tourists could choose to walk up the mountain. But now, they can only take the bus. Why? Because Zhang San and Li Si will discuss it and decide to move the scenic area’s entrance twenty kilometers forward. Now, will the tourists take the bus or not? If they don’t, let’s see if they can even walk to the mountain. Even if a tourist is stubborn enough to walk all the way to the park, sorry, the park closes at six PM. Try walking back then, will you? Let’s see if you take the bus then. And even if a stubborn tourist manages to hike in without a bus, will they take one on the way back after they’re exhausted? And so, the problem is solved.”

Fang Hu was completely stunned as he listened, because what Fang Hong was saying was almost identical to what his ‘master’ had told him. The exact wording was different, of course, but the meaning was precisely the same.

Fang Hong continued, “So where does the money to buy the shuttle buses come from? Did your master tell you to pledge the bus tickets as collateral? Charge ten yuan per ticket, with one hundred thousand tourists a year, that’s ten million in revenue over ten years. Then you go to a financial leasing company and borrow five million to buy the buses. This means the leasing company buys the buses, so they own them, but Li Si gets the right to use them. And just like that, the shuttle bus problem is solved.”

Fang Hu: “…”

Fang Hong went on systematically, “Since the future earning rights of the shuttle buses can be traded, you can do the same with the vendor stalls and restaurants inside the scenic area. So, Zhang San will also find Wang Laowu and have him pay to buy out these concession rights.”

“Where does the buyout money come from? It’s subcontracted out, of course, to small-time bosses who will run the businesses. The subcontracting fees go to the main contractor, Wang Laowu, who has to skim some profit off the top. The rest goes to Zhang San. Zhang San takes the cash from these traded concession rights, gives a cut to the higher-ups, secures his own salary, and the rest can be counted as the annual subsidy for the scenic area.”

Fang Hong looked at the dumbfounded Fang Hu and chuckled. “Once you’ve settled all that, the financial institution will really lend you the one hundred million. But as for how much of that one hundred million actually goes into building the scenic spot… Bro Hu, are you sure you’re the one calling the shots? Do you have any idea how much of it will be used for other things? Can you handle it?”

“You’re the project head, and Zhang San is basically a platform company. The county’s investment goes without saying. The project you’re financing is a government-credit-based fixed-income financing product. All you have to do is list it on a financial asset exchange center. It’s not even as reliable as a trust.”

“Then, the number of tourists at the scenic area will supposedly explode year after year. You’ll keep issuing announcements about visitor numbers breaking new records, when in reality, it’s just you, Bro Hu, leading a group of actors from the village to walk around the entrance. The crucial thing is, do you think the financial institutions don’t know about this scheme? They know. They deal with these fancy plays all day; they see it as clear as day.”

“If they expose you, you’re the legal representative of the project company. Your shares might even be held by a nominee, which means you’re nothing but the scapegoat.”

“If the scenic area eventually goes bankrupt, the financial institution won’t get a single penny back. So they’ll most likely continue to play along with you, even though the pitiful annual ticket revenue is only enough to cover the interest payments. Forget about touching the principal.”

“But that doesn’t really matter. After ten years, the interest they’ve collected will have long surpassed the principal cost. Besides, the financial institution’s debt is just extended or swapped; it doesn’t disappear. As for the tourists? You never expect them to come a second time anyway. In this entire process, nobody gives a damn about the tourists.”

At this point, Fang Hong glanced at the utterly dumbfounded Bro Hu. It was time to crush him psychologically. That was the only way to subdue him and make him understand who the real master was.

To use someone like him, you first had to teach him the meaning of awe and authority.

After a brief pause, Fang Hong glanced at him, then turned to gaze at the mountain and said coolly, “You think you’ve met a master? You think you’ve transformed from a gloomy, unrecognized nobody into the Chairman of the Board of a project company? And now that vainglorious and pretentious facade is on full display, isn’t it? In reality, you’re already halfway sunk in quicksand and you don’t even know it.”

His words were blunt, offering no courtesy whatsoever.

A sense of guilt, of being completely seen through, washed over Fang Hu. Now, he probably wouldn’t even dare to call Fang Hong “Bro Hong.”

Fang Hong continued with an air of ease, “If you make a complete mess of the village, even if my Old Master doesn’t come looking for you, won’t your own father beat you half to death? Will you still have a place to stand on your own turf? Furthermore, the blame you’ll have to shoulder as the Chairman of this project company is enough to crush you. Weigh it carefully. Can you bear that weight?”

Gulp…

Fang Hu swallowed hard. He was numb. Don’t even go there!

His mind was buzzing, and in his heart, he was already cursing that master he once admired, along with his entire family tree.

After a while, Fang Hu forced a dry laugh. “I had no idea the water ran so deep…”

“It’s good that you know.”

Fang Hong gave him a cool glance as he spoke. Without waiting for a response, he turned and headed toward the main hall of his house.

Fang Hu wanted to say something but stopped. He watched Fang Hong’s departing back and subconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

That phrase, “It’s good that you know,” had been spoken calmly, but Fang Hu felt an inexplicable sense of pressure from it.

It made him feel a sense of unfamiliarity, a distance.

And that distance was exactly what Fang Hong wanted.

Fang Hong was now in the position of a superior, and Fang Hu was a subordinate. He was certain to join Fang’s Apothecary Hall, which meant they could no longer be friends and brothers as they were in their childhood.

If his relationship with Fang Hu were too close, even without giving him special treatment, it would affect others. Fang Hu is tight with the big boss, on a first-name basis!

Then, you’d have no idea what he was doing behind the scenes. He might even intentionally or unintentionally emphasize this relationship to others. Over time, it would create another kind of unhealthy environment and a poor work culture.

Fang Hu didn’t have Hua Yu’s vision, Fang Zheng’s humility, Fang Ping’s awareness, or Cao Chenghui’s emotional intelligence.

But Fang Hu had his own value: he had a heart that yearned to change his destiny. Such a person was suited for charging into battle, but he had to be managed with both the carrot and the stick to be kept in line.

…

Chapter 175: A Bustling Crowd, All Drawn by Profit

The next day.

Around 10 a.m., a shed was set up in the open space at the village entrance, and the scale model was placed inside a glass case within the shed.

Once it was set up, it was quickly surrounded by villagers, who gossiped and discussed it animatedly.

The news had already spread throughout the entire village. Every household urged their family members working out of town to return at the first opportunity. There was a procedure to follow: all villagers aged eighteen and above had to vote on the integrated development plan.

According to the announcement the Old Master made over the village broadcast, those who voted ‘yes’ would be included in the plan and receive a house of a corresponding size based on their household registration. Those who voted ‘no’ would not get a house.

Fang Hong knew this was just a formality, to prevent anyone from later claiming they hadn’t agreed to it.

At the same time, Fang Hong also knew that basically everyone in the village would vote in favor. For him, there was no suspense. They wouldn’t have announced it so rashly without being completely confident in the outcome; they already knew how it would turn out.

For those who had already built houses in the outer village area, those houses would definitely have to be demolished.

The current construction cost was about 500 to 700 yuan per square meter. Fang Ping set the demolition compensation for those villagers at 1,000 yuan, and when this price was announced, none of the villagers who had built houses in the outer village objected.

…

In the main hall of the house, Fang Ping, Zhang Taiwen, and others, including the village chief and Fang Hu’s group, were gathered around a large table discussing matters.

Meanwhile, at a small table to the side of the main hall, the little girl Fang Shiyan was doing her homework. Fang Hong sat beside her, teaching her how to solve equations. Back at home, he seemed like an outsider, not participating in the discussions.

Fang Hu kept glancing at Fang Hong from time to time. After their chat yesterday, he knew that although Fang Hong appeared indifferent to these major matters while teaching the little girl her homework, he was, in fact, the ultimate decision-maker.

Fang Hu had decided not to try any more clever tricks. He had thought it over all last night and decided to honestly follow Fang Ping.

He wasn’t stupid; he knew that following Fang Ping also had a promising future.

Putting aside everything else, just looking at the village’s integrated development plan—over a thousand houses in the residential area. Just building these houses would cost over one hundred million.

So, would Fang’s Apothecary Hall still be a small workshop?

What a joke.

Moreover, Fang Hu had already found out that strangers like Zhang Taiwen were all brought back by Fang Hong. It was said they were senior management talents dispatched from big companies in Xincheng. They were sent over to guide Fang’s Apothecary Hall in modern business operations.

In down-to-earth terms, they were here to help Fang’s Apothecary Hall cultivate talent. Once this task was completed, they would leave and not hang around at the Apothecary Hall.

And Fang’s Apothecary Hall was positioned as a family enterprise, meaning it would be managed by people with the surname Fang. Knowing this, Fang Hu decisively chose to stick with Fang Ping.

In the future, at the very least, he could land a position like department manager at the Apothecary Hall, and maybe even become a senior executive.

He might even get a chance to work for Fang Hong himself in the future. He already knew that Fang Hong wouldn’t manage Fang’s Apothecary Hall, but had entrusted it to his Second Brother, Fang Ping.

What did this mean?

It meant that Fang Hong’s own ventures were far bigger than Fang’s Apothecary Hall.

“According to Mr. Fang’s arrangements, we’ll have Huayang Group leverage its resources to find a reliable construction company. The workers will be hired locally…” Zhang Taiwen said as he looked at everyone.

“Huayang Group? The Huayang Group from Xincheng?” Fang Hu couldn’t help but ask in surprise.

“Oh, that’s right.” Zhang Taiwen said with a smile, “Mr. Fang’s company and Huayang Group have a close strategic partnership. In fact, the son of Huayang’s boss works at Mr. Fang’s company, and Mr. Fang is his immediate boss.”

Gasp…!

Fang Hu drew a sharp breath inwardly upon hearing this. He had seen a bit of the world and knew of Xincheng’s Huayang Group. It was the most famous conglomerate in the area, a corporate entity with assets worth tens of billions.

He never would have imagined that Fang Hong could be a strategic partner with such a massive group. This meant his company was likely also heading towards the ten-billion scale.

No wonder these plans for Fang Village were casually calculated in units of hundreds of millions.

And no wonder he wouldn’t be managing Fang’s Apothecary Hall himself, but had let Fang Ping take charge.

Fang Hu couldn’t help but glance again at that man teaching the little girl her homework. His resolve to make his career at the Apothecary Hall hardened, all doubts erased. As for that so-called master and good judge of talent, to hell with him.

The village chief then asked, “Once their houses are demolished, where will they live? How will they be settled?”

Hearing this, Fang Ping said, “They can move back to their old houses in the inner village and settle there for a year. Most of the villagers who built houses in the outer village still have old homes in the inner village. After some repairs, they’ll be livable. Those who don’t have houses in the inner village can squeeze in with their brothers or relatives for a year. The integrated development in the outer village will take about a year to be fully completed. They can move back then.”

Fang Ping wasn’t being extravagant. He saved where he could. He had already given them full demolition compensation with a premium; it was impossible to provide additional temporary housing.

After discussing for a while, Fang Ping looked at Fang Hong and said, “Third Brother, do you have anything to add?”

Fang Hong replied casually, “The arrangements are good. You’re the head of the Apothecary Hall, so you should be the one to consider these things and make the decisions, not me.”

These words were meant for Fang Ping, but more so for Zhang Taiwen, Fang Hu, and the others present. It was an affirmation and validation of his Second Brother, Fang Ping, emphasizing that he was the head, their direct superior.

Fang Ping looked away from Fang Hong and then turned to Fang Hu. “Huzi, the villagers who are still out of town should be on their way back now. Over the next few days, go door-to-door, ask each household for their thoughts to get a general idea. In a week, we’ll hold a village-wide roll-call vote. Everyone must be present. Tell them that not showing up will be considered an automatic abstention.”

Hearing this, Fang Hu nodded repeatedly, “Got it. I’ll get right on it.”

With that, Fang Hu scurried out of the main hall to get started. All he could think about now was finding opportunities to perform well.

…

As the scale model was placed at the village entrance, word of mouth spread from the villagers, not only quickly reaching the surrounding townships but also reaching Lingyang County by the next day.

The county head, Kong Xiangming, learned of the matter and immediately gave it his full attention, setting aside the work he was doing.

“This is Fang Village’s plan?” Kong Xiangming was very surprised as he looked at the photo his subordinate handed him. The photo was of the scale model. It had been taken by some villagers and had now made its way to the county.

“That’s right, Secretary Kong.” his subordinate reported. “Looking at the scale and layout of this plan, it’s a massive project. I estimate it would require a huge budget of two to three hundred million to realize.”

The reporting subordinate was also astounded. Lingyang County’s total GDP last year was just over 2.9 billion.

His subordinate continued, “According to talk from some villagers in Fang Village, Fang Chengde’s grandson is going to open a traditional Chinese medicine company in the village, called Fang’s Apothecary Hall. It’s this one…”

The subordinate pointed to the most magnificent classical-style building model on the other side of the plan in the picture and added, “This is the corporate headquarters of Fang’s Apothecary Hall.”

Upon hearing this, Kong Xiangming couldn’t sit still. He immediately asked, “Why not set up the headquarters in the county?”

Anyone who could come up with hundreds of millions to develop an entire village—unless they were a fool—would know that this Fang’s Apothecary Hall was definitely not some small workshop. It might even be the largest enterprise in all of Lingyang County.

For such a large enterprise to establish its headquarters in a village was a colossal waste.

Establishing it in the county town could significantly raise surrounding land prices and provide a major boost to employment, consumption, and more.

Kong Xiangming made a swift decision. “Go make the arrangements immediately. We leave in half an hour. I’m going to Fang Village.”

At around the same time, some construction teams and bosses who sold furniture and home appliances in the county town also learned about the matter in Fang Village through their own channels. After the initial shock, they confirmed the news was true.

The newly planned houses would be fully equipped with appliances and furniture—air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators were all included. As for whether the villagers would be too concerned about the electricity bills to use them, that was their own business.

These bosses rushed to Fang Village at the first opportunity.

Over a thousand houses to be built… assuming three air conditioners per house, at 2,000 yuan per unit, that was a business deal worth over six million yuan in revenue. For a boss operating in a small county town, this was an astronomical order.

The bosses who sold appliances and furniture, having confirmed the news, all raced towards Fang Village. A bustling crowd, all coming for profit, all going for profit.

…

Chapter 176: We Can Just Create Futures Contracts

The villagers noticed that sedans were driving into the village from time to time today. The visitors were all strangers, dressed in suits and leather shoes, carrying briefcases, and they were asking for Fang Hong’s specific whereabouts.

Then, they hurried over, covered in dust from their journey.

At that moment, Fang Hong was at the old house where the Old Master lived, playing a game of Chinese chess with him.

“Check! Old Master, you’ve lost again,” Fang Hong said with a smile. The Old Master immediately bristled, his beard and eyebrows shooting up. “You little rascal, don’t you know how to show deference to your elders and care for the young?”

“I don’t have to walk on eggshells around you, so why should I let you win?” Fang Hong said with a cheeky grin, earning another round of laughing curses from the Old Master. They immediately set up the board for a new game. After a moment, the Old Master, Fang Chengde, made a move and said, “You’re just hiding here. Aren’t you going to help your Second Brother?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong made his move and replied, “Second Brother is the head of a company, after all. He’ll be the one dealing with these people from now on, so this is a kind of training for him.”

The Old Master immediately chided him with a laugh, “You kid, so young yet acting all old and wise.”

Just then, Fang Ping arrived, and he brought a few people with him.

“Old Master, Secretary Kong is here to see you.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but look up at the sound, but he didn’t get up when he heard Fang Ping’s words. Kong Xiangming, who had entered the house, looked at Fang Chengde and immediately smiled. “Old De, have you been well lately?”

This county head showed no airs at all in front of the Old Master. How could he dare to act important? He knew the Old Master’s history was right there for all to see. Ordinary villagers might not see how influential he was, but Kong Xiangming knew very well.

“Secretary Kong, this is my Third Brother, Fang Hong,” Fang Ping said with a smile, introducing him to Kong Xiangming. Only then did Fang Hong stand up and look at Kong Xiangming. The latter immediately began to praise him: “Truly a young and promising talent.”

Fang Hong responded with modest pleasantries, “You’re too kind, Secretary Kong.”

Kong Xiangming turned to the Old Master and said with a smile, “Old De, to have two such outstanding grandsons is truly enviable.”

After some idle chitchat, Secretary Kong was the first to get to the point. “Comrade Fang Hong, do you think it would be possible to set up the Apothecary Hall’s headquarters in the County town? If you have any needs for various support facilities, please don’t hesitate to say so. The county will certainly ensure everything is fully in place.”

Just as Fang Ping was about to speak, Fang Hong gave him a look, and he closed his mouth.

“Secretary Kong, let me be blunt. The support the County town can offer, Xincheng can offer better. If we’re talking about moving to the County town, then why wouldn’t I just set up in Xincheng directly?” Fang Hong’s words left Kong Xiangming speechless.

The moment became a bit awkward.

Fang Ping instantly understood why his Third Brother had stopped him from talking. Fang Hong had said the offending words for him. After all, Fang Ping was the head of the company and would have to deal with the local people in the future. This provided something of a buffer.

To express the same meaning, who said it made a world of difference.

Fang Hong spoke again, “Secretary Kong, the Apothecary Hall’s place of registration can be in Lingyang County, that’s no problem. And its scale will be very large; achieving a scale of a hundred billion in the future is a high-probability event.”

When Kong Xiangming heard that number, he was stunned on the spot, failing to control his expression. He blurted out subconsciously, “What? A hundred billion scale?”

Fang Hong smiled. “Of course, that’s Fang’s Apothecary Hall’s medium-to-long-term goal. But in any case, its current scale of one billion is set in stone, and the demand is just as great.”

A hundred billion scale—Kong Xiangming couldn’t even dream of Lingyang County having such a massive enterprise.

A moment later, he realized he had lost his composure and quickly regained control of his expression, though his heart was still reeling in shock. Of course, he was mostly skeptical; after all, a figure of that magnitude sounded like a wild boast.

But hearing that the scale was one billion, that number seemed much more reliable and credible.

For Lingyang County, this was already an incredible feat. Having such a large enterprise emerge during his term would also be a major achievement.

As for reaching a hundred billion scale in the future, Kong Xiangming truly didn’t care. That was too far off.

What he was thinking about was achieving results now. Even if the Apothecary Hall grew to a hundred billion, how many years would that take? It would have nothing to do with his promotion. by then, it would be his successor’s achievement.

In the ensuing conversation, Kong Xiangming also intentionally or unintentionally hinted that he hoped Fang Hong could support the construction of his hometown, perhaps by bringing some industries to Lingyang County.

Fang Hong had already considered this issue before he even arrived, knowing that the county head would come sooner or later.

Kong Xiangming still didn’t quite believe that Fang’s Apothecary Hall could reach an asset scale of one hundred billion in the future, but Fang Hong’s confidence was beyond doubt. A hundred billion wasn’t even the Apothecary Hall’s ultimate goal, but there was no need to explain too much to them.

In other words, Fang’s Apothecary Hall could not only support Fang Village but, in the future, it could easily support the entire Lingyang County. The tax revenue from the Apothecary Hall alone could allow Lingyang County to leap into the ranks of the top one hundred counties in the nation.

“Secretary Kong, regarding our county’s economic structure, I suggest we could adjust it to vigorously promote the Chinese herbal medicine industry,” Fang Hong suggested methodically. “That is, let the farmers grow herbal medicines, and my Fang’s Apothecary Hall will purchase them in large quantities.”

Kong Xiangming pondered this. “Growing Chinese herbal medicines is different from ordinary crops. The cycle is very long.”

The implication was that people might not be willing to grow them, since the medicinal properties of genuine Chinese herbs only meet the standard after a significant number of years.

Fang Hong smiled. “The long cycle isn’t a problem. We can just create futures contracts. The Apothecary Hall can buy the contracts first, and we’ll take delivery of the goods later. This guarantees that the farmers’ years of hard work and investment won’t go to waste.”

For the farmers with contracts, it meant a buyer was locked in before the herbs were even ready, and the price was already agreed upon. All they had to do was deliver the qualified product at the appointed time.

Kong Xiangming couldn’t help but ask, “What is the Apothecary Hall’s approximate purchasing demand?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled and said, “The more, the better. Five hundred million, a billion, it’s no problem. The Apothecary Hall can take it all.”

This was a conservative estimate. If he had said a larger number, the other party might have thought he was making wild claims and was unreliable.

As expected, Kong Xiangming was thrilled to hear this figure. The boost to Lingyang County’s economy was self-evident, and crucially, it would be an achievement during his term. It was important to note that Lingyang County’s total GDP last year was just over 2.9 billion.

The mountainous land in Fang Village would all have to be converted to grow suitable herbal medicines. The land from just one village was far from enough to meet the demand, so this would also help spur the economic development of his hometown.

However, there was one condition: the medicinal fields could not occupy arable land. This was a rule Fang Hong had set. The Apothecary Hall would not purchase any herbs from growers who occupied farmland, even if the herbs met the standard.

This was actually more for the farmers’ own consideration. It was to avoid a situation where a shift in policy direction would crack down on the illegal occupation of farmland with a one-size-fits-all approach. When that happened, the farmers would be the ones crying. Not only would they be unable to deliver the physical goods, but they would also have to default on their contracts. The Apothecary Hall couldn’t expect them to afford the penalty for breach of contract, and it would just become a bad debt.

Kong Xiangming and the others departed soon after. Although their visit hadn’t resulted in Fang’s Apothecary Hall moving its headquarters to the County town, the trip was still very fruitful, and they returned feeling satisfied.

The emergence of Fang’s Apothecary Hall could bring hundreds of millions in economic growth to Lingyang County. The county’s economy could see explosive growth in the next few years; reaching a GDP growth rate of over twenty percent wouldn’t be a problem—it was practically set in stone.

Fang Ping then went to greet the bosses who had come to visit. These people were all hoping to get orders from Fang Village, which would be extremely lucrative contracts.

Nearly every boss in the county who sold home appliances, furniture, and other products had rushed over. After meeting with them, Fang Ping decided to use a competitive bidding auction, and specifically, a sealed-bid auction.

The auction would be held in one month. The so-called sealed-bid auction was a “sealed submission” style of bidding. Fang Ping would set a base price for all the required items, ensuring their side wouldn’t lose money no matter what.

Then, the various bidders would submit their bids. Each seller would write down their price and submit it, and the buyer would open the bids on the spot. The principle of the transaction was that the contract would be awarded to whoever submitted the lowest bid. If there were identical bids, there would be an additional round of bidding.

Fang Ping was no fool with more money than sense. Because the procurement volume was massive, it was a buyer’s market now, so of course, he had to push for lower prices.

If the bosses in the county weren’t happy, they could forget it. He was doing them a favor by giving them business and boosting the county’s economy in the first place.

If it weren’t for this, Zhang Taiwen could have easily managed this business over in Xincheng; there were plenty of sellers there.

…

Chapter 177: Return to Xincheng

The next day, Monday, May 4th.

Today was the first workday after the May Day holiday, and the A-share market, which had been closed for three days, opened today.

Fang Hong was still in his hometown of Fang Village, but he could just as easily watch the market and trade from there. At this moment, he was staring at the market on his laptop.

On its first trading day back from the holiday, the A-share market opened high and trended higher in a broad rally. The market displayed a one-sided upward trend throughout the day, with over fourteen hundred stocks in both markets rising. Those who had held stocks over the holiday made a huge profit today, while those who held cash seriously missed out on the rally.

The broader market also effortlessly broke through the 2500-point mark.

In terms of sectors, the coal sector led the markets, rising by more than seven percentage points. The Big Finance and Securities sector was also among the top gainers.

At the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index had surged by +3.32% to close at 2559.90 points, with a turnover of 146.6 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index had soared by +4.18% to close at 9899.67 points, with a turnover of 71.8 billion yuan. The total turnover for both markets was 218.4 billion yuan.

It was worth noting that both markets closed with a long positive candle on high volume. The Shenzhen Component Index’s major rally today set a new high for the year, while the Shanghai Composite Index was just a step away from its previous high of 2579.21 points and setting a new high of its own.

Fang Hong’s personal securities account gained +4.58% today, an absolute profit of 18.9 million yuan. The total assets in his account reached 431.56 million yuan, and his cumulative return rate hit an astonishing +678,734.69%, an increase of over 6,787 times.

Over the next few days, Fang Ping was busy arranging various matters. Fang Hong, on the other hand, was happy to be idle, and he’d tease the little girl until she wailed whenever he was bored.

Although he was acting like a hands-off boss, Fang Hong was actually observing everything constantly.

He was mainly observing Fang Ping’s ability to handle matters, as he was in the crucial position as the head of Fang’s Apothecary Hall.

And over these few days, Fang Ping demonstrated outstanding professional competence. He was energetic and extremely dedicated, and with a pile of tasks converging at once, he prioritized everything perfectly.

The primary issue for Fang’s Apothecary Hall was to settle things with the people, which meant properly arranging the distribution of benefits for the entire village.

Throughout the process, no villagers caused trouble or threw a wrench in the works, which fully demonstrated that Fang Ping’s arrangements and handling of the situation were flawless.

Fang Hong had originally planned to stay for about half a month, but seeing the situation, he realized he could return to Xincheng early. He could leave things here to Fang Ping, who now had Zhang Taiwen and his team to assist him, so there was no need to worry about a lack of manpower.

…

Friday, May 8th.

This week, the A-share market as a whole showed a volatile upward trend. The Shanghai Composite Index had already set a new high for the year on Tuesday.

Today, the A-share market ended its last trading day of the week with gains. The Shanghai Composite Index rose +1.09% to close at 2625.63 points, successfully standing above the 2600-point mark. The Shenzhen Component Index closed up +0.73% at 10183.06 points, also surpassing the 10,000-point mark. The combined turnover of the two markets was 240.7 billion yuan.

Over the past few days in his hometown, Fang Hong had continued to manage his account and profit-taking in the market. As of today’s close, his account funds had reached 481.77 million yuan, with the five hundred million mark just around the corner.

It’s worth mentioning that Fang Hong had once again added to his position in the target stock Da’an Gene today, investing another 22 million yuan. He had started buying this stock on Wednesday, and his current position had reached 80 million yuan, with an average holding price of 11.41 yuan per share.

The stock closed up +0.62% today at 11.30 yuan per share, with a daily turnover of 52.62 million yuan.

At the moment, Fang Hong had an unrealized loss of nearly one percent on this target.

His logic for entering this stock over the past three days was unbelievably strong—it was essentially a cheat move befitting a transmigrator.

Because Fang Hong knew that Da’an Gene would open at its limit-up price on Monday. This was because, barring any surprises, the company would release major positive news over the coming weekend.

Namely: Regarding the successful trial in Hong Kong of the jointly developed detection kit for the novel human A/H1N1 influenza virus.

For the past few days, Fang Hong had simply laid low right before the explosive rise, waiting for market funds to pump up the price for him. However, he didn’t go all-in. Firstly, his capital of nearly five hundred million was too large for the stock to absorb. Secondly, hogging all the profits for himself felt like going too far.

Eighty million was about right. Driven by the major positive news, this stock would have no problem hitting five consecutive limit-ups, which meant a potential gain of nearly sixty-one percent. Fang Hong’s plan was to cash out after a gain of around fifty percent, which would translate to an expected profit of forty million yuan.

…

This afternoon, the village was unusually lively.

A named ballot was being held today. Over the past week, villagers working in other cities, including some of the youth, had all rushed back to the village.

It had to be said, Fang Ping’s pace of progress was indeed rapid.

To complete the planned construction in about a year, it was impossible to finish before the first half of 2010 without accelerating the pace.

By around 5:30 PM, all 1079 households in the village had completed their votes. The vote was tallied by household, and the results were publicly announced the same day.

There were no surprises.

All 1079 households in the village voted in favor of Fang Village’s new development plan.

Before the vote, Fang Hu had already been arranged to go door-to-door to gauge the situation. There were indeed a few villagers who were dissenting, but the Old Master later personally went to have a talk with them to persuade them.

And they were pacified.

Before the vote, Fang Hong and the others already knew what the result would be, but the procedure still had to be followed strictly to the letter to prevent any future trouble from delaying the entire project’s progress.

…

During dinner, Fang Hong, his parents, the little girl, and Fang Ping and his wife—six people in total—ate together.

“Third Brother, the vote went very smoothly. The whole village agreed,” Fang Ping said, looking to Fang Hong for his opinion. “Another key task is the lottery for house allocation. What do you think about this? Should we arrange the lottery as soon as possible, or wait until the project is completed? The villagers are eager to draw lots as soon as possible; they can’t wait.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong replied without much thought, “Hold off on the allocation lottery. Do it after the construction is complete. If you do it now, you’re bound to run into trouble. When someone draws a location they’re not satisfied with, they’ll throw a fit—crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. If you don’t reassign them, they’ll just lie down on the construction site. How are you supposed to get any work done then?”

In truth, the plan for Fang Village was that all the houses were in excellent condition. Even the smallest units had an internal area of about one hundred square meters, but the homestead land plots were all the same size, so a smaller internal area meant a bigger yard. Moreover, it was designed entirely based on per capita living space; the hundred-square-meter units were still three-bedroom units, and they all came with appliances. Most importantly, the villagers didn’t have to pay for the construction themselves.

But human greed and the decline of public morality were inevitable. It takes all sorts to make a world, and Fang Village was a large village with over four thousand people. It couldn’t be ruled out that there would be a few unscrupulous individuals. Those with something good would want something better, like the houses by the man-made river, which were relatively nicer.

Fang Hong added, “Hold the lottery after construction is finished. That way, it won’t affect the other villagers’ work and daily lives. At that point, those who are dissatisfied will have to move whether they like it or not. If they refuse to move, then forget it. Let them pay to build their own houses.”

Hearing this, Fang Ping couldn’t help but nod. “That makes sense.”

Fang Hong looked at his second brother and said again, “From now on, the future of the four thousand-plus people in Fang Village will be fundamentally tied to Fang’s Apothecary Hall. As the head of the apothecary, you are the one primarily responsible. As a superior, you cannot be soft when necessary, and you certainly cannot be indecisive.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Ping nodded solemnly. “I understand. Don’t worry, Third Brother. Just leave things at home to me.”

His parents exchanged a glance. Their father, Fang Zhenyuan, couldn’t find the words, nor did he know what to say. His youngest son was acting too sharp and decisive, and a matter of this magnitude was beyond what Fang Zhenyuan, as a father, could handle.

However, there was one thing Fang Zhenyuan did very well: he didn’t interfere!

He just let his two sons handle everything. He was content sipping his tea and shooting the breeze with the other villagers. Life was good.

At this moment, Fang Hong said with a smile, “Handling a few troublemaking villagers is quite simple. When dealing with conflicts, Second Brother, you can play the bad cop. You must be tough to build up your own authority and make people respect you. You absolutely can’t seem like a pushover. Your sister-in-law or Mom and Dad can step in to play the good cop. That should resolve most conflicts. If even that doesn’t work, then bring out the Old Master.”

Fang Ping nodded again.

There were plenty of ways to handle a few troublemakers.

Things in his hometown were basically settled, and Fang Hong decided to return to Xincheng over the weekend. Zhang Taiwen and his team would stay behind to assist Fang Ping with the operations and management of Fang’s Apothecary Hall.

The company had already been registered with a registered capital of ten million yuan and was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stellaris Capital. Fang Ping was nominated as the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Fang’s Apothecary Hall. The Board of Directors currently had seven seats. Apart from Fang Ping, the other six seats were temporarily held by Zhang Taiwen and his team.

On the weekend morning, Fang Hong packed his things to return to Xincheng.

On his way back, Fang Hong opened his laptop to check on the stock Da’an Gene. As expected, an announcement had been released today:

[Public Notice Regarding the Successful Verification in Hong Kong of the Jointly Developed Detection Kit for the Novel Human Influenza A (H1N1) Virus]

After seeing the title of the announcement, Fang Hong closed the page immediately. There was no need to read the specific content. The title alone was enough to confirm that nothing had gone wrong. When the A-share market opened tomorrow, this stock would one hundred percent open at its limit-up price.

Chapter 178: Building a Self-Sufficient Full-Chain Semiconductor Industry

At around 4:00 PM that day, Fang Hong returned to the Tranquil Heart Residence in Huayang Mountain Villa.

His next major strategic move was in the semiconductor sector. It was no exaggeration to say that the domestic semiconductor industry was currently lagging in every aspect, and not just by a small margin.

To complete the entire picture and make a mark in high-value-added, high-end manufacturing, the semiconductor industry was an unavoidable hurdle.

Given the domestic industry’s comprehensive backwardness, it was certainly very late to start. But when playing catch-up, it was never too late to enter the field—and the sooner, the better.

Fang Hong had the foresight to know about the tech war the US would launch in the next decade.

Therefore, with semiconductors, you either didn’t get involved at all, or you had to build out the entire industrial chain. Otherwise, if a single link wasn’t under your autonomous control, and that link was suddenly used to choke you, the whole industry would grind to a halt.

This was the nature of the semiconductor business.

Fang Hong assessed Stellaris Capital’s current financial situation and determined that they could indeed get started. This wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight, but the conditions were ripe to take the first step and make the opening move.

Stellaris Capital’s overseas investments, after subtracting leveraged funds, had a net value of over 8.8 billion US dollars, which was more than 60 billion RMB. Their domestic A-share investments had a net value of 45 billion RMB after accounting for leverage.

In other words, if Stellaris Capital were to cash out all its stock assets right now, it could generate over 100 billion RMB in liquid cash.

However, to build a completely self-controlled, full-chain semiconductor industry, 100 billion RMB was far from enough. Even several times that amount might not be sufficient to realize this grand vision.

Although the required capital was astronomical and the timeline was incredibly long, it didn’t prevent them from starting now. The money wouldn’t be poured in all at once. In the initial phase, they could invest ten or twenty billion to get the framework set up.

Currently, global semiconductor process technology had broken through to the 45-nanometer level. The domestic industry was worlds behind the top international standards.

You had to eat a meal one mouthful at a time. Being so far behind meant they had to catch up one step at a time.

Fang Hong got out of the car and headed towards the villa, mulling over his plans for the semiconductor industry.

Upon entering the house, Fang Hong saw an unfamiliar yet stunningly beautiful woman with an excellent figure cleaning the living room. That wasn’t the main point. The main point was that she was wearing a blue maid outfit with over-the-knee white silk stockings.

The sight made Fang Hong freeze for a moment, completely derailing the train of thought he had been running on the semiconductor industry.

The house manager, Yu Qiu, happened to walk into the living room at that moment. She was momentarily surprised to see Fang Hong before breaking into a radiant smile. “Bro Hong, you’re back?”

Yu Qiu then turned to the maid and gestured for her to pause her work. As Fang Hong glanced at the approaching maid, Yu Qiu explained with another smile, “Bro Hong, this is Yifulei. We just hired her a few days ago as a new member of the housekeeping staff.”

Seeing her employer for the first time—so young and handsome—Yifulei was quite surprised herself, but she didn’t forget to wave and greet him with a bright smile, “Bro Hong!”

Fang Hong nodded, looking Yifulei up and down before asking curiously, “Is this… your work uniform?”

At this point, Yifulei couldn’t help but feel a little shy under Fang Hong’s undisguised, scanning gaze. Yu Qiu, standing beside her, also looked a bit embarrassed but explained, “This is the work uniform Xuanxuan had custom-made for the female housekeeping staff…”

“Oh, is that so…” Fang Hong was momentarily speechless, then broke into a laugh. But who would object to such a lovely and eye-catching housemaid? He sized up Yifulei again, nodded, and said with a smile, “Hmm, this is quite nice. Very easy on the eyes. But with all of you being so lovely and delicate, it’s quite a test of my self-control…”

The two women: “…”

Fang Hong, however, remained perfectly composed. He immediately changed the subject, “Where’s Xuanxuan?”

Yu Qiu quickly replied, “Oh, she’s not home. She probably went out shopping with a few of her best friends.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Carry on, then.”

With another glance at the maid, Yifulei, he went upstairs to the study. He had important work to do—he needed to compile a file on his semiconductor industry strategy, which would take a considerable amount of time.

Otherwise, he might have been tempted to tease the new maid a little. A bit of lighthearted interaction would have been a pleasant part of life.

Yifulei’s resume showed that she was twenty-two years old and a recent college graduate. She had been found by a headhunting firm and recommended for the job here. She actually had no experience in housekeeping, but experience wasn’t a mandatory requirement set by He Xuan. Instead, the standards for figure and looks were extremely high.

Ultimately, Yifulei was drawn in by the incredibly high monthly salary of 32,000 yuan and its excellent benefits package. If she had found a job in her field of study after graduation, she probably wouldn’t have earned even a tenth of this amount.

One month’s work here was almost equivalent to a full year’s income at a normal job. She would also get to interact with people far beyond her social class. Moreover, the headhunter had given her a persuasive pitch about how, if she was lucky enough to catch the eye of a billionaire, her fate could change in an instant, allowing her to leap up the social ladder.

The thought had been incredibly tempting for Yifulei. Setting aside Cinderella stories about being noticed by a rich man, the high monthly salary of over 30,000 yuan was simply too hard to refuse.

Upstairs, in the study.

Fang Hong opened his computer and quickly created a new document for his chip industry plan. He was intimately familiar with the various processes of the semiconductor industry. To put it simply, he knew every step required to turn a pile of sand into a high-end chip.

This was because, in his past life, Fang Hong had been deeply involved in semiconductor industry investments, and not as someone who just threw money at it without understanding the industrial chain.

It was no exaggeration to say that many so-called senior professionals in the domestic semiconductor industry probably didn’t understand the sector as well as Fang Hong did. Those veterans might be experts in a specific niche, but Fang Hong possessed a clear and comprehensive understanding of the entire semiconductor industry landscape.

Therefore, he knew exactly where the capital should go, how to invest it, and how to rationally allocate capital expenditures across the entire industrial chain.

Chip production can be divided into three main stages: silicon wafer fabrication, chip manufacturing, and packaging and testing.

From a technical standpoint, silicon wafer fabrication and chip manufacturing have the highest technology barriers of the three stages.

The process flow for silicon wafer fabrication is roughly: high-purity silicon → single-crystal pulling → outer diameter grinding → slicing → chamfering → grinding → polishing → epitaxial growth, and so on.

The process flow for chip manufacturing is roughly: silicon wafer → cleaning → deposition → oxidation → photoresist coating → pre-baking → exposure → development → etching → post-baking → resist stripping → ion implantation → thin-film growth → grinding and polishing → metallization → WAT testing, and so on.

The process flow for packaging and testing is roughly: thinning → dicing → die-attach → wire bonding → molding → plating → trim and form → final testing, and so on.

Broadly speaking, a chip is essentially made from a pile of sand.

But turning a pile of sand into a high-end chip involves hundreds, or even thousands, of process steps, with each step often corresponding to a specific company.

Not a single step can go wrong or drop the ball.

For example, if the upstream wafer purification process fails to meet the required purity standard, the entire downstream industry chain can only sit and watch. Even if they were to force production, the output would be all defective products, resulting in a total loss. So, they can only wait, unable to do anything.

Even if the industry just halts, waiting for your wafers to meet the standard, the losses incurred by so many downstream manufacturers being idle for a period are immeasurable. Everyone needs to make a living. This is one of the key reasons why developing high-end chips is so difficult.

Furthermore, the manufacturers for each key process are not concentrated in one country but are distributed across the globe. Even the US only maintains a monopoly on certain key segments.

For example, the most advanced lithography machine manufacturer is in the Netherlands, the most advanced wafer purification is in Japan, and the most advanced packaging is done by companies like TSMC.

So, when a new chip is to be produced, the leading companies from each segment of the semiconductor industry are usually convened for a meeting. For instance, to produce a certain chip, they decide on the required wafer purity, production capacity, and so on. Each company receives its targets and ensures it won’t be the weak link in the chain. Once everyone agrees and confirms there are no issues, they give the green light and get to work.

This is typically a task handled by the North American Semiconductor Association, which convenes the various industry leaders to meet and decide on the plan.

…

Chapter 179: The Seven Major Semiconductor Materials

In the study on the second floor.

Fang Hong created two main categories in his document, semiconductor materials and semiconductor equipment, which he then subdivided further. This would correspond to the industries he planned to invest in and would help allocate capital expenditures.

Semiconductor materials mainly consist of two major categories: “wafer fabrication materials” and “packaging materials.”

Wafer fabrication materials are further divided into silicon wafers, photomasks, photoresists, polishing materials, specialty gases, sputtering targets, and more.

Let’s look at the specific applications of each major material.

The silicon crystal process mainly uses silicon wafers; the cleaning process uses high-purity specialty gases or reagents; the deposition process uses sputtering targets; the coating process uses photoresists; the exposure process uses photomasks; the developing and etching processes use high-purity reagents; the thin-film growth process uses precursors and sputtering targets; and the polishing process uses polishing slurries and pads.

Packaging materials include packaging substrates, lead frames, bonding wires, molding compounds, ceramic substrates, die attach materials, and other packaging materials.

Among these, the die-attach process uses packaging substrates and lead frames; the wire bonding process uses bonding wires; the molding process uses fused silica and molding compounds; and the electroplating process uses silicon wafers, gas photomasks, etc.

It could be said that every step and every type of material corresponds to a specific company. Of course, larger corporations might master the R&D and production for multiple steps and various materials.

Fang Hong created the document and began to edit and refine the details, one by one. Once finished, he would hand it over to Hua Yu, who would execute the plan according to the file’s contents.

Among the many semiconductor materials, there were seven primary types that were the most critical: silicon wafers, specialty gases, photomasks, wet electronic chemicals, polishing materials, photoresists, and sputtering targets.

Let’s look at them in detail.

Silicon Wafers:

Silicon material is actually widely available. The silicon dioxide in ordinary sand and stone can be purified to produce 98% pure silicon. High-purity silicon requires further purification to reach nine-nines or eleven-nines—that is, an ultrapure material with a purity of 99.999999999%.

This ultrapure polysilicon needs to be melted in a quartz crucible at 1400 degrees Celsius. Boron or phosphorus elements are added as dopants to alter its conductive properties. Next, it undergoes single-crystal growth to form a specific monocrystal. Then, through a series of processes like slicing, grinding, polishing, epitaxy, and bonding, the semiconductor silicon wafer is more or less complete.

Specialty Gases:

Electronic specialty gases are indispensable foundational materials for industries like integrated circuits, flat-panel displays, solar cells, and optical fibers. They can be subdivided into six categories based on the process step they are used in: chemical vapor deposition, ion implantation, photolithography, diffusion, etching, and doping.

Photomasks:

These mainly consist of a transparent substrate, made of resin or glass, and an opaque masking film. In the manufacturing process of a photomask, direct material costs account for 67% of the total, and the substrate alone makes up 90% of those direct material costs. Thus, the substrate represents about 60% of the total cost, with other auxiliary materials accounting for a smaller portion.

Wet Electronic Chemicals:

These are high-purity reagents. Depending on their use, wet electronic chemicals can be categorized as ultra-clean, high-purity reagents and functional chemicals, represented by photoresist-related reagents.

Wet electronic chemicals are mainly used in cleaning, photolithography, and etching processes. In the photolithography step, they are primarily used for pre-treatment of the silicon wafer, such as coating, developing, and stripping. In wafer processing, their main application is in high-purity polishing and cleaning, which involves sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia water, developer, and more.

Polishing Materials:

This is a general term for the process of planarizing the wafer surface through either chemical corrosion or mechanical grinding. A key technical challenge is achieving this for manufacturing processes below 0.35 micrometers.

Mechanical polishing, for instance, is used in both the front-end and back-end processing of semiconductors, such as in shallow trench isolation, interlayer dielectric polishing, and metal interconnect dielectric polishing.

A polishing system consists of polishing equipment, polishing slurry, and polishing pads. The polishing pad, for example, is made of a loose, porous material, typically a polyurethane, which has a certain elasticity and can absorb some of the polishing slurry. The polishing slurry is a mixture of abrasives, pH adjusters, oxidizers, dispersants, and surfactants.

Photoresist:

This is composed of a solvent, a resin, a photoinitiator, a monomer, and other additives. In application, photoresist can be understood as being similar in nature to the masking tape used when spray-painting objects, except that photoresist operates at the micrometer or even nanometer scale.

In the process of manufacturing large-scale integrated circuits, photolithography and etching are the most critical technologies. Because of the small scale, processes like photolithography, etching, baking, and coating are repeated more than ten times. It is through this series of processes that the circuit is printed onto the silicon wafer, making the application of photoresist extremely important.

As semiconductor manufacturing processes have advanced, evolving from the micrometer to the nanometer scale, the wavelength of light used in lithography has also progressed from a broad ultraviolet spectrum to G-line (436nm), I-line (365nm), KrF (248nm), ArF (193nm), and EUV (13.5nm) processes.

Correspondingly, the composition of the photoresist must also change. The shorter the exposure wavelength, the higher the technical requirements for the photoresist, and the more advanced the integrated circuit process it can accommodate. Different photolithography wavelengths require different photoresist compositions.

Sputtering Targets:

During the sputtering process, a high-speed ion beam bombards a target material, stripping away metal ions that are then deposited onto the silicon wafer. The target is the raw material used for depositing electronic thin films.

As Fang Hong edited the document, he reviewed the list of semiconductor materials. All of these required investment!

At this point, the “National IC Fund” had not even been established yet; that wouldn’t happen until 2014.

But Fang Hong obviously couldn’t afford to waste four years. A defining characteristic of the semiconductor industry is its rapid pace of updates and upgrades. Under Moore’s Law, the performance of the next generation of products would double and costs would be halved approximately every eighteen months.

So why was the domestic industry always struggling to catch up?

Because by the time you finally caught up, you discovered it was a technology that others had already phased out. And that wasn’t even the worst part. The killer was that you couldn’t even match their obsolete technology. Without government support and subsidies, if a private company tried to do it alone, the money they poured in would never be recouped. It was a guaranteed total loss, so naturally, no one was willing to do it.

It was a veritable money pit, swallowing investment without any return.

Fang Hong had decided to get into semiconductors, and he was mentally prepared to provide long-term financial life support to this super cash-burning beast. It didn’t matter if there were no profits for five or even ten years. It couldn’t be helped; this was the tuition fee that had to be paid for the price of catching up.

But once the entire industrial chain was complete, all the initial costs would be recovered with interest. One only needed to look at the scale of domestic demand for chip imports a decade later to understand this.

The money spent on buying chips would be more than the money spent on importing oil for the entire year.

Fang Hong took a short break, then immediately created a new subcategory in his document—EDA software.

EDA is short for Electronic Design Automation. It is primarily used in the fields of chip design and manufacturing. Using computers as a tool, it employs hardware description languages to scientifically and effectively integrate databases, computational mathematics, graph theory, graphics, and topological logic optimization theory. It is a general term for computer software that assists in the entire process of designing, manufacturing, packaging, and testing very-large-scale integration (VLSI) chips.

EDA is most widely used in the design and manufacturing sectors. As chip manufacturing processes become increasingly complex, the application of EDA software has become more and more important, as it can drastically improve the efficiency of chip design.

In fact, the market size for EDA software itself is not large. Currently, the global market is only around three to four billion US dollars, which is not even a rounding error compared to the scale of the entire semiconductor industry.

But the importance of EDA software in the semiconductor field has truly reached the point where you can’t play the game without it. The reason is that if you wanted to design a chip, doing so without EDA software would cause costs to increase dramatically.

For example, to design a consumer-grade processing chip today using the most advanced EDA software, the cost would be around forty million US dollars. However, without using EDA software, that cost would skyrocket to a staggering seven point seven billion US dollars.

Forty million dollars versus seven point seven billion dollars!

In other words, the inclusion of EDA software and its technological iteration was enough to increase design efficiency by nearly two hundred times.

This showed that without EDA software, the cost of any new chip, especially a consumer-grade chip, would be absolutely unbearable.

This was the importance and indispensability of EDA software. Its market was small, but without it, the game was over. It was clear that EDA software played a pivotal role in the entire chip manufacturing process.

Chapter 0: Some Adjustments

Some Adjustments

I didn’t quite grasp the plot that everyone wanted to see with this semiconductor arc. Over the past few days, I’ve been doing all sorts of research, poring over more than a hundred thousand words of various industry literature. I systematically compiled materials on the semiconductor industry to get a detailed understanding of the entire process of turning a pile of sand into high-end chips—what materials and equipment are needed, and the function of each material and piece of equipment in the manufacturing process…

I also knew the content was quite dry, so I tried my best to be concise and cover only the key points, hoping to give everyone a quick and easy understanding of the chip industry. After all, an ordinary person outside the industry isn’t going to read hundreds of thousands of words of technical literature as I did. To be honest, if I wasn’t writing about this, I wouldn’t have researched it either.

The vast amount of material I compiled included semiconductor materials and equipment for specific sub-sectors, the current industry landscape, the corresponding domestic and international manufacturers for major equipment and materials, their market shares, and the associated A-share listed and non-listed companies…

While writing the main story, I was also concerned about dedicating too many chapters to semiconductors, which is why I tried to be so concise and get through it quickly.

I received feedback from readers accusing me of copy-pasting and padding the word count. I’ve promptly reflected on this, and I realize it was probably naive of me to think I could clearly explain such a complex industry in just a few chapters. The semiconductor industry is so vast that one could write an entire tech-themed novel just about it. My attempt to be concise for brevity’s sake ended up making the writing too flat and dry.

Based on the comments and feedback on the last chapter, I’ve decided to make adjustments and cut all the technical details. The drafts for the next three or four chapters, along with all the research materials, have already been tossed. I will only keep the parts necessary to connect the plot.

I will adopt good suggestions and feedback as long as they don’t disrupt the overall pacing of the story. Please feel free to leave your comments. I know I have many shortcomings, but I will do my best to improve.

I will post another chapter this afternoon as compensation.

Chapter 180: The Difficulty of Semiconductors Is More Than Just Lithography Machines

Currently, the global competitive landscape for EDA software was dominated by a triumvirate of top-tier companies: Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens.

After more than two decades of development, these vendors had achieved full-workflow coverage of chip design and manufacturing. In certain sub-fields, each of the three held its own distinct advantages, or what one might call unique expertise.

In the EDA software industry, any company aspiring to become a leader needed more than just breakthroughs in individual technologies; it needed to cover the entire workflow.

EDA software could be categorized into analog circuits, digital circuits, and applications in wafer packaging, testing, and system-level integration.

What was certain at the moment was that domestic investment in EDA software was so minimal it could be described as “negligible.” The annual R&D investment for the entire country was likely less than one hundred million yuan.

To put it simply, no one was paying attention to it.

Fang Hong opened his computer’s search engine and looked it up. The number of domestic companies involved in the EDA software business could be counted on one hand.

After searching for a long time, Fang Hong found only a few companies.

There was Xin Yuanjing, founded in 2002, which focused on IC analysis and design with a small amount of EDA business; Guangliwei, founded in 2003, a provider of EDA software and wafer-level electrical testing equipment; Sī’ěrxīn, founded in 2004, which worked on digital circuit chip prototype verification; and Lichuang Software, founded in 2006, which made PCB design software.

Then there was Huada Empyrean, which was to be established this coming June. The company would provide full-flow EDA for analog circuits and flat-panel display circuits, as well as EDA tools for digital circuits and wafer manufacturing.

These were pretty much the only EDA-related vendors in the country at present. Huada Empyrean hadn’t even emerged yet; the company’s founding was still a month away.

It was worth mentioning that Fang Hong’s determination to tackle the semiconductor industry was not only driven by its future prospects but also by a more important factor: this type of high-end manufacturing involved indispensable cutting-edge technology and, as a part of the real economy, created a massive number of jobs.

To be down-to-earth, industrial capital was tied to the livelihoods of countless people and the stability of the economy, especially in high-end industries. In the future, Stellaris Capital would not be a company that just anyone could mess with. If it were purely financial capital, it would certainly make money fast, but it would be more like a fat sheep or a toothless tiger.

After finishing the document on EDA software, Fang Hong created a new sub-category and began editing—Semiconductor Equipment.

If the core of semiconductor materials was purity, then the core of semiconductor equipment was precision and yield rate.

Defects in equipment yield would accumulate and amplify dramatically over hundreds or thousands of production steps. With a single-step yield of 90%, the final yield is 0%; with a single-step yield of 99%, the final yield is 0.7%; with a single-step yield of 99.9%, the final yield is 60.6%; with a single-step yield of 99.99%, the final yield is 95.1%; and with a single-step yield of 99.999%, the final yield is 99.5%.

This showed that only when the single-step yield reached five nines could the final yield reach the 99.5% level. This was the inherent difficulty of semiconductor equipment.

The semiconductor equipment manufacturing process could be divided into front-end wafer fabrication equipment, packaging equipment, and testing equipment.

Among these, the most critical was the front-end process equipment.

This segment also accounted for the highest proportion of capital expenditure. Excluding the plant and acceptance costs, front-end process equipment investment made up about seventy to eighty percent of the total. The higher the process precision, the higher this percentage would be. For example, it would reach 85% for nodes of 16 nanometers or smaller, and even higher for nodes below 7 nanometers.

The front-end equipment process flow could be further broken down into several stages: oxidation/diffusion, photolithography, etching, ion implantation, thin-film deposition, polishing, and wafer inspection.

In the current global competitive landscape for semiconductor equipment, the leading companies in every major segment were monopolized by foreign oligarchs. Domestic companies could not even see the shadow of the top tier. This was the harsh reality.

There were three major barriers to entry for semiconductor equipment.

The first was the technological barrier. Semiconductor equipment is a complex system composed of tens of thousands of parts. Integrating these components to achieve the desired nano-scale operational precision is the first challenge.

The second barrier was achieving an ultra-high yield while maintaining these nano-scale operations. After all, even with a 90% yield at each step, the final product yield is zero.

The third barrier was ensuring continuous and stable production while guaranteeing equipment precision and yield. This very factor led to the industry’s natural formation of an oligopoly.

From the perspective of customer validation, the complexity of both the equipment itself and the production line meant that the yield and stability of a single piece of equipment had a cumulative effect on the entire system, potentially causing enormous losses. This was why wafer fabrication plants had extremely strict validation and acceptance requirements for upstream equipment.

Once a manufacturer’s equipment met these requirements, it was very difficult to replace it with that of another vendor. The reason was that switching equipment suppliers involved immense risks and time costs for validation. This created the global oligopoly in semiconductor equipment. Once a manufacturer established a partnership with an equipment company, they would most likely continue to work together and would not easily change partners unless absolutely necessary.

Fang Hong was well aware of the capital expenditure breakdown for the various types of front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as he had been deeply involved in the industry in his past life.

Etching equipment accounted for 22%, thin-film deposition equipment for 22%, and lithography machines for 20%.

These three types of semiconductor equipment alone constituted over 60% of the total investment.

Next came inspection equipment at 11%, cleaning equipment at 5%, photoresist coating and developing equipment at 4%, polishing equipment at 3%, thermal processing equipment at 2%, ion implanters at 2%, photoresist stripping equipment at 1%, and other equipment making up the remaining 8%.

Among the numerous types of semiconductor equipment, Fang Hong was primarily focused on ten key types: lithography equipment, etching equipment, thin-film deposition equipment, inspection equipment, cleaning equipment, photoresist coating and developing equipment, polishing equipment, thermal processing equipment, ion implantation equipment, and photoresist stripping equipment.

Stellaris Capital had to master these ten types of equipment and bring them under its own control to achieve complete self-reliance.

When the public became aware of the chip industry being put in a chokehold by foreign powers, sparking widespread discussion, people outside the industry focused almost exclusively on lithography machines. They believed that once the technology for lithography machines was conquered, the great mountain of the semiconductor industry could be overcome.

In reality, to achieve true domestic self-reliance and not be at the mercy of others, was the difficulty of semiconductors limited to just a single lithography machine?

From materials to equipment, being choked at any single stage would bring the whole process to a halt. The final chips simply could not be produced. This was the unique and demanding nature of the semiconductor industry.

Only by mastering the entire chain from materials to equipment could the nation truly achieve self-reliance and avoid being put in a chokehold, especially in the context of future global competition and tech wars, where adversaries would use every means possible to suppress and blockade.

After Fang Hong finished editing the document on the ten major types of semiconductor equipment, the core investment framework for the entire semiconductor industry was established. The corresponding capital expenditures were also listed clearly in the file.

Stellaris Capital had to deeply involve itself in every field mentioned in the document—semiconductor materials, EDA software, and all the various types of semiconductor equipment—without leaving a single one out. Only then could it achieve true self-reliance and not be at the mercy of others.

Where would the funds come from?

Naturally, they would be harvested from the stock market and other capital markets. The primary strategy was to reap profits from foreign markets to nurture the development of the domestic semiconductor industry.

And where would the talent come from?

Talent was even more critical than capital, but for Fang Hong, this was not an unsolvable problem. On one hand, he would naturally recruit existing semiconductor talent on a large scale. On the other hand, his trump card was using the Item Cards from his prestige system to create top-tier talent to break through this series of technological barriers.

…

Chapter 181: Account Breaks 500 Million for the First Time

“Right…”

Fang Hong thought about the Reputation System, which he hadn’t checked in a long time.

At his thought, the system interface appeared before him. The data showed that his cumulative Reputation Value had reached 220 million, and his available Achievement Points totaled 18.32 million.

Seeing the cumulative number of Achievement Points, Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel a secret delight. It had been a while since he last looked, and it had already soared to over 18.3 million. In other words, he could exchange them for 183 Item Cards.

Fang Hong quickly regained his composure. Considering the boost he wanted to give his Second Brother, Fang Ping, 183 Item Cards might seem like a lot, but a quick calculation showed it wasn’t nearly enough.

The semiconductor field alone involved numerous sub-sectors, and they would need more than just one or two top-tier talents.

Of course, he could stack all the talent points onto one person, making their IQ skyrocket and turning them into a genius among super-geniuses. But going all-in on a single person was far too risky.

Fang Hong’s risk control instincts would never allow him to do that.

If something happened to that person and they kicked the bucket, he’d be completely screwed.

Besides, one person’s energy was inherently limited. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and no matter how outrageous their output, there was a ceiling.

Clearly, betting everything on one person was too risky; diversifying was the better approach.

Fang Hong estimated that these 180-odd Item Cards could probably create four or five top-tier, leadership-level talents.

“I still have to walk on two legs…” Fang Hong mused. He would keep the system’s Item Cards as a last resort—something to be used only when absolutely necessary. The primary path would be conventional talent recruitment, discovering more people like Qin Feng.

When they hit a bottleneck in a certain area that they just couldn’t break through, or when they couldn’t find the right talent, that’s when he would use an Item Card to create a genius-level leader. This was the most rational way to allocate his resources.

Mulling this over, Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod to himself in agreement.

Just then, the study door opened. Fang Hong hadn’t locked it. He glanced over and saw He Xuan walk in. She immediately pounced on him, sat astride him, and said joyfully, “You’re finally back! At long last. I was about to die of thirst.”

Fang Hong replied helplessly, “The printer is out of paper. Go get some A4 sheets first.”

Hearing this, He Xuan, still straddling him, immediately got up, went to a nearby cabinet, took out a stack of A4 paper, placed it in the printer, then returned to Fang Hong with a broad smile. “You do your thing, and I’ll do mine.”

With that, He Xuan looked up at Fang Hong, a silent smile on her face.

After meeting her gaze for a moment, Fang Hong turned his head back to the computer screen and ignored her, letting her have her fun.

Fang Hong scanned the document on his screen and, seeing no issues, printed it all.

Time ticked by as the printer whirred. Fang Hong leaned back in his chair, motionless, waiting for the documents to finish printing. He closed his eyes and involuntarily took a long, deep breath.

It was already dinnertime, and the food was on the table. Yifulei came upstairs to the study to call her employer down for the meal.

When she reached the second floor, she saw the study door was ajar. Yifulei walked in gracefully, saying, “Bro Hong, dinner is…”

Both Fang Hong and He Xuan turned their heads at the sound of her voice.

Yifulei’s beautiful eyes widened in an instant. As they looked over at her, she snapped out of her daze and stammered, “My apologies!”

She immediately turned and fled the study, her hands covering her rapidly flushing face. She hurried away without another word, as if escaping in a panic.

The two in the study looked away from the door and then at each other.

He Xuan remained silent, an unconcerned expression on her face, and continued what she was doing.

If she could be so calm and composed, then it went without saying for Fang Hong.

A while later, the two of them came downstairs and went to the dining room for dinner.

All four of them were at the table.

Yifulei kept her head down, silently eating her food without a word, not daring to look up at Fang Hong and He Xuan. Sitting beside her, Yu Qiu glanced at Yifulei, assuming she was just being reserved while eating with her employer.

She didn’t think much of it. Yu Qiu herself had been quite reserved at first; it would pass.

Just then, He Xuan placed a piece of food into Fang Hong’s bowl and said with a grin, “Eat more of this. It’s good for your body. Your body is the capital for the revolution, it needs to be in tip-top shape”

…

The next day, Monday, May 11th.

The A-share market began a new week of trading. Both markets opened higher today, with the Shanghai Composite Index opening up +0.79% and the Shenzhen Component Index opening up +0.64%. After the opening bell, the morning session entered a pattern of wide fluctuations, with the Shanghai index surging more than +1.40% at its peak.

The intraday line showed a sharp plunge immediately after the high open. Just as it was about to touch the zero-axis line, it shot back up, experiencing a pattern of three falls and three rises.

Fang Hong’s personal account currently held five target stocks: Zhongxin Securities, China Merchants Bank, Haitong Securities, Vanke A, and Da’an Gene.

Except for Da’an Gene, the other targets were all financial and real estate stocks. These stocks had also risen significantly on the previous trading day.

Around 10:20 AM, during the market’s first surge, Fang Hong sold all four of his financial and real estate stocks. The trading volume for these stocks was massive today.

Around 2:00 PM, the broader market index fell for the fourth time. Many retail investors expected it to rally again, but it failed to recover from this fourth dip. Not only did it turn negative for the day, but it also accelerated its sharp plunge in the last half hour of trading. The market was in a freefall that couldn’t be stopped.

And the main force smashing the market was none other than the Big Finance sector, including brokerages, real estate, and banks.

The four financial and real estate stocks that Fang Hong had liquidated all closed with a large negative candlestick and a long upper shadow line. He had once again avoided a downturn and locked in his profits.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had turned negative, falling -1.75% to 2579.74 points, losing the 2600 mark, with a trading volume of 172.3 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged -3.09% to 9868.79 points, losing the 10,000 mark, with a trading volume of 87.7 billion yuan. The combined volume of both markets surged to 260 billion yuan.

Zhongxin Securities had an intra-day peak gain of +4.34% but closed down -1.72%, becoming the stock with the highest trading volume of the day at 6.3 billion yuan.

China Merchants Bank reached a peak gain of +4.11% but closed down -1.91%, with a trading volume of 5.9 billion yuan, second only to Zhongxin Securities.

Haitong Securities hit a peak gain of +6.67% and closed up +1.46%, with a daily volume of 3.8 billion yuan.

Vanke A surged to a high of +6.50% but closed down -0.41%, with a daily volume of 3.7 billion yuan.

Although these financial and real estate stocks took a sharp plunge in late trading, Fang Hong still walked away with a huge profit today.

Furthermore, his hidden gem, Da’an Gene, buoyed by major positive news over the weekend, unsurprisingly opened at its limit-up price and stayed there for the day.

Fang Hong’s personal account made a massive 5.53% profit today, earning 26.64 million yuan. His total asset size broke the 500 million mark for the first time, reaching 508.41 million yuan. His cumulative return also climbed to +790679.34%, a return of over 7906 times his initial investment.

Shortly after the market closed, an important piece of news emerged. According to mainstream media reports, the leadership further elaborated on their views regarding the four trillion investment plan, stating that the measures to combat the financial crisis went far beyond just four trillion and that other policies would be continuously rolled out within the year.

The original quote was: “Some people say it’s as if the four trillion has already been used up. They really don’t understand us. Our response to the financial crisis is far more than just four trillion. That’s only one of our four key areas—namely, national investment in public welfare projects and infrastructure. We also have revitalization plans for ten major industries, technological support, and social security; it’s all part of an integrated whole. We have new policies almost every week, and policies will likely continue to be rolled out throughout the year. That’s something far beyond the scope of just four trillion.”

The release of this news boosted market confidence.

After the close, Fang Hong took a screenshot of his account and prepared to post it on Weibo.

This time, he didn’t screenshot his holdings, but rather his returns. It was not appropriate to reveal his positions, as he currently only held 80 million yuan worth of Da’an Gene. He had sold his other four major stocks and hadn’t bought them back yet, though he expected a rebound after a low open tomorrow.

To avoid his followers thinking that K-God was bearish on the market because he was nearly in cash, he decided not to post his holdings chart.

It was worth mentioning that Da’an Gene, having hit its limit-up today, also appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List. However, since Fang Hong had bought into the stock beforehand, his trading seat did not appear on the list.

He uploaded the screenshot of his returns to Weibo, edited a short message, and published it:

[My account just broke five hundred million.]

…

Chapter 182: Are We Really Going This Big?

Fang Hong’s Weibo account, K3478, currently had over eight million followers, and the number was still rising steadily.

If he had posted as frequently as he did when he first registered the account, analyzing the market with each post, his follower count would have likely surpassed the ten million mark, making him a Diamond Big V blogger.

At present, only three bloggers on the entire Weibo platform had over ten million followers, and all of them were celebrities.

At this moment, Fang Hong’s updated post quickly attracted tens of thousands of followers.

[What the hell? You already made it to five hundred million?]

[So it really doesn’t matter if the market goes up or down, it won’t stop the Grandmaster from making money…]

[A return of over seventy-nine hundred times, tsk tsk…]

[You even made over five percent today?]

[K-God: Calm down, this is standard procedure.]

[Grandmaster, please rein in your divine powers! You’re going to take all the money from the market… (facepalm.jpg)]

[So jealous…JPG]

[At this rate of return, saying he’d make a billion within the year felt conservative. Now it feels like he might hit a billion next month.]

…

After updating his post, Fang Hong didn’t read the comments. He packed up the semiconductor portfolio he had compiled and headed to the Stellaris Capital headquarters.

Inside Hua Yu’s office.

“You want to build a complete semiconductor industry chain?” Hua Yu was astonished as he scanned the materials Fang Hong had brought over. When he learned that Fang Hong had compiled all this just yesterday, he was even more amazed.

He never expected the big boss to be so familiar with the semiconductor industry chain. The portfolio was incredibly detailed, covering everything from semiconductor materials to equipment, from upstream wafer purification to downstream packaging and testing, and even front-end EDA software.

It was, without a doubt, the most complete blueprint for a semiconductor industry chain.

After reading through the materials, Hua Yu set them aside and couldn’t help but look at Fang Hong. “Are we really going this big? A plan to build a complete semiconductor industry chain… I’m afraid even a hundred billion might not be enough.”

This time, he was genuinely worried. Although Hua Yu wasn’t a veteran of the semiconductor industry, he wasn’t completely ignorant either. He knew that achieving self-sufficiency and domestic production of semiconductors at a world-class level was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

In this industry, the gap between China and other countries was enormous.

Moreover, due to Moore’s Law, chip performance in the semiconductor industry doubles roughly every eighteen months, while production costs are halved.

The biggest difference between the semiconductor industry and others is its inverted pyramid structure. It’s not a case of “the rarer, the more valuable.” For a consumer-grade chip, the more advanced it is, the relatively cheaper it becomes, and the larger its production capacity.

The most advanced consumer-grade chips quickly dominate the market, leading to massive production capacity. This huge output spreads the costs, making individual chips cheaper and turning them into affordable mass-market consumer goods. This creates a positive upward spiral.

Conversely, the more outdated a chip is, the worse its performance, and the fewer people will buy it. Low sales mean low output, so costs cannot be spread out, forcing the price up. This makes even fewer people want it—people wouldn’t even take it for free. This results in a negative downward spiral.

This is what creates the inverted pyramid structure, which in turn leads to an oligopoly in the chip industry. No new players dare to enter the game because they can’t afford it. It’s impossible to catch up in a short time. Pessimists even believe that under Moore’s Law, latecomers to the semiconductor industry can never catch up.

And even if you do manage to catch up, the giants at the top can just slash their prices in half, crushing you in an instant. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how much money you pour in, it’ll just go down the drain. Naturally, no one is willing to genuinely play in this industry.

Even if some try, most of them are scammers, just full of hot air.

But seeing this portfolio for a complete semiconductor industry chain, Hua Yu knew his immediate boss was dead serious.

Fang Hong said calmly, “If a hundred billion isn’t enough, then we’ll use two hundred, three hundred, five hundred billion. Where will the money come from? We’ll harvest it from the stock market, of course, mainly from the Americans. The semiconductor industry is an unavoidable hurdle for both the nation and for Stellaris Capital’s future layout in technology and high-end manufacturing. Starting the project early saves us time, which is a cost in itself.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong stated decisively, “Let’s budget twenty billion for now. Twenty billion isn’t a huge sum for Stellaris Capital. Even if it’s wasted, we will have gained time. Because of Moore’s Law in the semiconductor industry, if you start a project eighteen months earlier, those eighteen months are incredibly valuable. As long as our grand strategy is on the right path, it won’t impede our ultimate victory. But if our strategy leads us in the wrong direction, what we’ll lose is far more than a few tens of billions.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu knew that his boss’s determination to build a complete semiconductor industry chain was unshakeable. There was nothing more to say. All he had to do was diligently implement the decisions according to his will.

However, Hua Yu was still a bit worried. Stellaris Capital’s current expansion was too aggressive.

To put it less tactfully, they were attacking on all fronts, spending lavishly everywhere.

They were pouring twenty billion into the pan-entertainment industrial chain and spending hundreds of millions, even billions, on copyright acquisition. Now, they were opening a new front in the semiconductor industry, throwing in another twenty billion.

And that wasn’t even the crucial part. The truly critical issue was that this astronomical sum of twenty billion was just the opening move. It would have to be followed by a continuous stream of who-knows-how-many more twenty-billion-dollar investments. Playing in the semiconductor industry was like bringing home a Pixiu beast that only takes in and never gives out.

Fang Hong said in a low voice, “The plan for the complete semiconductor industry chain is a top-secret matter. You can’t even tell your own father.”

Hua Yu was taken aback. He wanted to say something, but he hesitated. He had questions, but he kept them to himself and finally nodded silently.

Fang Hong added, “Our approach to the semiconductor industry layout must be low-key across the board. Even if we achieve major breakthroughs in some areas, don’t announce it loudly. We need to avoid making the Europeans and Americans nervous.”

The peculiar nature of the semiconductor industry makes it vulnerable to being put in a chokehold. If you break through in one area, your opponent might choke you in another, causing your entire system to malfunction.

In the initial stages, it would still be necessary to purchase equipment and recruit talent from foreign semiconductor companies to accelerate the catch-up process across the board.

If they showed a strong desire for self-sufficiency and the European and American giants found out, they would refuse to sell to them and create all sorts of obstacles. Wouldn’t that just be making things unnecessarily difficult for themselves?

So, they had to mislead the other side, making them believe that they adhered to the principle of “building is worse than buying, and buying is worse than renting.”

Moreover, they had to create the impression that they were struggling and failing to make any breakthroughs, that all the money they were investing was going down the drain. By leaking such information, they could make the other side think they were a complete waste, thereby lowering their guard.

When they finally made their move, it would be to astound the world. On the day they finally showed their hand, they had to be certain they no longer feared a chokehold in any area.

Pondering this, Hua Yu couldn’t help but say, “In that case, if we keep pouring money in without any visible results, we might be suspected of money laundering…”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “That would be for the best. If necessary, we can even guide public opinion that way. A mix of truth and falsehood, like looking at flowers in a fog.”

Whether it was actually money laundering wasn’t for the public to decide. And if it all turned out to be false, it could serve as an excellent smokescreen.

Fang Hong instructed, “Go and nest several layers of shell companies. Then, form a joint venture with your family’s Huayang Real Estate to create a project company. After that, acquire a plot of land in the northern suburbs of Xincheng. The reasons for choosing the suburbs are, one, the land is cheap, and two, we need a large area. Plan for a land area of three thousand hectares.”

Hua Yu was stunned. “Three… three thousand hectares?”

What did that even mean?

A plot of three thousand hectares was thirty million square meters, or thirty square kilometers—an area equivalent to over one hundred football fields.

Ignoring Hua Yu’s shock, Fang Hong continued, “We’re acquiring this land with a ten-year perspective. Getting the land now will make unified planning easier. We’ll designate this project as a High-Tech Industrial Park, but don’t brand it as a dedicated semiconductor park. We can allow other tech industries to move in as well.”

Clearly, Fang Hong’s plan was to build a self-sufficient, complete semiconductor industry chain cluster right in Xincheng. This plot of land was currently a desolate suburb where birds don’t even shit, but it was bound to prosper in the future.

By acquiring enough land now, they could avoid higher acquisition costs later.

In the long run, the land acquisition wouldn’t cost that much. Even now, it wasn’t a huge sum for a company with Stellaris Capital’s financial power. The area was vast, but it wasn’t in the city center. Plus, as a High-Tech Industrial Park, it would surely receive all sorts of preferential policies.

…

Chapter 183: Fang Hong’s Personal Trader

For such a massive project, if Xincheng didn’t take it, they could look nationwide. Would they really be worried about not finding a city to offer land?

But one thing was certain: Xincheng would absolutely not let this project get away.

In the current climate of a global financial crisis, how could they possibly let such a huge investment slip through their fingers? With such a vast planned area, the factory infrastructure construction alone would stimulate a tremendous number of jobs.

It would provide an effective short-term boost to Xincheng’s economy. Once a project like this was secured, it would be a major achievement, one they couldn’t possibly let go to another city.

“The capital expenditure for the semiconductor sector…” Fang Hong thought for a moment, then made a decision. “Let’s cash out from the overseas markets then. Take out about twenty billion, and we’ll close the positions in June.”

Hua Yu nodded.

Twenty billion RMB, which was about 2.923 billion US dollars, not accounting for exchange rate fluctuations.

Given the current global market trends, the overseas markets were due for a correction soon, especially the US stock market. However, the correction wouldn’t be severe; the market would mostly trade sideways.

After a moment, Fang Hong added a reminder, “After cashing out the funds, don’t be in a hurry to bring them back. Keep them offshore for a while. Let’s speed up the maneuvers on the film and television copyrights.”

Hua Yu nodded. “Understood.”

They couldn’t bring the money back immediately because they needed to put on a show—a plan that had been set long ago. When the time was right, they would release news that Stellaris Capital got wrecked on its second-quarter investments and was forced to scale back its strategy, having to choose between foreign and Mainland film and television copyrights.

If they repatriated the funds ahead of time, they wouldn’t be able to pull off the act. The return of such a massive amount of capital would be impossible to hide. Even if the general public didn’t know, would a certain minority of elites remain oblivious?

Hua Yu considered this and said, “Recently, I’ve been in contact with Xiao Quan from Pengrui Capital several times. We can use their funds to cover things for now.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong grew curious. “Oh? What’s the deal? Financing or a loan?”

Hua Yu smiled. “They couldn’t accept Stellaris Capital’s five hundred billion valuation, so they didn’t opt for financing. Instead, they plan to lend us thirteen billion to earn stable interest.”

Xiao Quan had pulled together this thirteen billion with several other institutions, including a few trust companies. Pengrui Capital alone couldn’t have come up with such a large sum.

Thirteen billion, with an annual interest of fifteen percent. If Stellaris Capital took on this liquid capital, the annual cost of funds would be 1.95 billion.

Fang Hong nodded. “Then let’s use this thirteen billion to tide us over. The twenty-one billion from the coal boss should be here by now, right?”

Hua Yu replied, “It will arrive next week.”

Fang Hong said, “That works. Perfect timing.”

The twenty-one billion from the coal boss was allocated to Yixing Media, but such a large amount of money couldn’t be spent in just a day or two.

Fang Hong thought for a moment before making a decision. “The coal boss’s twenty-one billion plus Xiao Quan’s thirteen billion. We’ll set aside four billion. Added to our previous cash reserves, that’s about seven billion. We’ll spend that seven billion first. The remaining thirty billion will be used to increase our positions in the A-share market.”

Fang Hong added, “Stick to the same few dozen core assets as before, just distribute the funds among them. But we won’t use this thirty billion for cyclical pledging; it’s short-term capital. When the company’s cash reserves drop below five billion, we’ll cash out three to five billion from the stock market to keep our reserves in the five to seven billion range.”

Clearly, once this thirty-four billion arrived, they couldn’t just let it sit on the company’s books, collecting dust and depreciating. This money had interest costs; thirty-four billion would incur 5.1 billion in interest per year.

First, they would invest thirty billion into stocks to let it appreciate. When the company’s cash reserves ran low, they would sell some stocks to cash out. The future market trend was clear, especially with the A-share market set to begin an accelerated one-sided rise after June.

By tossing this thirty billion into the A-share market, the gains over the next two or three months would easily and happily cover five years’ worth of interest costs. And five years of interest costs amounted to 25.5 billion.

With the A-share market doing so well this year, it would be a crime not to make more money from it.

After it peaked in August, forming a historic top, there wouldn’t be another easy money-making opportunity like this for the next four to five years.

Although Fang Hong was still confident he could make money during the long bear market of the next four to five years, it certainly wouldn’t be as easy as it was now. The current market could be described in one word—braindead!

It was just braindead all-in. It was all about being daring. As long as you dared to go long without thinking, you’d make money hand over fist.

Having delegated the tasks to Hua Yu, Fang Hong left Stellaris Capital’s headquarters. Hua Yu would handle the specific execution, and Fang Hong would check the progress reports later to stay informed.

The industrial park for the entire semiconductor industry chain—this project would definitely be given to Huayang Real Estate. After all, they were a steadfast ally.

Huayang Group would definitely be the one to profit from this.

…

The next day, Tuesday, May twelfth.

Fang Hong didn’t go to class again, his usual practice of skipping.

Around 8:30 AM, Fang Hong was already in his trading room. This was a room he used exclusively for stock trading, fully equipped with all the necessary software and hardware, including a multi-screen display.

The hardware alone cost nearly one million.

There were still over fifty minutes until the A-share market opened. Fang Hong had already selected the stocks he would enter today. Currently, his account only held Da’an Gene, but he had picked out eight more stocks to buy today.

Managing up to ten stocks wasn’t a big problem, but anything more than ten would be a strain. After all, he didn’t have a trader. With a trader to assist, managing dozens of targets would be no issue.

He would only need to give verbal orders, and the traders could execute trades quickly and simultaneously.

Before long, Yifulei, dressed in her maid outfit, arrived at the trading room. Having learned her “lesson” from last time, she stood at the door and knocked.

“Come in.”

Fang Hong answered. The door was actually ajar. He glanced over and saw Yifulei walk in with a breakfast tray.

“Bro Hong, your breakfast.”

Sitting at the multi-screen control console, Fang Hong moved his keyboard aside. Seeing this, Yifulei placed the breakfast in front of him and smiled. “Please enjoy. I’ll come back later to clear the dishes.”

Just as Yifulei was about to leave, Fang Hong stopped her. “Don’t go. Come give me a shoulder rub.”

Hearing this, Yifulei hesitated for a moment.

This wasn’t in her work regulations. However, after a moment’s thought, she walked behind Fang Hong and started massaging his shoulders. She wasn’t at all resistant to the idea. After all, her employer was so young, rich, and handsome—traits that few girls could resist. She had even secretly fantasized about having some kind of fateful encounter with him.

At that moment, Fang Hong sat before the screens, enjoying his breakfast and the pleasant massage from his maid.

After a while, Fang Hong smiled and asked the maid behind him, “Do you know how to trade stocks?”

Yifulei didn’t know why he would ask this. She immediately shook her head and answered honestly, “No, I’ve never traded stocks before.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong set the breakfast tray aside, turned to look at Yifulei, and smiled. “It’s actually super simple. Come here, I’ll teach you how to do it. Once you learn, you’ll be my personal trader. Just execute buy and sell orders based on my instructions. I’ll tell you what to buy or sell, and you just carry out the trades. It’s very simple.”

Yifulei was stunned. “Can… can I really do it? I’m afraid I’ll mess up.”

Fang Hong smiled. “It’s fine if you make a mistake. You don’t need to do any research, analysis, or strategizing. You just need to learn the basic operations like buying and selling to be able to trade.”

Encouraged by Fang Hong, Yifulei hesitated for a moment before nodding and moving from behind the chair to his side.

Just then, Fang Hong tilted his head to the left, glancing at the maid, Yifulei, standing beside him. He then reached out, placed a hand on her slender waist, and with a slight pull, drew her into his embrace and onto his lap.

The sudden move caught her completely off guard. Utterly unprepared, she stared blankly at the perfectly calm Fang Hong.

Once the reality of the situation sunk in, Yifulei immediately tried to stand up.

Fang Hong said calmly, “Sit still and don’t move. Watch the market.”

His tone was placid, yet it carried the weight of a command. Yifulei actually sat still and didn’t move.

In that instant, her mind became a whirlwind of emotions: the shock of being caught off guard, the flustered panic, and also an indescribable sense of anticipation…

Fang Hong immediately adjusted Yifulei’s posture, turning her to face the screens with her back to him. Positioned behind her, he pressed close, resting his chin on her left shoulder. He then smiled and whispered in her ear, “Watch the screen. No distractions. Concentrate. You have to learn this seriously…”

…

Chapter 184: K-God’s Happy Trading Room

Inside the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

At this moment, Yifulei sat motionless on Fang Hong’s lap. She especially didn’t dare to turn her head to the left, because she knew Fang Hong was resting his chin on her left shoulder, extremely close. If she turned left, she might accidentally end up face-to-face with him.

When she heard Fang Hong say, “No distractions,” Yifulei thought to herself, How am I supposed to concentrate at a time like this? How can I not be distracted?

Initially, when she heard Fang Hong was going to personally teach her how to trade stocks, she had planned to learn seriously, since she had a lot of free time at her current job anyway.

But in this situation, how could she possibly be in the mood to study?

“Bro Hong, please let me get up…” Yifulei said weakly.

Fang Hong wasn’t actually restraining her; she could stand up whenever she wanted. But she wouldn’t get up without his explicit permission. Not standing up directly was a psychological need to seek his approval first.

She seemed to have traits of a “passively obedient” personality.

Fang Hong said calmly, “This is nice. The boss’s warm embrace isn’t a form of care that just anyone can enjoy.”

“It’ll be troublesome if someone finds out, especially your girlfriend…” Yifulei said. In her heart, she wanted to get up, but without Fang Hong’s authorization, she remained seated.

Fang Hong chuckled and shot back a question, “Oh? From the sound of it, are you saying it’s fine as long as no one finds out?”

Hearing this, Yifulei quickly denied it, “That’s not what I meant…”

Fang Hong replied again with an air of ease, “It’ll be fine even if we’re found out.”

Yifulei immediately said, “I…”

Fang Hong cut her off directly, “Be good. Get yourself together. I’ll teach you some basics before the market opens.”

Hearing Fang Hong’s calm voice, which carried a hint of a command, the maid in his arms, Yifulei, had no choice but to obey and sit still, trying her best to compose herself…

After a while, Fang Hong asked with a smile, “Are you ready?”

Hearing this, Yifulei nodded lightly, her voice as thin as a silk thread as she replied, “Mm~”

A moment later, Fang Hong gestured for her to look at the main screen in the center. He moved the mouse with his right hand, opened the trading software, and clicked on the Shanghai Composite Index to enter the K-line chart interface.

Fang Hong explained methodically, “First, I’ll teach you the meaning of the K-line. These are K-lines, also known as candlestick charts. One K-line contains four pieces of data: the opening price, the highest price, the lowest price, and the closing price. All K-lines are constructed around these four data points.”

At this point, the maid, Yifulei, was also staring at the screen, listening to his explanation with a serious expression.

Fang Hong continued, “The hollow part in the middle of a K-line is called the real body. The thin lines on the upper and lower parts of the K-line are called shadows. The top of the upper shadow line represents the highest point, and the bottom of the lower shadow line represents the lowest point.”

“When the closing price is higher than the opening price, the opening price is at the bottom and the closing price is at the top. The rectangle between them is drawn in red or is hollow. This is a bullish candle. The highest point of its upper shadow line represents the highest price, and the lowest point of its lower shadow line represents the lowest price.”

“When the closing price is lower than the opening price, the opening price is at the top and the closing price is at the bottom. The rectangle between them is drawn in green or is solid. This is a bearish candle. The highest point of its upper shadow line represents the highest price, and the lowest point of its lower shadow line represents the lowest price.”

At this point, Fang Hong inquired, “Can you understand that?”

Yifulei nodded. “Mm~, I understand.”

After all, as a university graduate who had received higher education, this wasn’t difficult to grasp.

Fang Hong then added, “K-lines can also be divided into daily K-lines, weekly K-lines, monthly K-lines, yearly K-lines, and so on, based on their calculation period. For example, a weekly K-line chart is drawn using four data points: Monday’s opening price, Friday’s closing price, and the highest and lowest prices of the entire week. Other periodic K-lines follow a similar logic.”

Yifulei nodded. “Mm~, got it.”

Next, Fang Hong taught her other simple, basic knowledge, such as how to execute buy and sell trades, how to read the call auction, and the principles of auction matching.

As long as she mastered this simple knowledge, she could start trading. After all, she didn’t need to devise strategies, only to execute the trading instructions given by Fang Hong.

Fang Hong’s decision to have Yifulei act as his trader was a spontaneous one, but he immediately expanded on the idea. He decided that not only would he have Yifulei trade for him, but he would also teach the housemaids he hired in the future how to trade stocks.

He would build K-God’s exclusive happy trading room.

When the time came, he would have maids rubbing his shoulders, massaging his back, and cushioning his legs, while holding a soft girl in his arms and directing several other maids to execute trades—making money in absolute comfort.

K-God’s fans would most likely never be able to imagine such a scene.

At this moment, the soft girl Yifulei was still sitting on his lap with her back to him. The latter logged into his personal brokerage account as the A-share market was about to begin its call auction.

He had taught her some basic stock knowledge before the market opened. As for how much she had absorbed, Fang Hong guessed that the maid probably hadn’t taken much of it in. But it didn’t matter; learning how to buy and sell stocks was simple enough. She would get it after watching a few times.

Yifulei indeed hadn’t absorbed much. At least two-thirds of her mind was preoccupied with what Fang Hong might do to her next, her inner thoughts a whirlwind of activity.

It could be said that she was both afraid he would make a move and afraid he wouldn’t.

As the call auction for the A-share market began, Fang Hong started making his moves during the auction phase, targeting eight stocks he had already selected.

He didn’t commit too much capital during the call auction, but the plan was already set: he would continuously buy in after the market opened.

The eight stocks were: Tanggang Co. (000709), Jinniu Energy (000937), Xi’an Aircraft International (000768), Pingmei Co. (601666), Chengtou Holdings (600649), Baosteel Co. (600019), Vanke A (000002), and China Minsheng Bank (600016).

When Yifulei, sitting on Fang Hong’s lap, saw his brokerage account information, her beautiful eyes widened in astonishment. “Oh my god… is that five hundred million yuan?”

Fang Hong nodded.

Yifulei blinked a few times. Although she knew Fang Hong was super-rich, seeing that long string of numbers still made her feel a bit dizzy. Based on her monthly salary of around thirty thousand yuan, she would have to work for 1,300 years to earn five hundred million.

As time passed, the call auction results were out. Today, both A-share markets opened lower. The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2562.36, down 0.67%, and the Shenzhen Component Index opened at 9774.80, down 0.95%.

Fang Hong took his hands off the mouse and keyboard, wrapped them around the soft maid, and rested them on her flat stomach. He smiled and said, “The market opens in a few minutes. You’ll be the one trading when it starts. Follow what I taught you and buy these stocks.”

“Me…?” Hearing that Fang Hong actually wanted her to trade with so much money, Yifulei was startled. Realizing what he had said, she shook her head repeatedly. “Bro Hong, you should do it. If I make a mistake, I couldn’t afford to pay you back even if I worked for ten lifetimes…”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Then you can just pay me back with yourself.”

Yifulei: “…”

Seeing that she still wanted to refuse, Fang Hong preempted her, “Be good.”

His words were concise and to the point. His tone remained calm but carried an indisputable air of command. Yifulei wanted to say more but held her tongue. She seemed unable to refuse this kind of command. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded and replied weakly, “Mm~, okay…”

With about a minute left before the market opened, Fang Hong gave instructions in a methodical manner: “Get ready to place buy orders for these stocks. Allocate the funds across them, placing an order of ten million yuan for each…”

As the A-share market officially opened and entered the continuous auction trading phase, Yifulei began executing the buy orders according to Fang Hong’s instructions, but her heart couldn’t stop pounding.

She was extremely careful throughout the process, terrified of making a mistake.

For Fang Hong, this was more of a delightful amusement, a “priceless feeling of doing as I please” kind of mentality. A few hundred million yuan wasn’t a huge sum of money in his eyes, but to the soft maid in his arms, it was an astronomical figure. It was only natural for her to be a bit terrified and cautious.

Fang Hong still had his chin resting on her left shoulder. Gazing at the screen, he said with a smile, “Keep buying. For each stock, you can enter any amount for a single order between five and ten million yuan.”

Yifulei, sitting on his lap, nodded slightly. “Mm~”

Following his instructions, she continued to place buy orders. The orders she placed for the target stocks were for six million, five and a half million, seven million—in short, no order was lower than five million or higher than ten million.

And just like that, Fang Hong traded stocks in blissful comfort, holding a soft girl in his arms.

Meanwhile, after opening low during the auction, the A-share market, just as expected, immediately pulled up sharply after the opening bell, charting a course of opening low and trending high in an engulfing pattern.

…

Chapter 185: Immense Influence, A Talk with the Brokerage?

Around 10:10 AM, Yifulei completed the final purchase of 2.3 million yuan worth of Tanggang Co. stock, following Fang Hong’s instructions. At this point, all the funds in the account were in a full position.

Today, both markets opened lower, and the eight stocks Fang Hong had selected also mostly opened in the red.

After the opening bell, these stocks began to open low and trend high, just as Fang Hong had predicted. Following his instructions, Yifuleg had been continuously buying in batches.

In addition to the eight newly entered stocks, there was also Da’an Gene, which they had bought earlier. The stock opened at its limit-up for the second consecutive day, forming another flat horizontal line on the chart, and it remained firmly sealed there for the entire day. The expectation was for it to hit a third consecutive limit-up tomorrow.

The eight newly acquired stocks were also trending higher, and the broader market index was on a volatile upward climb. The Shanghai Composite Index had already turned positive for the day, with a gain of 0.62 percent.

Yifulei was sitting on Fang Hong’s lap. She gazed at the screen and said to him, “I’ve finished buying. What’s next?”

Fang Hong replied, “There’s one more new stock I plan to get into today.”

Hearing this, Yifulei glanced at the available funds in the securities account and said, “But there’s no money left in the account…”

Fang Hong suddenly raised his left hand, cupped the maid’s delicate, small chin, and gently turned her head to the left. Yifulei remained still, her head tilted, and saw Fang Hong’s face just inches away. While concentrating on the stock purchases had calmed her heart considerably, at this moment, emotional ripples once again stirred within her.

“The way to get into this new stock I’m talking about isn’t with money,” Fang Hong said with a calm smile.

“Not with money? Then with what?” Yifulei asked, a confused expression on her face. Fang Hong answered, “The way to get into it is…”

Glancing at the delicate lips so close to his, Fang Hong didn’t hesitate. This was, after all, a case of practicing what one preaches. He liked what he saw and decided to make a decisive move.

…

Around 11:30 AM, the A-share market’s morning session came to a close.

In the trading room, Yifulei smoothed out her maid outfit, brought her hands behind her back to re-tie the bow, and after confirming her attire was in order, she silently walked toward the door.

When she reached the doorway, she stopped abruptly and turned back to look at Fang Hong, but the words she wanted to say remained unspoken.

Their eyes met for a moment. Looking at the blushing maid, he smiled and said, “Oh, I forgot to teach you one more thing about stock trading. Right… when a new stock is issued and listed, after one day, it’s no longer called a new stock. It’s called a recent IPO stock.”

Hearing this, the maid standing in the doorway froze for a second. When she came to her senses, she turned and left the trading room without another word.

It was worth mentioning that she had chosen a bedroom on the second floor of the villa as her private room, and she now hurried back to it.

Yifulei mumbled to herself, “The new stock he wanted to get into was actually…”

Her mind was a complete blank. She needed to be alone to sort out her chaotic thoughts.

…

When the A-share market’s afternoon session began, after opening low and trending high in the morning, the market surged higher then fell back, diving and turning negative for the day. Around 1:50 PM, it even broke below the day’s opening price, hitting a new intraday low.

But just as it touched that new low, the market bulls suddenly began to exert their strength. After 2:00 PM, the market turned decisively positive again. Following this reversal, the last hour of trading saw a short squeeze-like rally.

After 2:40 PM, the market quickly broke through the morning’s intraday high and continued its engulfing pattern rally to reclaim the 2600 mark. After breaking 2600, the index continued to accelerate its surge in the final ten-plus minutes of trading.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.49% for the day, closing at 2618.16 points on a turnover of 113.5 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index surged +3.14% to 10179.15 points on a turnover of 59.1 billion yuan. The combined turnover for both markets was a reduced 172.6 billion yuan.

The Shanghai Composite Index reclaimed the 2600 mark it had lost, and the Shenzhen Component Index similarly recovered the 10,000 mark it had lost the previous day.

In terms of trading volume, however, there was no significant increase today; the market executed an engulfing pattern on low volume. Because the late-trading rally was so rapid, the lack of volume made many retail investors hesitant to enter the market.

Fang Hong’s personal securities account once again reaped huge profits from today’s engulfing pattern rally. All nine stocks he held rose significantly, and four of them even hit their limit-up.

Da’an Gene achieved its second consecutive limit-up. Tanggang Co. rose +9.98% to its limit-up on a daily turnover of 1.356 billion yuan; Jinniu Energy rose +10.00% to its limit-up on a daily turnover of 1.037 billion yuan; and Xi’an Aircraft International rose +10.00% to its limit-up on a turnover of 975 million yuan.

Besides these four limit-up stocks, the other five also saw substantial gains. Minsheng Bank rose +4.21% on a turnover of 2.176 billion yuan; Vanke A rose +6.73% on a turnover of 2.046 billion yuan; Baosteel Co. rose 6.33% on a turnover of 1.676 billion yuan; Pingmei Co. came close to its limit-up at +9.22% on a turnover of 917 million yuan; and Chengtou Holdings rose +8.31% on a turnover of 909 million yuan.

After accounting for transaction costs, the account’s total return for the day was +6.24%, an absolute profit of 31.72 million yuan, which also set a new record for the account’s largest single-day gain. The total asset value of the account reached 540.13 million yuan, and the cumulative return rate was further updated to 836,884.73%, an increase of over 8,368 times. The account was now not far from the ten-thousand-fold achievement.

It’s worth noting that the eight stocks newly acquired today were purchased under Fang Hong’s direction by Yifulei. It was the maid’s first time, and she was nervous about making a mistake, so she was careful and meticulous when placing her orders. This made her operations rather slow, and today’s market rallied quickly after opening low.

If Fang Hong had handled the trades himself, a 7.3 percent profit for the day would have been easily achievable. However, earning one percentage point less was not a big deal; to him, money was just a number.

Fang Hong was in a good mood today. He had, on a whim, developed a new stock. After getting involved, he found that the stock’s character was excellent. He made a mental note to give his girlfriend, He Xuan, a treat later.

…

Meanwhile, at the Xinhong Securities headquarters.

“Sir, we received a call from the Xinnan Road branch office. They reported some concerns,” Zhang Qi’s subordinate said as he entered the office to report. “…They’re seeking instructions from above, asking whether they should call Fang Hong for a talk. His market influence is immense now, and he might…”

Before his subordinate could finish, Zhang Qi immediately and unhesitatingly shot down the idea. “No need. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t call and disturb him without authorization. Has he engaged in any illegal trading? No. Has he publicly made any bearish statements? No. So what is there to talk about? Even the CSRC hasn’t said anything. Why are you worrying for nothing?”

The people below him didn’t know Fang Hong’s situation, but Zhang Qi did. This Fang Hong was no ordinary retail investor or hot money operator. He was one of the few who knew about Fang Hong’s connection with Huayang Group.

Hua Yongming had revealed this to Zhang Qi, and from his words, Zhang Qi could sense the high regard Hua Yongming had for the man. The mere fact that he treated Fang Hong as an equal was enough for Zhang Qi to weigh the situation without needing further details.

To take it a step further, even if Fang Hong committed some minor trading violations, as long as it wasn’t a major issue, they would turn a blind eye. It wouldn’t even warrant a slap on the wrist.

Hearing this, the subordinate said no more and simply nodded. “Understood. I’ll pass your instructions on to the manager of the Xinnan Road branch office.”

From a client quality perspective, Fang Hong was now unequivocally the kind of client every brokerage would kill for. His capital was enormous—over 500 million yuan now—and he was a frequent short-term trader.

Xinhong Securities was making an absolute fortune from his trading commissions.

The commission rate on Fang Hong’s account was three-thousandths, or 0.3%. With his capital size, he could have easily negotiated a lower rate with the brokerage, but he hadn’t. He was still using the 0.1% rate.

Translator’s Note: The text says three-thousandths (千分之三) then one-thousandth (千分之一) later. This is a typo in the original. Based on the calculated commissions later in the chapter, 0.3% is the correct intended rate. I will proceed with this correction.

The commission rate on Fang Hong’s account was three-thousandths, or 0.3%.

Zhang Qi knew why he hadn’t called the branch to discuss adjusting his commission. Had he forgotten? That was clearly impossible. If he were a long-term value investor, one might believe he forgot, but how could a short-term trader who frequently logged in not notice the commission fees?

From this, Zhang Qi understood that the other party hadn’t forgotten. Instead, he was leaving such a large cake for the brokerage, with the tacit understanding that they should be on his side, shouldn’t they?

A crafty old fox like Zhang Qi could, of course, grasp such a subtle implication.

It was something to be understood, not said aloud.

Currently, Fang Hong’s securities account was generating over three million yuan in transaction fees every single trading day. Although the stamp tax was now collected only on sales, commissions were still charged for both buying and selling.

With his current capital, the commission for a single buy transaction was over 1.5 million yuan, and a sell transaction was another 1.5 million. With 22 trading days in a month, Xinhong Securities could collect over 66 million yuan in commissions from Fang Hong alone, amounting to more than 780 million a year.

If Fang Hong’s account continued to grow, the brokerage would earn even more. The commission income alone could surpass one billion yuan.

Any brokerage firm would be fighting to acquire a client like this.

…

Chapter 186: Back on the Dragon-Tiger List, Sparking Heated Discussion

Around 5:00 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List was released.

Twenty-four stocks made the list. Among them, Da’an Gene was featured again for having a cumulative price deviation of 20% over three consecutive trading days.

Additionally, the list included Tanggang Co., Jinniu Energy, and Xi’an Aircraft International, three stocks that Fang Hong had bought into today. All three had hit their limit-up and were listed for reaching a daily price deviation of 7%.

The Dragon-Tiger List is a must-see for most stock investors, especially short-term traders. When they saw Fang Hong’s trading seat on the lists for Tanggang Co., Jinniu Energy, and Xi’an Aircraft International, screenshots were immediately taken and shared. His fans couldn’t sit still either.

It’s worth mentioning that the Dragon-Tiger List also provides an estimated value, which predicts the time and price at which the listed trading seats entered the market on that day, as well as the estimated entry cost for the buyer. Although there’s a slight margin of error, it’s generally minor, making this crucial data.

Fang Hong didn’t update his Weibo today, but his fans flocked to his most recent post to leave comments.

[Bros, the Grandmaster’s trading seat has appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List!]

[What? Didn’t K-God go all-in on bank stocks? Did he bail again?]

[Probably, maybe, quite possibly, definitely bailed…]

[From a stock trading perspective, K-God is definitely a fickle-hearted player. One day he’s with this one, the next he’s flirting with that one… (smirking face)]

[Which stocks on the Dragon-Tiger List?]

[Tanggang, Jinniu, and Xi’an Aircraft. He bought over fifty million in each, all on the top buyer’s seat.]

[Holy crap, he started buying right at the opening bell. The Grandmaster definitely made a huge profit again today. I thought he was chasing the limit-up, but he jumped in right at the start.]

[I really want to follow him… but I’m afraid of being the one left holding the bag.]

[Could it be possible? Do you guys think K-God might have secretly bought into Da’an Gene? I have a feeling he might be in on it.]

[Secretly bought Da’an Gene? No way.]

[Have you forgotten about the swine flu concept stocks back in April? K-God’s divine play with Zhongmu Holdings and Jinyu Group.]

[It would be too absurd if he managed to preemptively buy into this too.]

[To be fair, have any of K-God’s moves not been absurd? That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if he did get into Da’an Gene. K-God himself is the definition of absurd, a bug-level master in the A-share market.]

[I’ve been observing K-God for a few months and noticed a pattern. Stocks with high trading volumes often have his shadow on them.]

…

Fang Hong’s trading seat had quietly and suddenly appeared on the Dragon-Tiger Lists of three different stocks, each time as the number one buyer. This quickly sparked a heated debate among stock investors.

His appearance always caused a stir, largely because K-God was shrouded in mystery.

Everyone knew that an ace like him had emerged in the A-share market, but K-God’s only online footprint was on Weibo, and he wasn’t as active there as he used to be.

Besides Weibo, he was nowhere else, and no one had ever added him as a friend.

Other well-known hot money masters often had their own circles, and news about them could be gleaned from various sources. But for K-God, the only window for investors was Weibo, and now even that window was less active.

And so, he became a mystery.

His appearance on the Dragon-Tiger List was guaranteed to be a hot topic, as his track record was just too ridiculously impressive.

It was worth noting that after the market closed today, some positive news was released in the afternoon.

The regulators had issued regulations regarding “one-to-many” segregated account wealth management for funds. The minimum investment for a single asset management plan was set at one million yuan, a standard far lower than the fifty million yuan threshold for “one-to-one” services.

The “one-to-many” segregated account business for fund companies was being rolled out based on the pilot program for “one-to-one” services. Currently, over twenty companies had already launched “one-to-one” services, with seventy registered segregated account products.

In plain terms, this news meant the investment threshold had been lowered. What used to be fifty million yuan was now one million, allowing more people to participate in asset management plans. This signaled a positive expectation of more outside capital entering the market.

…

The next day, Wednesday, May 13th.

Yifulei, the soft girl in a maid outfit, carried breakfast up to the second floor and glided towards the trading room. Today’s maid outfit was an ultra-short skirt style, with the absolute territory of her thighs revealed between the over-the-knee white stockings and the skirt.

As she stepped into the trading room, Yifulei looked at Fang Hong seated at the multi-screen console and said, “Bro Hong, your breakfast.”

Her voice was unique, soft and sweet like the bleating of a lamb, and pleasing to the ear.

Fang Hong kicked off the floor, pushing his rolling chair back to make space. He looked at Yifulei, the maid, and gave her a meaningful glance.

She understood his meaning and silently walked over, her steps graceful. She placed the breakfast tray on the multi-screen console desk, then came to stand before him and sat on his lap, just like yesterday.

Fang Hong had discovered that Yifulei seemed to possess a “submissive personality” trait. He was sure this wasn’t something she’d been “trained” into, as she had been a virgin yesterday. After all, He Xuan had set very high standards for the job.

A “submissive personality,” to put it simply, meant being very obedient. She would basically follow any order given. However, her passive personality was not dull or air-headed; in fact, Yifulei had a very strong independent personality.

What was truly special was that this “submissive personality” trait of hers was typically directional—in plain terms, it was only triggered by specific or special individuals. When commanded by a designated person, she would thoroughly enjoy the feeling of being ordered and following the commander’s will.

What a coincidence!

As the boss, Fang Hong was naturally the decision-maker, which meant he played the role of the one giving orders.

At this moment, with the soft maid in his arms clinging to him like a little bird, Fang Hong said with a smile, “You’ll help me with the trading today, just like yesterday. I’ll give the orders, you execute.”

Yifulei nodded lightly, “Mhm~”

The breakfast was left aside. Fang Hong didn’t plan on eating it. He would just have some fresh, juicy meat buns later. Yes, Fang Hong was quite fond of buns.

Meanwhile, in the A-share market, stimulated by the positive news from yesterday’s market close, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets opened higher in pre-market bidding. The Shanghai market opened significantly higher than Shenzhen, seemingly indicating that Shanghai would have a stronger performance today.

It’s worth mentioning that Yifulei had already successfully mastered the basics of stock trading. As long as one was slightly computer-savvy, learning the fundamentals of buying and selling was simple. The hard part was the strategy—bluntly, making money was the real challenge.

However, Yifulei didn’t need to strategize. She only had to execute the buy and sell orders given by Fang Hong.

Moreover, since yesterday afternoon, Yifulei had been reviewing and consolidating the stock knowledge Fang Hong had taught her. She could now understand the basic meaning of a K-line chart and use the keyboard assistant to quickly find the stocks to trade. She knew there were two ways: entering the numeric trading code or the first letters of the stock’s name.

For instance, to access the order book for Zhongxin Securities, one could either type the numeric code “600030” or the initial letters of its name, “ZXZQ,” to find the stock.

As for technical indicators, Fang Hong only taught her to recognize the average price line and trading volume. He didn’t explain other indicators like MACD, KDJ, support, or resistance levels. There were too many technical indicators, and they were completely unnecessary.

Yifulei only needed to be able to quickly find the corresponding stock and execute buy and sell trades to meet Fang Hong’s requirements.

In fact, Fang Hong himself never used these technical indicators for trading. All indicators lag behind the market; only the flow of capital is real. A stock’s price rise needs liquidity.

As the time reached 9:30 AM, the A-share market officially opened. Fang Hong immediately instructed, “Vanke is surging by 1 point. Sell it now, quick. Liquidate the entire position with a sell order at -0.1%…”

“Mhm~”

Yifulei responded with a soft, delicate voice, her pretty face serious and her eyes focused on the order book. Her hands moved slowly, mainly out of fear of making a mistake.

Fang Hong didn’t mind. The stocks he was involved in all had high trading volumes at the moment, so there was no fear of being unable to sell. Besides, it wasn’t necessary to sell at the absolute peak every time.

After all, the maid had only started learning about stocks yesterday, and she was still very sensitive to large numbers. Once her threshold was raised and she became accustomed to seeing funds in the hundreds of millions, and her proficiency improved, she would be able to place orders quickly.

About eight minutes after the market opened, Fang Hong gave another instruction, “Hold onto Jinniu Energy, Pingmei Co., and Da’an Gene. Tanggang Co. has surged by 4.7 percent, we can sell it. Get rid of all of it…”

…

Chapter 187

Yifulei immediately followed Fang Hong’s instructions and clicked to liquidate their entire position in Tanggang Co. The first ten minutes of the morning session were often the period with the most active trading volume.

The young maid dumped their position of over fifty million yuan all at once. In that single minute, over 51.1 million yuan in trades were executed. A few million remained, but by 9:39 AM, those had been sold as well.

They had successfully exited the stock, pocketing a nice premium along with their principal. At the same time, the massive sell order of over fifty million from Fang Hong’s account quickly smashed the stock’s gains down to +2.53%, though it soon rebounded to over three percent.

Fang Hong continued, “Liquidate Xi’an Aircraft International as well. Place a sell order at a quote of 23 yuan.”

The young maid continued to follow his instructions, liquidating the position with a single click. This stock had relatively weaker trading volume. The sell-off of over fifty million yuan in funds directly smashed Xi’an Aircraft International from a gain of over two percent down to a loss of nearly one percent.

They were out of this stock quickly too. They didn’t capture much of a premium, but they didn’t lose yesterday’s profits either. Although a portion was sold below the opening price, more was sold above it. Overall, they still made a profit of 0.41 percent on it today.

Seated in his chair, Fang Hong wrapped his hands around the young maid’s abdomen, his eyes fixed on the computer screen as he directed her to sell off the other stocks as they surged.

Yifulei gazed at the screen and said softly, “Aside from those three, the others have all been sold and the orders fulfilled. Are we buying other stocks today?”

After closing several positions, the account now had around 350 million yuan available to invest.

Fang Hong smiled. “Of course, we are. Input Zhongxin Securities and Haitong Securities. We’re buying just these two. 250 million in Haitong, 100 million in Zhongxin. But don’t buy it all at once. Make each purchase around four to five million yuan.”

These two leading brokerage stocks were currently trading in the red. Upon receiving Fang Hong’s buy order, Yifulei immediately began splitting the position and placing the orders as instructed. Behind her, Fang Hong smiled. “Not bad, you’re getting more and more skilled. Once all the purchases are complete, I’ll reward you with a few hundred million.”

A reward of a few hundred million?

The young maid, who was in the middle of placing batch orders for the two leading brokerage stocks, was utterly stunned. For a moment, she even forgot to continue placing the orders. She tilted her head to the right, looking at Fang Hong, whose chin was resting on her right shoulder. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared at him. “Did I hear you right? You’re going to reward me with a few hundred million?”

Fang Hong gave a mysterious smile, then said calmly, “That’s right. Three hundred million, guaranteed, to start. But how much you actually get will depend on your performance.”

Yifulei’s beautiful eyes blinked rapidly, her pretty face a mask of disbelief.

Fang Hong quickly reminded her, “Don’t just stand there dazed. Hurry and buy in with the rest of the funds. These two stocks are about to turn positive and rally.”

Still in a daze, Yifulei turned her gaze back to the screen and continued placing buy orders with the remaining funds. But her mind was consumed by Fang Hong’s talk of a several-hundred-million-yuan reward. She was half-believing, half-doubting, but ultimately felt he must be teasing her. How could he possibly reward her with a few hundred million?

Around 10:20 AM, all the entrusted orders had been filled.

Yifulei looked at the account’s holding information and said, “Bro Hong, we’re at full position.”

As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Fang Hong, who promptly said, “Well done. I just said I’d reward you with a few hundred million. Come, I’ll give you your reward now…”

…

A long while later.

The young maid, Yifulei, walked out of the trading room carrying the completely untouched breakfast tray. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and rosy red. She glanced back at the trading room.

After a moment’s pause, she carried the tray and walked gracefully downstairs to the kitchen.

Arriving in the kitchen with the breakfast tray, Yifulei lowered her head and began washing the dishes, pouting and muttering to herself, “Hmph, so when he said he’d reward me with a few hundred million, he meant that…”

Meanwhile, in the trading room, Fang Hong sat motionless before the multi-monitor console, like a sage in deep meditation.

The A-share market had already closed for its midday break. After a while, Fang Hong stretched contentedly. He’d made his delivery, and his whole body felt much lighter. So refreshing, wasn’t it?

He left the trading room, took a shower, and changed into some clothes to go out. He finally remembered he was still a university student. And so, amid his leisurely and comfortable idleness, he took some time to attend a class at Xincheng University.

In the afternoon, the A-share market fluctuated its way higher, with the Shanghai Composite Index rallying to 2670 points during trading hours. It not only completely engulfed Monday’s huge plunging bearish candle but also set a new high for the year.

At the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.74%, closing at 2663.76 points, with a turnover of 144.9 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +1.13%, closing at 10294.37 points, with a turnover of 74.1 billion yuan. The combined turnover of both markets swelled to 219 billion yuan, returning to a volume of over 200 billion.

Judging by the closing figures, the Shanghai stock market outperformed the Shenzhen stock market today.

Fang Hong’s securities account went from holding nine stocks yesterday to five today. Six of the stocks he entered yesterday were sold for a profit today, while he entered two new brokerage stocks.

Da’an Gene, which he still held, triggered an abnormal volatility alert today. Trading was suspended for an hour in the morning. When it resumed, the stock erupted with astronomical trading volume. It first dived and then rallied again, sealing its limit-up board right after the afternoon session began, successfully securing its third consecutive limit-up. This third board was a T-shaped limit-up. The trading volume for the day was an enormous 681 million yuan, ten times that of yesterday.

Jinniu Energy, which he had also bought yesterday, continued to be held. After its first limit-up, it continued its strong performance today, surging +8.38% with a trading volume of 989 million yuan.

Pingmei Co., another stock from yesterday, was also held. It too surged today, climbing +7.36% on a trading volume of one billion yuan.

As for the two leading brokerage stocks he heavily invested in today, Haitong Securities surged +5.12%, becoming the stock with the highest trading volume in both markets at 5.812 billion yuan. Zhongxin Securities rose +3.31%, with an equally staggering trading volume of 5.061 billion yuan.

It was another day of huge profits for Fang Hong’s securities account. The stocks he bought yesterday had mostly surged, offering excellent premiums upon exit. The three stocks he held onto saw massive gains, and the two brokerage stocks he heavily bought into both closed with medium-length bullish candles.

His total profit for the day reached 7.29 percent, an absolute profit of 39.37 million yuan, setting a new record for single-day profit.

The account’s total assets also reached a new high of 579.5 million yuan. The cumulative return likewise broke records, hitting 894,233.60%, which was already an 8,942-fold return. He only needed another 72.6 million yuan or so to achieve the milestone of a ten-thousand-fold return.

…

From this day forward, the soft girl maid, Yifulei, officially became Fang Hong’s first personal trader.

She was responsible for executing the trades, while Fang Hong provided strategic guidance.

Yifulei was trading stocks, and so was Fang Hong.

Fortunately, Fang Hong’s empire was vast, so he could afford any potential losses.

It was worth mentioning that under Fang Hong’s personal, hands-on tutelage, the young maid Yifulei had become a qualified trader in just a few days.

Trading wasn’t actually difficult; Fang Hong only needed her to know how to execute buy and sell orders. The real area of progress was that she was gradually getting used to handling transactions involving large numbers and was no longer as nervous as she had been at the beginning.

This progress was evident whenever Fang Hong gave her a buy or sell order; she was noticeably more proficient than before.

Moreover, Yifulei had already memorized many stock codes, such as those of numerous core assets like Gree Electric, Ping An of China, China Merchants Bank, Moutai, Wuliangye, Yili Group, and others.

The reason for this was that Yifulei had taken the initiative to learn and study on her own, as her work at Tranquil Heart Residence actually came with a lot of free time.

According to the work regulations, the housemaids worked a five-day week, with Saturdays and Sundays off.

Of course, a housemaid still needed to be on duty over the weekend. This would be handled by a rotational schedule once enough maids were hired. In any case, a person’s days off didn’t have to be fixed on the weekend, but they were guaranteed two rest days a week, as well as public holidays.

They had complete freedom on their days off. But on workdays, unless specifically authorized by the employer or the house manager, the maids had to remain within Tranquil Heart Residence to ensure they were always available on call. During this time, however, they could move about the villa freely without restriction, and all the facilities in Tranquil Heart Residence—the swimming pool, gym, and media room—were open for them to use for free.

Over the past few days, whenever Yifulei finished her regular housekeeping duties, she would take the time to study the stock market. She was also slowly familiarizing herself with some technical indicators.

…

Chapter 188: A Vertical Ascent

Friday, May 15th. The trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

With about half a minute left before the market opened, Fang Hong decisively issued a trading order to Yifulei: “Sell Da’an Gene at the opening. Don’t liquidate the entire position with one click. Split it into twenty orders, selling one after another as they get filled. Be quick about it.”

This stock had hit its fourth consecutive limit-up on Thursday. Today, it opened high at +4.29%, looking like it would accelerate to another limit-up on low volume, but this was a bull trap.

He had to sell today because Fang Hong knew that, barring any surprises, the company would announce a trading suspension after the market closed. It would be locked in the ‘little black room’ for a week, and when it resumed trading, it would open at a limit-down.

At that moment, Yifulei lightly bit the corner of her rosy lip and let out a soft, breathless sound. With both hands planted on the multi-screen console, she glanced at the time in the bottom-right corner of the screen. The market would open in just over ten seconds.

Yifulei then turned to look at Fang Hong and said, “Then don’t you do anything yet. Let me sell first. What if I press the wrong number and place a wrong order? You can’t blame me then”

Hearing her, Fang Hong felt she had a point. He nodded. “You’re right. It’s better to be cautious. I’ll hold off for now. We can talk after you’re done… The market’s about to open, hurry up and place the sell orders.”

Sitting on Fang Hong’s lap, Yifulei kept her lower body perfectly still and gently exhaled. She found these days to be fulfilling for both her body and mind.

Quickly adjusting her posture and state of mind, she moved the mouse to the order book for Da’an Gene and began selling in batches according to Fang Hong’s instructions.

After the market opened, the stock surged with unusual strength. Large funds led the bulls in a rapid rally, prompting numerous follow-up funds to unanimously snap up shares and go long.

Fang Hong had previously invested around eighty million, and its current market value had already exceeded one hundred and twenty million. He had to offload it all today.

During the intraday rally, Yifulei continuously sold shares. She had accumulated a great deal of trading experience over the past few days and was much more skilled than she had been on Monday. Her efficiency in placing orders had also improved.

The buying support for Da’an Gene was incredibly strong. Every sell order Yifulei placed was snapped up within seconds, so she immediately continued to rapidly distribute her shares.

By 9:37 AM, just seven minutes after the market opened, Da’an Gene’s share price had surged to 18.19 yuan per share, hitting the limit-up board. Yifulei had managed to sell off about 40% of their shares in the stock.

Just as Da’an Gene hit its limit-up, Fang Hong, his hands wrapped motionlessly around Yifulei’s slender waist, saw the price touch the limit and said decisively, “Switch to single orders of ten million.”

Yifulei had just entered a six million yuan order and was about to sell, but hearing Fang Hong’s words, she quickly canceled it and changed it to ten million per order.

A moment later, just two minutes after sealing the limit-up, the price suddenly broke and plummeted. Five minutes later, it had dived to +6.59%, but before it could even register an intraday line at that price, it was pushed back up.

During those five minutes, more than ninety million yuan worth of shares changed hands. The remaining seventy-million-plus worth of shares in Fang Hong’s account were also sold off within that time.

When the stock had hit its limit-up, Fang Hong had considered whether to just dump the remaining 60% of his shares in a one-click, market-smashing sell-off. In a way, it would have been a quiet rescue for the retail investors chasing the high. After all, such a massive and obvious sell-off should have instilled some fear and restraint in any retail investors hoping to buy at the limit-up. If they held back, he would have effectively saved them.

But Fang Hong quickly changed his mind and abandoned the idea. It was more trouble than it’s worth. For one, the retail investors wouldn’t think he was saving them; they’d think he’d made his money and was now smashing the market to cause trouble.

For another, doing so would offend the other hot money or large funds that were coming in to take over. Fang Hong knew this stock would likely appear on the Dragon-Tiger List today. Since it was a limit-up on low volume, he would undoubtedly occupy the top seller’s seat. Everyone would know it was him who smashed the market.

If he smashed their play today, he would reap what he sowed; tomorrow, someone else would smash his in retaliation.

Therefore, there was absolutely no need to do something so thankless.

You couldn’t save the newbie investors destined to lose money and get fleeced, not even if God himself came down.

Over the next three minutes, another twenty-four million yuan worth of shares changed hands, and the stock successfully hit the limit-up again.

Fang Hong’s shares were completely gone. With him, the biggest bear, out of the picture, the selling pressure on the stock plummeted. After 9:55 AM, there was barely any trading volume, and the limit-up was sealed tight.

From entering a position around May 6th to cashing out all profits today, he had held the stock for eight trading days and made a total profit of +53.90%, a net gain of 44.19 million yuan.

Having taken his profits from this stock, Fang Hong instructed Yifulei to move on to other stocks, paying this one no more attention.

By around 10:00 AM, they had finished selling all the necessary stocks. Fang Hong then said, “Buy Kailuan Shares. Buy in lots of two to three million yuan…”

Yifulei followed his instructions and began the purchase, while Fang Hong slowly started to test the selling pressure on the recent IPO stocks he had entered.

A sudden ‘movement’ startled Yifulei, and she instinctively tensed up. Her mouth fell slightly open as she let out a soft gasp, her eyes fixed on the intraday market data for Kailuan Shares as she continued to place buy orders.

A few minutes later, Yifulei had placed all the buy orders for Kailuan Shares as instructed by Fang Hong. The bids were in the range of 30.28 to 30.78 yuan per share, and they were continuously being filled as time went on.

At that moment, Yifulei bit her lip, her brow furrowing slightly, and her breathing seemed to quicken.

She adjusted her posture and composure, then asked, “What else should I buy?”

Fang Hong was not idle either, continuously testing the market for the recent IPO stocks. Hearing Yifulei’s question, he replied, “Just buy the targets we’ve already selected and put on the watchlist. Buy them in batches with an equal allocation of funds.”

Yifulei looked back at him. “And the purchase price?”

“Whatever,” Fang Hong said casually. “Just buy at your discretion.”

“Alright~” replied Yifulei.

The maid-trader, having received her orders from Fang Hong, began executing the purchases. She still bought in batches; it took a bit more effort, but it allowed her to acquire shares at better prices.

She was no longer the clueless novice she had been on Monday. Under Fang Hong’s personal, hands-on guidance these past few days, she had learned a great deal about stock trading and was already applying that knowledge effectively.

After a while, Fang Hong finally completed the intraday shakeout of the recent IPO stock he was trading, clearing out all the floating shares.

The shakeout was complete, and the unstable shares were cleared.

Without a doubt, this was the kind of moment that excited stock traders the most.

But then came the problem.

A flurry of ferocious trades, followed by a ruinous loss. Who could they even complain to?

But you could never talk about something like that. Losing money was a huge loss of face. For the sake of dignity, you had to bear it silently and alone.

Fang Hong suddenly leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling of the trading room, lost in thought. He remained silent for a long time.

Around 11:20 AM, Yifulei saw the final buy order for Shanqi Coking Coal successfully execute in the account information. She turned her head slightly to look back at Fang Hong and said, “All the purchases have been filled. We’re at full position!”

Fang Hong glanced at the screen, checked the average price of the purchased targets, then turned to meet the soft girl’s gaze. He nodded with a satisfied smile. “Well done. The average price is decent. A teachable student. I knew we’d work together in perfect sync.”

Hearing this, Yifulei, in his arms, complained with playful, coquettish indignation. As they had grown closer over the past few days, she had become much bolder and more uninhibited in his presence.

A moment later, Yifulei, who had been nestled in Fang Hong’s embrace, stood up. “I have to go downstairs. It’ll be bad if Sister Yu finds out about us.”

With that, Yifulei straightened herself up, picked up the breakfast tray with half-eaten food, and left the trading room.

The maid was quite worried about her and Fang Hong’s affair, terrified of being exposed, especially to He Xuan. It could lead to her losing this job, which meant she would not only be out of work but might also never get to be with Fang Hong again.

She genuinely loved the unique sensation of being commanded by him, obeying, and then executing his orders. If she had to choose between this incredibly high-paying job and Fang Hong right now, she would definitely choose the latter.

If Yifulei knew what He Xuan truly thought, she wouldn’t be so on edge. But Fang Hong didn’t explain it to her. The soft girl Yifulei looked even more cute and interesting when she was on pins and needles, and it brought a different kind of spice to his life.

…

Chapter 189: The Brokerage’s Proprietary Trading Desk Secretly Copies K-God’s Homework

As Yifulei left the trading room with the breakfast tray, Fang Hong turned his attention back to the screen. The morning session had just closed, and he had already completed his rotation, taking profits and reinvesting into a full position once again.

The market had pulled back yesterday and was now consolidating sideways in a narrow range.

Despite this, Fang Hong was still profitable over the past two days, though his gains were smaller than the more than thirty million he had been making daily from Monday to Wednesday.

After selling stocks like Da’an Gene today, he had moved heavily into the coal sector, taking major positions in stocks including Datong Coal Industry, China Shenhua, Shanqi Coking Coal, Kailuan Shares, and China Coal Energy.

Fang Hong’s short-term trading strategy was simply to follow the mainstream capital. Whichever sector it flowed into, he would join forces with it. This sounded simple, but there were very few people in the entire market who could actually pull it off.

But a rare few truly could.

Noon.

Inside the Hua family’s luxurious villa, just after lunch, Hua Yu was in his father’s study. Hua Yongming remarked with a sigh, “Fang Hong’s stock trading skill is truly unfathomable. I was chatting with Zhang Qi this morning, and I heard his account has already grown to over 600 million.”

Hua Yu was stunned. “Over 600 million? So quickly?”

“It seems my previous estimate that he would make a net profit of 300 million a year was too conservative,” Hua Yongming said with a wistful smile. But this was a good thing. It proved that Huayang Group had backed the right horse, lowering their risk while ensuring their returns would not be diminished in the slightest.

Hua Yongming continued with another smile, “According to Old Zhang, he can always pinpoint the flow of mainstream capital with precision, sometimes even reacting before the mainstream capital itself. Old Zhang said that in all his years in the securities industry, he’s never seen such a prodigy.”

The fact that Zhang Qi was so open with Hua Yongming about this information was a testament to their unusually close relationship. As for whether any benefits were exchanged, only the two of them knew for sure.

Hua Yu suddenly mused aloud, “His success can’t be a coincidence. Once or twice, maybe, but for it to happen every time… it just goes to show that opportunity favors the prepared.”

Hearing this, Hua Yongming glanced at his younger son, let out a soft chuckle, and asked nonchalantly, “Then why is it that Fang Hong is prepared, while others are not?”

Hua Yu was taken aback. “Uh…”

He was momentarily at a loss for words.

Hua Yongming took a sip of tea and said with an air of ease, “‘Opportunity favors the prepared.’ There’s nothing wrong with that saying, of course, but you’ve overlooked the most crucial prerequisite.”

Hua Yu couldn’t help but ask, “What condition?”

Hua Yongming looked at his younger son. “The reason he’s prepared and others aren’t is obvious—he gets news that others don’t. So, opportunity favors those who get the news in advance.”

Hua Yu: “Uh…”

In that instant, Hua Yu felt a jolt of reality. He found himself utterly unable to refute his father’s logic.

Because you get the news in advance, you prepare, and thus you seize the opportunity.

This was the naked truth of the world, especially in the financial sector.

Who would prepare without receiving news beforehand? Preparing blindly is just like opening a mystery box.

Hua Yu quickly asked, “Father, are you saying Fang Hong always gets inside information?”

Hua Yongming shook his head, looking equally perplexed. “The strange thing about Fang Hong is that he shouldn’t be getting news in advance. Although his move to ambush a stock like Da’an Gene looked very much like he had inside information, Old Zhang analyzed his entire trading history. If his track record was built on inside information, even someone with connections reaching the heavens couldn’t have done better…”

Zhang Qi’s judgment was that Fang Hong didn’t have access to inside information. If that were true, it would mean he could predict the direction of mainstream capital almost every single day. What kind of terrifying background and power would it take to achieve that?

Even someone with connections reaching the heavens couldn’t do it. The scope was simply too vast; no single person could truly control everything, especially in the stock market, a classic secondary chaotic system.

A chaotic system refers to the existence of random, irregular motion within a deterministic system, exhibiting uncertainty, non-repeatability, and unpredictability—this is the phenomenon of chaos.

Hua Yu said with a wry smile, “Then the only explanation is that he’s a gifted genius.”

Hua Yongming sighed. “That is also the most resigned, compromised explanation.”

When something was beyond comprehension, the only thing left was to attribute it to genius, because truly gifted individuals did exist in every field.

At 1:00 PM, the afternoon session officially began.

Inside a trading room at Xinhong Securities, the trader at the helm was managing a proprietary trading account for the firm. This account, with a capital of three hundred million, had only been activated two days ago and was managed by a man named Fei Liang.

The decision to open this trading account had come directly from Zhang Qi.

Its trading logic followed one simple rule: buy whatever Fang Hong buys.

That’s right, they were secretly copying his homework!

As the saying goes, “a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow,” but another saying goes, “the pavilion closest to the water gets the moonlight first.”

Earning commissions was a huge sum, but it paled in comparison to the profits from copying trades.

Xinhong Securities’ internal backend database could display Fang Hong’s buy orders in real-time. The only question was whether they dared to act on it.

Was it a violation of regulations?

Of course it was.

But the allure of what was essentially guaranteed, eyes-closed profit was too potent. As the proverb says, a horse can’t get fat without a midnight snack. Zhang Qi decided to go for it!

The worst-case scenario would be a slap on the wrist!

Besides, if they could make real money and expand their revenue, the punishment might be just a single symbolic cup of wine—and a premium Moutai at that.

Notably, Zhang Qi had laid down two principles for this “homework-copying” account: first, not to front-run Fang Hong, and second, not to compete with him for shares!

But these “two principles” were by no means born of kindness. They stemmed from a fear of Fang Hong’s keen sensitivity to capital flows. They might get away with it once or twice, but if they did it too often, he would surely notice and quickly deduce that Xinhong Securities was behind it.

If he then got angry and switched brokerages, they would lose their wealth code, and the losses would be immense.

They had to hold on tight to a money-making god like him. Making a fortune in silence was the only way to go.

By adhering to these “two principles,” even if Fang Hong eventually found out, he wouldn’t say anything. He might even be happy about it. After all, under these rules, not only would they not hinder him, but the principle of not snapping up shares would even serve to “lift his sedan chair” a little.

“The coal sector is indeed one of the top gainers today. These targets are really starting to surge.” In the Xinhong Securities trading room, Fei Liang, the man in charge of copying the homework, felt a rush of excitement as the stocks they had bought began to rally.

In just three days, he had become a devotee of Fang Hong, a certified hardcore fan filled with admiration.

He was utterly conquered by Fang Hong’s trading technique.

It was worth mentioning that Zhang Qi had actually had the idea of copying his homework several months ago. He had observed for a while longer until recently, when he finally confirmed that it was a 100% profitable strategy and made the decision to set up an account.

The capital was set at about half the size of Fang Hong’s account. It wasn’t that the brokerage was short on cash—they could have easily raised not just three hundred million, but even three billion.

The reason for limiting the scale to half of Fang Hong’s was due to market liquidity constraints.

The stocks Fang Hong traded were mostly short-term plays, chosen for their ability to allow for a quick exit on the same day. The stocks he entered were always appropriate for the size of his capital.

If a follower copying his trades used ten times his capital, they would end up as the ultimate bagholders. Getting in would be easy, but getting out would be a nightmare.

After 3:00 PM, the A-share market closed. The market had consolidated sideways today on shrinking volume, closing with a small Doji candlestick on the index’s K-line.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up a marginal +0.20% to 2645.26 points, with a turnover of 106.6 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index was also up slightly by +0.21% to 10273.23 points, with a turnover of 60.6 billion. The total turnover for both markets shrank to 167.2 billion.

Although the broader market’s performance was lackluster, Fei Liang’s team, which was copying Fang Hong’s homework, was ecstatic. While the market traded sideways on low volume, the stocks they had copied were all posting impressive gains on some of the highest volumes of the day.

Datong Coal Industry surged +9.84% with a turnover of 1.014 billion. China Shenhua rose +3.16% with a turnover of 1.552 billion. Shanqi Coking Coal soared +6.15% with a turnover of 1.465 billion. Kailuan Shares jumped +9.96% with a turnover of 1.422 billion. China Coal Energy climbed +3.78% with a turnover of 1.28 billion.

Around 5:00 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Only twelve stocks made the list. Da’an Gene, which had just hit five consecutive limit-ups, appeared on the list under the “securities with cumulative price deviation of 20% over three consecutive trading days” category.

When investors scanned the list and saw K-God’s trading seat appear as the top seller for Da’an Gene, the trading community erupted. The countless retail investors who had chased the stock to its limit-up today were in an absolute uproar!

Chapter 190: Among All the Hot Money in the A-Share Market, I Only Respect K-God

According to the Dragon-Tiger List data, Da’an Gene hit its limit-up today on low volume, with a total turnover of 372 million yuan. The total buy-in from branch offices was 129 million yuan, while the total sell-off was 187 million yuan.

The “Xinhong Securities Xinnan Road branch office,” holding the top seller’s seat, had a net sell-off of a staggering 127 million yuan. This single trading seat accounted for 67.91% of the total sell-off from all branch offices, more than two-thirds of the total.

In a certain stock trading group chat.

A group member posted a screenshot of Da’an Gene’s Dragon-Tiger List data, sparking a heated discussion.

[K-God just showed up in Da’an Gene’s Dragon-Tiger List trading seats. He’s made a killing again!]

[Holy crap, did the Grandmaster single-handedly offload two-thirds of the shares from the top seller’s seat?]

[How did K-God end up on the Dragon-Tiger List for this stock? And he sold over one hundred million. I didn’t see him on the list these past few days?]

[If you didn’t see him, it means he got in before the first ‘one-character’ limit-up.]

[Damn, he ambushed this one too?]

[So you’re saying K-God rode all five consecutive limit-ups? Working backward, that means he probably bought around eighty million yuan worth!]

[How could he possibly have ambushed this? It’s too ridiculous. I think it’s more likely that K-God had inside information.]

[I think so too. He most likely got the news in advance. Otherwise, this level of prediction is just too damn absurd.]

[Inside information? I don’t think that’s likely.]

[Reason?]

[The reason is simple. Let me ask you, does K-God even need to? With his skill at reaping profits, would he risk an illegal operation for a profit of a few tens of millions? I don’t think so. The reason is simple: the risk and reward just don’t add up.]

[That actually makes a lot of sense.]

[Exactly. Besides, K-God is so famous now. As the saying goes, fame brings trouble. He should be even more cautious. As long as K-God hasn’t lost his mind, he would never engage in illegal operations.]

[I’m screwed. I bought at the limit-up today and took over the Grandmaster’s shares. It’s going to open deep underwater next week!]

[You dared to chase the fifth limit-up? Bro, you’re truly brave!]

[Don’t panic. Look at Zhongmu Holdings and Jinyu Group, which K-God was involved in before. After he left, they both opened deep underwater the next day but then rallied from below the opening price and even ended up a few points in the green. Da’an Gene will probably have funds trying to rescue the price with a surge next week too.]

[I hope so. If it surges, I can get out…]

The group member who had bought Da’an Gene at its limit-up felt his panic subside a little after remembering the performance of Zhongmu Holdings and Jinyu Group on the following day. Maybe he could even make a profit and get out.

However, as the saying goes, blessings don’t come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

Just as he was starting to feel a bit relieved, Da’an Gene released a new announcement. Someone in the group posted a screenshot of it and specifically tagged him.

He clicked into the group and took a look at the announcement…

An icy chill shot through him instantly.

Da’an Gene Trading Suspension Announcement: To prevent drastic volatility in the company’s stock price on the secondary market and to protect investors’ interests, the company will now conduct a verification to determine whether there are any undisclosed matters affecting the stock’s price fluctuations. Therefore, the company’s stock will be suspended from trading starting from the market open on Monday, May 18, 2009. Trading will resume after the aforementioned matters have been verified and announced.

This announcement left the investors who had bought in today collectively dumbfounded, especially the short-term traders, who started cursing.

Da’an Gene had voluntarily requested to be locked in the ‘little black room’.

That wasn’t even the worst part. The key was that there was no definite date for how long the suspension would last. The announcement only said that trading would resume after the verification was complete. How damn long would that take? Three days? A week? A month?

Once the announcement was posted in the group, the members started discussing K-God again, this time with a sense of complete admiration.

[I have just one word for the Grandmaster: slick. So damn slick!]

[One word: Unbelievable!]

[He got out on the exact day it gets locked in the little black room.]

[He really timed his exit perfectly!]

[Wasn’t there a guy in the group who bought this stock at its limit-up?]

[Don’t tag me. I just want some quiet time right now. And don’t ask me who Jingjing is. (A pun on wanting to be quiet)]

[Bro, how did you dare to chase the fifth limit-up? Didn’t you memorize the mantra in K-God’s Weibo bio? ‘One limit-up sets the trend, the second confirms the leader, the third makes it a monster stock; if there’s a third, there will be a fifth.’ Except for the ST sector, no monster stock has had more than five consecutive limit-ups in the past few months. You shouldn’t have chased it.]

[Sigh, I got trapped. Just my bad luck.]

[Among all the hot money masters, I don’t respect anyone but Grandmaster K-God. He can ambush stocks, he can chase momentum, and his day-trading profit-taking on large-cap stocks is a masterstroke. Just how many profitable strategies does the Grandmaster have?]

When the Dragon-Tiger List data came out today, Fang Hong didn’t post on Weibo. However, the comments and discussions under the latest post on his Weibo account were incredibly active.

His move with Da’an Gene—ambushing it, riding all five limit-ups, and then successfully exiting right before the trading suspension—left the retail investors in absolute awe.

However, it also quickly sparked controversy within the circle.

Many insiders began to raise questions, suggesting that K-God’s involvement in the Da’an Gene trade was insider trading. They claimed he had obtained inside information to ambush the stock and had known about the upcoming suspension in advance, allowing him to exit at the peak with perfect precision.

This accusation led to a fierce debate. Some firmly believed he had received inside information, while others were convinced it was pure skill.

Over the weekend, a full-blown flame war erupted under Fang Hong’s latest Weibo post, debating whether the Da’an Gene trade was a case of insider trading. Fang Hong lurked and watched the developments.

He also checked his private messages on Weibo and saw many fans asking him to post something to clarify the situation.

Fang Hong had no intention of posting a clarification, at least not yet. He wanted to let the bullets fly for a while.

Controversy and debate could drive user activity on the Weibo platform.

However, this matter was only circulating and being discussed within the stock trading circle. Its popularity hadn’t reached the point of breaking out and sparking a widespread public discussion.

As the weekend began, a rumor related to the entertainment industry quickly caught the attention of major film and television production companies in the Mainland.

On Saturday morning, according to an informed source, Stellaris Capital was in contact with Hollywood’s “Big Six” major film studios to discuss a copyright acquisition deal. The negotiations involved the purchase of over five thousand Hollywood blockbusters, classic films, and TV series, with an average acquisition price of 150,000 RMB per title.

When this news broke, the major film production companies in the Mainland were all unsettled.

Good grief!

The price for online streaming rights had been driven straight up to 150,000 yuan per title. The major domestic entertainment companies were lamenting that their previous offer of 100,000 yuan per title had been far too conservative; their thinking had been too small-minded.

The most furious were likely the online video websites that genuinely wanted to acquire film copyrights, such as Boss Jia of LeTV. He was fuming about Stellaris Capital’s flagrant behavior of inflating and hyping up film copyright prices, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Because LeTV simply didn’t have that kind of money.

Now, trying to acquire the online streaming rights for a film for a few thousand yuan was impossible. Forget the major production studios; even smaller film companies wouldn’t sell.

They would rather hold onto the rights than sell them so cheaply. Who else was to blame but Stellaris Capital for driving the prices up with all this commotion?

But what truly made the numerous major domestic entertainment companies restless was another part of the rumor. According to this so-called informed source, Stellaris Capital had held internal discussions about copyright acquisition and had adjusted its strategy: instead of spending 100,000 yuan per title on domestic films, they would rather add a bit more money and directly buy the blockbusters and classic films from the Hollywood Big Six.

This rumor caught the domestic entertainment giants completely off guard. After making some inquiries, they discovered that people from Stellaris Capital were indeed in contact with the Hollywood film giants.

They couldn’t sit still any longer and began calling Cao Chenghui one after another.

“…To be honest with you, the news is not entirely baseless.” At this moment, Cao Chenghui was sitting in his manager’s office, speaking on the phone with a vice president from Enlight Media with a look of utter sincerity. The other end of the line went silent for a moment before a response came: “Mr. Cao, that’s not very honest of you. I’ve been waiting for you all this time, and this is what I get?”

Cao Chenghui instantly put on a dramatic act. “Mr. [Lao Zong], this is not what I wanted, truly not my wish,” he said immediately. “I’m not the one in charge of acquiring Hollywood films. That’s someone else. Strictly speaking, he and I are competitors internally. During the meeting, I opposed the idea of buying Hollywood films, but alas, I don’t have the final say…”

The implication was clear: I have internal rivals too. I’m a steadfast supporter of acquiring domestic film and television dramas. If for no other reason, I have to choose this for my own benefit, since I’m in charge of the domestic entertainment sector.

Can’t find a flaw in that logic.

Possessed by his inner drama queen, Cao Chenghui’s words were tinged with resentment and helplessness.

The vice president from Enlight Media spoke again from the other end: “Is your company really planning to give up on acquiring domestic content and switch to foreign content?”

Hearing this, Cao Chenghui feigned a solemn tone. “That seems to be the trend at the moment.”

He soon ended the call with the Enlight Media boss. Not long after, another call came in from a different major domestic entertainment company. Cao Chenghui once again put on his act and fed them all sorts of persuasive bluffs.

Chapter 191: Paid Trolls Aren’t an Exclusive Business

For some time now, the major domestic entertainment companies had all been waiting, even looking forward, to Stellaris Capital making its purchases.

One hundred thousand yuan per film!

But instead, they got this news. Everyone was stunned.

They instantly felt like they had been played.

They were not happy!

That was for sure!

But being unhappy didn’t mean they would do nothing. The major domestic entertainment companies immediately held emergency meetings to discuss the matter. They also called each other and ultimately reached a consensus.

That is, they would try to pressure Stellaris Capital through public opinion. And they moved with considerable speed.

On Saturday morning, the paid commenters arrived.

Phrases like “Stellaris Capital looks down on domestic films,” “fawning over foreigners to the bone,” and “domestic is trash, foreign is good” were used to incite the patriotic sentiments of the masses on the internet.

They stirred up a storm of sentiment.

It had to be said, this tactic was very effective. A large number of netizens, especially fans of Mainland films and TV shows, were swept up by the momentum and began to curse Stellaris Capital for fawning over foreigners.

The furious netizens even swarmed Weibo, because someone revealed that Quantum Beat’s largest shareholder was Stellaris Capital. They threatened to uninstall Quantum Beat Weibo and switch to other platforms like Tencent Weibo or Sina Weibo.

Competitors like Tencent were delighted to see it happen.

Seeing something disadvantageous to a competitor was always a happy occasion, so they gleefully gave it a push, intentionally directing traffic to guide netizens in their frenzied assault on Stellaris Capital. They especially gave greater traffic and exposure to the fact that Stellaris Capital was the major shareholder behind Quantum Beat.

The major tech firms on the internet originally had nothing to do with the entertainment industry in this matter, but because Quantum Beat’s largest shareholder was Stellaris Capital, they were unexpectedly linked. Thus, they tacitly worked together to promote public sentiment unfavorable to Stellaris Capital.

Everyone got what they wanted.

The venture capital circle was also delighted to see it happen. Who told Quantum Beat not to let other VCs get on board?

This whole affair left Xu Jingren, who was at home, bewildered for a while. He hurriedly started restricting the flow of increasingly unfavorable news on the platform, as more and more paid commenters were posting statuses on Weibo threatening to delete their accounts and quit.

After getting a general idea of the situation and learning that Stellaris Capital was being furiously attacked by netizens, with Quantum Beat suffering collateral damage due to its major shareholder, he quickly called Fang Hong.

“Leader, what’s the situation with Stellaris Capital? Weibo is being hit hard…”

At that moment, Fang Hong was comfortably lounging on a deck chair by the heated swimming pool at Tranquil Heart Residence, taking the call. In the pool, the three girls—He Xuan, Yu Qiu, and Yifulei—were dressed in sexy bikinis, splashing and playing around.

Lying on the deck chair, Fang Hong leisurely admired the beautiful scenery in the pool while calmly answering the phone, “I’m already aware of the situation. I just spoke with Mr. Cao to ask about it. The current public sentiment was within Stellaris Capital’s expectations, and it will be resolved quickly. Just continue with normal operations on your end. No need to overreact, though a slight reaction is, of course, necessary.”

On the other end of the line, Xu Jingren was greatly relieved to hear this and replied, “Alright, I understand.”

In the pool, He Xuan saw him finish his call and shouted with a smile, “Come on down and play! It took me a lot of effort to convince these two to swim together. You have three great beauties to swim with you, don’t be such a spoilsport…”

Hearing this, Fang Hong put his phone aside, got up from the lounge chair, and dove into the pool, swimming towards the girls.

Just then, He Xuan noticed the bow on the halter-neck strap behind Yu Qiu’s neck. Her eyes glinted with a mischievous smile, and she reached out, grabbed one of the strings, and gave it a quick tug…

Caught off guard, the beautiful house manager turned pale with shock and hastily dove underwater in a panic.

A moment later, the house manager surfaced, her face flushed as she looked at He Xuan. “Xuanxuan, what are you doing…”

He Xuan stuck out her tongue and giggled. “Sorry, sorry, my hand slipped just now. I saw your knot wasn’t tied well and wanted to help you.”

Yu Qiu shot her a glare and said irritably, “You’re just making excuses! You obviously did it on purpose!”

After speaking, she couldn’t help but peek at Fang Hong, who was swimming over. Their eyes met, and the beautiful house manager hastily looked away.

Fang Hong immediately said, “Causing trouble, are we? Little Yu, watch me teach her a lesson for you.”

He Xuan splashed water at the approaching Fang Hong and grumbled, “You got an eyeful and don’t even know to thank me. What a guy, profiting from the situation while feigning innocence. You’re not allowed to come over!”

Hearing He Xuan’s words, the beautiful house manager and the soft girl maid were both a little bewildered. They couldn’t quite understand why their female employer showed no signs of jealousy. Wasn’t this a bit too… magnanimous?

The two girls couldn’t fathom He Xuan’s thoughts or her thought process.

…

The big boss was blissfully enjoying his relaxing weekend, frolicking in the heated swimming pool amidst the girls’ pleasant voices, while over at Stellaris Capital, Hua Yu was dealing with the surging public sentiment.

Around 5:30 PM, Stellaris Capital released a special announcement regarding the ongoing controversy.

The general content of the announcement was as follows.

First, Stellaris Capital refuted the so-called insider leak, stating it was a rumor and urging everyone not to believe or spread it.

Then, it denied the “fawning over foreigners” accusation. This had to be addressed.

The next key point was explaining the real situation to the public. It wasn’t what everyone thought. Stellaris Capital’s copyright acquisition plan included both domestic and foreign films and TV shows on its procurement list.

Furthermore, the company had already acquired a content library of over twenty thousand hours of domestic films, so the accusation of fawning over foreigners was unfounded. It was a case of malicious slander causing public misunderstanding.

They were currently in talks with both domestic and international entertainment companies about procurement, which was normal business practice.

The announcement also employed the tactic of playing the victim, apologizing and stating that besides being maliciously slandered by people with ill intentions, the company itself was also at fault for the public’s misinterpretation. The problem was that they had not disclosed the information in a timely manner, which led to the misunderstanding.

At the end of the announcement, Hua Yu also used a textbook crisis PR template phrase: “We are deeply sorry for the trouble caused and for unintentionally taking up public social attention.”

This was the same apology format from the incident He Xuan had stirred up. Hua Yu had paid attention to it at the time and knew about the relationship between his immediate boss and He Xuan. However, he didn’t think this was He Xuan’s move; the big boss must have been behind the scenes guiding her through that crisis.

…

With the release of Stellaris Capital’s announcement, Xu Jingren at Weibo reacted swiftly. He couldn’t let negative factors spread on the platform he controlled, so he implemented targeted traffic restrictions.

At the same time, he directed a large amount of traffic to Stellaris Capital’s announcement, pushing it to users on the Weibo platform who had participated in the discussion of this public sentiment issue.

As for Hua Yu, his response wasn’t limited to just issuing a statement. Paid commenters weren’t an exclusive tool for any one party.

When the announcement was released, he also deployed his own paid commenters to launch a “well-reasoned” counter-offensive in public opinion, centered around the content of the announcement. One group was responsible for leading the charge, another for playing support, to seize control of the narrative.

The battlefield of public opinion: if you don’t occupy it, someone else will.

As time went on, by the evening, the public sentiment that had been a one-sided denunciation of Stellaris Capital began to show a clear reversal. The online discussion was a mix of genuine gossiping netizens and paid commenters.

[Everyone disperse. Stellaris Capital was obviously framed and set up.]

[It’s just normal business practice for a company. This name-calling is really boring.]

[LOL, are this generation of gossiping netizens too easily swayed? Did you not see that Stellaris already bought a content library of over 20,000 hours of domestic film and TV copyrights long ago? They are clearly just making normal business arrangements. Though, to be honest, I also don’t get this slick move from Stellaris, acting like a fool with too much money.]

[They probably have too much money and don’t know how to spend it… (smirk.jpg)]

[I really don’t get Stellaris’s move of buying copyrights.]

[Didn’t people say Stellaris’s large-scale copyright acquisition was for hoarding and speculation?]

[Unless there’s a second fool with too much money like Stellaris willing to buy them from them at a higher price, I estimate Stellaris is going to get wrecked. Most of the copyrights they bought will probably end up stuck in their hands.]

[Weibo: Why are you taking your anger out on me? Who did I provoke… (aggrieved.jpg)]

[Hahaha, Weibo being the collateral damage in this wave is the most unjust part. Little Xu must be like, “I was just sitting at home, and a disaster fell from the sky.”]

[To be honest, Stellaris is actually alright. Look at their announcement. It was clearly an external misinterpretation, and they weren’t really at fault, yet they still took the initiative to apologize and said it was their fault. Just for Stellaris’s attitude alone, I feel a bit embarrassed for bashing them earlier… (facepalm.jpg)]

…

Chapter 192: Fei Liang, Copying Homework Like a Pro

When the major domestic entertainment and film companies saw the clarification announcement from Stellaris Capital, they were delighted, believing it to be a sign that Stellaris Capital had chickened out instantly.

Just two hours after the announcement, Cao Chenghui received calls from several of these companies. On the surface, they were inquiring about the announcement, but their tone carried a subtle, triumphant undertone.

Putting on an act, Cao Chenghui continued to play along with them, sticking to a single strategy: delay!

That was right, the delaying tactic.

It was human nature. Making someone believe they’ve been successfully bluffed is harder than bluffing them in the first place. A true master never tells a lie when they bluff.

And Cao Chenghui wasn’t lying to the major domestic entertainment firms. He truly intended to purchase their copyrights, but specific issues required specific handling.

The sums involved were too large, requiring time for negotiation. Plus, there were still some internal debates.

Negotiation is the art of compromise.

Cao Chenghui’s reasoning was sound, leaving the heads of the major domestic entertainment companies with no rebuttal. A block trade involving hundreds of millions, or even over a billion, certainly required time. It wouldn’t be impossible for such negotiations to stretch out for a year.

With no other options, they could only offer a symbolic催催促 to hurry things along.

Then, they continued to wait. What else could they do? Stellaris Capital hadn’t said they weren’t buying, and they couldn’t force a sale, could they? Besides, the money was in Stellaris Capital’s hands. The final decision of whether to buy, when to buy, and how much to buy rested with them.

So, they could only wait.

What the major domestic entertainment firms never expected was that their public sentiment campaign had actually given Stellaris Capital a perfect assist.

Stellaris Capital used this as a convenient excuse to climb down. They had previously approached the major Hollywood studios and boasted of buying at least five thousand copyrights starting at one hundred fifty thousand per film, a number that had genuinely surprised the Hollywood giants.

After all, these foreign film companies felt helpless, unable to collect copyright fees in the Greater China region where their movies were freely shown without consequence.

Now, Stellaris Capital had appeared, offering to buy the copyrights at a very appealing price. They were thrilled.

But the domestic firms’ actions had now given Stellaris Capital a perfect excuse: the company was currently under immense public pressure, an issue that couldn’t be ignored. Therefore, the procurement had to be handled with caution. They weren’t canceling the purchase, just postponing it to allow the company to study the situation internally and reassess the negative impact of the public opinion.

As for how long the study and reassessment would take, that could be decided later.

It all came down to one word: delay!

In any case, Stellaris Capital was the buyer. The money was in their hands, and the decision to buy was theirs to make.

The sellers couldn’t just sell the copyrights cheaply to someone else either.

Whether they were domestic or foreign entertainment firms, despite their eagerness to close the deal, they had no good options. Good things take time, so they could only wait and see.

Monday, May 18th.

The A-share market opened for a new week. Today, the market gapped down at the open and then quickly plummeted. The broader market broke through the 2600-point mark with almost no resistance.

In the first half-hour of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index extended its losses to over two percent, hitting an intra-day low of 2589.61 points.

However, the rapid market decline did not affect Fang Hong’s account.

“601168 Western Mining. Buy it.” In the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence, Fang Hong was directing Yifulei to trade stocks. It was already past 10 AM. The stocks they had entered yesterday had been dealt with, though he had held onto a few positions.

Western Mining had opened low and trended down, accelerating its dive after 10 AM. Its intra-day loss had now reached -3.61%. Fang Hong decisively moved to buy the dip, telling the female trader, “Target ninety million in buy funds. Remember to split up the orders.”

Sitting on his lap, Yifulei nodded lightly and responded with a soft, “Mhm~”

She skillfully maneuvered the mouse and keyboard, switching to the order book for Western Mining and began placing orders, with single buy orders in the range of one point five to four point five million.

In just one week, Yifulei had become extremely proficient at buying and selling, and her execution speed was much faster than the previous week. Her greatest improvement was that she no longer felt the heart-pounding fear she once did when facing the hundreds of millions in the account. She was now calm when inputting orders for several million, tens of millions, or even over a hundred million.

Meanwhile, in a trading room at Xinhong Securities, Fei Liang, the trader in charge of the proprietary trading desk responsible for copying homework, stared at a screen. Every three seconds or so, the screen would refresh with real-time information.

The screen displayed the real-time information of Fang Hong’s personal securities account. As soon as Fei Liang saw the refreshed information, he immediately said to the trader under him, “Western Mining, mark it!”

The trader who received the command immediately marked the stock. Marking it meant they would buy it today, but it was just a mark for now; Fei Liang hadn’t given the buy order yet.

He could see from the refreshed information on Fang Hong’s securities account that buy orders were still being placed. While secretly copying homework using backend data, Fei Liang hadn’t forgotten his immediate boss’s strict order: the ‘two nos’ principle was not to be crossed. That is, do not snap up shares from Fang Hong, and do not front-run Fang Hong.

Buy after him, run after him.

“600397 Anyuan Shares, buy it. Put around thirty million into it, split into eleven or twelve orders.” In the trading room at Tranquil Heart Residence, Fang Hong continued to give Yifulei trading instructions, this time for a coal stock.

At this moment, Anyuan Shares had turned green after being down two points. Yifulei immediately placed buy orders. However, just as a few trades totaling less than five million were executed, the stock suddenly began to surge, rising over five percent within two minutes.

“It’s rising so fast…” Yifulei’s beautiful eyes flashed with surprise as she watched the intraday line of Anyuan Shares. She paused her actions and turned to look at Fang Hong. “Should I continue buying?”

“Yes, buy it. This stock will hit its limit-up today,” Fang Hong said with certainty.

Hearing this, Yifulei turned back to the screen and continued buying. At the same time, Fei Liang, who was secretly copying homework, immediately had his trader mark Anyuan Shares.

Fang Hong was still unaware that a proprietary trading desk at Xinhong Securities was secretly tailing him and copying his homework. However, given their approach, he would be delighted to see it happen if he knew. Not competing for his shares meant they were essentially pumping up the price for him.

Who would refuse to have someone eagerly pump up the price for them?

A moment later, Fang Hong continued, “002128 Lutian Coal. Buy it. Get fifty million worth, at a price below 24.25 yuan.”

Yifulei calmly started building a position. This stock was also expected to hit the board today. It had opened flat, dipped, and then rallied, and was now consolidating around a four percent gain.

Fei Liang continued to mark the stocks. Meanwhile, he had already issued the order to buy Western Mining because he saw that Fang Hong’s account had completed transactions of around ninety million and hadn’t moved since. He judged that Fang Hong had finished building his position and didn’t intend to buy more, so he decisively ordered the purchase.

“600222 Tailong Pharmaceutical. Get thirty million of this one. Five orders, sweep the shares upwards directly,” Fang Hong once again issued a trading command to the soft girl in his arms.

This stock had gapped up significantly today by nearly seven percent, only to plummet shortly after the open, at one point falling to just a two percent gain. At the moment Fang Hong gave the order, the stock was up four percent.

Yifulei cooed a soft “mhm” and did as Fang Hong said. She now knew what “sweeping the shares upwards” meant—placing a buy order at the limit-up price.

Tailong Pharmaceutical quickly broke through its four percent gain. Under Yifulei’s aggressive buying of six million per order, the stock’s gains rapidly climbed to seven percent. Immediately after, more sell orders appeared, and Yifulei continued to absorb them with another six-million-yuan order.

As she placed the fourth order, the stock charged directly for its limit-up. Her last order was filled right on the board. By now, the stock’s total daily turnover was approaching two hundred million.

This stock had hit a new high for the year yesterday but had been hit with negative news of insider selling. However, today it had gapped up nearly seven percent in defiance of that news. Fang Hong was making a contrarian play against the negative sentiment. He expected consecutive limit-ups in the coming days; a manipulated rally would make it easier for the stock to take off.

Most importantly, this stock was also related to the current hot concept of the H1N1 flu. With the previous leader, Da’an Gene, locked in the ‘little black room’, there was a vacancy for a new leader, and this stock was a promising candidate to inherit its position.

Fang Hong’s target for this stock was a profit of around thirty-five to forty percent, which translated to an expected gain of about ten million yuan.

As for Fei Liang, who was following along and copying homework, he was stunned when he saw Tailong Pharmaceutical rapidly hit its limit-up. He ultimately gave up on following this stock; since it was already on the board, he wouldn’t be able to get many shares anyway.

Staring at the limit-up Tailong Pharmaceutical, Fei Liang couldn’t help but grumble to himself, “Master Aiya, can’t you just stick to stocks with high trading volume? Go for something like Western Mining, with more volume. Better yet, go for the Big Finance stocks. Why’d you suddenly jump to this kind of small-cap relay limit-up stock? How am I supposed to follow…”

However, Fei Liang also knew that if the Big Finance sector had any profit potential, Fang Hong would definitely prefer to take profits from stocks with high volume and liquidity. The fact that he wasn’t meant there was nothing happening in Big Finance at the moment. It had risen quite a bit last week and was now in a correction.

Chapter 193: K-God Hit the Board, Bros, Charge!

Fei Liang had just finished complaining when he saw that after Fang Hong’s account refreshed, a new target stock had appeared: 000878 Yunnan Copper, which he had started scooping up when it was about 3% underwater.

“Mark Yunnan Copper!”

Next, Fei Liang saw that Fang Hong was continuing to buy other stocks in the same sector, such as Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals.

Fei Liang marked them one by one, muttering to himself, “Is tomorrow’s short-term trend going to be the industrial metals sector?”

Fei Liang had also tried to study and analyze Fang Hong’s trading logic.

In the end, he was on the verge of a breakdown, because he couldn’t figure out Fang Hong’s buying logic at all.

What was most infuriating was that every strategic trade he made was proven correct by the market’s later performance. The constant profits in the account were the reward for his precise judgment of the market.

And so, Fei Liang could only offer his knees to the master and give up on analysis.

The more he analyzed, the more frustrating it became. He couldn’t understand it at all; it was beyond his comprehension, and yet, the master was always right.

That was the most demoralizing part.

At that moment, Fei Liang saw the refreshed data showing that Fang Hong had opened new positions in Pufa Bank and Xingye Bank. He decisively had the traders under him mark them. He loved it when Fang Hong bought stocks in the Big Finance sector, targets like brokerages and bank stocks, because their trading volume and liquidity were high, making it easy to follow his lead and copy his homework. It was also easier to pull out when the time came.

After 11:00 AM, the market began a V-shaped rebound. When the market opened in the afternoon, it continued to rally.

The Shanghai Composite Index successfully turned positive around 2:30 PM, and both markets ended the day with gains.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +0.28% at 2652.77 points, with a turnover of 117.8 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +0.40% at 10314.04 points, with a turnover of 59.8 billion yuan. The combined turnover of both markets reached 177.6 billion yuan.

“The feeling of making steady money every day is so damn good…” Just after the market closed, Fei Liang reviewed the closing performance of the stocks he had copied and felt extremely satisfied. Western Mining closed up +3.31%. This stock had been scooped up while it was underwater, and its full-day turnover was 778 million.

The few stocks in the industrial metals sector, such as Jiangxi Copper and Yunnan Copper, hadn’t risen much, and their full-day turnover was only around two to three hundred million, but they had all been bought while underwater.

Fei Liang knew he couldn’t compare his trading technique to the master’s, but as an experienced trader in the industry, he guessed that Fang Hong’s bottom fishing in the industrial metals sector today was likely a bet on tomorrow’s premium.

Meanwhile, the coal stocks had surged today. Anyuan Shares and Lutian Coal hit their limit-up, and Tailong Pharmaceutical also hit its limit-up.

Following the big shot and copying his homework, making money with his eyes closed. Although it was the company’s proprietary trading desk, Fei Liang could also get a bigger commission, so of course he was delighted.

Fang Hong’s account today had a daily return of +3.72% after transaction costs, with an absolute profit of 22.8 million yuan. The account’s capital had also reached 635.84 million yuan. His cumulative return had reached +976302.07%, already exceeding 9763 times. Reaching the 10,000-times achievement tomorrow was set in stone.

…

After 5:00 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. A total of fifteen stocks made the list. The three that had hit their limit-up—Tailong Pharmaceutical, Anyuan Shares, and Lutian Coal—were all on it, having been listed for securities with a daily price deviation of 7%.

The trading seat where Fang Hong was located, “Xinhong Securities, Xinnan Branch Road Office,” was prominently featured on the Dragon-Tiger Lists for these three stocks. It was in the number two buy seat for Lutian Coal, and the number one buy seat for both Tailong Pharmaceutical and Anyuan Shares.

Fei Liang’s fund was also on the buy side of the Dragon-Tiger lists for Anyuan Shares and Lutian Coal, but it was displayed as an institutional-only seat.

Investors were thrilled to see K-God’s trading seat among these three stocks. They finally saw K-God appear on the buy side of the Dragon-Tiger List; previously, he was almost always on the sell side.

The retail investors who had been chasing the rise or buying at the limit-up today were especially excited. Seeing K-God’s seat meant a huge profit tomorrow was practically guaranteed.

…

The next day, Tuesday, May 19th.

Stimulated by positive news and the strong performance of overseas markets last night, the A-share market gapped up significantly at the open today. The Shanghai Composite Index opened 1% higher at 2679.40 during the call auction, setting a new high for the year right from the start.

However, after the opening, the broader market surged for a minute before pulling back and beginning to consolidate within a narrow range at a high level.

It was worth mentioning that a huge crowd of retail investors came howling into Tailong Pharmaceutical, Anyuan Shares, and Lutian Coal right at the open.

At this time, a certain chat group was unusually lively, with its members being particularly active.

[K-God hit the board, bros, charge!]

[Just follow the Grandmaster and charge!]

[Already on board!]

[Went in with 30% of my position on Anyuan Shares during the call auction.]

[Hahaha, the Grandmaster is awesome! Shoved in 50% of my position on Tailong Pharmaceutical during the call auction. It pulled back a bit at the open and then instantly hit the limit-up. Bagged a huge profit of over four percent.]

[Holy crap, that’s awesome. Tailong Pharmaceutical hit its second consecutive limit-up. I saw the negative news about the share reduction and didn’t dare to get in, but it hit the limit-up instantly at the open.]

[Who cares about share reduction! K-God went in yesterday for the first limit-up, so just do it!]

[The first board sets the trend, the second confirms the leader, the third becomes a monster stock, and if there are three, there will be five!]

[Lutian Coal is surging too. Damn, I chased it and it dived for two minutes after the open, scared the crap out of me.]

[Lutian Coal is already up 5%. All three stocks are surging, and I didn’t get into any of them. So pissed!]

[Grandmaster is incredible (voice crack)!!!]

[I saw the Grandmaster’s Weibo post on March 3rd and went all-in on Shanqi Coking Coal the next day. It hit the limit-up that same day. I’ve been holding it ever since and haven’t sold. I’m up 120 percent now. Got to say, the Grandmaster is incredible!]

[Holy crap?]

[Holy crap!]

[Awesome! You’re awesome as hell, doubling your full position in just over two months. That’s insane!]

[So jealous.jpg]

…

For the three stocks that appeared on the buy side of the Dragon-Tiger List yesterday, a large number of fans were howling as they rushed in. Past examples had shown that any stock K-God appeared in on the Dragon-Tiger List would have a very good premium in the following days.

Tailong Pharmaceutical gapped up +5.56% today, shot up right at the open, and hit its limit-up in just one minute.

Lutian Coal gapped up +2.94%, pulled back for a moment after the open, and then began to rise rapidly.

Anyuan Shares gapped up +3.90%, consolidated for half an hour after the open, and then also began to rise rapidly, eventually hitting its limit-up for a second consecutive day around 10:30 AM.

These three stocks had already risen significantly, having doubled or even tripled from their bottoms. Under normal circumstances, retail investors wouldn’t dare to chase such highs. But among the people following Fang Hong’s Weibo account, quite a few retail investors truly dared to charge in.

It had to be said that K-God gave them tremendous courage and bullish confidence. From a certain perspective, this was also the market’s collective force.

Wherever K-God went, his rallying power was immense.

It was worth mentioning that Fang Hong was still holding these three stocks and had no intention of selling today.

…

“The two bank stocks, Xingye Bank and Pufa Bank, have all been sold. Those few stocks in the nonferrous metals sector haven’t risen; they’ve even dropped a bit…” In the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence, the maid, Yifulei, looked back at Fang Hong behind her. “Should we sell these nonferrous metal ones?”

Fang Hong shook his head and smiled. “Don’t sell. They’ll hit the limit-up this afternoon.”

The soft girl sitting on his lap couldn’t help but blink her beautiful eyes, saying with adoration, “Bro Hong is so amazing~. Whatever you buy surges. It’s like you can predict the future.”

Hearing him say they would hit the limit-up in the afternoon, the maid Yifulei believed him without a doubt.

Fang Hong chuckled and asked in return, “Only the big bro is impressive? What about the little bro?”

Hearing this, Yifulei froze for a moment. When she realized what he meant, she couldn’t help but burst into giggles, then said in a soft and petulant tone, “They’re both impressive~. ‘Little Fu’ has already experienced it these past few days.”

Her words told Fang Hong that the past few days of training had been remarkably effective. Very satisfied, he glanced at the screen and said, “Now that we have a position freed up, buy some stocks. 600547 Shandong Gold is about to take off. Buy quickly, eighty million should do.”

The maid cooed a soft, “Mmm~” and began to operate, switching to the stock’s order book and skillfully beginning to buy in batches.

Fang Hong continued, “Buy one hundred million of Shanqi Coking Coal too.”

Yifulei continued to operate. While a portion of the buy orders for Shandong Gold were pending, she quickly switched to Shanqi Coking Coal to place orders.

There wasn’t much day trading today. Most of the stocks bought yesterday were being held.

Around 10:40 AM, Yifulei took her hands off the mouse and keyboard, looked back at Fang Hong with a smile, and said, “All trades are done, and we have a full position. We can clock off early today!”

Fang Hong said, “It’s too early to call it a day, there’s still a newly listed stock to pump.”

The maid, who could now understand him in an instant, immediately said with a beaming smile, “Alright then, don’t you move. Just be ready to distribute the ‘shares’ later. Leave the rest of the operation to me. I’ve learned how. The key is to test the waters to warm up, consolidate to slowly heat up, then ignite to accelerate… right?”

Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad, you learn fast.”

As she began the warm-up, Yifulei looked back with a smile and said, “Of course. Look who my teacher is.”

…

Chapter 194: Ten Thousand-Fold Accomplishment Achieved, Time to Flaunt It on Weibo

While Fang Hong was trading Yifulei’s newly listed stock, Fei Liang, a trader in a trading room at Xinhong Securities’ proprietary trading desk, was feeling a bit puzzled. He looked at the few nonferrous metals stocks he had followed and bought yesterday; they were all underwater now. Although they hadn’t dropped significantly, they hadn’t risen either.

“Could he have misjudged?” Fei Liang crossed his arms, stroking his chin in contemplation as he muttered to himself, “That makes sense. He’s not a real god, after all. It’s normal to slip up and make a mistake occasionally.”

However, when he saw that Fang Hong’s account data showed no signs of clearing out these nonferrous metals stocks, Fei Liang stayed put. He had to strictly adhere to the “‘two nos’ principle”—absolutely no front-running and no snapping up shares.

He needed to wait for Fang Hong to make a move. Since the big shot hadn’t bailed, Fei Liang didn’t dare to act. He had no desire to be the scapegoat; by following his superior’s instructions, he wouldn’t have to take the blame later.

The positions he had entered yesterday still had a small floating profit anyway; he hadn’t lost any money yet.

The proprietary trading desk’s overall position wasn’t losing money either. In fact, it had made a substantial profit, as several other stocks held considerable floating profits.

…

At 1:00 PM, the market opened for the afternoon session.

As time went on, around 1:25 PM, the nonferrous metals sector began to stir, pulling upward.

“Hmm?”

Fei Liang, who was watching the market in the trading room, was stunned to see the nonferrous sector rally. For the rest of the afternoon, the nonferrous metals sector became the star of the show. The entire sector surged by over five percent, with its gains hitting a new high for the year, and more than ten individual stocks within the sector hit their limit-up.

Looking at the wave of limit-ups in the nonferrous metals sector, Fei Liang roared internally, “Master, I was wrong! You’re incredible! I shouldn’t have doubted you. You are a god!”

Fei Liang was now utterly and completely impressed by Fang Hong. He was truly shaken.

The nonferrous sector had been sluggish all morning, yet Fang Hong hadn’t sold a single share. This showed he was resolute and supremely confident in his judgment. But looking at the morning’s market action, there had been no indication that the nonferrous sector was poised for a major rally today.

No, the Master had foreseen it. In fact, he had foreseen it yesterday.

Most importantly, the few nonferrous metals stocks the Master had invested in were among those with the highest trading volume today, all exceeding one billion yuan.

By the market close, Western Mining had soared by +7.98% on a trading volume of 2.326 billion yuan; Yunnan Copper hit its limit-up at +9.99% on a volume of 1.568 billion yuan; Jiangxi Copper hit its limit-up at +9.98% on a volume of 1.242 billion yuan; and Tongling Nonferrous Metals hit its limit-up at +10.01% on a volume of 1.082 billion yuan.

What made Fei Liang kneel in admiration was that the only two bank stocks to post a medium-length bullish candle today were both in the portfolio.

Industrial Bank surged by +5.20% on a trading volume of 785 million yuan.

Pufa Bank rose by +3.22% on a trading volume of 1.433 billion yuan.

The other stocks he held also yielded huge profits. Tailong Pharmaceutical gapped up significantly at the open and shot straight to its limit-up, hitting the limit-up for a second consecutive day. Anyuan Shares also achieved two consecutive limit-ups. Although it was a shaky limit-up, the fact that Fang Hong didn’t sell indicated an even higher premium the next day. Lutian Coal surged as high as +8.69% during trading hours, and although it fell back to close at +5.91%, Fang Hong held on, signaling he expected it to continue surging to a new high the following day.

In addition, he still held Kailuan Shares, which closed up +1.16% today. Fang Hong had entered this stock last Friday and had held it for three trading days, with the cumulative gain already exceeding eighteen percent.

Kailuan Shares had recently posted six consecutive bullish candles. Seeing Fang Hong’s determination to hold, Fei Liang estimated it could very well post a seventh tomorrow. This coal stock had risen from just over nine yuan to over thirty-five yuan, a cumulative gain of more than 2.7 times. Its recent acceleration was obvious.

Before this, Fei Liang had never believed that a true Stock God existed. But after personally experiencing the results of copying Fang Hong’s homework these past few days, he now believed that such a god—one who could treat the stock market as a personal cash machine—truly existed. The Master made money in the market as easily as picking flowers in his backyard. It was simply outrageous!

In Fei Liang’s eyes, a person like this was a BUG in the stock market.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +0.90%, closing at 2,676.67 points with a turnover of 148.3 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +1.07%, closing at 10,424.36 points with a turnover of 79.7 billion yuan. The combined turnover for both markets was 228 billion yuan. Both major indices closed with a small Doji candlestick and reached a new high for the year.

…

Fang Hong had no idea that he had just gained a die-hard super fanboy. No, to be precise, seven or eight of them. Fei Liang and the other traders on his team who had been copying his homework were now completely conquered by Fang Hong’s trading technique. Unbeknownst to them, they had contributed a good deal of Reputation Value and Achievement points to him.

Around 3:30 PM, in the leisure area on the first floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

The beautiful house manager, Yu Qiu, walked gracefully towards the leisure area with a laptop. She saw Fang Hong sitting on the sofa, enjoying a shoulder massage from the maid, Yifulei.

As Yifulei massaged his shoulders, she asked, “Bro Hong, is the pressure okay?”

With his eyes closed, Fang Hong replied, “You can go a little harder.”

Yifulei smiled. “How about now?”

Fang Hong said contentedly, “A little more… yes, that’s perfect. So comfortable~”

Yu Qiu approached, handing the laptop to Fang Hong. “Bro Hong, the laptop you asked for.”

Fang Hong opened his eyes, glanced at the beautiful house manager, and took the laptop from her. He placed it on his lap, opened it, and logged into his Weibo account. He planned to post on his K3478 account today because his personal securities account had officially reached the ten-thousand-fold accomplishment.

After handing him the laptop, Yu Qiu turned to leave. But after just a few steps, she couldn’t help but look back, her gaze falling on the maid, Yifulei. She fell into deep thought.

She had noticed that this maid with the sweet and soft voice had been getting very close to Fang Hong recently. Something about their relationship felt off. The things they said to each other were often quite flirtatious, making Yu Qiu suspect there might be an unusual relationship between them.

However, the beautiful house manager couldn’t be certain, because that was just Fang Hong’s personality. He had flirtatiously teased her herself several times, leaving her secretly thrilled.

“Forget it. Even if there is something between them, it’s not my place to interfere. I just need to do my job,” Yu Qiu thought, casting aside her doubts and getting back to her duties.

On the sofa in the leisure area, Fang Hong logged into his Weibo and securities accounts and took a screenshot of his returns.

The soft girl massaging him also glanced at the laptop screen. When she saw Fang Hong’s Weibo account, she couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “So this account really is yours? I suspected it might be you for a long time, and it really is you~”

Fang Hong glanced at her, surprised. “Oh?”

Yifulei smiled her soft, sweet smile. “I use Weibo too. Your account is very famous on there, one of the top twenty major influencers. I just never thought it would actually be you.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled and said, “Then remember to keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

The maid smiled charmingly, pursing her lips and nodding. “Mhm~”

Fang Hong turned his attention back to the computer screen and uploaded the screenshot to the Weibo post he was creating. His account’s daily return, after trading costs, was +6.73%—a day of huge profits. The absolute profit for the day reached 42.79 million yuan, setting another new record for single-day absolute profit.

The total assets in the account reached 678.63 million yuan.

The cumulative return had reached +1,038,632.73%, a 10,386-fold increase. Today, he had officially achieved the milestone of a ten-thousand-fold return.

This account had entered the market on July 11 of last year. After he liquidated the original owner’s positions, there was only 8,650 yuan left. Later, he received 60,000 yuan from Cao Chenghui, bringing the total initial capital to 68,650 yuan. The addition of new capital had greatly accelerated his returns.

Through the compounding effect, the funds had snowballed. Now, in just about ten short months, he had achieved a ten-thousand-fold return, with the account’s funds reaching 678.63 million yuan.

In reality, Fang Hong had earned over 700 million yuan in this account. The exact figure was 713.09 million yuan.

This was because he had made four withdrawals in the past ten months. The first was 960,000 yuan for a house in the Binhu Community. The second was five million yuan for Quantum Beat’s angel round financing. The third was 3.5 million yuan to buy a red Lamborghini supercar for his girlfriend, He Xuan. The fourth was a 25 million yuan donation to a disaster area—15 million in his own name and 10 million in his girlfriend He Xuan’s name.

At that moment, Fang Hong uploaded the screenshot and quickly typed out a caption:

【My account has finally hit a ten-thousand-fold return. It took about 10 months, 208 trading days to be exact. A little slower than I expected. I thought I could do it within 200 trading days, but it’s not bad, I guess.】

Fang Hong quickly scanned the text he had written, and once he confirmed there were no issues, he posted it to Weibo with a single click.

…

Chapter 195: The Stock Trading Circle is in an Uproar

The moment this post was published, it caused a massive sensation in the stock trading circle that afternoon. The profit screenshot, in particular, went viral across all the major stock chat groups, leaving everyone who saw it absolutely stunned.

After Fang Hong updated his feed, he waited a moment before refreshing the page. In no time, over a hundred comments had appeared.

[What do you mean, “It’s alright”? Listen! Just listen to that! Does that sound like something a human would say? Does it?!]

[Indeed, it’s not human speech. He’s K-God, so you can call this a divine legend!]

[Uh… Can’t argue with that.]

[Damn it, he’s flexing on us again!]

[Oh-em-gee~]

[From over sixty thousand to over six hundred million. That’s a ten-thousand-fold increase in ten months!]

[He must be the ultimate reaper of the A-share market, right?]

[He’s truly achieved a legendary profit curve that you wouldn’t even dare to Photoshop.]

[During the same period, the broader market index has basically become the horizontal axis on his chart. This is just absurd!]

[Is this the work of a god?]

[If only I had one-ten-thousandth of the Grandmaster’s skill!]

[One-ten-thousandth? That would still mean doubling your money in ten months. You’re too greedy.]

[Then one-two-hundred-thousandth… (panda head.jpg)]

[I saw K-God on Tailong Pharmaceutical’s Dragon-Tiger List in the top buyer’s seat yesterday. I went all-in during the call auction today and already made a huge profit. It’s definitely going to surge tomorrow. Just waiting to eat meat.]

…

As Fang Hong browsed the comments, he noticed the one from someone who had piggybacked on the Dragon-Tiger List. He immediately clicked to reply:

[K3478 replied: The Dragon-Tiger List is for studying the strategies of the strongest hot money traders, not for predicting the next day’s movements based on who’s on it. By observing the directional choices and timing of skilled hot money, you can compare it with your own trading behavior. If they align, it affirms the progress of your own trading. The mistake most people make is trying to predict the next day’s rise or fall from the trading seats on the list. In reality, the next day’s trend often has little to do with the previous day’s seats. Those who are already on the list will most likely not continue to buy. Ultra-short-term high-momentum stocks are formed by the market’s collective force, not by a single market maker.]

After he posted the reply, the page automatically refreshed. The number of comments in his latest feed had already surged past a thousand. At this rate, this single post could easily rack up over ten thousand comments by the end of the day.

[K-God replied!]

[Front row!]

[Getting close to the divine realm!]

[Got it. The Grandmaster won’t be buying anymore!]

[@K3478 replied: I don't care. If I see you, K-God, on the buyer's side, I'm chasing it the next day. I have to!]

[I sold Shanqi Coking Coal today. I’m back to pay my respects. Thank you for the wealth code, Grandmaster. I went full position on Shanqi Coking Coal and made over 80 points on this one, earning back all of last year’s losses.]

[Hey bro, paying respects is fine, just don’t light any incense.]

[Hahaha]

[An unbelievable rate of return. Truly terrifying!]

[A question for K-God: why did you get into Tailong Pharmaceutical?]

[K3478 replied: The market hot topic is still the H1N1 flu. Da’an Gene was sent to the penalty box during its climax, leaving a void for the hot-topic leader. Tailong Pharmaceutical stepped up to fill that void. After every hot topic peaks, there’s always one survivor left during the cooldown period. From Da’an Gene to Tailong Pharmaceutical, the core strategy for hot-topic leaders is to be the first to identify the market’s spiritual leader, get on board immediately, and hold it until you find a new spiritual leader, then switch decisively. As a leader, it must withstand the market’s test with high volume. First predict, then follow.]

[So, Tailong Pharmaceutical’s volume continues to increase. The leader is determined on the second limit-up. Tailong is the new leader!]

[Got it, I’ll go all in tomorrow. Brothers, don’t dump on me… (smirking face)]

…

As time went on, the news spread further and wider. By around 7 PM, financial media outlets were already reporting on it with headlines like, “Renowned A-share Hot Money Trader ‘K-God’ Achieves Mythical Ten-Thousand-Fold Return in Ten Months,” “From Sixty Thousand to Six Hundred Million: Top Hot Money Trader ‘K-God’ Does It in Just Ten Months,” and “Famous Hot Money Trader ‘K-God’ Creates a Ten-Thousand-Fold Return in Ten Months, a Mythical Miracle of the Compounding Effect.”

The release of the “ten-thousand-fold in ten months” profit chart caused an uproar in the stock trading circle today. Basically, no one was questioning the authenticity of the screenshot anymore. Even when people used words like “absurd” or “unbelievable,” it was more of an expression of awe at the staggering numbers.

This was because since Fang Hong registered the K3478 Weibo account, the retail investors had practically watched his account grow from twenty or thirty million to over six hundred million. In the early days, he was a frequent and very active poster. Although he hadn’t been as active in the last two or three months, his trading seat would occasionally make a surprise appearance on the Dragon-Tiger List, proving that he was still trading and still making money.

There was simply no way to doubt it. It was that absurd, but it was real.

Ten thousand times in ten months. No one had ever achieved such a feat, which was why everyone called it a myth, a miracle. The very fact that it was called a myth or a miracle also implied that it was nearly impossible to replicate.

The A-share market had been around for nearly twenty years, and it had only produced one such miracle.

Even looking at the global capital markets, such an existence was one of a kind. That’s why it was called a myth.

The name K-God, particularly the “God” part, was now universally acknowledged by hundreds of millions of retail investors. He had truly earned the title.

The Weibo post from Fang Hong was more than worth it. It directly caused his Reputation Value to skyrocket by forty-five million overnight, bringing his cumulative Reputation Value to two hundred and sixty-five million. He now had 22.82 million available Achievement Points, enough to redeem 228 system item cards.

In addition, Fang Hong’s Weibo account gained a million followers overnight, reaching a total of 9.47 million, putting him on the verge of becoming a Diamond Big V with ten million followers.

…

“…President Hua, a friend of mine came to me. He wants to put some in too. Do you think we could follow the car with a bit more?” Xiao Quan of Pengrui Capital was on the phone with Hua Yu.

The “friend” he mentioned was actually an investor.

Xiao Quan had approached this friend previously when he was raising funds, mentioning the plan to lend money to Stellaris Capital, but his friend had decided not to invest.

But now, he wanted in.

The reason was that he had seen the news reports about “K-God’s” legendary ten-thousand-fold return in ten months. In Xiao Quan’s small circle, their understanding of K3478 was completely different from that of the general public or retail investors.

After being thoroughly persuaded by Fang Hong, Xiao Quan had come to define the content posted by the K3478 account, or rather its trader, as an institutional act—a top-tier return produced by a trader within Stellaris Capital, showcasing the company’s formidable profitability.

His understanding was both right and wrong.

It wasn’t entirely absurd, yet it was quite far from the truth. He was right in that Fang Hong was indeed part of Stellaris Capital and its founder. He was wrong because the account had very little to do with Stellaris Capital itself.

Still, Xiao Quan’s interpretation of it as a demonstration of Stellaris Capital’s powerful profitability was, in a sense, not wrong at all.

On the phone with Xiao Quan, Hua Yu laughed and replied, “How much?”

Xiao Quan immediately responded, “Two billion!”

Upon hearing this, Hua Yu answered crisply, “Alright, no problem.”

Receiving a firm confirmation, Xiao Quan immediately began thanking him on behalf of his friend. Following the car with two billion, added to the previous thirteen billion, would bring the total to fifteen billion. The cost of this liquid capital came at an annual interest of fifteen percent.

Hua Yu added at the end, “President Xiao, we need to do this as soon as possible. Time is money, hehe…”

On the other end of the line, Xiao Quan quickly replied, “Of course, of course. Don’t you worry, President Hua. The fifteen billion will be in place within ten days at the latest. If we’re quick, it could be there in a week. Just like you, we want this done as soon as possible.”

They certainly wanted it done quickly. When the cost of capital was averaged out, the daily interest amounted to over six million. Time truly was money.

It was worth mentioning, however, that Stellaris Capital’s current maneuvering in the online streaming copyright battle, deliberately stalling negotiations with domestic and foreign entertainment companies, was all to wait for the twenty-one billion from the coal boss Li Yongzhi and the fifteen billion from Xiao Quan’s group to be locked in.

Once these thirty-six billion were finally delivered into Stellaris Capital’s hands, they could release the news that the company’s investment had been wrecked.

The reason they were holding back this news now was the fear that Xiao Quan and Li Yongzhi would see it and get scared off.

Once the money was handed over and the contracts were signed, then sorry, the car doors would be welded shut. Their anxieties would have nothing to do with Stellaris Capital.

What? You want to pry the doors open? You want to withdraw your investment?

Withdrawing was an option, of course. According to the agreement, you would just have to pay thirty percent of the debt capital as a punitive breach of contract penalty.

You can take your money back.

Thirty percent of fifteen billion is four point five billion. Thirty percent of twenty-one billion is six point three billion.

If they were willing to just give away ten point eight billion to withdraw their funds, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t mind them taking their money back one bit. Such a good deal was hard to come by.

…

Chapter 196: Adjusting the Trading Strategy

The next day, Wednesday, May 20th.

Today, Tailong Pharmaceutical was pushed to a limit-up during the call auction stage. This kind of opening at the limit-up was largely due to the stimulus from K-God yesterday, or rather, K-God’s influence.

A considerable number of retail investors howled and rushed in. The investors who had jumped in yesterday when it hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day were all ecstatic, shouting that K-God was incredible!

Now, they started chanting, “If there’s a third, there must be a fifth!”

After all, any retail investor who had been trading for a while, especially short-term traders, could now recite the four lines from K-God’s Weibo bio by heart.

Tailong Pharmaceutical opened at its limit-up, and after hitting three consecutive limit-ups, it routinely issued an announcement regarding unusual stock price volatility. Trading was suspended immediately at the open for one hour, resuming at 10:30 AM.

It was worth mentioning that in the current A-share market, having witnessed K-God’s powerful influence, many funds, especially some market makers, were actually hoping to be graced by K-God’s presence.

Because his arrival meant a huge influx of popularity.

Popularity meant someone would take over, giving the stock liquidity. And with liquidity came a high volume of shares changing hands.

Liquidity is the foundation of the stock market, especially for short-term sentiment cycles.

Without liquidity, even if a market maker or major players pushed a stock to the sky, it would only be paper wealth. They wouldn’t be able to sell off their shares because no one would buy.

But with popularity, it was a different story.

When popularity arrived, liquidity would naturally follow, allowing them to cash out by selling off large volumes and distributing their shares.

…

Meanwhile, in the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

Half an hour after the A-share market opened, several stocks in the non-ferrous metals sector opened low and surged higher. Fang Hong directed Yifulei to sell off Yunnan Copper, Western Mining, and other stocks that had hit their limit-up or soared yesterday.

At the same time, they quickly sold off the two bank stocks at the open, Pufa Bank and Xingye Bank.

Fei Liang, who was copying his homework, decisively followed suit and got out after seeing Fang Hong sell. Anyway, all he had to do was blindly follow the master’s trades. This braindead strategy of following the god’s footsteps was Fei Liang’s sole guiding principle for managing this fund.

Around 9:53 AM, Fang Hong immediately said, “Anyuan Shares has surged over seven percent. We can sell.”

Yifulei nodded. “Mm-hmm~”

Seeing the freed-up capital in the account, Fang Hong said, “600489, Zhongjin Gold. Buy it. Put in about seventy million.”

This stock had suspended trading after the market closed last Friday for a shareholders’ meeting and resumed trading today. It’s worth noting that Fang Hong had already bought into another gold stock yesterday, Shandong Gold.

As Yifulei was buying Zhongjin Gold, the stock had already begun a continuous one-sided rally.

“It’s up more than six percent. Should I keep chasing the high?” Yifulei glanced back at Fang Hong and asked. He nodded. “Buy. Just chase it. I’m expecting a limit-up tomorrow.”

“Mm-hmm~” Yifulei acknowledged, her gaze once again fixed intently on the screen as she continued to buy at the rising price.

Around 10:20 AM, Zhongjin Gold’s gains expanded to +9.68%, nearly hitting the limit-up board. At the same time, the neighboring Shandong Gold’s gains also widened to seven percent. Fang Hong said decisively, “Sell all of Shandong Gold.”

The maiden assistant quickly switched to the stock’s market depth and began selling rapidly. Over the next two minutes, more than eighty-six million yuan worth of shares changed hands at the seven percent gain price point, just about enough to absorb all the shares from Fang Hong’s account.

The next minute, the stock dived nearly two percent, followed by another dive triggered by large funds fleeing, and its gains quickly narrowed to just over three percent.

This large fund was, of course, Fei Liang. He had followed the trend and bought about thirty-five million yesterday while copying homework. Seeing Fang Hong get out, he also decisively front-ran the exit after Fang Hong’s shares were distributed.

Just then, Fang Hong immediately added, “Keep buying back Shandong Gold. A maximum of eighty million. Buy back the shares below the four percent mark.”

As soon as Yifulei started buying the stock, its gains quickly rebounded to five percent. she said, “What if I can’t buy eighty million worth of shares below the four percent price point? Should I chase the high?”

Fang Hong shook his head. “Don’t chase. If you can’t buy it, so be it.”

Yifulei nodded. “Mm-hmm~, got it.”

Meanwhile, Fei Liang, who was copying homework, was stunned when he saw the real-time updated data from Fang Hong’s account showing that he had bought back Shandong Gold.

He quickly realized it. The master was making a day trade.

“I should have known he was day trading…” Fei Liang muttered to himself, because earlier Fang Hong had bought Zhongjin Gold after it resumed trading, and he had chased the price all the way up.

This indicated that the master was bullish on gold concept stocks for the next day.

However, the dive in Shandong Gold also dragged down Zhongjin Gold, which had been on its way to rally to the limit-up. The stock was now trading sideways around +7.50%, and Fang Hong had already completed building his position in it.

Because he had been chasing the price up, the stock was currently up more than seven percent, but his cost basis was around the six percent level, so his floating profit was in the one percent range.

Two minutes later, Fang Hong saw that Kailuan Shares, which he had held for four days, was on its seventh consecutive day of gains. The profit from this stock had already exceeded twenty-five percent. At the same time, Shanqi Coking Coal, which he had entered yesterday, was also up over five percent. He decisively ordered, “Sell both Kailuan Shares and Shanqi Coking Coal.”

While executing the sales, Yifulei asked, “Aren’t you selling the other coal stock, Lutian Coal?”

Fang Hong said with a smile, “Of course, I am, but I’ll sell it in the afternoon. This stock is likely to hit its limit-up this afternoon, and I’ll sell it on the board then. Oh, right, I won’t be home this afternoon, I have to go to class. You watch it when the market opens after lunch. Just sell it after it hits the limit-up, and then put the proceeds into a reverse repo.”

Hearing this, Yifulei nodded with a smile and said, “Mm-hmm~, you can count on me. We still have capital available. What should we buy?”

Fang Hong said, “600216, Zhejiang Pharmaceutical. Put in thirty million.”

A moment later, after telling Yifulee all the stocks to buy and sell for the day, she was staring at the screen with a serious expression, executing the trades in batches.

Fang Hong casually picked up his phone and made a call to Hua Yu.

A moment later, the call connected, and Hua Yu’s voice came through. “Bro Fang, what can I do for you?”

Fang Hong said directly, “Go set up an institutional account under my name.”

The net asset value of this account had officially broken past seven hundred million today. To reach the one billion mark, Fang Hong only needed to be a little more serious, diligent, and profit-driven, and he could probably make the remaining three hundred million in about ten trading days, reaching an asset scale of one billion.

In order to gain Reputation Value, Fang Hong continued to build himself into a legend of the stock market and wealth. Turning over sixty thousand into more than six hundred million, a ten-thousand-fold return in ten months, was just the beginning. By investing in the capital market under his own name, he would let the world witness his legendary saga of turning an initial capital of just over sixty thousand yuan into a net worth of tens of billions or even more.

However, as his capital grew, his trading model also needed to be adjusted accordingly.

He could either honestly engage in long-term value investing, a strategy of holding for three to five years or more, or he could be more profit-driven and continue with a short-term mindset. However, with such a large amount of capital, to take heavy positions in a short-term model and still be profitable, he would have to invest in many target stocks simultaneously, possibly holding thirty or more stocks at the same time.

Fang Hong’s strategy was to do both value investing and short-term trading.

The key was that he needed the assistance of traders—not just one or two. Yifulei alone was certainly not enough. Several traders simultaneously executing his trading orders would allow him to quickly adjust and switch positions across dozens of stocks.

This was where an institutional account was needed.

Retail investors cannot open institutional accounts. To open one, you must have a company under your name, along with the necessary qualifications, business licenses, and other materials. Then, you take the company’s relevant documents to a brokerage firm to apply for an institutional account.

For Fang Hong, opening an institutional account was naturally not a problem. Moreover, he didn’t even need to run the errands himself; he could just have the people working for him handle it.

…

Chapter 197: Can’t Understand the Master’s Moves, But Dare Not Question

Hua Yu was taken aback for a moment when he heard what Fang Hong said over the phone, but he quickly replied, “Do you need it urgently?”

Although he was a bit curious, he didn’t ask his immediate boss why he was doing this. He wouldn’t ask such a low-level question.

Fang Hong said concisely, “The sooner, the better.”

Hua Yu, on the other end of the line, immediately replied, “In that case, I’ll free up one of the company’s internal institutional accounts and transfer it to your name. I can get it done within three days.”

He could start using it first, and the paperwork could be sorted out through the proper procedures later.

After a moment, Hua Yu’s voice came through the phone again, “Do you need me to arrange for some traders to assist with your investment strategy?”

Since he was setting up an institutional trading seat, a trading team would certainly be necessary.

It wasn’t just traders; it would also include analysts and the like.

Fang Hong flatly refused, “No need. I’ll scout for traders myself. Just get the institutional seat ready for me.”

K-God’s Happy Trading Room didn’t need any unrelated outsiders. As for traders, he would just have the maids working at Tranquil Heart Residence do it part-time. Fang Hong had already planned this out clearly. The traders he needed didn’t require specialized industry knowledge; knowing the basic buy and sell operations was enough. There was practically no barrier to entry, and the maids were perfectly capable.

As for investment research analysts? Strategists?

In Fang Hong’s private trading room, there was absolutely no need for such things. He himself was the strongest investment research strategist and analyst.

A moment later, Fang Hong added, “One more thing. Arrange for someone to come to Tranquil Heart Residence and upgrade the hardware for my trading room.”

Hua Yu nodded, “No problem.”

Fang Hong then hung up. Currently, the hardware in this private trading room was set up for a single operator. After transitioning to an institutional setup, the hardware would definitely need to be upgraded. The room would also need to be swapped for a larger one, as the current one was a bit small.

By then, more than six or seven people would be needed just to handle the buying and selling.

Fang Hong glanced at the screen and said to the maid, “You continue buying. I’m heading out.”

Yifulei nodded. Fang Hong left the trading room and headed to school, leaving the maid to continue watching the market and trading.

…

When the market opened in the afternoon, Yifulei entered the trading room, logged into Fang Hong’s securities account, and waited.

The maid sat before the multi-screen console, her left hand propping up her head with the palm against her cheek. Her right hand occasionally pressed keyboard shortcuts to switch screens, glancing at the Shanghai Composite Index one moment, then at the intraday market data of other stocks the next, before looking at some K-line charts.

She looked quite bored.

And it was quite boring. She could now execute buy and sell orders skillfully, but she didn’t understand strategic analysis or the logic behind market fluctuations. With Fang Hong absent, she couldn’t interact with him immersively, so she naturally felt bored.

Around 1:15 PM, Yifulei manually entered the stock code 002128. The main screen switched to the intraday market data for Lutian Coal. By this time, the stock had begun to rally further, hitting a new intraday high with a gain of over eight percent.

A minute later, the gain widened to +9.55%. The maid’s eyes lit up.

“It’s about to hit the limit-up!”

She immediately remembered what Fang Hong had said that morning: sell when it hits the limit-up. Yifulei quickly entered the limit-up price to sell, placing an initial sell order of around ten million.

Just as she put out that sell order for about ten million, the share price of Lutian Coal, which was about to surge to its limit-up, took a nosedive, dropping to a +7.36% level.

Yifulei couldn’t help but mutter in frustration, “Why did it suddenly plummet…”

The maid didn’t know that Lutian Coal had suddenly dived because it was spooked by the large sell order of about ten million she had placed. It was still sitting on the order book at the limit-up price, waiting to be filled.

But Yifulei clearly didn’t understand this. She had no intention of canceling the order. Seeing that the stock wasn’t hitting the limit-up, she could only continue to wait.

Although she couldn’t make sense of it, the maid firmly believed the stock would definitely hit its limit-up today because Fang Hong had said so, and she had absolute faith in him.

And so, Lutian Coal’s share price consolidated horizontally at the high level of +8.50%.

Meanwhile, Fei Liang, who was copying his homework, saw the updated data in Fang Hong’s securities account and thought to himself in bewilderment, “What does the master mean by placing a ten-million sell order at the limit-up price? Is there some kind of trick to it? Some special tactic?”

Those trading Lutian Coal would never have guessed that on the other side of their trades, a bear holding tens of millions in shares was actually a soft girl who knew only how to execute buy and sell orders and nothing else.

Fei Liang admitted he couldn’t understand it, but he was convinced that the master must have a profound reason for doing so. He didn’t understand, but he didn’t dare to question it either.

Time ticked by, minute by minute. Lutian Coal’s intraday line moved sideways at a level of over eight percent for nearly half an hour. The maid was very patient. In any case, she wouldn’t sell unless it hit the limit-up.

Nearing 2:00 PM, Lutian Coal suddenly broke below its consolidation level and took a dive, its gains narrowing to below 7 percent, but it quickly rebounded.

When the maid saw the stock price plummet, she was completely unfazed.

Panic?

Not a chance.

Bro Hong said it would hit the limit-up, so it would definitely hit the limit-up.

That was what the maid was thinking.

She was super calm.

If it had been a retail investor, they probably would have been unable to hold it in and sold off prematurely by now.

Lutian Coal returned to the 8 percent level and consolidated for another twenty or so minutes before finally starting to rally at 2:24 PM, with trading volume rapidly increasing.

At 2:25 PM, more than thirteen million was traded in that minute alone. The stock price surged to 29.37 yuan, a gain of +10.00%, hitting the limit-up board.

The maid’s ten-million sell order at the limit-up price was filled. She immediately continued to place another ten-million sell order at the limit-up price, which was filled again within a minute. In that minute, more than thirteen million was traded.

Yifulei continued placing orders. In the next minute, over nineteen million was traded. The minute after that, the volume surged, with over thirty-two million traded. In the following three minutes, over ten million, eleven million, and thirty-one million were traded, respectively.

Around 2:31 PM, Yifulei successfully sold off all of her Lutian Coal shares at the limit-up. By this point, the stock’s total daily trading volume had already exceeded six hundred million.

A few minutes later, Fei Liang saw that the master had finished selling off his position. Now it was his turn. He decisively issued a sell order to the traders under him.

However, the trading volume dropped sharply afterward, so Fei Liang was also splitting his orders to sell off his position.

The bulls who were trying to seal Lutian Coal’s limit-up were ready to spit blood when they saw that shares were still being sold off. Damn it, when would these bears finish selling?

As late trading began at 2:50 PM, with just ten minutes left before the market close, Fei Liang saw he still had over ten million in shares left to sell. With the closing bell imminent, he started to get anxious. Throwing caution to the wind, he ordered directly, “Sell the remaining Lutian Coal shares at the limit-down price!”

Good grief!

The bulls who had pushed this stock to its limit-up were completely dumbfounded.

Misfortunes never come singly. The broader market was also weak today, trending downwards. By 2:30 PM in late trading, the coal sector had already weakened. The neighboring Anyuan Shares had taken a sharp plunge from near its limit-up price in the last half hour. Fang Hong had already sold this stock in the morning when it surged by eight percent; it had even briefly touched its limit-up in the afternoon.

Fei Liang’s massive sell-off smashed the market, breaking Lutian Coal’s limit-up seal. In the final ten minutes of trading, the stock staged a dive, quickly dropping to a level below +7%.

The bullish funds in the game quickly bought up the shares, trying to force it back to the limit-up. However, Fei Liang’s market-smashing exit also triggered a follow-the-leader sell-off from other funds. The bulls attempted to hit the limit-up again, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time.

The clock ticked to 3:00 PM sharp, and the A-share market officially closed.

Lutian Coal closed at 29.28 yuan, up +9.66%, with a trading volume of 745 million yuan and a turnover rate of 12.85%. In the end, the stock failed to hit the limit-up again, which thoroughly infuriated the bulls who had pushed it up today, making them curse out loud.

Although it closed at +9.66%, failing to seal the limit-up made a huge difference.

As for the indexes, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down -0.94% today at 2651.40 points, with a turnover of 137.7 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index closed down -0.53% at 10369.14 points, with a turnover of 76.9 billion yuan. The total trading volume for both markets was 214.6 billion yuan.

The indexes didn’t seem to fall by much, but that wasn’t the key point. The key was that in the last fifteen minutes of late trading, the broader market suddenly took a nosedive—a high-volume plunge. Panic swept the market. Everyone was bewildered and couldn’t react in time, but seeing everyone else selling, they followed suit.

On the daily chart, it closed with a bearish candlestick with no lower shadow, and the closing price was the lowest of the day. This indicated that the decline wasn’t over when the market closed.

…

Chapter 198: [Retail Investor: What Happened to “If There’s a Third, There Must Be a Fifth”?]

Fei Liang, who was copying the homework, was also wearing a look of delight. The market had plunged into a panic during late trading, but he was not among the panicked. Following the master’s lead was like Emperor Qin eating peppercorns—he was numb from all the winning!

All the stocks the master had bought were in the red today, especially the two gold concept stocks, which had soared.

The only stock Fei Liang missed was Tailong Pharmaceutical, the hot monster stock. He had followed all the others. Tailong Pharmaceutical opened at its limit-up price today, successfully hitting a third consecutive limit-up with an accelerating T-shaped candlestick, and remained sealed at the limit-up price for the entire day.

Some were happy, some were sad. The funds that entered Lutian Coal today were filled with unspeakable bitterness.

After the market closed, more bad news arrived.

When today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, Lutian Coal was listed under “Securities with a daily price deviation of 7%.” Investors discovered that K-God’s trading seat was prominently listed as the top seller.

The stock hadn’t been on the Dragon-Tiger List yesterday, but everyone had assumed K-God had already left. It turned out he hadn’t sold yesterday, but today.

The truth behind the sell-off in the final ten minutes of late trading was out.

It was an institutional sell-off!

The second-largest seller on Lutian Coal’s Dragon-Tiger List was labeled “For institutional use only,” and the timing of their sales was estimated to be within the last ten minutes of trading.

This ruled out K-God as the one who smashed the market, as data estimated he had sold when the stock hit its limit-up board around two-thirty in the afternoon, getting out twenty minutes earlier.

The bulls who entered the market today were cursing the institutions. Compounded by the broader market’s poor performance, it was highly probable that the stock would open deep underwater tomorrow.

It was worth mentioning that another coal stock, Anyuan Shares, also appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List today. It made the list due to its turnover rate, which reached an astonishing 26% or more.

Anyuan Shares had nearly touched its limit-up price in the afternoon, only to suffer a sharp plunge in the last half hour of late trading, ultimately closing with a 3% gain.

Fang Hong’s trading seat also appeared on the sell side of this stock’s Dragon-Tiger List. Investors were not too surprised. The stock had hit two limit-ups in the last three days, and they all knew K-God had entered on the first limit-up board. When it hit its second board yesterday, it was on the Dragon-Tiger List, but K-God’s seat was nowhere to be seen. Given the size of his capital, he would have definitely been on the list if he had sold.

Investors knew K-God must have bought other stocks. After all, with his amount of capital, the tens of millions in each of these stocks constituted less than a tenth of his total position.

They could only glean from the Dragon-Tiger List that he held three target stocks. Now that he had exited the two coal stocks, Anyuan Shares and Lutian Coal, only the hot leader, Tailong Pharmaceutical, remained.

…

The next day, Thursday, May 21.

After the sudden dive and panic selling during late trading yesterday, the A-share market predictably opened lower in the call auction today. The Shanghai Composite Index gapped down, opening at -0.46%.

However, the hot leader, Tailong Pharmaceutical, once again opened at its limit-up price during the call auction, directly hitting its fourth consecutive limit-up. Its price had already risen to 8.62 yuan per share. The stock had started its run from a bottom of 2.04 yuan, accumulating a gain of over 322%.

In the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

“Sell Tailong Pharmaceutical as soon as the market opens. Liquidate the position with one click,” Fang Hong instructed the maid directly. The popularity of this stock was truly high now; the bullish sentiment was a bit overheated.

When consensus is too strong, a reversal is imminent. He was definitely getting out.

This situation was largely due to a group of retail investors who had blind faith in K-God. Yesterday’s Dragon-Tiger List had further reinforced this belief: K-God had sold his other two stocks but held onto Tailong Pharmaceutical, which must mean he was bullish on it.

If there’s a third, there must be a fifth! It had only hit four consecutive limit-ups. There was at least one more to go. Don’t be a coward, just do it!

Yifulei immediately placed a pending order to liquidate the entire position, selling all shares of Tailong Pharmaceutical. The bid price was set at today’s limit-down price of 7.06 yuan per share.

When it was time to smash the market, Fang Hong wouldn’t hesitate.

Although he didn’t like to offend people, it wasn’t that he was afraid to.

Most importantly, in a few days, he would be managing an institutional account. By then, even if stocks he invested in appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List, it would only show an “For institutional use only” seat.

While this didn’t offer absolute secrecy, it would be impossible to know who was behind it in the short term unless the brokerage leaked client holding information.

Valuable information lies in its timeliness; delayed information is worthless. By the time the market found out, he would have already cashed out and left.

Cashing out with a profit was all that mattered.

As the time reached 9:30 AM and the market opened, Tailong Pharmaceutical, which had opened at its limit-up price, saw nearly one hundred million yuan in trading volume within the first minute. Fang Hong’s account, holding over forty-two million yuan in shares including principal and profit, successfully changed hands within this volume. He had invested thirty million yuan in this stock and was now exiting with a profit of over twelve million.

As expected, big money was fleeing. If you didn’t sell, someone else would smash the price on you. Fang Hong naturally chose to be the former.

The stock price quickly dived to +6.56%. Seeing Tailong Pharmaceutical break its limit-up board, some retail investors, armed with the belief “if there’s a third, there must be a fifth,” charged right in.

A minute later, the price rebounded to +9.95%, hitting the limit-up board again.

But just a minute after it hit the limit-up again, another short seller began to smash the market.

Tailong Pharmaceutical broke its limit-up board again and plummeted, quickly slicing through the intraday average price line and hitting a new intraday low of +5.23%. It was followed by a rebound as retail investors bought the dip, but this rally failed to break through the intraday average price line before another dive began, taking it down to the +3.38% level.

In a residential apartment in a certain city.

“If there’s a third, there must be a fifth! Buy now, buy now!” A retail investor stared at Tailong Pharmaceutical’s intraday market data. Seeing the price drop to just over 3% up, he immediately invested 20% of his position, with an average price of 8.12 yuan.

He was actually a bit afraid of the high price, so he only gambled with 20% of his position, hoping it would hit the limit-up again.

After all, if there’s a third, there must be a fifth!

What the large funds selling off wanted was precisely these 10% or 20% positions from retail investors. Because the sentiment was high, one lot from you and one lot from him added up to thousands and thousands of lots.

Not long after this retail investor bought in, Tailong Pharmaceutical began to rebound rapidly. About twenty minutes after the market opened, the stock price bounced back to over 7%, once again rallying toward the intraday average price line.

Seeing his position was already showing a +3.57% profit and that the stock seemed headed for the limit-up board, he added another 10% of his position, bringing his total to 30%. If it hit the limit-up, he planned to add another 20%.

“Go, go, go! The short-term pullback was just a shakeout for a better rally,” the investor said, his eyes filled with eager anticipation for Tailong Pharmaceutical to hit the limit-up board again. As long as it did, it would be set for a fifth consecutive limit-up tomorrow.

But his happiness lasted only a few minutes. When Tailong Pharmaceutical touched the intraday average price line a second time, it staged another massive plunge, diving even deeper to a new intraday low. It continued to panic sell all the way down to the zero-axis line and even briefly turned negative.

Seeing his account turn negative in the blink of an eye, transforming from a profit of over 3% to a loss of over 3%, the retail investor was stunned for a moment. “What happened to ‘if there’s a third, there must be a fifth’?”

A bad feeling gradually welled up in his heart.

But just then, as Tailong Pharmaceutical touched the zero-axis line and turned negative, more retail investors started buying the dip. The stock price once again surged, violently rebounding to over 5%.

Seeing his account turn positive again with a floating profit of over 1%, the light returned to the investor’s eyes.

But then it quickly began to fall again. His account turned negative once more with a floating loss of 2%, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

After a period of narrow, converging consolidation, Tailong Pharmaceutical’s price rebounded to around 6%. His account showed a floating profit of over 2%, and the light in the man’s eyes returned…

However, it fell again, and the light vanished…

Tailong Pharmaceutical grew weaker and weaker. This time, the rebound couldn’t even touch the intraday average price line. The retail investor’s emotions rode the rollercoaster of the intraday line. As the stock failed to rally, he began to realize he might have become the next sucker.

He kept asking himself: What happened to “if there’s a third, there must be a fifth”?

But he was not alone. There were many, many retail investors like him who entered today, not to mention those who had bought the stock at its limit-up price.

As for Fang Hong, after instructing the soft girl to sell their shares of Tailong Pharmaceutical and successfully cashing out, he paid no more attention to the stock and turned to manage his other targets.

Zhongjin Gold, which he had bought yesterday, hit its limit-up today, and Shandong Gold also rose by more than 8%.

Zhongjin Gold, in particular, had already doubled from its rock bottom price. It was also one of the stocks in Stellaris Capital’s institutional position. Crucially, it was poised to enter an accelerated primary rally over the next month. Even at today’s limit-up price, it still had the potential to double again, and its market cap was not small.

Fang Hong definitely intended to hold this gold concept stock for the long term and would implement his strategy once the institutional account was ready.

However, he sold the stock today as well, knowing it would undergo a correction over the next few days.

…

Chapter 199: Trading Room Hardware Upgrade

“What’s going on with the Master? Is he not buying today?”

Meanwhile, Fei Liang, who was copying his homework, saw an update on Fang Hong’s securities account data. He noticed that the Master was only selling today. It was almost eleven o’clock, and he still hadn’t bought a single stock.

The back-end data showed that 35% of his position was now in cash. In the past few trading days, whenever he sold and freed up capital, he would quickly move on to a new stock.

Since the Master made no move, Fei Liang could only wait patiently.

At the same time, whenever the Master sold a stock, he would follow suit and have his traders do the same.

…

Through the half-open door of the second-floor trading room in Tranquil Heart Residence, Yifulei, who was handling the trading operations, glanced back at Fang Hong while selling stocks and asked, “Are we not buying any stocks today?”

The young maid had a similar question.

Fang Hong smiled and said, “Today, we’re only selling, not buying. I need to free up the funds to move them to another institutional account.”

Hearing this, Yifulei nodded.

Outside the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, several cars arrived and parked at the entrance. These were the people Hua Yu had sent over, and the cars were filled with the necessary hardware for the trading room, such as computers and desks.

A short while later, the house manager, Yu Qiu, came up to the second floor and walked toward the trading room. Seeing the door ajar, she walked right in.

She was no longer as formal as when she had first started. He Xuan had repeatedly insisted that the house manager treat her and Fang Hong as close friends, not employers, while working at Tranquil Heart Residence. So, she entered the room without a second thought.

“Bro Hong…” Yu Qiu had just entered the trading room to tell Fang Hong about what was happening outside. As she looked toward the multi-screen console, she saw Yifulei sitting on his lap.

The surprise was written all over the house manager’s face, and her beautiful eyes widened.

When the young maid, who was in the middle of selling stocks in batches, suddenly heard Yu Qiu’s voice, her delicate body trembled. Startled, she instinctively tried to stand up.

However, Fang Hong’s chin was resting on her shoulder, and his arms were wrapped around her waist, preventing her from getting up.

Fang Hong immediately whispered in her ear, his voice low enough for only her to hear, “Don’t mind her. Just keep selling the stocks.”

Flustered, the young maid heard his words and had no choice but to remain on his lap and continue trading. Inside, however, she was in a panic, feeling like a thief caught in the act.

At that moment, Fang Hong turned his head to look at the stunned Yu Qiu, whose eyes were still wide, and asked casually, as if nothing was wrong, “What is it?”

The house manager finally snapped out of it and stammered, “Uh… um, Bro Hong… a group of people are outside. They said President Hua sent them, and they brought a lot of equipment.”

Fang Hong nodded. “I know. They’re here to upgrade the trading room. Take them to the large room next door for now.”

The young maid, for her part, also pretended that everything was normal. She quietly placed sell orders for the stocks in their position, forcing herself to appear calm, though she didn’t dare turn her head to look at Yu Qiu.

Calm on the surface, but panicked and flustered underneath.

“O-Okay.” Seeing how calm Fang Hong was, Yu Qiu nodded and also pretended that everything was normal as she left the trading room, closing the door behind her. The moment she was outside, shock once again flooded her face.

As Yu Qiu walked away, she muttered to herself in her mind: [I had a feeling something was going on between them, but I thought I was overthinking it. I can’t believe she’s actually hooked up with the Employer…]

At that moment, a thought crossed the house manager’s mind: should she tell He Xuan about this? But she immediately dismissed the idea.

[It’s better not to meddle. I’ll just pretend I saw nothing.]

Yu Qiu nodded to herself, having made her decision. She would act as if nothing had happened and she knew nothing.

It wasn’t her place to interfere, nor was it something she could handle. She didn’t want to risk losing her job.

However, as the house manager recalled the scene, she felt an inexplicable trace of envy for Yifulei. Over the past few days, especially when Fang Hong teased her with his playful remarks, her own heart had fluttered. She’d thought about it, but it had never gone beyond a mere thought.

She never would have imagined that the newcomer, Yifulei, would secretly get involved with their employer so quickly. She was surprised by her boldness, and even more so that someone who looked like such a gentle soft girl could be… like that behind the scenes.

The house manager was learning the meaning of “you can’t judge a book by its cover” all over again.

Quickly pushing these thoughts aside, Yu Qiu composed herself, walked out of the villa, and led the installation team waiting at the main gate inside.

…

Meanwhile, in the second-floor trading room.

As soon as the house manager left the room, Yifulei, who had been forcing herself to stay calm, let the panic show on her face and in her voice. “Bro Hong~, what do we do now? We’ve been discovered. If your girlfriend finds out, I…”

With a completely calm expression, Fang Hong countered the soft girl in his arms with a question, “Let me ask you, if you were the one who had just walked in, and Xiao Yu was sitting where you are now, what would you do?”

Yifulei: “I… I don’t know~”

Fang Hong asked again, “Would you tell Xuanxuan?”

Hearing this, Yifulei hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said softly, “If I told your girlfriend, you’d definitely get angry. You’d fire me, and I’d lose my job. I don’t want to lose this job, so I definitely wouldn’t say anything.”

Fang Hong smiled. “Exactly. Xiao Yu is definitely thinking the same thing.”

Yifulei looked at Fang Hong. “Really~?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “And even if Xuanxuan did find out, it wouldn’t matter.”

Yifulei said meekly, “But I’m still a little scared”

Still as calm as ever, Fang Hong said, “It’s fine, don’t be afraid. Also, from now on, when you see Xiao Yu, just act the way you always have. Pretend she saw nothing and knows nothing. Got it?”

Hearing this, Yifulei seemed to want to say something but held back. Since what was done was done, she didn’t have a better solution and could only listen to Fang Hong. So, the young maid nodded and responded in a voice as soft as silk, “Mmm~”

A moment later, Fang Hong patted the young maid’s thigh, signaling for her to get up.

Yifulei stood up, and Fang Hong also rose from his chair, smiling. “You stay here and continue selling off the rest of the position in the account.”

With that, he left the trading room.

Not long after, Yu Qiu led the installation team into the villa. A group of people began carrying hardware like computers and desks up to the second floor.

Fang Hong entered the largest room on the second floor, which was laid out like a conference room. Pointing at the furniture inside, he said, “Clear all this out while you’re at it. Xiao Yu, have them move these things to the storage room in the basement.”

As he spoke, he looked at the house manager, who had also entered the room.

“Okay.”

Yu Qiu nodded in acknowledgment. Her eyes met his for a moment, and feeling a little unnatural, the house manager quickly looked away, muttering to herself, “This guy is so calm, as if nothing happened at all…”

A short while later, Yu Qiu led the installation team in clearing out the room’s contents and moving everything to the storage room in the basement.

The new equipment was then brought in one by one. With more than ten people working, they could have the new trading room set up in a single afternoon. The overall layout was symmetrical, with two curved banks of desks arranged against the side walls. Each side could accommodate five traders.

In the center was a main console, and two large screens of the same size were mounted on the walls on either side.

Additionally, the far end of the trading room was furnished with some beanbag chairs and a simple, oval-shaped table, theoretically for pre-market strategy discussions or for taking a break.

Fang Hong gave a general outline of his instructions and then left the room, letting the workers handle the setup.

…

Chapter 200: These Rich People Are So Tacky, It’s Enviable

Around 4 PM, the upgrade of the new trading room was complete. All the equipment had been calibrated and was working fine, and the renovation crew had left Tranquil Heart Residence.

Tomorrow was Friday. Fang Hong had already liquidated his entire position today and wouldn’t be using his personal account tomorrow. The funds would be moved to the institutional account, and he would officially begin trading with it next Monday.

Besides, there wouldn’t be any major market movements on Friday, as the A-share market was currently entering a correction phase.

The market had closed for the day. The Shanghai Composite Index fell again, briefly dropping below the 2600-point mark during trading hours. It ultimately closed down 1.54% at 2610.62 points, with a trading volume of 138.8 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index plummeted by 2.51% to close at 10108.86 points, with a trading volume of 71.3 billion. The combined trading volume for both markets was 210.1 billion.

Fang Hong’s account gained over two percent today, with an absolute profit of 16.85 million yuan. The total assets in the account reached 722.28 million yuan, and the cumulative return hit +1,102,216.13%, a rate exceeding eleven thousand times the initial investment.

The return rate for this account would now be essentially fixed at this number, as Fang Hong would no longer be using it. From now on, he would conduct all his trades using the institutional account.

He now had 722.28 million yuan under his personal name. Seven hundred million of that would be transferred to the institutional account, while the remaining twenty million-plus would be withdrawn from his personal securities account and given to his beautiful house manager to cover the daily expenses of Tranquil Heart Residence.

…

In the first-floor living room of Tranquil Heart Residence, Yu Qiu saw Yifulei and said, “Little Yi, please clean the stairwell landing and this hallway. Also, go check on the trading room upstairs and tidy it up.”

The renovation crew had just left, and the floor hadn’t been cleaned yet.

The two women glanced at each other, both pretending to be calm. Neither mentioned what had happened in the trading room that morning, but there was still a palpable awkwardness between them.

Yifulei nodded. “Mm, okay.”

On the living room sofa sat He Xuan, who was back from school. She was eating an apple and, noticing the unnatural glances the two women exchanged, which was different from their usual interaction, she asked curiously, “What’s up with you two? Did something happen?”

Upon hearing her question, the beautiful house manager and the maid were both startled. Then, in surprising unison, they replied, “N-Nothing…”

He Xuan glanced at them suspiciously.

Just then, Yifulei immediately said, “I’ll go clean up now.”

With that, she pretended to be calm and went upstairs to clean the trading room, though in reality, she was fleeing out of a guilty conscience. Meanwhile, Yu Qiu also feigned nonchalance and smiled at He Xuan, saying, “The funds for daily expenses are running low. I need to go find Bro Hong and talk to him about it.”

The beautiful house manager also left the main living room and headed to the gym on the lower level to find Fang Hong.

He Xuan didn’t think much of it. She continued eating her apple, her eyes fixed on the laptop on her lap.

…

At Xinhong Securities, in Zhang Qi’s office.

“Fang Hong probably won’t be using his personal securities account anymore,” Zhang Qi said, looking at Fei Liang who was standing in front of his desk.

“Not using it anymore?” Fei Liang was utterly astonished. No wonder the Master only sold and didn’t buy today. Had the free trial of following the big shot expired so quickly?

But his surprise quickly turned to alarm. He couldn’t help but ask cautiously, “Sir, don’t tell me he found out about our follow-up funds…”

Zhang Qi shook his head. “I don’t think so. As long as you haven’t been front-running or snapping up shares on your own initiative, it shouldn’t be a major issue even if he finds out.”

Hearing this, Fei Liang breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had been genuinely scared, worried that Fang Hong had found out and was about to angrily switch brokerages. If that had happened, he would have certainly gotten a harsh scolding and been made the scapegoat. He quickly assured him, “Don’t worry, sir. My follower trades have strictly adhered to your ‘two nos’ principle.’”

Zhang Qi nodded in satisfaction.

Fei Liang then asked, “Sir, then what’s Fang Hong…?”

Zhang Qi explained, “That’s what I called you over to discuss. Fang Hong has acquired an institutional account, and it’s still with us at Xinhong Securities. From now on, you’ll just follow his institutional account.”

As he spoke, Zhang Qi handed him a file.

Zhang Qi was able to find out about Fang Hong switching to an institutional account so quickly because Hua Yu had called him.

Transferring an institutional account from Stellaris Capital to Fang Hong required going through a procedure.

However, Hua Yu didn’t know that Zhang Qi had approved the follow-up funds.

As Fei Liang took the file, Zhang Qi reiterated, “Remember to execute the ‘two nos’ principle to the letter. I don’t need to spell out the implications of Fang Hong switching to an institutional account, do I?”

Hearing this, Fei Liang nodded repeatedly. “Understood. Please rest assured, sir.”

He certainly understood what Fang Hong switching to trade with an institutional account meant. Things were about to get big!

That meant the follow-up funds he was managing could also be expanded, leading to even bigger profits.

…

Around 5 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released.

Tailong Pharmaceutical was prominently featured on the list. The stock had opened at its limit-up price of 8.62 yuan, but it closed at 7.87 yuan per share, a mere +0.38% gain. It formed a huge negative candlestick that plunged downward, a pattern known as “dark cloud cover.”

Although the stock still closed higher, anyone who bought in at the limit-up price today essentially suffered a loss equivalent to hitting the limit-down.

Tailong Pharmaceutical appeared on today’s Dragon-Tiger List under the category “Securities with a daily turnover rate exceeding 20%.” In fact, the stock’s turnover rate reached a staggering 48.73%, with a massive trading volume of nearly 700 million yuan.

On the Dragon-Tiger List, the top seller’s seat for the stock was prominently “Xinhong Securities, Xinnan Branch Road Office.” The data showed a net sell of approximately 42.9 million yuan, which occurred right at the market open.

The total sales from all brokerage offices on Tailong Pharmaceutical’s Dragon-Tiger List today amounted to only 77.2078 million yuan, meaning Fang Hong’s single seat accounted for over 55% of the total.

When the investors saw the stock’s Dragon-Tiger List data, many retail investors who had traded Tailong Pharmaceutical flocked to Fang Hong’s K3478 Weibo account to comment.

[Didn’t you say if there’s a third, there must be a fifth? Grandmaster, why did you run after the fourth board?]

[I was left holding the bag by the Grandmaster…]

[I believed in ‘if there’s a third, there must be a fifth’ and jumped in when it plummeted today. Luckily, I bought at a relatively low price and only had a 20% position. If I had gone all in, I would’ve been hit hard.]

[With this volume and this insane turnover, the retail investors were definitely left holding the bag.]

[There are risks to copying homework too!]

[I could just cry. I didn’t follow so many times before, but this time I finally worked up the courage and got hit with a loss equivalent to a limit-down.]

[I’m not playing anymore, give me my money back…JPG]

[Why are you only chasing it now? If you’re not the one left holding the bag, who is? K-God hit Tailong’s first limit-up board on Monday, and it was on the Dragon-Tiger List. If you’d chased it at Tuesday’s open, you would’ve ridden three straight limit-ups. Even if you’d gotten in yesterday, you wouldn’t have lost money today. Running as soon as the limit-up broke at the open would’ve still netted a huge profit.]

[Not blaming K-God, I just don’t get why he ran today. Didn’t he say if there’s a third, there must be a fifth?]

[Bro, you really shouldn’t be playing the stock market…]

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong worked out in the gym for about an hour. After resting for ten minutes or so, he went for a few laps in the indoor pool, which also served as his shower.

Now, wearing a pair of baggy shorts, he came to the main living room on the first floor, drying his hair with a towel.

Fang Hong sat down on the sofa. He Xuan was still there, playing on her computer.

After a moment, Fang Hong saw the maid and said, “Little Yi, stop what you’re doing and come give me a massage.”

A massage after a workout would be pretty nice.

The maid hesitated when she saw He Xuan was also there, but upon meeting Fang Hong’s commanding gaze, she walked gracefully to his side and began to massage his shoulders.

While massaging him, she occasionally stole a glance at He Xuan. Seeing that He Xuan didn’t seem to notice or care, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Yu Qiu came looking for Yifulei to do something, but she dropped the idea upon seeing her massaging Fang Hong’s shoulders. The beautiful house manager shot a surprised glance back and forth between He Xuan and Yifulei.

After a moment, Yu Qiu quietly went back to her own work.

He Xuan closed her laptop, set it aside, and looked at Fang Hong with a smile. “Want an apple?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Peel one for me.”

He Xuan immediately grabbed an apple and started peeling it.

Before long, the two top-tier private chefs hired by Fang Hong arrived at the villa. They were there to prepare dinner for their employer on schedule and would leave once it was done. The two chefs greeted Fang Hong as they passed through the living room on their way to the kitchen.

As one of the chefs walked toward the kitchen, he muttered to himself: He really knows how to live…

One beauty was giving him a massage, while another was peeling an apple, cutting it into pieces, and feeding it to him personally.

Although it wasn’t the first time he had seen such a scene since landing this high-paying job, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. These rich people are so tacky, he thought, absolutely insufferably tacky. So tacky, it’s enviable!

…

Chapter 201: A Strategic Stake in Radiance Glass

“Hand me the laptop.”

In the living room on the first floor, Fang Hong opened his mouth to take a slice of apple from his girlfriend. He Xuan handed him the laptop at the same time. Fang Hong immediately logged into his Weibo account, ready to post a new update.

Before posting, he browsed some of the new comments under his latest update.

Fang Hong saw many fans asking why he had bailed on Tailong Pharmaceutical today. Why not wait for the fifth limit-up day? There were also quite a few comments complaining about being left holding the bag.

Why did he sell today?

It was because you guys were too aggressive. You pushed it to a one-word limit-up yesterday and did it again today. All the major players knew there would be no shortage of liquidity for anyone wanting to sell.

But of course, he wouldn’t say that publicly.

Besides, he now had the perfect excuse for his exit. Fang Hong immediately started typing:

[I set up an institutional account and will be transferring my funds over to trade with it next week. That’s why I closed all my positions today. I’ll be using the institutional account from now on.]

Fang Hong also took a screenshot of his latest cumulative return of 11,000x and posted it along with the update.

Transferring to an institutional account required freeing up his funds, which was a great reason for selling Tailong Pharmaceutical. And it wasn’t a lie; it was exactly what he was doing.

It wasn’t long before his Weibo update was flooded with comments.

[Has it only been a few days? He’s already made over 720 million?]

[He really is The Emotionless Money-Making Machine!]

[So he sold Tailong Pharmaceutical because he’s switching to an institutional account?]

[Looks like it. The screenshot shows K-God is completely in cash now.]

[K-God, is there any hope for Tailong Pharmaceutical?]

[To the guy above, that’s a pointless question. K-God won’t answer it. If he says there’s hope and it keeps dropping, you’ll come back to curse him. If he says it’s hopeless and it forms an engulfing pattern, you’ll also come back to curse him. Why would K-God look for trouble?]

[Decide for yourself. K-God only shares his trading logic, he doesn’t give investment advice. In short, your profits and losses are your own responsibility.]

[So, he’s becoming an institutional investor?]

[Are you hiring traders? I just need room and board… [Panda Head emoji]]

[Move aside, I don’t even need room and board… [Funny Face emoji]]

[Trading with an institutional account? Doesn’t that mean we won’t know if it’s K-God on the Dragon-Tiger List anymore?]

[Probably.]

[Unless you’re one of the few people at the very top of the circle, retail investors will probably never know. And even if we do, it’ll be old news.]

[Why switch to an institutional account? What’s wrong with his current trading seat?]

[K-God, is the broader market about to peak?]

[K3478 replied: It’s a normal correction. My overall bullish outlook remains unchanged.]

[That’s a relief! The more it drops, the more I’ll buy!]

[Will you still update Weibo after you switch to the institutional account, K-God?]

[K3478 replied: We’ll see.]

…

Fang Hong refreshed the page a few times, reading the comments on his new post. The excuse of moving funds to an institutional account was a good one. Selling Tailong Pharmaceutical at its limit-up wasn’t seen as smashing the market.

However, K-God’s exit was still a huge blow to sentiment for the stock, and it was directly reflected in its performance the next day.

The next day, Friday.

The broader market index opened lower again, falling directly below the 2600-point mark. The A-share market had now been in a downward correction for three consecutive days.

Tailong Pharmaceutical also started the day deep underwater, opening at -3.43%. It plummeted rapidly after the opening bell and dived even further in the afternoon, dropping more than nine percent to near its limit-down. This trend basically confirmed it was a lost cause, at least in the short term. There was no chance of recovery.

A washed-up leader is truly worse than a dog.

Today, Fang Hong was staying in cash. He would wait until Monday to re-enter the A-share market with 700 million yuan in his institutional account. There wasn’t much action today anyway; market volume had shrunk significantly, and the index had broken the 2600-point threshold.

But the correction was about done. At worst, it would see a large drop at the open on Monday, but it would have to go back up.

Moreover, Fang Hong knew that this week’s correction would be the most significant one in the coming market trend. Afterward, the market index would begin a one-sided rise along the 5-day moving average, reaching a historic secondary peak that would only be surpassed by the super bull market of 2015.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence.

In the lounge area, Fang Hong was making tea when he patted his pockets and couldn’t find his phone. Seeing Yu Qiu passing by, he said, “Xiao Yu, I think I left my phone in the gym. Can you find it and bring it to me?”

Yu Qiu nodded. “Alright, one moment.”

The beautiful house manager went to the gym and returned a moment later with his phone.

Fang Hong took the phone and immediately called Hua Yu. While waiting for the call to connect, he enjoyed a shoulder massage from the maid, Yifulei.

The call connected quickly, and Hua Yu’s voice came through. “Bro Fang, what’s up?”

With his eyes closed, Fang Hong spoke in a relaxed and methodical tone, “I just saw in the news that Boss Cao of Radiance Glass is currently in Xincheng for a business inspection. I need you to make some arrangements so I can meet with him.”

On the other end of the line, Hua Yu was taken aback and asked with curiosity, “Bro Fang, are you planning to invest in Radiance Glass?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “That’s right. I’ve decided to take a strategic stake in Radiance Glass and acquire 15% of the Radiance Group’s equity.”

Hua Yu was stunned, but he quickly recovered. After a moment of silence, he replied, “Understood. I’ll get on it right away. Since Boss Cao is here in Xincheng, it shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange a meeting.”

Then, Hua Yu’s tone shifted as he added, “But Bro Fang, from what I know, Boss Cao is famously stubborn in his resistance to capital. He’s never been a fan of financial capital, stocks, or other aspects of the virtual economy.”

The implication was clear: I can arrange the meeting for you, big boss, no problem, but you might get shot down. Be mentally prepared, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Fang Hong replied with an air of ease, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll handle it myself.”

Hearing such confidence from his immediate boss, Hua Yu knew what to do. Still, he couldn’t help but say in surprise, “Bro Fang, if you do this, you might have to step into the public eye.”

Fang Hong laughed. “It’s also a necessary way to show my sincerity. I don’t mind stepping into the spotlight; it was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m sure Boss Cao isn’t the gossiping type, nor would he have the time to go around talking about it.”

Even if Boss Cao finds out that Fang Hong is the real big boss of Stellaris Capital, only he and one or two people around him would know. It’s a far cry from becoming common knowledge among insiders, let alone the general public.

He could continue to enjoy his current pleasant lifestyle for a good while longer.

Hua Yu replied briskly, “Alright, I’ll arrange it.”

After hanging up, Hua Yu immediately got to work. Just as he’d said, with the Huayang Group’s deep-rooted presence and accumulated resources in Xincheng, it wouldn’t be difficult to arrange a meeting with Boss Cao while he was in the city.

The meeting was quickly arranged for the weekend.

…

Chapter 202: Meeting the Chairman of Radiance

Two days later, it was the weekend.

Around 10 a.m., the boss of Radiance Glass was in his hotel in Xincheng, enjoying some snacks and drinking Tieguanyin tea. He seemed to be in a rather good mood.

After a moment, his assistant approached.

“Chairman, Hua Yu, the Vice President of Huayang Group and the leader of Stellaris Capital—who is also Hua Yongming’s son—has come to pay a visit. He wishes to see you. He’s already here. What are your thoughts…?” the assistant reported, standing beside him.

Being interrupted while eating his snacks, Boss Cao showed a hint of displeasure. However, upon hearing the name Hua Yu, he recalled that Huayang Group was a major enterprise group in Xincheng and that Stellaris Capital had recently made quite a name for itself in business circles, rising to prominence almost overnight.

Radiance Group and Huayang Group had no business dealings, but Boss Cao thought it over and decided to meet him. After all, he was a guest in Xincheng, and this was Huayang’s home turf.

Moreover, the other party had humbled himself to come in person, making it clear that a meeting was non-negotiable. Refusing would be a major slight. So, he had no choice but to see this uninvited guest and find out what he was up to.

After a short wait, Boss Cao saw his assistant lead two people in.

The man in the lead, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, was none other than Hua Yu. He looked at Boss Cao and immediately smiled, “A pleasure to meet you, Boss Cao. My sincere apologies for this abrupt visit. I hope you can overlook it.”

“Please, sit,” Boss Cao said with a nod. His voice was neutral, and he didn’t rise to greet them. Hua Yu didn’t mind; after all, Boss Cao was a senior in the business world, and putting on such airs was understandable.

But just then, Hua Yu’s next action stunned both Boss Cao and his assistant.

Hua Yu took a step to the side and said to the young man behind him, “Bro Fang, please!”

Boss Cao was slightly taken aback, and his assistant stood there, utterly bewildered.

Both of them had noticed the young man behind Hua Yu and had assumed he was his secretary. But from this gesture, anyone could see the respect Hua Yu held for this young man.

Following that, Fang Hong sat down directly in the seat that should have been Hua Yu’s, while Hua Yu stood beside him.

“Boss, allow me to make an introduction,” Hua Yu said, smiling at Boss Cao as he stood next to Fang Hong. “This is Fang Hong, the founder of Stellaris Capital, and also my immediate boss. He is the one who wanted to see you today.”

At these words, Boss Cao was stunned again. His assistant was completely dumbfounded, thinking to himself: What in the world is going on? Isn’t Hua Yu the Chairman of Stellaris Capital? Shouldn’t your immediate boss be your father, Hua Yongming? And where did this wet-behind-the-ears kid come from? How did he become Hua Yu’s immediate boss?

After a moment of shock, Boss Cao composed himself. He glanced at the young man sitting opposite him, who seemed entirely unintimidated. Regardless of whether this young man was the true leader of Stellaris Capital, Boss Cao was now a little annoyed by the charade Hua Yu was pulling. However, he kept his displeasure to himself.

A moment later, Fang Hong spoke, his words crisp and direct. “Senior Cao, my company, Stellaris Capital, would like to purchase a 15% stake in Radiance Group. Please name your price.”

Man!

Hua Yu and Boss Cao’s assistant both exclaimed inwardly.

So direct?

Hua Yu had no idea what his big boss was thinking. He had told him before that Boss Cao was notoriously averse to capital, yet here he was, being so blunt.

At this moment, Hua Yu was breaking out in a cold sweat, worried they would be angrily thrown out.

Boss Cao, now in his sixties, faced the audacious young man before him. He suppressed his rising anger and, without showing any emotion, said in a low voice, “What kind of company do you think Radiance is? Do you even know anything about Radiance?”

Hua Yu remained silent. He couldn’t speak now. If he did, Boss Cao would surely think they were playing a trick on him and throw them out in a rage. Hua Yu could already sense his displeasure.

For now, he could only stand aside obediently and see how his big boss would handle the situation.

Fang Hong remained calm and confident. He spoke in a measured tone, “Radiance is a company truly dedicated to the real economy, down-to-earth, and a source of pride for our country’s private enterprises. Senior Cao, you have always striven to manage your industrial business and are a quintessential doer and national entrepreneur.”

“I know you’ve never been fond of the virtual economy—capital, real estate, stocks, and other things that make money quickly. I also know that you have repeatedly spoken out against your own family speculating in real estate and have forbidden your company from entering the property sector. Most importantly, you believe that industry is the foundation of our country. I personally agree with this view, and it is one of the core reasons I want to invest in Radiance.”

He started with a bit of flattery.

There was no way to refute that, was there?

Refuting it would be like Boss Cao himself denying that industry is the nation’s foundation, and denying that he was a doer.

As expected, upon hearing Fang Hong’s words, Boss Cao’s mood improved noticeably. At the same time, he was quite surprised by this young man, who looked to be in his early twenties and could be his grandson. Not only was his speech and manner completely unintimidated, but his entire being exuded an air of calm confidence.

His mood lightened, Boss Cao spoke with a newfound interest, “Radiance Glass holds a 65% market share in the domestic market and 25% globally, with annual revenues in the tens of billions. What makes you think I need your investment? Besides, my biggest aversion is to so-called capital entering Radiance. Didn’t you know that?”

Fang Hong replied unhurriedly, “First, Radiance Glass is our nation’s own brand and the world’s largest supplier of automotive glass. But if Radiance wants to develop further, technological innovation is inevitable, and that requires a large amount of capital.”

Pausing for a moment, Fang Hong continued, “Second, Radiance Glass was the first domestic company to win an anti-dumping lawsuit against the US, an example for all Chinese enterprises to learn from. This also brought it global recognition. Stellaris Capital can help Radiance transform and upgrade better and faster, truly enhancing its digitalization, technological advancement, and informatization within the industry, helping Radiance Glass capture the mid-to-high-end segments of the value chain.”

Hua Yu, standing silently to the side, saw Boss Cao’s expression gradually turn serious and began to relax. His big boss’s talking points really were something else. The praise was well-founded and reasonable, but it didn’t stop him from laying out his logic with perfect clarity.

Most importantly, he was able to make the other party actually listen. If Boss Cao wasn’t willing to listen, then no matter how correct the points were, it would be meaningless and wouldn’t help achieve their goal.

And right now, Boss Cao was clearly listening.

Fang Hong concluded, “…Furthermore, the future demand in the automotive industry is still immense. Domestic car sales, in particular, are climbing year after year, and it’s becoming a reality for cars to enter ordinary households. With high growth expected in the auto market, the demand for automotive glass is bound to increase. This is a golden opportunity that Radiance Glass absolutely cannot miss, which makes capital increase and expansion imperative.”

It was worth mentioning that Fang Hong’s visit was not merely a coincidence. He knew that Radiance Group was, in fact, in a state of capital thirst. It was just that Boss Cao was rather resistant to capital entering his company.

But that didn’t mean Radiance Group’s financial pressures had disappeared. In reality, Radiance desperately needed funds and was under great financial strain.

A glance at the company’s debt-to-asset ratio in recent years was enough to see the whole picture from a single clue. Radiance Group’s debt-to-asset ratio was not only consistently higher than the domestic industry average but also far above the average for all listed companies.

From 2003 to 2005, the parent company’s debt-to-asset ratios were 49.90%, 61.17%, and 58.30% respectively. The consolidated statement’s debt-to-asset ratios were 55.64%, 65.36%, and 66.26%. By the third quarter of 2006, the parent company’s consolidated debt-to-asset ratio had reached 63.59%.

The impact of foreign competitors establishing production bases in China, falling car prices, sharp increases in raw material costs, and currency exchange rates, combined with the company’s expansion of float and automotive glass production capacity, its push for vertical integration, and its development of the international OEM market—all these factors were exacerbating the company’s financial pressure and affecting its profitability.

Radiance Glass’s latest closing price was 7.79 yuan per share, giving the company a total market capitalization of nearly 15.6 billion RMB.

The three points Fang Hong made truly struck a chord with Boss Cao. For the rest of the time, the two discussed various issues concerning the real economy. Hua Yu was surprised to find that Boss Cao had gradually begun to overlook his big boss’s age and was engaging in a serious dialogue with him.

As they talked, they gradually reached a consensus, both agreeing that manufacturing was the foundation of the real economy and that after an upgrade, the domestic manufacturing sector would unleash immeasurable potential.

Time flew by, and soon it was noon. The conversation made Boss Cao realize that this young man was different from other investors.

…

Chapter 203: Shaking Up the Investment World

Around 11:50 AM, under Hua Yu’s personal witness, the big boss and Boss Cao of Radiance Group reached a consensus at lightning speed. The two parties hit it off immediately and agreed to Stellaris Capital’s strategic investment in Radiance Group.

However, for now, it was just a gentleman’s agreement. The formal process of drawing up a written contract would not be so quick. This was a major corporate matter, and Radiance Group would need to go through the procedure of convening a shareholders’ meeting to vote on it.

But Hua Yu knew that even though it was a verbal gentleman’s agreement, it was already one hundred percent a done deal!

During their conversation, both parties had a strong sense that great minds think alike. Many investors had approached Boss Cao, but Stellaris Capital was the first to understand Radiance Glass so thoroughly and express a willingness to share in its destiny.

Furthermore, Boss Cao was moved by Fang Hong’s professionalism. In just two short hours, his impression of the young man had completely changed, and he no longer saw him as a wet-behind-the-ears kid.

After a heart-to-heart discussion, Boss Cao finally agreed to Stellaris Capital’s participation. Radiance Group would issue a private placement of three hundred million common shares (A-shares) to Stellaris Capital, accounting for 15% of the total share capital after the issuance. The issue price would be 6.67 yuan per share, raising approximately two billion yuan in capital.

This collaboration would not only provide the necessary funds for Radiance Glass’s technological innovation but also effectively reduce its debt-to-asset ratio.

…

“I never thought it would succeed, let alone so quickly…” Hua Yu said with emotion. He and Fang Hong had already left the hotel and were outside, ready to head back now that the deal was done.

Initially, Hua Yu hadn’t held out much hope for this trip. The outcome was unexpectedly smooth; it was all settled in just over two hours.

As they walked, Fang Hong said, “Radiance Glass’s rapid expansion has always come at the cost of a high debt-to-asset ratio. To seize market share, they chose to invest in projects prematurely, which carries the risk of insufficient solvency and inability to pay. A prolonged high debt-to-asset ratio and low asset liquidity would affect the security of the company’s operations.”

During their discussion with Boss Cao, it was planned that Radiance Glass would use 75% of the two billion yuan raised from Stellaris Capital—one and a half billion yuan—to repay bank loans. The remaining 25%, or five hundred million yuan, would be used to supplement the company’s working capital. This would reduce their bank loans and lower the debt-to-asset ratio to around 50%.

“Let the news out,” Fang Hong said suddenly.

“Okay!” Hua Yu nodded. He understood his immediate boss’s intention was to coordinate with their copyright acquisition efforts. The company was making moves on all fronts. Later, they would leak false rumors that Stellaris Capital had suffered massive losses in the stock market and was forced to scale back its strategy.

Finally, after internal discussions, the company would announce that the budget for copyright acquisition had to be cut.

…

Around 8:00 PM, a rumor surfaced that shook investors within the circle. An insider revealed that Stellaris Capital had successfully invested in Radiance Group, taking a 15% strategic stake, though the investment amount remained unknown.

This rumor caused a sensation in the investment world. Various figures in the investment community were astonished because Boss Cao was notoriously stubborn in his resistance to capital. Countless investors who wanted to get in on Radiance Glass had been rejected by him.

They never expected Stellaris Capital to succeed. This forced their peers to see them in a new light.

Although the news was unconfirmed, insiders believed the rumor could not have been baseless; where there was smoke, there was fire.

The story was widely believed for two main reasons. First, neither Stellaris Capital nor Radiance Glass came out to deny it. Second, Boss Cao happened to be in Xincheng at that very moment, which made the rumor all the more credible.

The fact that Stellaris Capital could win over Boss Cao made people in the industry feel even more strongly that this investment firm truly had something special. They had discovered Quantum Beat in the primary market, successfully bought the dip during the A-share market’s golden opportunity, and had even made a fortune in overseas capital markets.

Although they had done something that seemed as foolish as “a fool with too much money” with the copyright acquisition, this newcomer to the investment world truly had its own unique skills. This was the industry’s latest assessment of Stellaris Capital.

This event also sped up the process for Xiao Quan and the other investment firms to lend fifteen billion yuan to Stellaris Capital. They were now faster and more confident in lending the money, ready to just win by doing nothing.

…

The next day, Monday, May 25th.

Over the weekend, most of the news had been negative, and foreign markets had also taken a steep dive. On top of that, the rumor from Saturday night about Stellaris Capital’s strategic investment in Radiance Glass was considered negative news for the stock.

When the market opened today, the Shanghai Composite Index gapped down sharply by -1.63% to 2555.34 points. During the call auction, Radiance Glass was hammered down to 7.36 yuan per share, opening deep underwater with a gap down of -5.52%.

Stellaris Capital’s strategic investment in the company would most likely be a private placement from Radiance Glass. Such a large-scale placement would inevitably lead to the dilution of shares for all existing shareholders.

Today at the open, Radiance Glass was smashed down more than five percent during the call auction. If the market had known Stellaris Capital’s holding cost was 6.67 yuan per share, the stock would have certainly opened with a consecutive limit-down.

Trading began at 9:30 AM. For the first half hour, both markets opened low and trended lower. Around 10:00 AM, the broader market index widened its losses to 2.27%, at one point touching a low of 2538.62 points.

Radiance Glass plummeted on massive volume within the first half hour of opening. At around 10:03 AM, the stock price fell to 7.01 yuan per share, a drop of -10.01%, hitting the limit-down.

The auto parts sector was also dragged down by Radiance Glass’s limit-down. However, after about four minutes, the limit-down was broken by a large injection of capital.

And this large capital was none other than Stellaris Capital.

…

Meanwhile, in the new trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

Fang Hong and Yifulei, the first trader he had personally trained, were operating the institutional account. Before the market opened, he had already given the target stocks for building a position to the maid. She was now sitting at one of the trading desks buying shares.

The market had opened deep underwater today, so Fang Hong had the maid trader start buying right from the open.

One of the large screens on the trading room wall displayed a list of the institutional account’s holdings, which were the stocks being bought today. They included Haitong Securities, Vanke A, CITIC Guoan, and others.

Several targets in the industrial metals sector, such as Yunnan Copper and Jiangxi Copper, were also being bought back.

After switching to operating the institutional account and upgrading the trading room hardware, the number of stocks in their holdings had exceeded fifteen. Now, besides the maid handling trades, Fang Hong himself was sitting at another trading desk, also operating.

“Weichai Heavy Machinery, sweep up thirty million.” Fang Hong was scanning the market and saw this stock, which was already up over +7%. Beside him, Yifulei nodded and typed in the stock name but couldn’t find it. She turned to Fang Hong and asked, “Bro Hong, why can’t I find this stock?”

“Uh…” Fang Hong realized his mistake. He quickly said, “My bad. It’s 000880, Shandong Juli. Buy that one.”

He had blurted it out without thinking, only then remembering that the stock was still called Shandong Juli. Yifulei entered the stock code he gave her and sure enough, the stock appeared. She then followed his instructions and placed an order for thirty million yuan at the limit-up price to sweep the shares.

The intraday line for Shandong Juli shot up instantly, and the stock price hit 9.94 yuan per share, sealing the limit-up.

…

“Master, why are you messing around with these stocks again? You’re an institutional investor now!” Meanwhile, Fei Liang, who was secretly copying his homework, couldn’t help but complain internally when he saw the updated data from Fang Hong’s institutional account showing he had just bought another small-cap stock.

He couldn’t follow a trade like that!

And that wasn’t even the main issue. The key was that the Master had previously bought several stocks from the ST sector. Limited by liquidity, he couldn’t even invest more than ten million yuan in a single stock.

There was no way he could follow trades like those.

Fei Liang much preferred it when he traded large-cap stocks with good liquidity, like Haitong Securities, which had a daily turnover of several billion yuan.

In fact, Fang Hong also preferred to trade large-cap stocks, but without a significant price surge, it was hard to profit from the price spread. As for ST stocks, although their market cap was small and liquidity was average, they had enough potential for upward movement to compensate for the inability to build a large position.

Another reason was that he could just trade several of them. He now let the maid, Yifulei, handle the large-cap stocks, while he personally traded the ST sector stocks, as they were relatively more difficult to handle.

…

Chapter 204: The Capital Arrives, Stellaris Capital Goes on a Buying Spree for Core Assets

The market began to rebound around 10:00 AM today, then oscillated upward for the rest of the day, finally turning positive in the afternoon. The panicky retail investors who had sold at a loss in the morning were left speechless, cursing their luck.

By the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +0.48%, closing at 2610.01 points, reclaiming the 2600-point mark. The trading volume was 114.6 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index rose by +1.09% to 10182.16 points, also successfully recovering the 10,000-point mark, with a trading volume of 66 billion. The total trading volume for both markets reached 180.6 billion yuan, a slight increase from the previous day.

This was the first day Fang Hong operated with the new 700 million yuan institutional account.

Stock Holdings: 17 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +26.11 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +3.73%

Cumulative Return: +26.11 million yuan

Total Return Rate: +3.73%

Total Assets: 726.11 million yuan

It was worth mentioning that in today’s A-share market, Stellaris Capital had engaged in a massive bottom-fishing operation for core assets. This was because the 21 billion yuan from the coal boss and the 15 billion yuan from Xiao Quan’s group of institutions had all been transferred.

This suddenly gave Stellaris Capital more than 41 billion yuan in liquid cash.

As per Fang Hong’s instructions, the company only needed to maintain 7 billion yuan in cash flow for normal operations. The remaining funds were invested in the market today, with a staggering 10.9 billion yuan spent on a buying spree for core assets. This accounted for about 6% of the total daily trading volume across the A-share markets, making Stellaris Capital unequivocally the largest bullish fund of the day.

The capital that broke Radiance Glass’s limit-down in the morning session was, in fact, the result of Stellaris Capital’s powerful move.

Regarding Stellaris Capital’s intervention in Radiance Glass on the secondary market, Fang Hong had given Boss Cao a heads-up during their previous discussions. He had explained that their presence in the secondary market was a temporary placement of funds and that they would exit before the formal agreement was finalized, ultimately maintaining a 15% shareholding with no intention of vying for control of the company.

Giving advance notice was to prevent any misunderstandings later.

Boss Cao viewed Stellaris Capital’s operations in the stock market as typical speculation. Although he wasn’t a fan of it, this didn’t hinder their cooperation. After all, it was Stellaris Capital’s way of survival.

Having already invested a massive 10.9 billion yuan today, they would continue their buying spree tomorrow, planning to invest the remaining 23.1 billion yuan within the next two trading days.

…

Over the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Stellaris Capital continued to buy, buy, buy.

On Tuesday, the Shanghai Composite Index pulled back by -0.82%, losing the 2600-point mark once again. The trading volume for both markets reached 188.1 billion yuan, a slight increase from the previous day. Stellaris Capital furiously bought another 11.7 billion yuan worth of stocks.

On Wednesday, the last trading day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the market turned bullish again. The broader market reclaimed the 2600-point mark, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising +1.71%. The trading volume for both markets shrank to 158 billion yuan.

On this final trading day before the holiday, the Shanghai market was noticeably stronger than the Shenzhen market.

This was largely the result of Stellaris Capital entering the market as a bull. Today, they had injected the final 11.4 billion yuan of their off-market funds. The core assets they purchased were predominantly stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board, which helped drive the market up.

Over these three days, Stellaris Capital had been pouring tens of billions in liquidity into the market daily, successfully investing a total of 34 billion yuan. In the current market environment, a braindead strategy of going long was all that was needed.

It was a market where money was free for the taking.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the institutional account operated by Fang Hong profited by +1.98% and +2.72% respectively, which amounted to 14.37 million yuan and 20.14 million yuan.

Once again, he was holding a full position over the holiday. The latest portfolio status was as follows:

Stock Holdings: 14 individual stocks.

Daily P&L: +20.14 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +2.72%

Cumulative Return: +60.62 million yuan

Total Return Rate: +8.66%

Total Assets: 760.62 million yuan.

…

Around 5:30 PM.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was sitting in the living room, leisurely enjoying his afternoon tea.

The maid was cleaning the living room.

Just then, the house manager, Yu Qiu, entered. She walked up to Yifulei and handed her a paper bag filled with cash, saying, “Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, so you have a four-day holiday. Here’s this month’s salary, paid in advance.”

The paper bag contained over thirty thousand yuan in cash. Yifulei accepted it and said with a sweet smile, “Thank you, Sister Yu!”

Yu Qiu smiled and said, “Why thank me? I’m not the one paying your salary. If you want to thank someone, you should thank Bro Hong.”

It seemed the two of them had resolved the awkwardness from their accidental encounter in the trading room. Indeed, it had been a little unnatural for the first few days, but they had gradually gotten used to it. Neither of them ever brought up the incident, consciously avoiding the topic.

Yifulei turned her head to look at Fang Hong, who was sipping his tea, and smiled. “Thank you, Bro Hong~”

Fang Hong smiled back. “You have a few days off. Go have some fun.”

Upon hearing this, Yifulei replied, “I’d like to continue working at Tranquil Heart Residence. I don’t have any friends here in Xincheng, and my family isn’t here either. I’d rather stay. Besides, I’m the only one here now. If I take a holiday, there’ll be no one to work.”

“Alright then, it’s up to you.” Fang Hong shrugged, then looked at the beautiful house manager and added, “Xiao Yu, remember to calculate her overtime pay.”

“Understood,” Yu Qiu nodded.

“There’s no need for overtime pay, is there? The salary is already very high,” Yifulei couldn’t help but say. This wasn’t just politeness; she was incredibly satisfied with her current monthly salary. Moreover, her food and lodging were all provided at Tranquil Heart Residence, so the benefits were second to none.

The work itself was extremely easy, mostly just cleaning indoors. The daily maintenance of the entire villa, like trimming outdoor plants, was handled by other gardeners who came periodically.

In a way, it was as if the employer was paying for the maids to live in a villa and enjoy life, all while receiving an incredibly high salary. Even a decade later, this would be considered a high-paying job, not to mention with the current cost of living and inflation rates.

“That’s a separate matter. Not paying for overtime would be exploitation, wouldn’t it? Be good, just take it,” Fang Hong said with a smile. His words seemed to trigger the maid’s special “obedience” attribute, and she nodded, no longer fussing over it.

At that moment, He Xuan, who was also in the living room, suddenly spoke up. “And Xiao Yi, who says you don’t have any friends in Xincheng? Aren’t we friends?”

Yifulei quickly said in a small voice, “That’s not what I meant…”

He Xuan smiled. “I know, I know. Come shopping with me tomorrow. You can buy whatever you want, I’ll cover it~”

Yifulei nodded. A short while later, she went back upstairs to put her salary in her room.

After a moment, Fang Hong looked at Yu Qiu and said, “By the way, Xiao Yu, has the headhunter not found any suitable maids recently?”

Yifulei had been here for some time now. He had switched to operating the institutional account and was in need of traders. Fang Hong had no intention of hiring professional traders from the industry; instead, he planned to teach the maids working at Tranquil Heart Residence to trade part-time.

Hearing this, Yu Qiu immediately replied, “The headhunting consultant contacted me yesterday. They’ve found two suitable candidates. The information has already been faxed to me. They’ll be coming for an interview a few days after the holiday.”

He Xuan, who was nearby, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What are their names?”

Yu Qiu replied, “Lin Yan and Lin Yun.”

Hearing the names, He Xuan’s eyes lit up. “Could they be sisters?”

Yu Qiu nodded. “Their resumes indicate that they are indeed sisters.”

A wave of excitement washed over He Xuan. She grabbed Fang Hong’s arm and shook it, exclaiming, “Hey, hey, did you hear that? Sisters! They’re actually a pair of sisters~!”

Yu Qiu: “…”

The beautiful house manager was inwardly stunned. She found she truly couldn’t comprehend her female employer’s way of thinking. If Fang Hong had reacted like this, Yu Qiu wouldn’t have found it strange, especially after she had witnessed his secret rendezvous with Yifulei.

But she really couldn’t understand why He Xuan was so excited.

Fang Hong, on the other hand, was perfectly calm, showing no emotional fluctuation.

Just then, Yifulei came down from upstairs, holding the same paper bag of cash. She walked over to Yu Qiu and asked, “Sister Yu, why is there 50,000 yuan in here? My salary isn’t that high. Was there a mistake?”

Before Yu Qiu could speak, Fang Hong said, “There’s no mistake. That’s your allowance for being a part-time trader.”

Yifulei blinked her beautiful eyes at him. “Huh…?”

Yu Qiu smiled. “Bro Hong said that from now on, this will be your monthly salary.”

Fang Hong also smiled. “Perform well, and there will be other extra rewards, too.”

Hearing this, Yifulei tilted her head toward Fang Hong, her lips curving into a crescent moon as she said with a sweet, innocent smile, “Mhm~, thank you, Bro Hong~!”

When the beautiful house manager next to them heard Fang Hong mention “other rewards,” the scene she had accidentally walked in on that day unconsciously flashed through her mind. It couldn’t be that kind of reward, could it?

Yu Qiu was stunned for a moment before quickly shaking the images from her mind, forcing herself not to dwell on it.

The maid went back upstairs to her room to put her salary away again.

Just then, the villa’s doorbell rang. Yu Qiu went out and returned a moment later, bringing someone into the living room. It was Hua Yu’s assistant.

“Mr. Fang, President Hua asked me to deliver this report to you.”

…

Chapter 205: If You Can’t See Me on the Dragon-Tiger List, Here’s Something More Exciting

Fang Hong casually took the documents and glanced through them.

The first item in the report was about the joint project company established by Stellaris Capital and Huayang Group; they had successfully acquired the land in the northern suburbs of Xincheng.

The cost of land acquisition was almost negligible.

To develop the entire massive High-Tech Industrial Park in this barren land of Xincheng’s northern suburbs, the total estimated investment required was 22.7 billion yuan. Of course, they couldn’t produce that much cash for the project.

So they used leverage again.

Huayang Group and Stellaris Capital formed a joint project company, then pledged 100% of it to the bank in exchange for 10.5 billion yuan in funds. Stellaris Capital put in an actual 2 billion yuan, while Huayang Capital contributed 1.5 billion yuan, making their combined investment 3.5 billion yuan. As for the remaining 8.7 billion yuan, it would be raised through a private equity fund.

At the same time, the 3.5 billion yuan from Stellaris Capital and Huayang Group would serve as the subordinated tranche. This meant that if the project lost money, Huayang’s and Qunxing’s money would be lost first. This arrangement was key to closing the remaining 8.7 billion yuan funding gap.

By raising this sum from the public through a private equity fund, with Qunxing and Huayang taking the subordinated risk—meaning their company would be the first to lose money—the risk for other investors was further reduced, which made them willing to invest.

And just like that, for this massive High-Tech Industrial Park project, Huayang Group and Stellaris Capital used a total of 3.5 billion yuan in actual cash to leverage 22.7 billion yuan, applying about 5.5 times leverage.

…

Fang Hong then turned to the second matter in the report, which concerned the Art Star Media Group.

It was mainly about the resource integration of their cinema chain business. The process of mergers, acquisitions, integration, and restructuring was now officially in full swing.

It was worth mentioning that the strategy for Art Star Media also involved leveraged capital operations. Fang Hong’s philosophy was to use other people’s money whenever possible before using his own, so the approach was remarkably similar to that of the High-Tech Industrial Park project.

Again, they bundled the project, created a shell company, and immediately pledged it to a bank in exchange for cash flow.

As for how a shell company could get cash flow from a financial institution, it wasn’t the shell company that the institution recognized, but Stellaris Capital, the entity behind it.

After the shell company was created, it would immediately undergo a valuation. Once a value was established, 100% of its equity would be pledged to a financial institution, which could then provide cash flow equivalent to about 45% of the company’s valuation.

For example, with a valuation of 1 billion yuan, pledging 100% of the company would secure 450 million yuan in cash flow.

The subsequent playbook was the same: Stellaris Capital would invest a sum, then gather a group of junior partners to raise more funds through a private equity arrangement. Stellaris’s investment would serve as the subordinated tranche; it was the same old game of the big brother taking the subordinated position while the little brothers were senior.

If the project lost money, the big brother—Stellaris—would be the first to lose, which was how they convinced a group of junior partners to invest alongside them.

All the necessary funds for the project were raised this way, yet Stellaris Capital’s actual cash contribution only accounted for about 15% of the total project funds, leveraging over five times that amount.

The key to not letting this strategy fail was to ensure that the parent company, Stellaris Capital, had no issues with its cash flow. In layman’s terms, Stellaris Capital, as the big brother, had to be able to produce the money at any time for any situation, without ever defaulting on its credit.

This was precisely why Fang Hong insisted that Stellaris Capital always maintain a cash reserve of 7 billion yuan on its books. It was a message to the junior partners: Big brother has plenty of cash in his pockets. Big brother is subordinated and you little brothers are senior, so don’t panic. There’s no need to worry.

As long as big brother gets his meat, the little brothers will get their soup.

And what if a junior partner wanted to secretly conduct due diligence to check out the big brother’s background?

It was basically impossible to uncover the true bottom line. Even if Fang Hong himself wanted to fully understand a company’s fundamentals, it would be difficult for Hua Yu to uncover everything through due diligence. Take hidden debt, for instance. As long as a company is fine, outsiders will never know of its existence. But once the company runs into trouble, it makes a grand entrance.

Furthermore, Stellaris Capital was not a publicly listed company, so it didn’t need to disclose much of its information. Fang Hong had no intention of taking Qunxing public anyway; his plan was to have its subsidiaries, and even grand-subsidiaries, go public one by one in the future.

Therefore, the hard cash sitting in Stellaris Capital’s accounts—real money, right there for everyone to see—was the most reassuring thing for its partners.

Confidence was a subtle thing.

Notably, Huayang Group, which had decided to go all-in on commercial real estate, was now learning from Stellaris Capital and playing a similar game of capital operations: create a shell company for a project, pledge it, and then pull in a group of junior partners to play, with the big brother taking the subordinated position and the little brothers getting priority.

It was simply a matter of whether one dared to play this game.

Huayang Real Estate’s newly established strategy could be summarized in four words: “two highs, two fasts”—high turnover, high debt, fast sales, and fast land acquisition.

Their leverage was also shooting through the roof, but so was their expansion.

…

In the villa’s main living room, Fang Hong finished browsing the documents and closed the file. He looked at Hua Yu’s assistant and said, “On your way back, give Bro Hua a heads-up for me. Have him find me a sharp and capable personal secretary and assistant as soon as possible. In the future, work like this can be handed over to her.”

As Stellaris Capital’s operations grew larger, there would be more and more things to handle. It was time to get an assistant.

Hua Yu’s assistant nodded immediately. “Understood.”

After giving a few more instructions, Hua Yu’s assistant took his leave. Fang Hong also stood up, left the living room, and placed the documents in the safe in his study.

…

During the holiday, three important news items emerged in the market. The first was that the State Council adjusted the capital ratio for fixed-asset investment projects. The second was that the village chief stated his intention to gradually improve the pricing and issuance mechanism for new stocks. The third was that the regulators released the “Regulations on the Classified Supervision of Securities Companies,” emphasizing comprehensive risk assessment.

Overall, there was more positive news in the market during the holiday. While the A-share market was closed, the overseas markets were open as usual. The US stock market had already rebounded for two consecutive days. The domestic and international market environments were both favorable.

On June 1st, after the holiday, the A-share market gapped up significantly. The Shanghai Composite Index opened directly at 2,668.40 points, a gap-up of +1.35%. This made investors who had stayed in cash over the holiday miss out on the rally, a feeling that was almost worse than losing money.

Fang Hong, however, had kept his money fully invested in stocks during the holiday. Not only had he reduced his holdings to fourteen individual stocks, but seven of them were large-cap blue-chip stocks. He also held five small-cap stocks or stocks from the ST sector.

But although those seven stocks made up half the number of his holdings, their total value was only 60 million yuan, accounting for just about 0.65% of his total position.

Among them, Shandong Juli, the small-cap stock that had gone wild, accounted for 30 million yuan of that amount. The remaining six ST stocks made up the other 30 million yuan. Since Fang Hong had bought Shandong Juli on its first limit-up board, the stock had already seen two limit-ups in three days. Today, it also opened high with the expectation of continuing its consecutive limit-ups.

With two minutes left before the market opened, Fang Hong said to the maid, Yifulei, “Sell the four ST stocks directly, and then immediately add the funds to our position in Amethyst Mining.”

He had already bought 150 million yuan worth of this stock before the holiday, making it his second-largest holding, only behind the 180 million yuan in Haitong Securities.

The six ST stocks he held all opened at the +5% limit-up price. Yifulei had already placed sell orders before the open, setting the price at the limit-down to ensure they were sold off.

The market opened at 9:30 AM. The six ST stocks couldn’t hold their limit-up for even half a minute before the board broke. With Fang Hong’s institutional account holding several million worth of each, the sales were definitely large orders smashing the market as he exited.

Within the first minute of trading, he successfully sold off these stocks, with most of the trades executed at the limit-up price. The sale brought in about 31.5 million yuan, including principal and profit.

Following Fang Hong’s instructions, Yifulei immediately used the entire 31.5 million to increase their position in Amethyst Mining. The stock opened higher at 8.73 yuan, up 1.83%. It quickly surged after the open, with over 114 million yuan traded within the first minute, pushing its gain to the +2.68% level.

The 31.5 million yuan buy order placed by the maid was completely filled within the first minute of trading. Fang Hong had bought this stock because he expected it to hit the limit-up today. Even if the 30 million in the ST sector hit their limit-up, it would only be a 5% gain. But a limit-up for Amethyst Mining meant a 10% gain, and since it only opened up by less than 2%, he could earn double the profit.

A moment later, the maid, sitting at the trading station, turned her head to look at Fang Hong at the main control console and asked, “All trades are complete. Are there any other stocks to operate?”

Fang Hong stared at his screen without moving and replied, “That’s all for today’s operations. You can go about your own business.”

As he spoke, Fang Hong took a screenshot of his institutional account’s holdings list, then switched screens to log into his Weibo account.

Ever since he announced on Weibo that he was transitioning to an institutional investor, many of his followers thought they would no longer see K-God on the Dragon-Tiger List. Even if he did appear, they wouldn’t be able to recognize him, and many fans expressed their regret.

Although they hadn’t unfollowed him, the frequency of their visits to his Weibo had clearly declined in recent days.

For ordinary retail investors, it was certain they wouldn’t see him on the Dragon-Tiger List anymore. Even if they did, it would just be a “For institutional use only” trading seat, making him unrecognizable.

No problem!

If you can’t see me on the Dragon-Tiger List, I’ll give you something more exciting. Fang Hong decided to post on Weibo from time to time during trading hours. After all, he had already made the declaration: it was just for personal sharing of his operations, did not constitute any investment advice, and anyone who acted on it did so at their own risk.

As for whether they followed his lead, that was the retail investors’ own business.

…

Chapter 206: K-God’s Terrifying Rallying Power

In the trading room, Fang Hong took a screenshot of his institutional account’s holdings.

He was currently at full position with eight targets: seven large-cap stocks and one small-cap monster stock. From highest to lowest position size, they were: Amethyst Mining, Haitong Securities, Ping An of China, Shanqi Coking Coal, Western Mining, Shandong Gold, Zhongjin Gold, and Shandong Juli.

Fang Hong uploaded the screenshot to a new Weibo post and then wrote a caption:

[Cleared out a few small-cap stocks at the market open and added the funds to my Amethyst Mining position. I’m bullish on a market breakthrough to the upside. Today is all about the big-ass blue-chips. If you’re bullish, just go for it.]

…

In a certain stock trading group chat.

[K-God posted on Weibo! It’s his first post since switching to an institutional account, and he did it during trading hours!]

[Quick, let’s go see!]

[K-God actually posted during trading hours?]

[What did he buy?]

[Here’s K-God’s updated screenshot. He’s heavily invested in seven large-cap stocks and one small-cap, Shandong Juli.]

[Holy crap, K-God really did get into Shandong Juli on its first limit-up board. He wasn’t on the Dragon-Tiger List, but I always felt like he was involved in a monster stock like this. I can’t believe he’s really in it. Awesome! That stock has already dished out a huge profit of over thirty percent.]

[For K-God’s fund size, he can’t really build a big position in a stock like that. Even with a thirty-plus percent gain, the profit is less than ten million. The large-cap stocks are where the real power is.]

[So the Grandmaster likes to call blue-chip stocks ‘big-ass stocks’… (crying laughing emoji)]

[That’s right, they’re big-ass stocks!]

[Amethyst Mining is a big-ass stock, I’m in!]

[F*ck it, I’m going to lose all my money. I’m hyped, let’s go, let’s go! Going full position on the big-ass Amethyst Mining stock. No half-measures. Pic attached.]

[Awesome, bro! Going full position, what a true warrior!]

[The first battle is the final battle! K-God, protect me! The advantage is mine!]

[I’m following with 20% of my position!]

[Following with 30% of my position in Ping An of China!]

[I’m in for 10% on Shanqi Coking Coal and 20% on Shandong Gold!]

[Jumping on the Haitong bandwagon! Putting in 30% of my position!]

[Bros, I’m in too! Bought 40% of my position in Amethyst Mining.]

[Holy crap, are you guys insane?]

[It’s the Grandmaster’s first time sharing his holdings intra-day, and you’re not following? Are you disrespecting the God who made ten thousand times his money in October?]

[Crazy, everyone’s gone crazy. I’ll join you bros with a 10% position. If we die, we die together. Damn it!]

[It’s rallying! Holy crap, Amethyst Mining is taking off!]

[It broke 9 yuan! That’s 5% up!]

[Six percent!]

[Holy sh*t, the bro who went full position is making a ridiculously huge profit!]

[I bought too little! I should’ve gone full position!]

[Holy crap, why is Zhongjin Gold plummeting? I should have bought Amethyst Mining.]

[Don’t panic. Maybe it’ll rally later.]

[Amethyst Mining is up 8%. Is it heading for the limit-up? The full-position profit on this one feels good! K-God is awesome (voice breaking)!!!]

[The Grandmaster is mighty!!!]

[I missed out! Watching you guys make money while I miss out on the rally feels worse than losing money!]

[I missed out too. Shandong Juli was suspended for an hour for abnormal volatility. We can get in when it resumes trading later.]

[Let’s do it, let’s do it!]

…

There was more than one stock trading group like this. A huge number of retail investors howled with excitement as they followed the trend and piled in.

Fang Hong had posted a clear, uncensored screenshot of his institutional account holdings right after the market opened, and it was quickly and frantically reposted by the followers of his Weibo account.

As the minutes ticked by, news of K-God’s latest positions spread like wildfire through major stock trading groups and forums.

These seven stocks attracted a massive amount of liquidity.

At 10:30 a.m., Shandong Juli, which had been suspended for an hour, resumed trading. The moment trading began, its stock price shot up in a straight line.

Seven minutes later, Shandong Juli was up over 8%. After a three-minute pullback, it began to rally again.

At 10:49 a.m., Shandong Juli surged to 12.83 yuan per share, a +10.03% increase that hit the limit-up. But then, short sellers smashed the stock with a massive sell order worth tens of millions. It had just touched the limit-up board before falling back.

But it was immediately pushed back up to the limit.

The large funds continued to sell off, with another tens of millions in short positions dumped on the market, only to be completely absorbed in less than ten seconds.

Now, even the large funds were a bit dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, Holy crap, what is going on?

They tried selling off another ten million plus, only to find they couldn’t move the price.

At this moment, the bulls for Shandong Juli were completely dominated by the united front of the retail investor legion. Around 10:51 a.m., the limit-up was completely sealed. The large funds tried to sell another ten million plus and found they couldn’t even break the limit-up board.

When the sellers saw over 300,000 lots of buy orders rapidly stacking up at the limit-up, the large funds realized something was wrong. They might have been shaken out, losing a massive amount of their shares.

They scrambled to find out what was happening. Why had so many retail investors suddenly swarmed in, howling and rushing in like madmen?

The stock’s trading volume had already exceeded 200 million yuan, and its turnover rate was over 15%.

A quick check revealed the reason: K3478 was in the stock and had posted a screenshot of his holdings on Weibo shortly after the market opened, leading to the current situation.

K-God’s terrifying rallying power stunned market players of all stripes, even surpassing that of The Helmsman.

And so, the major players in the stock directly caved and stopped selling!

They wouldn’t sell for anything.

With the sentiment for this stock whipped up to this degree, talking about fundamentals or technicals was complete nonsense.

Right now, it was all about sentiment.

With the frenzied retail bulls collectively hyped, no one dared to predict how high the stock could go. The key was when K-God would sell. As long as K-God didn’t sell, no one dared to jump to conclusions too early.

…

At 11:30 a.m., the morning session ended.

The Shanghai Composite Index broke through the 2,700-point mark for the first time this year. The index closed the morning session up +2.84% at 2707.73 points, setting a new high for the year. The Shenzhen Component Index closed up +2.49% at 10380.24 points. More than 1,200 individual stocks rose, signaling a broad rally. The SSE 50 Index soared by +3.23%, indicating that large-cap blue-chip stocks were leading the market.

Here was the data for Fang Hong’s eight institutional account holdings at the end of the morning session:

Shandong Juli closed at 12.83 yuan per share, up +10.03%, hitting its limit-up; Amethyst Mining closed at 9.43 yuan per share, up +10.04%, hitting its limit-up; Zhongjin Gold closed at 84.40 yuan per share, up +10.00%, hitting its limit-up; Shandong Gold closed at 48.95 yuan per share, up +10.00%, hitting its limit-up.

Ping An of China closed at 42.06 yuan per share, a huge gain of +6.19%; Western Mining closed at 15.64 yuan per share, a big gain of +6.54%; Shanqi Coking Coal closed at 27.00 yuan per share, up massively by +5.02%.

The smallest gainer was Haitong Securities, which closed at 14.52 yuan per share, up +2.61%.

At noon, nearly every major stock trading group was buzzing with discussion about K-God’s holdings.

[K-God Grandmaster is awesome (voice breaking)!!!]

[Zhongjin Gold hit the board! When it gapped up and then plummeted this morning, I doubted the God. I apologize to the God. I’m sorry, K-God, I shouldn’t have doubted you!]

[I missed Amethyst Mining and the two gold concept stocks, but… when Shandong Juli resumed trading, your old man jumped right in!]

[The action on Shandong Juli’s order book was f*cking spectacular! The main players turned into shorts and got their heads smashed in!]

[Hahaha, we destroyed the shorting dogs!]

[Juli is seriously awesome! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a retail investor legion beat the major players!]

[See? As long as us retail investors unite, we are the most awesome main force in the market. Anyone who comes against us will get crushed!]

[Damn it! You guys all made huge profits. I went full position on Haitong Securities thinking I’d make a killing, but it’s only up less than 3%, and I’ve only made 1%. So frustrating!]

[The last guy who questioned K-God just apologized. You’ll probably be next. You have to believe in K-God. This is his second-largest holding, worth 180 million. If K-God hadn’t added over 30 million to his Amethyst Mining position this morning, Haitong Securities would be his largest holding.]

[Maybe the brokerage sector will start to rally this afternoon. The securities firms haven’t really made their move yet.]

[Let’s hope so!]

[Damn it, I watched the whole thing and didn’t follow. I’m so envious. I’ll just chase Haitong this afternoon, since it hasn’t popped yet.]

…

Throughout the midday break, bullish sentiment was running red-hot in the market. The eight stocks held by Fang Hong, in particular, became the hottest topics of discussion among investors in various chat groups and forums.

In truth, most investors were in more than one group, so news traveled incredibly fast.

Among these eight stocks, the star of the show was undoubtedly the small-cap monster stock, Shandong Juli. It had hit three limit-up boards in four days, accumulating a gain of over +41.92%. Many stock forums and chat groups were excitedly discussing the tale of how the stock’s main players were crushed by retail investors, leaving many of them feeling thrilled and empowered.

Shandong Juli had now become the stock with the most popularity in the entire market. For a time, its fame was unrivaled.

…

Chapter 207: Big Money Forces Its Way In

Shandong Juli’s explosive popularity soon caught the eye of another major capital fund.

They wanted in.

But the problem was, the stock was now pinned at its limit-up price by hundreds of thousands of limit orders. How could they possibly get in?

It was still the midday break, with an hour to go before the afternoon session began. The capital fund that wanted in was gathered together, discussing their strategy.

In the conference room, one of the attending analysts said, “It’s actually quite simple to break the limit-up board.”

The person in charge immediately looked at him. “How so?”

The analyst explained in a clear and orderly manner, “The emotional core of this stock right now is K3478. The market’s collective force originates from this core. We just need to exploit this point.”

The person in charge cut to the chase. “Get to the point.”

Hearing this, the analyst said directly, “It’s simple. We’ll release fake news in some chat groups and stock forums, saying that K-God has already sold off his shares in Shandong Juli. Once the news spreads, the seemingly unbreakable unity of the bulls will instantly crumble. Heh, the collective force of retail investors may look strong, but it’s actually incredibly fragile. It’s the easiest to break; a single piece of fake news can easily shatter it.”

As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they nodded in agreement.

Just then, another person spoke up. “You said it yourself, the emotional core of this stock is the collective resonance formed around K-God. Have you considered what happens if he actually did get out? We’d be left well and truly holding the bag.”

This sentiment quickly gained a consensus. The risk was still too great. Everything depended on K3478, which was like sticking their necks out and letting someone else have a grip on them. Their fate, life or death, would be in another’s hands.

If K-God left, the retail investors certainly wouldn’t follow.

The analyst, however, seemed unfazed and brimming with confidence. He smiled and said, “I believe K-God won’t sell. He can’t sell!”

The person in charge stared at him. “Your reasoning?”

The analyst immediately replied, “The reasoning is very simple. K-God has been put on a pedestal by tens of thousands of retail investors. Think about how many people worship him right now. If he were to smash the market, those same retail investors who worship him, who call him a god, would see his actions as a betrayal. K-God would fall from grace overnight and become a public enemy hunted by countless retail investors.”

“So K-God can’t run, and he has no way to run. That’s reason one. Reason two, I believe K-God’s IQ and his insight into human nature have already been proven by his terrifying profits in the stock market, as well as by the content he shares on his Weibo. So, it’s absolutely impossible for him not to understand this point. And since he understands it, it’s even more unlikely he’d do such a thing.”

“Reason three, analyzing it from a cost-benefit perspective, how big is K-God’s position in Shandong Juli? He only bought a little over thirty million. Plus, he has a profit cushion of over thirty percent. Even if he lost all his profits or even half his principal, it would be of no consequence to him. Therefore, as long as he can analyze the pros and cons, there’s no way he’d offend hundreds of millions of retail investors over such trivial gains. It’s just not worth it.”

“In summary, I believe K-God absolutely will not get out.”

After hearing his analysis, everyone in the room nodded again and again. It was logical and well-founded, without any flaws.

The person in charge made the decision on the spot. “Alright, it’s settled. Release the fake news!”

Around 12:45 PM, fifteen minutes before the afternoon session began.

Suddenly, rumors that “K-God has liquidated his position in Shandong Juli” appeared in numerous chat groups and major stock forums. In the dozen or so minutes leading up to the market opening, the news was rapidly forwarded across all the major chat groups.

Man!

Retail investors everywhere couldn’t sit still!

Just moments ago, they had been fired up with passion, but upon hearing this news, they just couldn’t hold it in!

K-God was their backbone. If he left, what the hell was the point of playing?

At this moment, a new game began. The “chain of suspicion” from the novel The Three-Body Problem erupted in the minds of tens of thousands of retail investors. They were all mentally calculating and guessing each other’s thoughts: Will the others run? They all say they won’t, but will they really stay? Can I trust them?

Once the seeds of suspicion were planted, a crisis of trust began to spread through the hearts of retail investors.

On the surface, everyone said they wouldn’t run, but in their minds, they were thinking, Damn it, even God has fled. Am I supposed to stay and be the last bagholder? This stock has already risen more than 2.4 times from its bottom over the past six months…

Only one group of people truly wouldn’t run even if they said so: those who had bought in that morning.

Because they couldn’t.

This group was also panicking, but there was nothing they could do. Due to the T+1 rule, shares bought on a given day could only be sold on the next trading day.

At the same time, Fang Hong’s Weibo account was being flooded with comments and private messages. Retail investors were all rushing over to ask if he had gotten out of Shandong Juli. But Fang Hong was completely unaware of the situation; he had already logged off, and Weibo was his only public channel of communication.

At 1:00 PM, the A-share market’s afternoon session began.

The securities sector started to rally.

But that wasn’t the main event. Right now, all eyes were on Shandong Juli.

As soon as the afternoon session opened, the hundreds of thousands of limit orders on the stock’s board plummeted. Players from all sides used their lightning-fast fingers to click “cancel order.” Some managed to cancel, while others were too slow and their buy orders went through.

Less than three seconds after the open, Shandong Juli’s limit-up board…

Broke!

After falling from the limit-up price, the stock immediately plummeted on a surge of volume. The cumulative transaction volume reached 350 million, and the turnover rate exceeded 22%. It was still diving and the volume was still climbing as the price quickly fell to the +6.46% level.

The major fund that released the fake news was now cheerfully buying up the shares being dumped by retail investors. With a large fund absorbing the sales, the stock price didn’t dive in a straight line, eventually stabilizing and trading sideways at the eight percent gain level.

Uninformed retail investors were fleeing, but a very small number of skilled retail investors were buying in. The price support was stronger than expected, making them suspect this was a shakeout to trigger panic selling, so they decisively followed and bought.

However, such individuals were a tiny minority. The vast majority of retail investors were scrambling to get out.

Simultaneously, the tone of discussion in the various stock chat groups and forums changed.

[Brothers, didn’t we all agree not to sell?]

[I got in, and then all my brothers jumped ship. Where’s the basic trust between people?]

[Even the Grandmaster ran…]

[Retail investors will always be retail investors. They can never achieve anything significant.]

[All I can say is, K-God played this one beautifully. Luring you all in for the slaughter. Congratulations on successfully holding the bag for God, haha!]

[Sigh…]

[Hilarious. Did K-God beg you to buy? Didn’t Amethyst Mining hit its limit-up? Didn’t Zhongjin Gold, Ping An of China, and Shandong Gold hit their limit-up? Haitong Securities is starting to rally now too!]

[To be fair, don’t call him a god whenever you make money and then start cursing him out when you lose. That’s just disgusting.]

[If you’re chasing the stock now, you need to be aware of the risks. K-God is up nearly thirty or forty percent since the first limit-up. Profit-taking could happen at any moment. If you can’t even figure that out, you deserve to lose money. We’re all here to make money. Why shouldn’t someone get out after making a profit?]

[Juli is still impressive, though, actually holding steady at an 8% gain instead of plummeting. The turnover rate is already 33%. Could the main force be trying a shakeout?]

[Don’t play the greater fool. They might hit you with a waterfall decline in late trading.]

[I followed Haitong Securities this afternoon. Not bad, hehe!]

As time went on, around 1:40 PM, the major fund that had spread the fake news completed its share accumulation. Because of the massive volume in the afternoon, they were able to collect all the shares they wanted within the day.

What followed was a rocket ignition, sweeping up shares in an upward surge.

At 1:41 PM, Shandong Juli’s price shot up to 12.83 yuan per share, a +10.03% increase, hitting the limit-up board again. Its total market capitalization was around 3.5 billion.

And this capital fund furiously smashed another 150,000 lots of limit orders on to seal the limit-up price. In that single minute at 1:41 PM, transactions totaled over 14 million before the trading volume dried up.

By now, Shandong Juli’s turnover rate had reached a staggering 37%, and its transaction volume hit a massive 600 million. Compared to the stock’s daily volume of thirty to forty million before its first limit-up, this was a sky-high, massive volume.

This time, the limit-up was sealed tight. Any seasoned trader knew that the board would be completely locked for the rest of the day. There was no selling pressure left; everyone who wanted to sell had already sold. There was no way it would break again today.

Even if a major shareholder announced negative news of a share reduction at this moment, it wouldn’t break the board.

The successful return to the limit-up left retail investors completely dumbfounded.

Shandong Juli had now become the biggest star among the hot stocks in the A-share market, and the drama unfolding on the charts was a hot topic of discussion in all the major chat groups.

As Shandong Juli sealed its limit-up again, the major fund that had just entered used its alt accounts to spread more news.

“Actually, K-God never sold. He’s still in!”

The news was quickly forwarded.

Good grief!

Retail investors everywhere exclaimed “good grief” in unison. Many groups erupted in chaos. Some were happy, others were distraught.

The retail investors who had sold in the afternoon were furious, while those who had bought in the morning breathed a long sigh of relief. But some remained suspicious. It was impossible to confirm whether K-God had left or not. There was no response on his Weibo, and the various chat groups were in an uproar, arguing over whether K-God was still holding Shandong Juli.

Chapter 208: Forced to Make a Profit Through Tears

While retail investors were embroiled in a heated debate about whether K-God had sold his position, Fang Hong was at the Stellaris Capital headquarters discussing matters with Hua Yu.

In the CEO’s office.

“We can close our positions in the overseas markets after tonight. Set aside twenty billion in capital to be repatriated, then close out the long positions and open short positions,” Fang Hong instructed from the sofa in the rest area.

“Alright, I’ll pass on the orders shortly,” Hua Yu replied with a nod.

They had already made an insane amount of money going long with thirty times leverage in the overseas markets. The Hang Seng Index, in particular, had soared by sixty-six percent in the three months since they had taken their long position. Multiplied by thirty times leverage, this amounted to a return of nearly twenty times their investment.

However, the absolute profit was still less than what they made in the US market, as the bulk of their capital was invested there.

Currently, Stellaris Capital’s return on this long position in the overseas markets was +1264%, a return on investment of over twelvefold. The total net value was 11.8 billion US dollars, which, disregarding exchange rate fluctuations, was equivalent to about 80.7 billion yuan.

Hua Yu inquired, “How much capital should we allocate to the short positions?”

Fang Hong thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s just use the existing leveraged funds and the profits. Going too big still carries potential risks.”

Stellaris Capital currently had 26 billion US dollars in leveraged funds in its overseas investment account. After repatriating a portion, they would be left with about 8.7 billion US dollars in profit, making for a total of around 34.7 billion US dollars for their new play.

The “potential risks” Fang Hong mentioned weren’t about the market itself—he wasn’t really worried about market games. His real concern was that if the Americans found out and couldn’t stomach the loss, they might resort to freezing his funds or pulling the plug on the internet. If that happened, he would be completely helpless.

The country was still primarily focused on biding its time and building its strength; its overall national power was not what it would be in ten years.

Therefore, the main strategy was to make a fortune in silence. If he reaped too much, too ruthlessly, in a short period, there was a high probability that America would get desperate.

The twenty billion yuan being repatriated from overseas was earmarked for investment in the chip industry. Through a series of capital maneuvers, this twenty billion could be leveraged to control 100 billion, a leverage of about five times.

He was running the same old playbook: set up a private equity fund, have Stellaris Capital contribute a portion, bring in a group of junior partners, and have the leader take the subordinated tranche while the followers took the senior tranche.

…

After leaving Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong returned to his villa at Tranquil Heart Residence.

Once home, he checked the time and saw it had been half an hour since the market closed. He went up to the newly upgraded trading room on the second floor to check his account’s performance for the day, preparing to post an update on Weibo.

The A-share market had surged today. At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +3.36% at 2721.28, a new high for the year, with a trading volume of 156.6 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index had climbed +2.90% to 10421.34, with a volume of 68.7 billion yuan. The combined trading volume for both markets had swelled to 225.3 billion yuan.

Fang Hong glanced at the institutional account’s profits. Today had been a day of huge gains.

Positions Held: 8 stocks

Daily P&L: +65.56 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +8.62%

Cumulative Return: 126.18 million yuan

Total Return Rate: +18.02%

Total Assets: 826.18 million yuan

All eight stocks in the account had risen sharply today.

Shandong Juli closed at the limit-up of +10.03%, with a full-day trading volume of 617 million yuan; Ping An of China closed at the limit-up of +10.00%, with a full-day volume of 4.376 billion yuan; Amethyst Mining hit the limit-up at +10.04%, with a volume of 5.32 billion yuan; and Shandong Gold also hit the limit-up at +10.00%, with a volume of 1.869 billion yuan.

Zhongjin Gold soared +9.49%. The stock had actually hit its limit-up, but the limit-up board broke during the late trading call auction. Its full-day volume was 1.561 billion yuan.

Shanqi Coking Coal rose by a hefty 7.70% on a volume of 1.833 billion yuan; Western Mining climbed +6.27% on a volume of 2.328 billion yuan; and Haitong Securities surged 6.64% on a volume of 4.535 billion yuan.

The stocks he held were either at their limit-up or had posted big bullish candles.

Fang Hong took a screenshot and logged into his Weibo account on the trading room computer.

He was surprised to see his followers in an uproar. After briefly skimming through his private messages and comments, he understood what had happened.

Fang Hong switched to his trading software, entered the ticker for Shandong Juli, and looked at the day’s intraday chart. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, “There are still some smart people in the market…”

He didn’t know who this particular player was, nor would he go out of his way to investigate.

But their slick move of spreading a false rumor during trading hours to force their way onto the bus impressed him. This fund had thrown over one hundred million yuan into the stock, nearly reaching the stake disclosure threshold. That took guts. They were clearly betting that K-God wouldn’t sell.

“This player has some skills…” After a moment of thought, Fang Hong realized he really couldn’t sell. Selling would earn him a few million, maybe ten million, but he would lose the popularity and influence he had built.

The intangible value of popularity and influence was far greater than a ten-million-yuan profit. It was a no-brainer; he would give up the profit to preserve his reputation.

However, a true master doesn’t choose—they take both the profit and the popularity.

Fang Hong smiled and muttered to himself, “Sigh… I guess I’m forced to make a profit through tears.”

So, what was he going to do with his shares in Shandong Juli?

The answer was simple: keep holding them, of course!

But would he sell? Of course he would!

Given the current market sentiment, Shandong Juli’s stock price was completely detached from fundamentals and technicals; it was running purely on emotion. As long as K-God was in, K-God was the anchor. As long as K-God didn’t leave, the rally wouldn’t die.

So how would he sell?

Fang Hong’s strategy was also simple: sell off passively. When the time came, someone would give him a reason to sell that he couldn’t refuse.

Who?

The village chief, of course!

Fang Hong figured that when the time came, he would just have to wait for the village chief to call Xinhong Securities, who would then call or text him, urging him to sell his shares. This would give him a perfectly justifiable reason to exit his position.

What can I do? The brokerage has called me several times. I have no choice but to reluctantly sell.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Fang Hong switched back to Weibo. He created a new post, uploaded the screenshot, and wrote:

[Just got online to see what the drama was about, only to realize I was the drama. I posted this morning and then logged off, so I only just learned that someone was spreading rumors about me during trading hours. I have not sold a single share of Shandong Juli.]

[My only official channel for releasing information online is this Weibo account. Any news related to me from any other source is false.]

[Finally, I must reiterate: my stock market opinions are for personal sharing only and do not constitute any investment advice. If you act on this information, you do so at your own risk and are solely responsible for any profits or losses.]

Fang Hong gave it a quick read-through and then sent the update.

A moment later, he refreshed the page and saw a flood of new comments.

[I knew it was fake news!]

[K-God really didn’t leave!]

[Those bastard market makers are so damn devious. I got tricked into selling. So pissed!]

[Thankfully, I held on. I was planning to sell at the close, but then it hit the board, so I didn’t sell. They almost shook me out.]

[Those major players are such dogs! A shakeout like this?]

[Grandmaster is awesome (voice cracking)!! Four of your eight stocks hit the limit-up, and the other four are all up more than 6%!]

[He’s at over 800 million now, making more than 60 million a day. This wealth growth is the perfect illustration of the snowball effect.]

[Saw K-God’s post this morning and went all-in on Amethyst Mining without a second thought. That was a sweet move. Following K-God’s lead closely. I’m just his accompaniment. With a little wordplay, you can call me a ‘demigod’. No problem with that, right?]

[Uh… n-no problem… (cryinglaughing.jpg)]

[Grandmaster, please, please post more during trading hours in the future.]

[+1]

[I second that. We’re not asking for daily posts, just two or three times a week would be great. Help us brothers get a piece of the action.]

[I’m not asking for much, once a week is enough for me!]

…

The Weibo post Fang Hong made after the market closed was quickly shared by a massive number of his stock-trading fans. The debate over whether K-God had sold was finally settled.

K-God hadn’t sold!

The retail investors who had been scared out of their positions today were kicking themselves in frustration, while those still holding the stock were ecstatic.

That evening, positive news came from the overseas markets as US stocks soared.

The three major US stock indices all hit new highs for the year. The Dow Jones jumped 2.60%, the S&P 500 rose +2.58%, and the Nasdaq surged +3.06%. Other international markets were also generally up.

Meanwhile, Stellaris Capital began to close its overseas positions.

…

The next day.

In the A-share market, the broader market once again gapped up at the open by +0.67% before entering a period of consolidation.

Individual stocks, however, were extremely active. Amethyst Mining, the stock with the highest trading volume yesterday, opened 3% higher today. After the opening bell, it continued its upward trend. In less than an hour of morning trading, its price surpassed 10 yuan and kept climbing, at one point rising over 8% during the day in a classic case of both volume and price rising in tandem.

But the real star of the show was the sentiment leader, Shandong Juli.

The stock opened directly at the limit-up price of 14.11 yuan per share, securing its third consecutive limit-up. It had now hit four limit-ups in five days, with its price soaring by over fifty-six percent since its first limit-up board.

It was worth noting that another stock, Teli A, was riding its coattails. After hitting its first limit-up yesterday, it hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day this morning.

Shandong Juli opening at its limit-up price once again demonstrated to investors across both markets the formidable influence of K-God.

…

Chapter 209: Shandong Juli’s Giant Power, K-God Forced to Double His Money

Around 10:15 AM, the popular leading stock, Shandong Juli, broke its limit-up board.

At the same time, the follower stock, Teli A, also fell from its limit-up price. Shandong Juli quickly dived after breaking its board, but around 11:00 AM, it rallied again to hit the limit-up board once more. Its turnover rate reached 30%, with new hot money entering to take over the relay.

Teli A also hit the limit-up again in the afternoon. Although it had broken its limit intra-day, it ultimately closed at the limit-up, marking two consecutive limit-ups.

Shandong Juli, on the other hand, formed a T-shaped candlestick today.

As for the broader market, today’s trend was to open high and trend lower. Although the K-line was a bearish candle, it was a false bearish, true bullish candle, meaning it actually closed with a gain.

Fang Hong also adjusted his portfolio today. He continued to hold his two gold concept stocks, and of course, he held onto Shandong Juli. He couldn’t sell it now anyway and could only withdraw his sell orders passively, forced to lie back and make money.

He sold off stocks like Shanqi Coking Coal and Western Mining, and sold half of his Ping An of China position. He moved the funds from the insurance sector into the banking sector, heavily investing in four banking stocks: China Merchants Bank, Pufa Bank, Xingye Bank, and Ping An Bank.

Fei Liang, who had been secretly copying the master’s homework in late trading, saw his operations for the day and realized that tomorrow would most likely be an index-driven rally.

Heavily investing in Big Finance stocks and preparing to pump the banking sector meant the index was definitely aiming to break new highs.

Fei Liang had now completely become a fanboy of K-God, trusting him with braindead faith. Wherever the big shot invested, that sector was guaranteed to take off. Now that he was entering the Big Finance sector, one had to believe that banking stocks were about to soar tomorrow.

The big shot was practically a bug in the system. In Fei Liang’s eyes, K-God was now an emotionless stock market-reaping machine.

The next day, Wednesday, June 3rd.

Today, the market opened low, trended high, and then pulled back. Around 11:00 AM, the Big Finance sector started to show its strength, with the banking sector leading the index on a rally to continuously set new highs.

In terms of individual stocks, the popular leader Shandong Juli opened low and trended lower. However, just before 10:00 AM, a wave of buying turned it positive to a 3-point gain. After consolidating for half an hour, it rallied again to 4 points, and after another period of consolidation, it surged once more to over 5 points by the morning close.

When the market opened in the afternoon, the Big Finance, banking, and brokerage sectors led the index’s rally. Meanwhile, after a slight pullback at the afternoon open, Shandong Juli began its assault on the limit-up price. Looking at the intraday line, the stock’s rally was a step-by-step climb.

At 1:15 PM, Shandong Juli’s price rallied to 15.52 yuan, a gain of +9.99%, hitting the limit-up. This marked its fourth consecutive limit-up, and its fifth in six days, achieving a cumulative gain of 71.68%.

The stock’s turnover rate today had already reached 34%. A little over ten minutes later, Teli A, which had been down nearly 5 percent in the morning, also hit the limit-up, marking three consecutive limit-ups.

Shandong Juli’s limit-up today sent a huge signal to the market.

That is, the ceiling had been broken. Achieving a gain of over 70 points in just six days strengthened the speculative atmosphere in the market.

Most importantly, the village chief didn’t say a thing.

Shandong Juli had undoubtedly become the overall sentiment leader of all stocks in both markets. It was a limit-up with high turnover, possessing both height and strength. The height it achieved was a first for the year.

Of course, stocks in the ST sector were an exception. The ST sector was indeed very strong, with many stocks hitting consecutive limit-ups all the way up, but those could only be considered monster stocks, not the overall sentiment leader.

Now that the overall leader had set a new high and demonstrated its profit potential, it set an example for other stocks. The old monster stock Teli A, following the trend, had also shot up for three consecutive limit-ups, and other individual stocks were also strengthening.

The broader market was also very strong today, with both markets hitting new highs for the year.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.99% at 2778.58 points, with a turnover of 159.9 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +2.17% at 10712.31 points, with a turnover of 79.1 billion yuan. The total turnover for both markets was 239 billion yuan.

The four banking stocks in Fang Hong’s institutional account also brought in huge profits today. China Merchants Bank surged by 7.13%, Pufa Bank hit the limit-up at +9.99%, Xingye Bank soared +6.13%, and Ping An Bank jumped +8.01%. As for his two gold concept stocks, Shandong Gold rose 9.62%, nearing the limit-up, while Zhongjin Gold hit the limit-up directly at 10.00%.

Zhongjin Gold had already begun its accelerated primary rally. He had already made a huge profit before transferring to the institutional account. He had now held the stock for a cumulative 6 trading days, with profits exceeding 35 percent. The expectation for this stock was to double, so it was nowhere near time to sell.

Fang Hong’s latest account performance data:

Holdings: 11 individual stocks.

Daily P&L: +48.41 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +5.73%

Cumulative Return: 193.41 million yuan

Total Return: +27.63%

Total Assets: 893.41 million yuan

The total assets in the account were getting closer and closer to the 1 billion yuan mark.

After the market closed, Teli A, which had just hit its third consecutive limit-up, issued an announcement declaring a trading suspension. The reason given was that the cumulative deviation of its closing price had exceeded 20% over three consecutive trading days, and it needed to conduct a verification of related issues. The suspension would last for one day—tomorrow—with trading resuming on Friday.

This voluntary move to lock itself in the ‘penalty box’ utterly confused the retail investors.

But Shandong Juli, which had gone wild, faced no consequences. It had already hit four consecutive limit-ups and five in six days. If any stock deserved a suspension, it should have been this one.

The next day, Thursday.

Shandong Juli went straight for its fifth consecutive limit-up, opening at the limit-up price. It was then suspended for one hour due to abnormal trading.

After trading resumed at 10:30 AM, the stock once again formed a T-shaped candlestick with a turnover rate of 38%. Its price shot up to 17.07 yuan/share, achieving a massive 88.82% gain with 6 limit-ups in 7 days.

One more limit-up tomorrow, and the stock would have doubled since its first limit-up board.

After the market closed in the afternoon, the Dragon-Tiger List data was released around 4:40 PM. Shandong Juli was prominently featured. Retail investors were thrilled when they saw the data because the “For institutional use only” trading seat did not appear in the sell-side seats, meaning K-God was still holding.

Everyone was paying close attention to whether K-God had sold, but he hadn’t posted on Weibo today, so when the Dragon-Tiger List came out, they knew he hadn’t.

The market opened on Friday.

Teli A, which had been suspended for a day, resumed trading today but was also suspended for an hour at the open.

At the open, Shandong Juli quickly surged 5 percent, then began to consolidate and pull back. After 11:00 AM, it even dived and turned negative for the day, down about -2 percent.

After the market opened in the afternoon, Shandong Juli traded sideways below its opening price for about fifty minutes.

By then, the stock’s turnover rate had already reached 29%. With sufficient turnover, large funds began to push the price up steadily. In about five minutes, the stock price was pushed up to an 8 percent gain, after which the gains slightly narrowed, as it didn’t make a run for the limit-up in one go.

At the same time, as Shandong Juli continued to push for new highs, the old monster Teli A followed suit, rallying from over 4 points underwater to a gain of over 6 points.

At 2:30 PM in late trading, Shandong Juli dived to around a 4 percent gain, then immediately surged again on high volume. At 2:45 PM, it broke through the day’s previous high in one go and rallied again on high volume.

At 2:47 PM, Shandong Juli’s price rallied to 18.78 yuan/share, hitting the limit-up. It marked its sixth consecutive limit-up, and seventh in eight days, achieving a double in value since its first limit-up.

Two minutes later, around 2:49 PM, Teli A rallied to 9.57 yuan and sealed its limit-up board. This old monster stock, following the trend, had also achieved a high-spec four consecutive limit-ups.

The retail investors went wild.

Those who missed out were utterly dumbfounded. The more they watched, the higher it went; the higher it went, the more they watched. Missing out was painful, and the more they thought about it, the angrier they got.

After the market closed in the afternoon, the Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Shandong Juli was on the list again, this time for having a daily turnover rate exceeding 20%. Today’s turnover rate reached 38.98%.

The retail investors were exhilarated to see that several well-known hot money groups had come in to play.

But that wasn’t the main point. What truly excited the investors was that K-God still hadn’t sold.

What more needed to be said? Of course, they would be with the god!

Over the following weekend, various forums and chat groups were discussing how the stock could reach such great heights. The explanation everyone gave was that since K-God hadn’t sold, there was no problem, and the party could continue next week.

This logic for the rally was absolutely ridiculous, but it was the truth.

Fundamentals and technicals were now completely useless for a stock like Shandong Juli. It had become entirely detached from them, turning into a game of hot potato.

As for K-God not selling, it was just the reason needed for it to rise. That was all.

Everyone participating now knew that Shandong Juli had detached from its fundamentals and technicals—severely so.

No one dared to predict how high a stock like this could go. Sentiment kept hitting new highs, but when the sentiment receded, the reversal would be instantaneous.

But the rally that had unfolded so far still stunned countless short-term traders. In this day and age, a stock achieving six consecutive limit-ups and doubling in price in seven days was extremely rare, beyond the comprehension of most people.

Chapter 210: Stellaris Capital Goes Bust? Rumor Has It They Got Wrecked on Overseas Investments!

With Shandong Juli’s stock soaring as it had, Fang Hong found himself effortlessly riding its surge. He had “helplessly” doubled his investment, making over thirty million. In truth, this profit didn’t feel freeing; it was as if the market had propped him up and forced him to make that thirty million.

On Saturday morning, Fang Hong posted another Weibo update:

[A lot of people have been private messaging me, asking how far Shandong Juli can go. To be honest, I don’t know right now. I can only say that “Mr. Market” is incredible. Many people are also asking when I’m getting out. First, I haven’t left yet. Second, I could leave at any moment. I’ll play it by ear.]

The last sentence was also a heads-up to the market. As soon as the post went live, retail investors were thrilled!

K-God is still in!

As for him potentially leaving at any moment?

They didn’t care. As long as they could party for another day, that’s what mattered. Everyone in this stock knew they were speculating.

The comments section was flooded with phrases like “Walking with God” or “Dancing with God,” and the post was widely shared.

It was worth noting that Fang Hong’s K3478 account had now officially surpassed ten million followers, elevating him to a Diamond Big V blogger. The “V” symbol on his profile was now framed in a diamond.

His verification tag, “Top A-Share Hot Money Trader,” was eye-catching, and he was currently the only stock market blogger with over ten million followers.

Afternoon tea time.

The Tranquil Heart Residence villa welcomed two newcomers—the sisters Lin Yan and Lin Yun, who had arrived for their interview.

They were currently seated in the first-floor lounge area. Since it was Saturday, Fang Hong was at home and was personally interviewing them.

“Do you have any special talents?” Fang Hong asked with a smile, sitting on the sofa opposite the two women.

Talents?

Lin Yan and Lin Yun exchanged glances. After a moment, the elder sister, Lin Yan, spoke up, “I can play the piano.”

“Mm, not bad.” Fang Hong then turned to Lin Yun. “What about you?”

Lin Yun hesitated for a moment before saying meekly, “Me… I know a bit about SPA treatments. I’m not sure if that counts…”

Fang Hong was slightly surprised and asked curiously, “Oh? Did you work in that industry before?”

Lin Yun quickly shook her head. “No, I’ve just been studying it on my own recently. I want to become a private therapist.”

For the next few minutes, Fang Hong asked a few more questions, then looked at the two women again and smiled. “You can officially start today. As for your salary and benefits, you’ll have full social insurance and a housing fund, plus room and board. For meals, you’ll eat with the master’s family—whatever we eat, you eat. For lodging, you can each choose an empty bedroom on the first or second floor. If you choose to live and eat outside, there will be no housing or meal allowances, just so you know.”

They hadn’t expected room and board to mean eating with the master’s family and living inside the villa. The job posting had only mentioned that it was included, without specifying the details. The sisters were amazed.

The two women decisively chose to live and eat at the Tranquil Heart Residence. The accommodation, in particular, was a huge plus. Huayang Mountain Villa was far from Xincheng city center, making the commute quite long and inconvenient.

Besides, getting to live in such a luxurious mansion for free? There was no reason to spend their own money to live elsewhere.

Crucially, the two sisters had assumed the employer at Tranquil Heart Residence would be a middle-aged man in his forties, or perhaps even older. They never imagined he would be so young and so handsome.

“As for your time off, you’ll have two days off per week, and all public holidays. You can arrange your specific rest days flexibly—just give the house manager a heads-up,” Fang Hong said, smiling at the pair of beautiful sisters. “Additionally, you are free to use the villa’s gym, tennis court, swimming pool, and so on. That’s also part of your benefits.”

Hearing this, the sisters were once again astonished. Was this really a job? From what Fang Hong described, it felt more like the boss was paying them a salary to come and enjoy life in his mansion.

How could such a good thing exist in the world…

Fang Hong continued, “Your salary is composed of two parts. You will receive 31,200 yuan for your primary housekeeping duties. You will also work part-time as stock traders to assist me with my investments, for which you will receive an additional subsidy of 18,800 yuan per month. That makes a total of 50,000 yuan.”

Stock traders?

The sisters were taken aback. Lin Yan quickly said, “Mr. Fang, neither of us has any experience with stock trading…”

Fang Hong smiled. “It’s fine. It’s very simple; you’ll get the hang of it in a few days.”

Just then, Yifulei happened to walk into the living room. Fang Hong glanced at her and called her over, then instructed, “Xiao Yi, take these two under your wing for a few days. Teach them everything I taught you.”

Yifulei nodded with a smile. “Mhm, okay, Bro Hong.”

Fang Hong then turned back to the two women and smiled. “Xiao Yi didn’t know anything before either, and now she’s perfectly competent.”

Hearing this, the two sisters nodded in unison.

And just like that, the pair of beautiful sisters successfully landed the job. Yifulei, who had arrived before them, was now in charge of their training. The two sisters each chose adjacent rooms on the second floor.

After they had selected their rooms, Yifulei led them to the villa’s largest walk-in closet. The sight of the closet, filled with an dazzling array of designer clothes, including haute couture, was an eye-opener for the two women.

Yifulei explained that all the clothes belonged to their employer’s girlfriend.

Leading them to a corner, Yifulei pointed to a row of clothes on a rack and smiled. “These are the work uniforms. Pick some that fit. You can each take ten~”

Lin Yan and her sister turned to look and saw that the clothes were… maid outfits.

And they came in a wide variety of colors, styles, and designs.

Just then, Lin Yan turned to Yifulei and asked, “Um… do we have to wear these to work?”

In truth, seeing Yifulei’s own maid outfit had already prepared them for this possibility. Yifulei nodded with a smile. “Mhm, it’s a work rule. Xuanxuan requested it. It’s really no big deal. I wasn’t used to it at first either and thought it was strange, but you get used to it after wearing it for a while.”

Lin Yan and Lin Yun didn’t dwell on it for too long. Although they felt a little embarrassed, the thought of this once-in-a-lifetime job outweighed any reservations.

After officially starting their jobs, Yifulei began teaching them how to trade stocks over the weekend, passing on everything Fang Hong had taught her to Lin Yan and her sister.

At first, they thought it would be difficult, but it turned out not to be, which boosted their confidence.

They were, however, quite worried about making mistakes, especially after Yifulet told them the amounts involved could reach tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. They experienced the same anxiety Yifulei had at the beginning.

But all it would take was a few trades to get used to it.

Around 4 PM on Sunday afternoon.

A rumor that Stellaris Capital had “gone bust” sent shockwaves through the investment community. According to an anonymous inside source, Stellaris Capital had lost over thirty billion yuan in the last three months by shorting overseas markets.

They held massive short positions, expecting the market to fall, but instead, the overseas markets had rallied strongly over the past three months, entering a technical bull market. Stellaris Capital, having bet against the market, got wrecked.

As soon as the news broke, everyone who had lent money to or was partnered with Stellaris Capital was petrified.

Li Yongzhi, the coal boss, and Xiao Quan of Pengrui Capital, who had just handed their money over, immediately called Hua Yu to verify the rumor’s authenticity.

“President Hua, give it to me straight. Is the rumor true or false?” Xiao Quan asked anxiously over the phone. Hua Yu’s voice came through instantly, “It’s unequivocally false. Besides, even if the company’s investments did fail, that wouldn’t affect our prior creditor-debtor relationship.”

Hearing the almost instantaneous denial, Xiao Quan’s heart sank even further.

The response was too quick, too smooth. It felt like a pre-rehearsed speech.

“But…” Xiao Quan hesitated, complaining internally: If your company goes bust, it won’t affect our debt relationship? Who’d believe that?

“Rest assured, President Xiao. Worst-case scenario, you have Huayang Group’s guarantee. Just eat, drink, and be merry. You won’t miss a cent of your principal or interest,” Hua Yu said, his tone brimming with confidence as he tried to placate him.

The more overconfident he sounded, the more uneasy Xiao Quan felt. He’d been around the block. Often, the worse things are, the more vehemently people insist everything is fine, all to stabilize their partners.

But he was already on board, and there was no getting off now.

If he tried to back out right after getting in, the agreement stipulated a punitive penalty of 30% of the fifteen billion, meaning he’d have to pay 4.5 billion in damages. After all, Stellaris Capital hadn’t actually defaulted yet.

Getting out was clearly impossible.

All he could do was wait a year and see if Stellaris Capital could pay the 2.25 billion in interest on time, as per their agreement.

Thank god he had lent the money instead of investing it. If he had invested, it might have all gone down the drain.

At least now he was a creditor of Stellaris Capital.

“President Hua, you guys need to stay steady…” Xiao Quan didn’t know what else to say. After a few more words, he hung up, his heart heavy with worry. No sooner had Hua Yu finished his call with Xiao Quan than Li Yongzhi called to ask the same questions.

The coal boss was panicking hard. He had pledged thirty years of his mine’s future earning rights to raise those twenty-one billion. If Stellaris Capital went bust, he would be instantly wiped out and would probably have to flee the country that very night.

At the same time, after ending his call with Hua Yu, Xiao Quan received a call from his friend.

As soon as he picked up, his friend started asking about Stellaris Capital. Xiao Quan declared with complete conviction, “I just called Hua Yu myself and confirmed it’s a rumor. Yes, don’t worry. This debt is extremely high-quality, and it’s guaranteed by Huayang Group. You can just sleep soundly and collect your interest. Eat, drink, and be merry. You won’t miss a cent of your principal or interest. Okay, I have to go.”

Xiao Quan confidently told his friend there was no problem, not to panic, and to just eat, drink, and be merry.

In reality, President Xiao himself was panicking hard, but could he let it show? Even if something really happened, he’d have to grit his teeth and insist everything was fine.

Chapter 211: Extreme Haggling, the Major Entertainment Companies Panic

Rumors that Stellaris Capital had been liquidated and suffered huge losses on its overseas investments drew a crowd of onlooking investors. Those with no skin in the game felt a bit of schadenfreude; after all, Stellaris Capital had been acting quite arrogantly lately with its “fool with too much money” attitude.

Now that they heard the firm had gotten wrecked, its peers couldn’t help but feel a secret thrill. Happiness, after all, is often a matter of comparison.

But while some were happy, others were worried.

The coal boss, Xiao Quan, and the others in their group were now so worried they couldn’t even taste their food. They had just handed over their money, and then this happened. It was terrifying.

The coal boss, Li Yongzhi, was especially panicked.

…

That evening.

A vice president from Enlight Media called Cao Chenghui. “Mr. Cao, there are rumors in the industry that your company has been liquidated on its overseas investments and suffered heavy losses. Is there any truth to this?”

Cao Chenghui responded in a low voice, “I don’t see how that has any direct bearing on our collaboration.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a lighthearted laugh. “Of course not. I just happened to hear the rumors and thought I’d mention it. It doesn’t matter whether you say anything or not.”

Cao Chenghui then said, “It’s fake news, just a rumor. To be honest with you, our company has made a fortune on its overseas investments.”

The Enlight Media vice president on the line and a colleague next to him exchanged a look. They both seemed to read the same message in each other’s eyes: no matter how you looked at it, something was off about Cao Chenghui’s statement. It was highly likely they had truly lost a fortune and were just putting up a brave front.

Sometimes, the world is just that absurd—you tell the truth and no one believes you.

In fact, Fang Hong’s strategy was to exploit this human tendency to be overly clever. That was one aspect. Another, of course, was the groundwork that had been laid beforehand, with each step linked to the next—namely, the ten billion that Stellaris Capital had previously brought back into the country.

During that period, global capital markets were plummeting, yet Stellaris Capital had managed to rake in ten billion. This had caused a sensation in the industry at the time. The money had genuinely flowed back into the Mainland; that much was indisputable.

Without a doubt, to make a fortune during a crash, one must have been shorting the market.

With this precedent, there was now a perfect reason to believe the current rumors of huge losses. The logic was that Stellaris Capital had likely continued to be bearish on the market, but things had gone contrary to their expectations. Since March, major capital markets around the world had been in the midst of a major rebound.

After all this groundwork had been laid, a rumor suddenly appeared. And at this moment, they were adamantly insisting they hadn’t lost money—in fact, they claimed to have made a huge profit.

A simple-minded person might not think too much about it. But this crowd consisted of people as cunning as monkeys. They would overthink things more than the average person, they were more suspicious, and they had countless more tricks up their sleeves.

In their eyes, the fact that Stellaris Capital was vehemently claiming to have made a fortune in the face of rumors about huge losses just didn’t sit right. They were more inclined to believe the rumors were not entirely baseless.

“Mr. Qin, the company has made a new decision,” Cao Chenghui said methodically to the Enlight Media VP on the phone. “Regarding the copyright acquisition project, we have to comply with a temporary strategic adjustment. We may have to cut the entire project outright…”

“What did you say?” The vice president from Enlight Media was stunned. He immediately covered the mouthpiece of his phone and whispered to his colleague, “Cao Chenghui said Qunxing is going to cut the copyright acquisition project completely. It seems they really did lose a fortune.”

He then returned to the phone, expressing his displeasure directly. “Mr. Cao, what is the meaning of this? You’ve made us wait all this time for nothing? Who will bear our losses?”

Cao Chenghui replied with a helpless tone, “There’s nothing I can do, Mr. Qin. This is a resolution from the company’s Board of Directors. How about this, Mr. Qin? Your company should just sell its film and television copyrights to that other buyer. My Stellaris Capital won’t compete with them. We’re pulling out.”

When the people at Enlight Media heard this, damn it, they immediately lost their cool. They were truly panicking.

Because the so-called “other buyer” was just a shill they had created themselves to drive up the price.

If Stellaris Capital was pulling out and no longer competing, what was the point of this whole game?

The vice president from Enlight Media was suddenly furious. “Mr. Cao, your company’s breach of faith is outrageous! You were the one who begged me every which way to delay things, and I did it for you. Now you’re telling me you’re not buying? How am I supposed to explain this to my company? Huh? That other buyer got fed up with our stalling and backed out a month ago in a huff, and now your company is just going to up and leave?”

Still feigning helplessness, Cao Chenghui replied, “Man proposes, God disposes. Let me be honest with you, the company’s short-term cash flow has indeed run into some… minor problems. Why don’t we wait a little longer? Perhaps things will take a turn for the better.”

Wait longer?

Wait for what? After waiting all this time only to get this result, and he wanted them to wait even longer?

Cao Chenghui immediately added, “My sincere apologies, Mr. Qin. Let’s leave it at that.”

With that, Cao Chenghui hung up the phone.

He then called several other major entertainment companies and conveyed more or less the same message.

Qunxing wasn’t buying!

Tonight, Cao Chenghui was busy talking on the phone with the executive management of these major domestic entertainment companies. One by one, they were all filled with indignation, but there was nothing they could do. No legally binding agreement had been signed between the two parties.

If Qunxing wasn’t buying, they were truly powerless to do anything about it.

About an hour and a half later, that vice president from Enlight Media called Cao Chenghui again late at night. “Mr. Cao, your company absolutely cannot just walk away like this. I cannot accept it.”

At that moment, Cao Chenghui was squatting on the toilet in the bathroom. He answered the phone, “Oh, my dear Mr., things have come to this, and it’s not what my company wanted either. But the Board of Directors has already decided to cut this expenditure or shelve it indefinitely. There’s nothing I can do. I can’t overturn the Board’s decision.”

The other end of the line was silent for a while before a voice came through, “Is there really no room for negotiation at all?”

A helpless, wry smile spread across Cao Chenghui’s face. “What do you want me to do? I can’t just materialize several hundred million out of thin air to buy your copyrights, can I?”

A moment later, the voice on the phone spoke again. “What if our company were to offer a lower price?”

Hearing this, Cao Chenghui was so impressed with his Boss that he wanted to prostrate himself in admiration. They had actually offered to lower the price on their own initiative. The tables were quietly turning. The situation was gradually shifting to a buyer’s market, where the sellers were now beginning to beg the buyers to buy.

Cao Chenghui was well aware of Fang Hong’s objective: to buy!

But they had to show these major entertainment companies a firm resolve not to buy, to act as if they were done playing the game. And just as planned, the other side had actually panicked.

And now, here they were, calling him in the middle of the night. It was almost midnight, soon to be the early hours of the morning.

There was no doubt about it: the few top domestic entertainment companies were truly desperate. They knew very well that in the current copyright market, only Stellaris Capital could offer such a high price. The only reason copyright prices had been driven so high was because Stellaris Capital had propped them up.

If Qunxing didn’t buy, the prices would immediately plummet.

Right now, the copyrights seemed valuable, priced at over one hundred thousand per piece, but without a transaction, it was all just paper wealth. It was like in the stock market: a market maker could push a stock’s price up dozens of times, but if no one was willing to take the shares, if there was no turnover rate, no trading volume, no one putting up money to buy, it was all an illusion.

Only when a real transaction occurs, when shares actually change hands, does the price become real. Only then can floating profits become realized profits and be converted into hard cash.

The copyright market was now in the same situation. The prices were high, but without transactions, without anything changing hands, it was all just a fantasy. What was the point of quoting a price of one million per piece?

After all this commotion, for Stellaris Capital to simply say they were out of the game—how could they not be anxious?

They were even more unwilling to let the duck that was almost cooked and ready to eat fly away.

The major domestic entertainment companies were now filled with regret. If they had known this would happen, they shouldn’t have tried to inflate the price in the first place. They should have sold them for forty-five thousand per piece earlier on and pocketed the hard cash for peace of mind.

At that moment, Cao Chenghui feigned surprise. “A lower price?”

The voice on the other end responded, “Yes. We just held an emergency meeting to discuss this matter, and the company has decided that a slight price reduction is acceptable. Mr. Cao, your company really put us in a tight spot on this, causing us to suffer significant losses. If you just walk away like this, who will dare to do business with you in the future? Right?”

The implication was clear: Please, you have to buy at least something. You can’t just up and leave.

Cao Chenghui did not ask how much lower the price would be. He absolutely could not ask now. The moment he asked, it would reveal that his company wanted to buy. The strategy now was to create the impression that he wasn’t buying, not even at a lower price.

This way, the other party would inevitably lower the price even more drastically in the hopes of enticing Stellaris Capital.

After all, even if the price were slashed in half from the previous offer, and then slashed in half again, selling at around thirty thousand per piece would still be a premium of many times what it was before Stellaris Capital entered the scene.

…

Chapter 212: Paying Your Own Employees a Bonus with Someone Else’s Money

At that moment, Cao Chenghui said with a troubled expression, “Mr. Qin, this really isn’t an issue of lowering the price or not. It’s that the Board of Directors’ decision has already…”

If you had to say anything, you’d say it was the board’s decision—the perfect all-purpose reply.

The person on the other end of the line cut him off, launching into a sob story. “You told me back then to stall them at all costs. I stuck my neck out for this, and now you’re just going to leave irresponsibly with a single word? I’ll be screwed internally! I’ll have to bear huge responsibility for this loss.”

Cao Chenghui replied, “But…”

Mr. Qin pleaded, “I’m begging you. Please, go ask President Hua again. We’re willing to drop the price by thirty percent. How about seventy thousand per unit? If this deal goes through, don’t worry, you will be greatly rewarded!”

He put special emphasis on the final words, “greatly rewarded.”

Cao Chenghui naturally understood his meaning. If he could make this happen, he would receive a generous kickback privately.

However, Cao Chenghui couldn’t, nor did he dare, to accept a private kickback.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that the situation was unfolding almost exactly as his boss had predicted was deeply shocking to him.

It raised a simple question: since the boss could foresee events to this extent, could he not have also predicted that the other party might secretly offer a kickback?

Although the boss hadn’t mentioned it, Cao Chenghui was utterly convinced that he had anticipated it.

If he secretly took their kickback, his career at Stellaris Capital would be over.

Cao Chenghui knew very well that following the boss and being loyal to the boss was the most promising path forward.

Other bosses gave their subordinates bonuses through normal procedures, but his own boss simply told him to go “withdraw money” from the stock market. Cao Chenghui had gone all-in on the Shanghai SE 50 ETF, which had now risen by over sixty percent. And since he had used leveraged funds, he had already made a profit of more than two hundred percent.

In a sense, the size of his “bonus” depended on his own investment. The more he invested, the bigger the bonus. Cao Chenghui firmly believed that the boss would never let him lose money. Even if he did, the boss would compensate him through other means, because the boss’s reputation was worth far more than any bonus.

Cao Chenghui was also well aware that within Stellaris Capital, in the eyes of his boss, his ability was definitely not ranked first.

What was ranked first was his loyalty!

In terms of ability, Cao Chenghui knew he was far inferior to Hua Yu; there were even many others in Stellaris Capital who were significantly more capable than him.

But when it came to loyalty to the boss, Cao Chenghui was confident that no one in the entire company was more loyal than him. He also knew that he had received a unique reward—a confirmation of his loyalty from the boss. That was the fact that the boss had only privately told him to go “withdraw money” from the stock market. No one else in Stellaris Capital had received such treatment.

At that moment, still on the call, Cao Chenghui let out a long sigh and replied, “Mr. Qin, there’s no need for a great reward. I’ll talk to President Hua again tomorrow when I get to the office. I’ll convey your company’s message, but I can’t guarantee anything. After all, the Board of Directors’ decision has already…”

The moment Mr. Qin heard Cao Chenghui bring up the board’s decision again, he was completely fed up and felt like cursing. However, he managed to keep his composure and quickly cut him off, “I know, I know. I’m counting on you, then. My future is in your hands, my brother.”

Currently squatting on the toilet, Cao Chenghui rolled his eyes furiously. We’re all seasoned players here, who are you pretending to be weak for?

Despite his thoughts, Cao Chenghui quickly responded politely, “Mr. Qin, what are you saying… You’re being far too serious!”

The situation had clearly reversed; the seller was now begging the buyer to buy.

After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call.

The next day, around 12:30 PM.

“…That’s the gist of the situation.”

In the leisure area of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was sitting on the sofa, listening to Cao Chenghui’s in-person report. It was, of course, about the matter with the domestic entertainment companies. He had reported yesterday’s events in full detail, hiding nothing.

After finishing his report, Cao Chenghui waited for the big boss’s instructions.

A moment later, Fang Hong, sitting with his legs crossed, looked down and seemed to murmur to himself, “You still have to take the kickback.”

Cao Chenghui was stunned for a moment.

Fang Hong immediately looked at him and said, “If you don’t take it, they won’t feel at ease. If you take it, they’ll think you’re genuinely doing your best for them. Not only will they feel more secure, but it’ll also be easier for us to handle things.”

More importantly, if Cao Chenghui refused the kickback, the other party might truly believe that Stellaris Capital was dead set against buying. They might lose all hope and give up, which would be counterproductive to Stellaris Capital’s goals.

The whole act they were putting on wasn’t just to get all the copyrights, but also to drive down the price.

If Cao Chenghui accepted the kickback, it would create suspense, and the other party wouldn’t give up so easily, because there would still be hope.

Fang Hong said with a chuckle, “If they dare to stuff money in your pocket, take it. Just consider it a bonus I’m giving you.”

Hearing his boss’s words, Cao Chenghui thought to himself that being completely transparent with the boss was absolutely the right move. Any benefits that were rightfully his wouldn’t be lost, and he would even gain more trust from the boss. As for the big boss’s tactic of using other people’s money to give his own subordinate a bonus, that was on another level entirely.

After finishing his report and receiving new instructions from the big boss, Cao Chenghui took his leave. He still had to continue the act, continue to haggle, and finally, buy with a reluctant air when the sellers were begging humbly and desperately.

A mere thirty percent price cut? That was far from enough.

Cao Chenghui walked out the main gate of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa and got into the driver’s seat of his car. He turned his head to glance at the mansion and suddenly sighed with emotion, “The boss is the real winner at life. He really knows how to enjoy himself. It’s great to be young…”

Today was the first time he had come to the big boss’s residence for a report. The house manager, the maids—every single one was young and beautiful. This place was practically the boss’s happy mansion.

The car engine started. Cao Chenghui put aside his thoughts and drove away from Huayang Mountain Villa. He still had to continue his persuasive bullshitting with those domestic entertainment companies.

After 1:00 PM, the A-share market opened for the afternoon session. Today was Monday, June 8th, the first trading day of a new week.

Fang Hong was now in the second-floor trading room. This time, it wasn’t just Yifulei with him; the two newly hired maids at Tranquil Heart Residence, the beautiful sisters Lin Yan and Lin Yun, were also sitting in front of screens, executing trades.

The three women sat side-by-side at the curved trading desk on the right, with Yifulei in the middle so she could guide Lin Yan and Lin Yun, who were trading for the first time. She had taught them over the weekend, and today they were starting with hard cash.

The pair of beautiful sisters were actually quite nervous; after all, the sums they were handling were astronomical in their eyes.

Fang Hong stood behind the three of them and spoke, “Xiao Yi, how much Zhongguo Life have we traded?”

Yifulei replied, “We’ve already bought over twenty million.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately instructed, “Increase the single transaction size to the ten-million level. Speed it up. Buying around one hundred million will be enough.”

Yifulei nodded. “Mmm-hmm~”

Zhongguo Life’s stock didn’t have much trading volume in the morning. It had opened higher but then trended down, even turning negative for the day at one point. However, it turned positive again just before the morning session closed. Now, as soon as the afternoon session began, it started to rally with both volume and price rising in tandem.

Fang Hong had already started getting into this stock in the morning, but due to the low volume, he hadn’t accumulated many shares.

At this moment, the stock was rapidly surging higher on increasing volume.

Yifulei followed Fang Hong’s instructions, chasing the rise. Around 1:43 PM, Zhongguo Life’s share price rallied to 25.39 yuan, an increase of nearly five percent, but it subsequently surged higher then fell back.

“We’ve bought one hundred million’s worth, Bro Hong!” Yifulei said with a smile, turning to look back at Fang Hong.

“Good. The average price is decent,” Fang Hong nodded, then looked at the sisters Lin Yan and Lin Yun and added, “Zhongxin Securities and Haitong Securities have pulled back. You can continue buying. Use all the remaining funds in the accounts to buy them.”

“Okay,” Lin Yan and Lin Yun also began their buying operations. The two women were each buying one of the brokerage stocks. Their actions were still clearly clumsy, and their speed in placing orders was slow because they were afraid of making mistakes, much like Yifulei had been at the beginning.

The day’s portfolio adjustment was basically complete, with only the two leading brokerage stocks that the sisters were busy buying left to finish.

Just around 2:17 PM, the overall market sentiment leader, Shandong Juli, began to rally in late trading. After dropping to a position of -4.79% underwater, the divergence in opinion turned into consensus, and the stock launched an upward assault. It quickly turned positive, rising by three percentage points, but then experienced a pullback, consolidating near the zero-axis line for about five minutes before launching another rally.

The retail investors were all stunned. It looked like Shandong Juli was on its way to setting a new all-time high.

Chapter 213: Consecutive Limit-ups in Defiance of Regulation

Around 2:32 PM, the stock price of Shandong Juli surged to 19.65 yuan, a gain of +4.63%. The stock officially broke through its historical high of 19.63 yuan set on January 16, 2008, reaching a new peak since its listing.

Subsequently, all major stock trading applications sent out push notifications:

[Shandong Juli is up over 5%, its stock price hitting a new all-time high]

This stock was now undeniably the star of the show in both markets, attracting the attention of countless investors. After hitting its new high, the price fluctuated near the peak for about ten minutes, accompanied by an explosion in trading volume as it worked to release the pressure from shares trapped at the previous high.

At 2:51 PM, major trading apps sent out another notification:

[Shandong Juli hits the limit-up in late trading, with its price reaching a new historical high of 20.66 yuan. Its total market capitalization has reached 5.7 billion yuan. The cumulative gain since its first limit-up exceeds +128%, with current turnover exceeding 800 million yuan]

The market was in an uproar. Shandong Juli continued its mad dash north, securing its seventh consecutive limit-up and its eighth in nine days, pushing speculative fervor to new heights.

Not long after Shandong Juli sealed its limit-up, its follower stock next door also rallied to the limit-up, achieving five consecutive limit-ups.

After the market closed, nearly every stock forum was discussing the monster stock that was Shandong Juli. Those who had participated were especially heated in their discussions. There was hardly another stock that could reach such heights at the moment.

[The higher it climbs, the more I dare not buy. The more I don’t buy, the higher it climbs…]

[Painfully missed out on a bull stock. It gave me a chance to get in every single day, and getting in would’ve meant huge profits, but I just watched from the sidelines the entire time.]

[An epic seven consecutive limit-ups!]

[Shandong Juli is incredibly awesome, the Universe’s Overall Leader.]

[Hahaha, K-God just updated his Weibo. Looks like he was playing the Big Finance sector these past two days, but he’s still holding Shandong Juli. He hasn’t sold yet.]

[Holy crap? Seven limit-ups and it can still hit another one?]

[Another limit-up tomorrow!]

[Go, go, go! I’m going to lose all my money! I’m totally hooked.jpg]

[It’s broken through the major historical high. How much higher can it go?]

[There’s no point trying to predict the top for this stock now. Even K-God said he doesn’t know…]

[Bears don’t call the bottom, bulls don’t call the top. The sky is the limit!]

…

That evening, the regulators intervened.

The village chief directly named Shandong Juli, placing it on a key monitoring list. Shortly after, the company also released a statement: Announcement of Abnormal Stock Trading Fluctuations and Trading Suspension for Investigation!

The trading suspension would last for one day, with trading to resume on Wednesday, June 10th.

What was bound to happen had finally arrived.

According to data from the regulators, during Shandong Juli’s recent frenzy, its daily turnover rate was between 35% and 45%. Furthermore, the vast majority of participants were retail investors, accounting for over 60% of the funds, with the rest being some hot money.

Speculators from all walks of life were playing a relay race of pass the parcel. Many would buy one day and sell the next, only to find they’d sold too early. Some gave up, while others jumped back in to continue the relay, buying at the limit-up.

In short, the huge daily turnover rate meant that as one group of people left, another entered. Those who were still participating at this point knew deep down that they were in the “playing the greater fool” stage. However, none of them believed they would be the one left holding the bag. Although the price was very high, they felt it was fine to participate with a small position. They were willing to take on some risk, figuring that even if they caught the final baton, it wouldn’t be a major blow.

Only a few exceptionally gutsy individuals would still be holding a heavy position at this point.

With so many people involved, even if everyone just bought one lot, ten thousand participants meant ten thousand lots. The market’s collective force was astonishing.

…

The next day, Tuesday, June 9th, the market opened. Teli A, the old monster stock that had followed with five consecutive limit-ups, opened deep underwater and closed at its limit-down for the day.

This made the retail investors holding Shandong Juli a bit nervous, especially those with heavy positions. It would be a lie to say they were calm. They had a pretty good idea just how high the stock had climbed.

…

Wednesday, June 10th.

Shandong Juli, which had been suspended for a day, resumed trading today. It opened -4% underwater. After the open, it quickly surged, then pulled back to its opening price, dipped slightly, and rebounded upwards again.

In the first half-hour of morning trading, it even managed to turn positive for the day, but then fell back, generally fluctuating at a loss of around 2% underwater.

Large funds were quietly pulling out and reducing their positions, but they weren’t smashing the market.

The trading atmosphere on the whole was exceptionally active. On both sides of the exchange, buyers and sellers were probably brushing past each other, each calling the other an idiot. That was likely the situation.

As time went on, around 2:00 PM, the broader market index was also trending higher. The Shanghai Composite Index rallied to touch the 2800-point integer mark. Although it didn’t hold steady, it still uplifted the market.

At the beginning of the year, when the index was still around 1800 points, if someone had said the Shanghai Composite would hit 2800 within half a year, they would have certainly been mocked by everyone: “How many drinks have you had, to be this wasted?”

Back then, everyone was clamoring that the A-share market was hopeless and needed to be torn down and started over.

Meanwhile, during the afternoon session, Shandong Juli’s chart was looking weaker and weaker.

But right at the 2:21 PM mark, Shandong Juli’s stock price broke through its intraday high from the morning session and continued to rally, turning positive.

At 2:37 PM, major trading apps sent out a notification:

[Shandong Juli has touched its limit-up, with its stock price hitting a new historical high of 22.73 yuan. Its total market cap has reached 6.2 billion yuan, with current turnover exceeding 700 million yuan.]

At this moment, retail investor discussions about the stock on the stock forums were exploding.

[Ridiculous!]

[Damn it, I cut my losses when it was underwater. Luckily, I chased it back. Corrected my mistake just in time. If I had just held on, I’d have eaten a full limit-up. All that trading just to make less than 5 points, I lost half my potential profit.]

[Crazy, crazy, everyone’s gone crazy.]

[Eleven consecutive bullish candles, nine limit-ups in ten days, eight consecutive limit-ups. It’s jumped by 150% since the first limit-up. Juli is freaking awesome!]

[If you count from the 3.7 yuan low when the market was at 1600 points, this stock has soared sixfold. Damn!]

[It’s already skyrocketed, broken through the atmosphere.]

[Completely missed out on this bull stock. I don’t dare to chase it anymore.]

[You’re all warriors!]

[A decade of work gets you nowhere, one all-in lands you in a palace! What can banish sorrow? Only sudden wealth!]

[The sky’s the limit now. It’s hit eight boards. Tomorrow, it’ll master the Nine Yang Divine Art, and the day after, it’ll hit ten boards for a perfect ten.]

[Hitting consecutive limit-ups in defiance of regulators… All I can say is, incredible!]

[I’m out, I’m out. Wish those who are staying good fortune.]

[Has the Grandmaster left yet?]

[The mood is already set, even the Grandmaster can’t stop this. Just go for it!]

[The old monster Teli A followed and hit the board too, with an engulfing pattern that set a new high.]

…

Thursday, June 11th.

As soon as the market opened today, Shandong Juli gapped up and continued its climb. It followed a classic three-stage attack wave pattern, and around 10:22 AM, its price surged to 25.00 yuan, a +9.99% gain, sealing the limit-up board. It had powerfully accelerated and sealed its limit-up before the first hour of trading had passed.

After being suspended on Tuesday, Shandong Juli had come out of the penalty box yesterday only to hit the limit-up again. This was a serious provocation to the village chief’s authority.

It showed no respect at all.

After the market closed yesterday, a ton of people were predicting that the regulators would impose even stricter supervision and that Shandong Juli might face a second trading suspension.

But in the end, there was no news from the regulators.

Man, that sent everyone into a frenzy.

This morning, it gapped up and shot higher, without even a pullback. After the open, it just accelerated its rally, pushing higher and higher until it hit the limit-up, marking its ninth consecutive limit-up board. It was a limit-up bullish candle with no upper or lower shadow.

By this point in its run, Shandong Juli had a cumulative gain of over +176% since its first limit-up, achieving ten limit-ups in eleven days, nine consecutive limit-ups, and twelve consecutive bullish candles.

It was the undisputed popularity leader of the two markets.

…

Friday, June 12th.

Yesterday it hit its ninth consecutive limit-up, and the village chief still said nothing. The stock was not suspended.

Everyone thought some form of regulation was bound to come out yesterday, right?

But there was nothing!

Alright, if the regulators weren’t going to step in, then the party could go wild.

The universe’s overall leader, Shandong Juli, went straight into acceleration mode today. When the call auction results came out, it opened at 27.50 yuan, directly at the limit-up price.

After the market opened, limit orders of a million lots held the limit-up board firmly in place.

Investors were in awe of Juli, offering their knees in admiration. The stock had achieved ten consecutive limit-ups, something no one had expected. It had hit eleven limit-ups in twelve days and had thirteen consecutive bullish candles.

Starting from 9.04 yuan before its first limit-up, its price had rocketed to 27.50 yuan in just twelve trading days. It had tripled in value in twelve days, reaching a cumulative gain of +204.20%.

Right now, Shandong Juli’s popularity was so high that it was known by virtually everyone in the A-share market. Especially for short-term traders, even those who hadn’t participated had come to watch, all of them in amazement.

The comments on the stock’s forum were exploding with popularity.

In the afternoon, around 1:30 PM, Fang Hong was in class at school when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took it out for a look. It was a text message from Xinhong Securities.

…

Chapter 214: 【Don’t Panic, Everyone. It’s Just a Technical Adjustment】

Fang Hong glanced down at his screen and tapped on the text message:

【Dear Investor:

Xinhong Securities reminds you that the fundamentals of the listed company “Shandong Juli” (000880) have not undergone any major changes recently. The stock price has risen significantly in a short period. We advise investors to fully understand the risks of the stock market. The capital market is influenced by numerous factors.

A company’s stock price can be affected by the macroeconomic situation, industry policies, the company’s operational status, financial market liquidity, capital market sentiment, investor expectations, and many other elements.

We hope investors will fully understand the risks of the stock market, be mindful of secondary market trading risks, approach the market rationally, invest sensibly, enhance risk awareness, and refrain from blindly following trends and hype.】

After reading the message, Fang Hong decided to ignore it. It was likely a routine reminder sent to most investors involved with Shandong Juli.

However, just as Fang Hong was about to put his phone back in his pocket, another text from Xinhong Securities arrived.

This one was completely different. It was clearly sent to Fang Hong personally. The wording was extremely polite, and it vaguely requested that he sell his shares of Shandong Juli.

Xinhong Securities hadn’t wanted to get involved.

But they had no choice. The regulators had called them.

Although it wasn’t stated explicitly, the meaning was clear: get Fang Hong to sell the stock, and preferably, have him post something on Weibo about it.

A few minutes later, when class ended, Fang Hong stepped outside and called the maid, Yifulei, telling her to sell Shandong Juli.

He had been holding this stock, just waiting for the brokerage to ask him to sell.

“It’s sold. All of it was transacted at the limit-up price. Bro Hong, should I use the money from selling Shandong Juli to buy other stocks?” Yifulei’s soft voice came through the phone.

Fang Hong recalled the morning’s market conditions and immediately said, “Go ahead and buy China Merchants Bank and Ping An Bank, half and half.”

Yifulei responded, “Mhm~, okay.”

After ending the call with the maid, Fang Hong logged into his Weibo account on his phone, took a screenshot of one of the text messages from Xinhong Securities, and posted an update:

【I wanted to see how high “Mr. Market” could push Shandong Juli, but unfortunately, the brokerage called, so I had to sell.】

Right, it’s not that I wanted to sell.

The brokerage forced me to. If you want to blame someone, go blame them.

Shandong Juli had tripled from its first limit-up board to its current height of 27.50 yuan. Fang Hong’s initial thirty million yuan investment had achieved a cumulative return of around +189%, an absolute profit of 56.7 million yuan. Although the position size wasn’t huge, the stock’s climb was high enough, and the returns were quite substantial.

He had been forced by the market to make over fifty million yuan.

…

Meanwhile, on Shandong Juli’s intraday chart, Yifulei, following Fang Hong’s instructions, sold off the entire 86.7 million yuan position—principal and profit—at the limit-up price. This quickly triggered a wave of order cancellations and prompted other funds to follow suit and flee.

Within one minute, 170 million yuan in trading volume was generated, and the limit-up board broke.

But less than half a minute later, it successfully hit the limit-up again, and the limit orders piled up to nearly three hundred thousand lots. It was absurdly strong. The trading volume also reached a new high of one billion yuan, and the turnover rate hit a new peak of 41%.

At the same time, in another part of the city, an investor was sitting in front of his computer. He saw that the order he had queued up at the limit-up price had successfully been filled, and he was quite satisfied to see the stock quickly hit the limit-up again. He then clicked open the East Money stock forum for Shandong Juli.

His username was “Spicy A-shares.” Just as he was about to post on the forum, his phone chimed with a text message notification.

He opened it and glanced at the message from his brokerage:

【East Money Securities reminds all investors: “Shandong Juli” (000880) has experienced significant price volatility recently, with severely abnormal trading fluctuations, and poses a considerable trading risk. This target stock has been placed under key monitoring by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Please invest rationally, trade prudently, and do not follow the hype.】

Upon seeing this message, the man known as “Spicy A-shares” felt his heart sink. He put his phone aside, looked at his computer screen, and refreshed the stock forum page. He immediately saw the latest comments, one of which had the title:

【Time to front-run the news. K-God posted on Weibo that his brokerage asked him to sell Juli. K-God has already sold.】

Seeing this post, he immediately opened Weibo to check K3478’s account and, sure enough, saw the latest update.

K-God really sold!

Good grief!

Intra-day regulation, and now K-God has sold too.

The man frantically switched back to his trading software to look at Shandong Juli’s intraday chart. He watched as the stock broke its limit-up board for the second time and began a waterfall decline on explosive massive volume. The intraday line plunged in a straight ninety-degree nosedive.

+7%… 3.61%… -1.73%… +0.82%… -4.53%… -7.76%… -7.14%… -10.00%…

He watched as Shandong Juli’s stock price plummeted to 22.50 yuan in just seven short minutes, sealing itself at the limit-down price. His eyes, fixed on the screen, seemed to have doubled in size as he sucked in a sharp breath, “Hiss…”

The man looked at the intraday chart, at his entry point for a heavy position at the limit-up price, and then at the current price pinned to the limit-down board. He had put seventy percent of his capital in at the limit-up, and now he was facing an unrealized loss of -18.18%. For a moment, it felt like his heart had stopped.

About a minute after Shandong Juli hit its limit-down, a small pop-up window appeared on major trading software platforms:

【Shandong Juli plummets in the afternoon, completing a Heaven-and-Earth board. Trading volume reaches 1.5 billion yuan.】

At that moment, the stock forum for this stock had completely exploded.

[Don’t be scared, everyone, don’t be scared. It’s a technical adjustment! (doge.jpg)]

[I sold and then took a short nap. What happened?]

[Anyone buying this stock is a real warrior! (thumbsup.jpg)]

[What sin did I commit to deserve buying both Shandong Juli and Teli A today…]

[Consecutive limit-downs tomorrow!]

[Congratulations to the group of daredevils who happily received a Heaven-and-Earth board.]

[Aiyayaya, what kind of move is this?!]

[Gently I leave, without bringing any of my principal back.]

[It’s all my fault. My hands were itching, so I bought a little and made you all suffer a limit-down.]

[This intra-day window guidance (interference) is too much. You can’t play like this.]

[It was already under key monitoring, and you still reached for it. If you take a hit, you have to stand straight. You can’t blame anyone else.]

[What goes up must come down. It’s just tragic for the ones who caught the last baton.]

[Hold on tight. It’s about to fall until you question your very existence.]

[A lot of people received the text message.]

[Feels like I just ate a fly. Thankfully, it was a small position, otherwise, I’d have smacked my own hands swollen. The number one most popular stock is truly infuriating.]

…

The most miserable people today were undoubtedly the investors who bought both Shandong Juli and Teli A. Just as Shandong Juli was diving, Teli A broke its limit-up board almost simultaneously and plunged downwards. In the end, both stocks closed limit-down after completing a Heaven-and-Earth board.

After the market closed, today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Both Shandong Juli and Teli A were on it.

Shandong Juli’s second-largest seller’s seat was listed as “For institutional use only,” with a net sell of over 86 million yuan. Investors knew at a glance that this was K-God, as everyone knew he had bought thirty million yuan worth on the first limit-up board and held it. A quick calculation showed that this amount was exactly his principal plus profit.

And the top seller’s seat was, unsurprisingly, the large fund that had forced its way in by releasing fake news.

Shortly after the Dragon-Tiger List was out, Zhongxin Securities published an announcement on its official website regarding the trading risk of “Shandong Juli”:

【From May 25th to June 12th, the stock price of “Shandong Juli” (000880) has experienced drastic short-term fluctuations, with clear signs of herd-driven speculation. The company underwent a trading suspension for verification from June 8th to June 9th. After resuming trading, the stock price continued to rise. Investors are urged to be aware of the investment risks and make rational decisions.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is closely monitoring this security. Investors who frequently and heavily trade this stock and exhibit abnormal trading behavior will be strictly identified. Depending on the situation, disciplinary measures will be taken, such as designating accounts as key monitoring accounts, suspending trading, restricting trading, or identifying the investor as unqualified.

We urge all investors to pay close attention to the relevant risk announcements on the websites of the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, to invest rationally, and to trade prudently. If you have any questions, please consult the branch office where you opened your account.

The above investment risk warning is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.】

…

After the market closed today, Fang Hong’s Weibo comments and private messages were flooded by retail investors trapped in Shandong Juli.

They were basically all asking what they should do now that they had bought the stock today.

What should they do?

Figure it out themselves!

This was the cruelty of the stock market. In this game of pass the parcel, some group always had to be left holding the last baton, paying the bill for everyone else’s party.

Fang Hong felt neither schadenfreude nor pity for those who sent him private messages. There was nothing wrong with celebrating when you made money from your own choices, but when you lost, you had to accept it. You had to take your licks and not blame anyone for your losses.

Every single person who participated in this kind of speculation knew very well it was a gamble.

Fang Hong looked at all the pleas for help in his private messages and comments, but he wouldn’t reply to a single one. He couldn’t.

…

Chapter 215: Brutal A-Share Sell-off

Today, it wasn’t just Shandong Juli, the market’s emotional bellwether and overall leader, that collapsed; the broader market also saw a significant drop.

By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index had fallen by 1.91% to 2743.76 points, with a trading volume of 126.3 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 1.64% to 10524.13 points, with a trading volume of 63.9 billion yuan. The combined trading volume for both markets was 190.2 billion yuan.

However, Fang Hong’s account officially broke the one billion yuan mark today. He had planned to post on Weibo when his account reached one billion, but unfortunately, it coincided with Shandong Juli’s flash crash from limit-up to limit-down.

After some thought, Fang Hong decided against posting on Weibo.

Many retail investors were left holding the bag with Shandong Juli today. If he were to flaunt his success now—especially since he’d also traded the stock, getting in on its first limit-up and selling at the board today for a forced profit of +189%, nearly doubling his money—it wouldn’t look good.

Posting on Weibo at a time like this would likely backfire. Laying low and avoiding the storm was the right move.

Over the following week, the A-share market’s correction ended, and the broader market began an accelerated rally.

Fang Hong continued to make a fortune in silence, not surfacing on Weibo at all that week. While the market was rising, Shandong Juli was racking up consecutive limit-downs. The investors who had been the last buyers the previous Friday felt like they wanted to die.

The rest of the market was surging, but they were trapped in Shandong Juli, counting its limit-downs. Not only were they missing out on the broader rally, but they were also getting wrecked by their Shandong Juli position.

On Monday, June 15th, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.67% to 2789.55 points. Shandong Juli hit a limit-down of -10.00%, with its price falling to 20.25 yuan per share.

On Tuesday, June 16th, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down -0.49% at 2776.02 points. Shandong Juli hit another limit-down of -9.98%, with its price dropping to 18.23 yuan per share.

On Wednesday, June 17th, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.23% to 2810.12 points, reclaiming the 2800 mark. Meanwhile, Shandong Juli hit a limit-down of -9.98%, its price falling to 16.41 yuan per share.

On Thursday, June 18th, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed another 1.56% to 2853.90 points, reaching a new high for the year. Shandong Juli was limit-down again at -9.99%, its price dropping to 14.77 yuan.

Shandong Juli had suffered five consecutive limit-downs—one limit-up to limit-down day followed by four straight limit-downs opening at the limit. Its price had plummeted from a peak of 27.50 yuan, a cumulative drop of over 46% in just five trading days. It was basically slashed in half.

And crucially, the limit-down board had yet to break today.

This “A-shaped sell-off” made investors who had previously regretted not participating secretly glad they hadn’t. While they didn’t make any money, the fate of those who were left holding the bag was truly tragic. With a 50% loss that slashed their accounts in half, turning 100,000 yuan into 50,000, they would need to double their remaining capital with a 100% return just to break even.

At all times, protecting one’s principal is of utmost importance.

Friday, June 19th, marked the last trading day of the week.

The A-share market continued its rally today. At 2:00 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index extended its intra-day gains to 1%, surging as high as 2885 points and continuing to set new highs for the year. After reclaiming the 2800 mark this week, it was now making a push for 2900.

Meanwhile, the retail investor with the username “Spicy A-shares,” who had bought a heavy position in Shandong Juli at its peak of 27.50 yuan, had been completely numb for the past five days, ever since taking the full hit from Friday’s limit-up to limit-down with his seventy percent position.

At this moment, “Spicy A-shares” sat before his computer, his face ashen as he stared at the trading software. Shandong Juli was limit-down again today, -10.02%, with its price falling to 13.29 yuan per share.

This was the fifth consecutive limit-down at the open and the sixth limit-down in a row. Counting the limit-up to limit-down crash, he had essentially eaten seven straight limit-downs.

Having bought at the limit-up price last Friday, his cumulative loss now stood at -51.67%, well past the point of being slashed in half.

Right now, he wasn’t thinking about anything else. He just wanted the board to break so he could get out.

The minutes ticked by. Around 2:25 PM, large funds entered the market to pry open the board. The limit orders on the sell-side were rapidly consumed, and two minutes later, the limit-down was successfully broken. The sell order “Spicy A-shares” had queued up at the limit-down price was finally executed.

The moment he saw the trade go through and he was finally “out of jail,” a wave of relief washed over him. But what happened next left him utterly numb once more.

After Shandong Juli broke the limit-down board, its intraday line shot straight up. -7.92%… -5.33%… -1.82%… +0.99%… +2.37%… +5.01%… The stock price rallied all the way into positive territory, surging to a high of around 5%.

At this moment, the face of “Spicy A-shares” was a perfect mask of pain. He sat frozen in front of the screen for a long time, a living freeze-frame.

He looked at his entry and exit points: bought at the absolute peak of 27.50 yuan, sold at the absolute bottom of 13.29 yuan.

He couldn’t help but laugh. The freeze-frame ended, and he slumped into his chair, remaining there for a long while.

“Fucking hell, I might as well die!”

As if shocked back to life from his deathbed, seeing Shandong Juli break its limit-down and rally over 5%, looking like it might pull off an earth-to-sky board, “Spicy A-shares” angrily went all-in again, chasing the stock with his full position.

His average price was 15.60 yuan.

Just as he went all-in again, Shandong Juli’s price, having just surged to 15.61 yuan, began to fall back. It ultimately closed with a gain of +1.49% at 14.99 yuan per share, with a full-day trading volume of 833 million yuan.

With this series of trades, he had sold at a loss at the day’s lowest point, only to chase the stock back to within one cent of the day’s highest point. “Spicy A-shares” was stunned. By buying back in, he had executed a reverse day trade and lost nearly another four percent.

He felt like the A-share market held a deep-seated malice just for him. Looking at Shandong Juli’s closing price and his buy and sell points for the day, the man simply gave up, slumping in front of his screen, his face a complete mask of pain.

After the market closed, when the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, Shandong Juli was on it once again.

When retail investors saw the Dragon-Tiger List data, it caused an immediate sensation.

The top buyer’s trading seat was a branch office frequently used by the Chief of the Suicide Squad. He had bought a staggering 5 million shares today, totaling over 60 million yuan.

Instantly, news that the Chief of the Suicide Squad was bottom fishing the free-falling Shandong Juli spread like wildfire through major stock trading groups and stock forums. Over the weekend, retail investors were buzzing with discussion.

[Shandong Juli truly is the star of the show in the A-shares market right now. All sorts of masters and big shots are paying it a visit.]

[So it was The Helmsman who came in to buy the dip!]

[He must have been the one to pry open the board!]

[This stock is seriously incredible. K-God just exited at the peak, and now another super big shot comes in, dropping sixty million after six consecutive limit-downs.]

[The way this Shandong Juli stock is trading really fits The Helmsman’s bottom-fishing style.]

[I saw the big money coming in during late trading and decisively jumped in to snap up shares for a short-term profit-taking trade. Used 30% of my position and I’m up over 9 points. Getting out at the open tomorrow.]

[To be fair, this A-shaped sell-off was a bit excessive. A limit-up to limit-down followed by five consecutive limit-downs at the open. Who panic sells like that…]

[With so much money trying to buy the dip and trade the bounce, it’ll probably be a deep-water open tomorrow.]

[I bought the dip at -8.5%, so even if it opens down 5% tomorrow, I’ll still make three or four points. I’m just here for the rebound. I’ll get out during the call auction, even if I have to sell at the limit-down!]

[I feel like a deep-water open tomorrow would be the best entry point. There’s probably going to be a revenge rally.]

[I’m crying. I sold at a loss after being slashed in half, right at the bottom.]

Over the weekend, the Shandong Juli stock forum was abuzz with discussions about the Chief of the Suicide Squad buying the dip. “Spicy A-shares” saw the news, and it brought him a small measure of comfort.

He was also secretly glad he had bought back in. Even though he’d made a reverse day trade and lost another four percent, with The Helmsman buying the dip, catching the rebound next week could help him reduce some of his losses.

The weekend passed and Monday, June 22nd, arrived.

The A-share market opened for its first trading day of the week. During the call auction, the Shanghai Composite Index opened high at +0.70%, directly above the 2900 mark.

But the opening for Shandong Juli, which despite its crash remained the most popular stock in both markets, was jaw-dropping. The investors who had jumped in during Friday’s rebound were utterly dumbfounded.

Shandong Juli opened down -9.52%, which was practically a limit-down opening. Even the funds that bought at yesterday’s limit-down price had almost no premium. The vast majority of investors who had entered to trade the bounce had done so after the board was pried open.

Many had anticipated a deep-water open today, given Friday’s bullish candle on a limit-down close and the huge amount of short-term profit-takers. They predicted it would open deep, but no one ever imagined it would open this deep.

At this moment, “Spicy A-shares” felt like he was on the verge of a second cardiac arrest. Staring at the screen, he howled, “Even The Helmsman is in, and it still opens like this? Son of a bitch…”

Chapter 216: Another Bloodbath

At 9:30 AM, the market opened. Shandong Juli rebounded upwards to -8.98%, and the trading volume surged. The market was witnessing a massive sell-off as traders cut their losses.

The opening was far below expectations, and the short-term traders who had been snatching a rebound the day before were all selling at a loss and exiting their positions.

The presence of trading volume indicated that there were still many investors buying the dip. After all, it was the overall popularity leader of the two markets, and its sentiment was undeniable.

The investors buying the dip were thinking that even The Helmsman had come to buy the dip. He was a god-like figure in the A-share market and had become famous more than a decade earlier than K-God.

The current price was basically on par with The Helmsman’s entry point. “I’ll follow with a small position!”

A great many investors thought this way, each buying a little with a small position. And with Shandong Juli’s solid base of popularity, tens of thousands of such investors combined to create immense liquidity.

At this moment, the retail investor “Spicy A-shares” was completely bereft of hope. After the market opened, he was struggling with whether to sell at a loss.

What if he got whipsawed for the second time in a row—selling only for the stock to surge back up?

He couldn’t accept it!

Just as he was hesitating and struggling, at 9:33:49 AM, Shandong Juli’s stock price fell to 13.49 yuan per share. It hit its -10.01% limit-down and was locked there. The trading volume reached six hundred million yuan and then basically dried up, down by more than two hundred million compared to the previous trading day.

Now, he couldn’t sell even if he wanted to.

On Tuesday, June 23rd, the broader market gapped down by -1.48%. In the morning session, it rebounded after the low open but then fell back again. After the afternoon session began, it fluctuated upwards and turned positive. Around 2:30 PM, it even rose by over 1.5 percentage points, but then took a high-platform dive in the last half hour of late trading, turning negative to close.

Meanwhile, Shandong Juli gapped down by -6.44% today, opening at 12.62 yuan per share and setting a new low.

When the broader market surged in the afternoon, the stock also rebounded somewhat, but during the market’s dive in the final half hour, Shandong Juli was hammered straight down to its limit-down. It ultimately closed at 12.14 yuan, down -10.01%. The full-day trading volume was 392 million yuan, a decrease of another two hundred million from the previous day.

“Spicy A-shares,” the guy who had charged back in with a full position at 15.60 yuan last Friday, was now completely numb. He had originally planned to sell at a loss today, but because he overslept, the A-share market had already been open for ten minutes when he woke up.

And Shandong Juli had hit its limit-down just five minutes after the morning open. Since he had bought back in, as of today, his full position had suffered another massive loss of -22.17%. The last time, his 70% position was slashed in half. Now, his total account loss had also been slashed in half. The word “miserable” was no longer enough to describe his situation.

Wednesday, June 24th, arrived.

Shandong Juli plummeted once again. After another significant gap down opening, around 9:41 AM, the stock panic sold down to a new low of 10.93 yuan, touching the limit-down board.

This time, however, it didn’t get locked at the limit-down after touching it. Instead, it fluctuated in the underwater range of -3.5% to -8%.

At this point, the trapped investor “Spicy A-shares” was completely numb. He didn’t want to sell at a loss anymore. What was the point of selling after it had fallen this much?

He decided to just lie flat and let things be. Of course, the term “lie flat” didn’t exist in this era yet, but that was precisely his state of mind.

After the market closed, Shandong Juli ended the day down -7.52%, with its stock price closing at 11.23 yuan per share. The full-day trading volume was 278 million yuan.

The stock had plummeted from its high of 27.50 yuan, accumulating a total decline of -59.16% in just nine trading days. Now, everyone was discussing how The Helmsman had been buried alive buying the dip in Shandong Juli.

The relentless slaughter of the past few days had buried every single short-term trader who tried to buy the dip.

No one ever expected this stock could fall so much, and they certainly didn’t expect that even The Helmsman would get buried alive. The situation over the past few days was this: Last Friday, The Helmsman broke the limit-up board, luring in short-term traders to buy the dip. On Monday, they were buried alive and forced to cut their losses. Then another batch came in, only to be buried alive and forced to sell at a loss again yesterday. Then another group of dip-buyers entered yesterday, and today they, too, were buried alive and had to cut their losses…

Last Friday, when The Helmsman broke the board to buy the dip, the trading volume hit 834 million yuan. In the following three days, the volumes were 609 million, 392 million, and 278 million yuan, respectively.

The volume was shrinking significantly each day. Those who were buried alive were selling at a loss one after another, while fewer and fewer people were trying to buy the dip.

No one dared to buy the dip anymore!

Because they discovered that this stock had no bottom when it fell. Whoever came in would get killed.

During this three-day slaughter, the investors who had been trading the bounce tearfully cut their losses and fled. Some investors had bought at the intraday high last Friday, like “Spicy A-shares” for example. By the time the stock hit its limit-down today, they had already suffered a massive loss of nearly thirty percent.

To buy was to get trapped. A moment’s hesitation the next day meant being buried alive and trapped even deeper. In three days, the rebound traders were slaughtered to the point that their wails of agony echoed everywhere.

Now, truly no one dared to touch it. At the same time, most of the selling at a loss was done.

Thursday, June 25th.

After Shandong Juli’s streak of limit-downs was broken yesterday, investors thought that even if it continued to fall, it should at least enter a slow bleed phase, right?

The result, however, was once again shocking.

Today, it opened directly at its limit-down of 10.11 yuan. It had basically erased the entire previous rally, truly staging a performance of “what goes up must come down.”

When this limit-down opening occurred, those who were still holding on in stubborn resistance finally despaired completely. They could no longer bear it.

Because when the broader market fell to the 1660-point level, this stock’s price had plunged to 3.71 yuan. Calculating from that price, its surge to 27.50 yuan was a more than six-fold increase.

Even after falling to 10.11 yuan today, it was still up by +172% from its rise during the market’s 1660-point period.

Investors looked at this data and concluded that Shandong Juli’s decline was far from over. It still had further to fall.

The selling won’t stop until the bulls are dead.

The last of the stubborn holders could no longer take it. They started to find a reason for the continued plunge, and finding that reason was just to convince themselves to cut their losses!

Today’s limit-down opening shook out the last batch of die-hard bulls and capitulation sellers.

At this very moment, the limit-down sell orders were queued up, waiting to be filled.

And “Spicy A-shares’” order was also in the queue. He had placed his sell order right after the call auction resulted in a limit-down opening. Regardless of whether it would be filled today, his one and only thought was:

SELL—!

Once his shares were sold, he would withdraw the money, then close his account and quit the market. He would never play this game again.

From buying back in at 15.60 yuan last Friday to now, this full position had lost another -35.19%. His previous 70% position from 27.50 yuan was slashed in half. On the Shandong Juli stock, his cumulative account loss over ten trading days had reached a staggering 58.63%.

Last year, when the stock market crashed and the index plunged from 6124 points to 1664 points, his account had lost -67%. This year, he had painstakingly recovered a bit and was barely beginning to see hope of breaking even.

But this one trade in Shandong Juli had directly and completely extinguished that hope. His total account loss had now reached -84%. When your principal is down -30%, you need to make a 42.82% return on what’s left just to break even. A -50% loss means you need to double your money to get back.

And with his current account loss of -84%, breaking even would require a return of +525%, meaning he would have to increase his remaining capital by more than five times.

In other words, for a retail investor, breaking even was now basically impossible.

After placing his order in the queue, he closed the trading software and went out to clear his head. He had decided to close his account and quit the market anyway. If the stock didn’t break the limit-down today, he would just place another limit-down sell order tomorrow. He would keep doing so until it did break the board and he could get out. Then, he would withdraw the money to his bank card and stay away from the stock market forever.

During the midday break, the stock trading circle was mostly discussing Shandong Juli. The stock’s chart was a perfect illustration of the saying, “What goes up hard, comes down harder.” Its main uptrend wave had been a one-sided rise for ten days, immediately followed by a steep plunge and a main downtrend wave of one-sided decline for ten days, bringing it right back to where it started.

After all the investors who had tried to buy the dip in recent days were trapped and crushed without exception, no one dared to touch it today.

Chapter 217: Buying the Dip on Shandong Juli: The Boss’s Wealth Code Reward

Around 12 PM, during the A-share market’s midday break, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“I’ve finally managed to accomplish the mission. We’ve reached a cooperative consensus with several major domestic entertainment and film groups. The contracts have been preliminarily signed and should be finalized within the next week.” In the first-floor living room, Cao Chenghui reported to the big boss.

At that moment, Fang Hong was browsing through the report materials he had brought.

Ever since the news of Stellaris Capital going bust and suffering huge losses on its overseas investments spread throughout the industry, neither the major domestic entertainment companies nor the Hollywood film studios could sit still. The rumor was that due to heavy investment losses, Stellaris Capital had to make a strategic retreat.

They watched as this “fat sheep” was about to get away.

How could they not be anxious?

“What’s the reaction from Radiance Group?” Fang Hong asked casually while reading the materials. Hearing this, Cao Chenghui, who was sitting on the sofa opposite him, knew the boss was asking about the impact of the rumors of Stellaris Capital’s collapse on Radiance Group.

Cao Chenghui was one of Stellaris Capital’s core executives, and he was aware that the company had strategically acquired a 15% stake in Radiance Group.

“When the news broke, people from Radiance Group did indeed inquire immediately. But President Hua had already made arrangements and clearly told Radiance Group’s senior management that as long as their shareholders’ meeting approved it, the two billion yuan could be taken at any time,” Cao Chenghui replied.

It was only natural for Radiance Group to inquire about Stellaris Capital’s recent situation. After all, the two parties had just reached a consensus, only for rumors of Stellaris Capital “going bust” to emerge.

If they couldn’t produce the two billion yuan when the time came, it would disrupt many of Radiance Group’s plans.

After receiving a definite answer confirming that it wouldn’t affect their cooperation, Radiance Group didn’t pursue the matter further.

Fang Hong nodded and continued to browse the materials.

Ever since the news of “Stellaris Capital going bust” came out, coupled with a series of bluffs—especially Stellaris Capital’s posture of “I’ve lost a fortune, I’m not being extravagant, I’m not buying anymore”—the major domestic entertainment companies were in a complete panic.

In an instant, it went from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. The film and television producers started begging Stellaris Capital to buy.

The prices dropped again and again.

The leading domestic entertainment producers, who had originally banded together, all contacted Cao Chenghui privately to secretly discuss finalizing their deals.

At this point, it was their turn to show sincerity. The initiative was now completely in the hands of Stellaris Capital.

During this period, Cao Chenghui engaged in intense haggling with his counterparts, successfully slashing the copyright price from the other party’s initial asking price of 100,000 yuan all the way down to an average of 25,200 yuan per show. In total, Stellaris Capital spent 2.3 billion RMB to acquire the online broadcasting rights for over 90,000 films and television series.

Compared to the 100,000 yuan per show the major film and television producers had jacked the price up to before, the current transaction price could be described as being slashed in half, and then slashed in half again.

Did they lose money?

At the current market rates, the producers definitely didn’t lose money. Even at 25,200 yuan per show, the price was still six to seven times higher than the market rate.

Even at this price, Stellaris Capital was still the highest bidder in the country.

Only online streaming video websites needed online broadcasting rights. But for video sites, whether it was Youku, iQiyi, Tudou, or others, they couldn’t scrape together 200 million yuan even if they sold the shirts off their backs, let alone for a deal worth 2.3 billion.

The most crucial point was that there were no accounts receivable when dealing with Stellaris Capital. Once the contracts were signed, the 2.3 billion yuan would be deposited into the sellers’ pockets in its entirety within half a month.

Now that the preliminary agreements were signed, the formal contracts had to be finalized within a week. For a sum as large as 2.3 billion yuan, the pace was incredibly fast.

In reality, both sides were afraid the other would back out.

Stellaris Capital wanted to seal the deal quickly to avoid complications, and the producers felt the same way for the same reason.

Once these agreements were signed, Stellaris Capital would possess a content library of 110,000 films and television series—an absolute super-library. They would have basically gathered all the classic film and television productions into their hands.

In the layout of their pan-entertainment industrial chain, this was a major piece placed on the “Internet Plus” square.

As for the copyrights from Hollywood producers?

Of course, they wouldn’t buy them now!

If they bought everything, who would be left to actively promote copyright and regulate the industry?

By the living room sofa, the newly hired maid, Lin Yan, came over to refill the two men’s water glasses.

Cao Chenghui quickly said, “Thank you.”

He made eye contact with Lin Yan, but only for a moment before looking away. Although Cao Chenghui appreciated beautiful women, his emotional intelligence was high enough that he wouldn’t dare, and certainly wouldn’t allow himself, to be caught staring in front of his boss.

In his eyes, the women in this mansion were basically all hidden mistresses kept by the boss; they were all the boss’s women.

Lin Yan gave a polite smile in acknowledgment and then left, not wanting to disturb their conversation.

Finally, Fang Hong closed the document, set it aside, and nodded again in satisfaction. He looked at Cao Chenghui and smiled, “You did a good job this time. You saved the company at least five hundred million yuan.”

Hearing this, Cao Chenghui appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he was thrilled. It wasn’t just the boss’s affirmation; more importantly, this was the first major task he had personally overseen. He had proven to the boss, and to the Huayang-affiliated people within the company, that Cao Chenghui could do more than just suck up to the boss.

That he could get things done.

Fang Hong added with a smile, “Saving the company so much money deserves a big bonus for you and your subordinates.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Chenghui quickly said, “Boss, you’re too kind. It’s my duty to do a good job. Besides, I’ve already gained a lot. Oh, right, Boss, the kickback I received this time was about seven million yuan.”

He thought he should report this to the boss as a matter of course. Through this affair, Cao Chenghui had witnessed how the boss had perfectly handled the film and television producers from start to finish, accurately predicting and managing the situation before it even unfolded.

This made one thing crystal clear to Cao Chenghui: never hide anything from the boss, and more importantly, never try to be clever around him. That would only lead to outsmarting oneself. By being honest and sincere, he knew he wouldn’t miss out on his share of benefits.

Fang Hong, with a faint smile, crossed his legs, one hand resting on the armrest of the sofa and the other on his knee. He said in an unhurried tone, “Cut the false modesty with me. My style is simple: if you work for me, merits will be rewarded and mistakes will be punished. Merits are merits, mistakes are mistakes. They don’t cancel each other out.”

Cao Chenghui nodded repeatedly.

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said, “How about this: when the A-share market opens this afternoon, use that seven million to buy stock in Shandong Juli, ticker 000880.”

Hearing this, Cao Chenghui felt like kneeling before his boss. He exclaimed inwardly, Man! Other bosses give their employees bonuses from the company’s money, but his boss was on another level—he had the A-share market pay their salaries.

Absolutely brilliant!

Cao Chenghui was also incredibly excited. The last “wealth code” the boss had given him was the Shanghai SE 50 ETF. He had bought it then and held it until now, and its cumulative gain had reached a 71% return. Not only had Cao Chenghui gone all-in with a full position, but he had also used leveraged funds, so he had actually made a profit of nearly five million yuan.

And he still hadn’t sold it. It was going to keep rising. The boss had told him to sell when the 50 ETF had doubled.

That wasn’t even the most exciting part. Crucially, Cao Chenghui understood that this practice of the boss giving him bonuses by telling him what to get from the A-share market was a privilege only he enjoyed. The realization of this was more important to him than the actual money he made from the stock market.

“Boss, when should I sell?” Cao Chenghui couldn’t help but ask.

As for the wealth codes given by the boss, all he had to do was go all-in like a braindead investor. It didn’t matter what the target stock was, what its chart looked like, or if there was any negative news.

None of that was important.

The boss said buying a certain stock would make money—that was the most solid logic there was.

Just close your eyes and go all-in, and that’s it!

“Just buy in first,” Fang Hong said after a thought. “Today is the best entry point for Shandong Juli. As for when to sell, I’ll let you know when the selling point appears.”

Cao Chenghui was instantly as happy as a 200-jin fatty, beaming with joy. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Alrighty!”

Fang Hong said, “Go on and get busy.”

Cao Chenghui immediately stood up. “Boss, I’ll take my leave then.”

After leaving the big boss’s happy mansion, Cao Chenghui checked the time. There was still about half an hour before the afternoon trading session began, so he immediately drove off in a hurry.

Arriving at Stellaris Capital’s headquarters, Cao Chenghui entered his office and immediately logged into the trading software on his computer.

It was already 1:17 PM; the afternoon session had been open for about ten minutes.

Cao Chenghui immediately transferred seven million yuan into his personal stock account. He had originally planned to give two million of this kickback money to his subordinates as bonuses.

Under the current circumstances, he decided to postpone sharing the money. He’d make a profit from the A-share market first, then talk.

Chapter 218: The Helmsman Makes Another Powerful Move to Seal the Earth-to-Sky Board

Within Stellaris Capital, Cao Chenghui was also cultivating his own team of trusted subordinates. Fang Hong was, of course, aware of this. He had even casually mentioned before about Cao Chenghui sharing the pie with his men. This was something the boss should typically handle, yet he had let Cao do it, clearly with a purpose in mind.

There was competition within the company as well. Especially as Stellaris Capital grew larger in the future, factions and rivalries were bound to emerge internally, which was exactly what Fang Hong wanted.

If everyone was a monolithic block, it would be difficult for him to be a hands-off boss, and he might even risk being turned into a figurehead.

However, he needed to foster competition within the corporate team without allowing it to have the negative effect of internal friction. Instead, it should generate positive feedback from the competition and make it easier for Fang Hong, the big boss, to manage the overall situation.

This required the helmsman to have an exceptionally strong ability to control the field.

For Fang Hong, this was well within his grasp, and he was confident he could handle it with ease.

To put it plainly, internal competition and matching wits were permissible and, to some extent, inevitable. After all, wherever there are people, there are social dynamics, and wherever personal interests are at stake, there is conflict.

But the overall interests of the company had to take precedence over the interests of any faction. This was an absolute line that could not be crossed, and there was zero tolerance for it. Hua Yu, Cao Chenghui, and the others certainly understood this. They would never do something like enriching themselves at the company’s expense, because they weren’t the ones in charge. If the company suffered, they wouldn’t be the ones to benefit.

At that moment, Cao Chenghui sat down at his computer, entered the stock code 000880, and glanced at the K-line chart for Shandong Juli. Seeing the recent daily K-line pattern, he was momentarily stunned.

Shandong Juli’s recent trend was a one-sided rise followed by a one-sided fall, forming an almost symmetrical “A-shaped sell-off.” From its first limit-up price of 9.94 yuan on May 25th, it had soared to 27.50 yuan. And now, after consecutive limit-downs opening at the limit, it had crashed to 10.11 yuan, essentially wiping out all the cumulative gains since its first limit-up.

Cao Chenghui had never seen such a perfect A-shaped sell-off. Staring at the K-line chart, he muttered to himself, “If the boss hadn’t told me to buy this stock, you couldn’t have paid me to touch it…”

But since this was a wealth code personally given by the boss, there was no problem.

Cao Chenghui couldn’t care less about Shandong Juli’s current K-line pattern. He just had to buy.

Buy, and wait for a huge profit. He believed this with unwavering conviction.

The performance of this monster stock, Shandong Juli, had already completely deviated from what Fang Hong remembered from his previous life. In the A-share market of his past life, Shandong Juli, which would later become Weichai Heavy Machinery, had never reached 27.50 yuan in June 2009, let alone experienced such a crazy one-sided streak of ten consecutive limit-ups.

Evidently, this was all because of Fang Hong; he had caused the stock’s historical trend to deviate significantly.

Although Fang Hong had sold this stock at its peak of 27.50 yuan and walked away with a profit of around two hundred percent, he had originally not planned on paying it any more attention.

This week, after learning that the Chief of the Suicide Squad had bought the dip in this stock last Friday, Fang Hong started following it again. However, he had no intention of getting involved himself. He didn’t want to be propped up by retail investors and forced to make money again.

The only reason he was watching was to provide a reward for his subordinate, Cao Chenghui.

After looking at Shandong Juli’s K-line chart for a moment, Cao Chenghui immediately switched to the stock’s order book.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he went all-in with his entire 7 million yuan.

At 1:22 PM, 6,900 lots of Shandong Juli were traded at the limit-down price, with a transaction value of about 7 million yuan. It was Cao Chenghui’s order, and it was all executed at the limit-down price.

Before his purchase, Shandong Juli’s trading volume was less than 5 million yuan. Now, with an additional 7 million, the total daily volume had reached over 12 million. The intraday volume bar at the 1:22 PM mark was exceptionally prominent, attracting the attention of many retail investors who were watching the stock.

They had spotted a large order buying the dip.

A capital amount of 7 million yuan, a single order of nearly 7,000 lots, was definitely a large order.

However, this time, almost no retail investors dared to buy the dip, because anyone who tried earlier this week had been buried alive.

They really didn’t dare to play anymore, afraid that below the basement lay a cellar.

Seeing his 7 million yuan order completely filled at the limit-down price, Cao Chenghui was in high spirits.

The spectating retail investors didn’t dare to enter, worried that the stock had no bottom. But Cao Chenghui was steady as a rock. It was a wealth code personally given by the boss; all he had to do was get in, lie back, and prepare for a huge profit.

As time went on, after Cao Chenghui’s 7 million yuan purchase was completed, the volume dried up again. There were no more large trades, and the massive limit orders on the sell side still held the stock firmly at its limit-down.

At 2:06 PM, with about an hour left in late trading.

The Helmsman made his move!

He directly swept up 5 million shares with over 50 million yuan. The Helmsman wasn’t fighting alone. Just as he took the lead and traded 5 million shares, the limit orders sealing Shandong Juli’s limit-down began to plummet rapidly.

The intraday volume bar for that minute shot straight to the sky, almost instantly overshadowing the one created by Cao Chenghui’s earlier purchase. The massive volume bar was practically compressed into a low volume one in comparison.

The many retail investors watching the spectacle also saw the limit orders on Shandong Juli being frantically swept away. The limit-down hadn’t been pried open yet, but the intraday volume had already exploded, and the limit orders were being rapidly consumed.

This stock’s performance over the last ten days had been惨不忍睹, but its popularity was still the highest in both markets. There were too many people who enjoyed watching a good train wreck, so naturally, its popularity was through the roof.

However, when the intraday volume began to explode, most of the onlookers remained just that—onlookers. Very few dared to reach in and scoop up shares.

Last Friday, when the Helmsman first pried open the board, many had reached in to snap up shares and trade the bounce. The result was that every single one of them was buried alive. The cautionary tale was still fresh in their minds, and they truly did not dare to act rashly.

Of course, it wasn’t a complete absence of buyers. Only a very small number of people dared to risk their lives to snap up shares.

At 2:07 PM, in just about a minute, the last 300 lots of limit orders on Shandong Juli were eaten up. With that, all the limit orders were wiped clean.

The limit-down had been pried open!

Cao Chenghui was also staring at his trading software. The moment he saw Shandong Juli pry open its limit-down, he was incomparably thrilled, especially when he looked at his own entry point.

“It’s pried open! The boss is truly a genius!!!”

At the same time, Shandong Juli, having broken its limit-down, saw its intraday line shoot up vertically at a 90-degree angle… -8.29%… -5.13%… -2.73%… +0.59%…

At 2:11 PM, the stock that had opened at limit-down turned positive for the day.

Just after turning positive, it pulled back to -2.37% and consolidated for about three to five minutes. The vast majority of retail investors were just watching, but a few daredevils still participated, though they were very few in number.

At 2:17 PM, Shandong Juli once again rallied towards the limit-up… +1.72%… +4.29%… +7.39%…

At 2:20 PM, Shandong Juli’s stock price surged to 12.31 yuan, a gain of +9.68%. The retail investors were utterly dumbfounded.

Was this going to be an earth-to-sky board?

A minute later, around 2:21 PM, the Chief of the Suicide Squad struck again, buying 3 million shares for over 30 million yuan to lead the charge in sealing the limit-up. Shandong Juli’s stock price instantly rallied to 12.35 yuan, up +10.00%, sealing the limit-up board.

The Helmsman hadn’t withdrawn the over 60 million yuan he used to buy 5 million shares last Friday. Today, he bought another 5 million shares at the limit-down to pry it open, and then another 3 million shares to seal the limit-up.

He now held a total of 13 million shares of Shandong Juli, with a total investment of around 147 million yuan.

In fact, it wasn’t that the Helmsman lacked the money—his net worth was at least 3 billion, easily. The reason he only bought 13 million shares was that it was the most he could buy of this particular stock. Any further purchases would push his stake to 5% of the company’s total share capital, which would trigger the stake disclosure mechanism.

Once the stake disclosure is triggered, he wouldn’t be able to sell for a short period. More importantly, he would have to announce his intention to reduce his holdings in advance.

The Helmsman had no intention of becoming a long-term shareholder in Shandong Juli.

At 2:24 PM, various trading platforms pushed out notifications:

[Shandong Juli stages an earth-to-sky board in the afternoon, hitting the limit-up at +10.00%. Current price is 12.35 yuan/share, with a trading volume of 470 million yuan.]

The spectating retail investors were utterly dumbfounded. The popularity of this stock on the Eastmoney stock forum once again exploded to new heights.

[What a fucking monster stock!]

[Crying my eyes out, I sold at the limit-down.]

[I risked my life and bought at the limit-down. I shouldn’t lose money now, right?]

[This is a bull trap to lure people in. Just wait for it to dive in late trading!]

[This is too fucking brutal.]

[This stock is so boring.]

[Of course it’s boring when you’re losing money. It’s very interesting when you’re making money… (smirk.JPG)]

[Already gone all-in on the limit-up board. Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven.]

[Holy crap, an actual earth-to-sky board?]

[Is this stock about to start its second wave?]

[It’s already hit rock bottom. The only way to go is up. Just do it!]

[This must be the Chief of the Suicide Squad making a move again. We have to follow. If you don’t follow the pros, not even a god can make you money. I’m all in, you guys do as you please.]

[The Helmsman is pulling a self-rescue to offload his shares. Whoever is chasing this can wait to eat more limit-downs.]

…

Chapter 219: The New Meme Taking the Stock Trading Circle by Storm

Late in the trading day, Shandong Juli sealed its limit-up, stealing the spotlight like no other stock in the entire market.

The brutal sell-off of the past three days had been a cruel shakeout, nearly skinning holders three layers deep. Today’s consecutive limit-down opening at the limit had basically shaken out all the capitulation sellers.

At the market close, Shandong Juli was up +10.00% at its limit-up price, closing at 12.35 yuan with a total turnover of 479 million yuan.

After hitting the earth-to-sky board in the afternoon, the stock remained sealed at its limit-up price for the rest of the day, never breaking the board. There was simply no selling pressure left.

Cao Chenghui was ecstatic. As the saying goes, a happy occasion lifts the spirits. Not only had he perfectly completed the task assigned by his boss, laying a solid foundation for his future at Stellaris Capital, but he had also reaped huge rewards.

He had bought into Shandong Juli today and caught a full earth-to-sky board, already netting him a profit of +22.15%, a floating profit of 1.55 million yuan.

Profit and loss share the same source; every bit of profit he made was flesh cut from his counterparties. This was the truth of the capital markets.

The boss’s way of giving a bonus—letting him take it directly from the stock market—was, as Cao Chenghui couldn’t help but exclaim, on another level. A boss like this was one of a kind. What excited him even more was that this special treatment was for him alone.

No one else at Stellaris Capital received such a privilege, which made Cao Chenghui feel that his standing in the boss’s eyes was quite high.

In this day and age, without a boss’s appreciation and promotion, it was truly difficult to achieve results, let alone make a name for oneself.

Cao Chenghui knew, without a doubt, that Fang Hong was his benefactor in this life. He had to hold on tight to this patron and never let go.

…

Around 5 PM, when the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, Shandong Juli was prominently featured. To everyone’s shock, The Helmsman’s trading seat appeared once again in the top buyer slot, having bought a staggering amount of over 80 million yuan.

Seeing the Dragon-Tiger List data, the investors went wild.

[Holy crap, The Helmsman didn’t actually leave? He added over 80 million to his position against the trend?]

[He’s just short of having to disclose his stake!]

[I sold at a loss and got shaken out. This sucks so much!]

[The Helmsman led a strong charge to seal the limit-up. Incredible! Truly worthy of being the Chief of the Suicide Squad!]

[Whoever bought the dip today is making a huge profit!]

[Looks like 10.11 yuan was the real bottom for Juli. Makes sense, today’s consecutive limit-down opening at the limit wiped out all the previous gains.]

[So we’re just starting the rally all over again… (facepalm crying laughing emoji)]

[Here we go again. Let’s see who has the guts to get on board!]

[This stock is too intense, my heart can’t take it. I’ll just watch you guys play…]

[Go, go, go! I’ll say it again: If you don’t follow the pros from Jiefang South Road, even a god can’t make money in stocks. I’m already on board, do as you please.]

…

The news of the Chief of the Suicide Squad and Shandong Juli was endlessly debated on the stock’s forum. He had first bought the dip with five million shares last Friday after six consecutive limit-downs, and today, after another limit-down, he had entered again, buying eight million shares.

Everyone knew The Helmsman’s style: he loved to play stocks that had gone through a cliff-like plunge. That was why they called him the Chief of the Suicide Squad.

Who else would dare to buy a stock like this?

Let alone try to pry open the board during a series of limit-downs.

As 6:30 PM approached, the retail investor “Spicy A-shares” returned home. He turned on his computer, logged into his brokerage account, and was greeted with two pieces of news—one good, one bad.

The good news was that the sell order he had queued up at the limit-down price had finally executed. He had gotten all his money out.

The bad news was that he had once again sold at a loss at the intraday low, just before the stock pulled an earth-to-sky board and hit the limit-up.

He stared silently at the latest daily K-line for Shandong Juli, a massive, earth-to-sky board bullish candle without upper or lower shadows. After a long while, he took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and closed the trading software.

He had sold his stock and cashed out today, but the money was still in his securities account and couldn’t be withdrawn yet.

He decided that tomorrow he would transfer the remaining money to his bank card, then close his account and quit the market for good.

After sitting at his computer for a moment, the investor known as “Spicy A-shares,” with a weary heart and mind, went to cook a simple bowl of noodles, adding a bit of chili.

About ten minutes later, he returned to his computer desk with the bowl of noodles. As he ate, he couldn’t help but cry, his tears falling into the bowl.

After a moment, he put the bowl aside, logged back into the trading software, and took screenshots of his transactions: buying a heavy 70% position at 27.5 yuan and selling at a loss at 13.29 yuan, then buying back in with a full position on the same day at 15.60 yuan, only to sell at a loss again today at the limit-down price of 10.11 yuan.

Then he went to the East Money stock forum for Shandong Juli, typed on his keyboard, and created a new post.

The title was six words: Eating and Crying!!

He then typed a short message below the title:

[Got home today, cooked some noodles. Crying while eating, tears falling into the bowl. Didn’t turn on the lights.]

He quickly finished editing the text and published the post with the screenshots.

At first, the post didn’t get much attention, but as time passed, the comments started to pile up.

It was just too tragic.

A heavy position at the peak of 27.50 yuan, liquidated at the bottom of 13.29 yuan.

Then a full position at 15.60 yuan, liquidated again today at 10.11 yuan.

By around eight or nine that evening, the screenshots from his post were being furiously shared by other investors. Through word of mouth and reposts, his thread went viral overnight, and the replies and comments flooded in.

[You’re the Leek God!]

[Those entry and exit points… in a word, brilliant!]

[You should have posted earlier, bro! I’d have a villa by the sea just by doing the opposite of your trades.]

[This is too tragic, old bro.]

[It’s enough to make anyone who hears it sad and anyone who sees it weep. So tragic, so miserable, so bleak!]

[Eating noodles in the dark. So atmospheric!]

[This is the reality for us A-share retail investors.]

[I thought I had it bad, but this guy is at least ten times worse off than me. Compared to him, I feel lucky I only put in a tenth of my position.]

[The A-share market is truly a “spicy” market. It’s made people numb from the losses!]

[This dude is truly unlucky. Bought at the top twice, and sold at the bottom twice…]

…

Friday, June 26.

On the last trading day of the week, the highly watched Shandong Juli opened significantly lower at 11.31 yuan, down -8.42%. Some retail investors who had bought yesterday during the strong rebound fled during the call auction, afraid of a repeat of the previous crash.

When the market opened at 9:30 AM, Shandong Juli opened low and trended high. The short-term traders who entered yesterday took the opportunity to sell on the surge.

However, most of those who dared to buy the dip yesterday didn’t lose much, even if they were in the red. Those who bought near yesterday’s limit-down price definitely left with a profit. As the stock surged, most of those taking profits made a few percentage points.

As time went on, nearing 10 AM, Shandong Juli, despite its low opening, rallied and turned green. The people who sold during the call auction were kicking themselves.

They didn’t dare to buy back in now, having lost their first-mover advantage. A few brave souls corrected their mistake and chased the stock higher, but they were in the minority.

After turning green, Shandong Juli continued to trend upward. By around 11:22 AM, it reached 13.52 yuan per share, a gain of 9.47%. It looked like it was heading for a second consecutive limit-up.

Those who had fled during the call auction were kicking themselves even harder. They had definitely sold too early.

However, the stock ultimately failed to hit its second consecutive limit-up. It began to pull back in the afternoon.

At the close, Shandong Juli finished up +7.56% at a price of 13.28 yuan. The total turnover for the day was 389 million yuan, a rise on lower volume compared to yesterday.

The Shanghai Composite Index had been on a general uptrend this week. Both yesterday and today, it closed with small green Doji candlesticks on lower volume. Although the K-lines were bearish, the index had actually posted slight gains. Today, the Shanghai Composite rose by a mere +0.11% to close at 2928.21 points, firmly holding above the 2900 mark.

In the last ten trading days since exiting his Shandong Juli position at its peak, Fang Hong had been quietly making a fortune. To keep a low profile, he hadn’t surfaced on Weibo to post any updates.

After all, quite a few people had been buried alive in Shandong Juli.

And over these ten-odd days, as the broader market climbed above 2900 points, Fang Hong’s profits had soared. His latest holdings were as follows:

Target stocks held: 21

Daily P&L: +19.79 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +1.61%

Cumulative Return: 500 million yuan

Total Return: +71.42%

Total Assets: 1.2 billion yuan

In the ten days since he got out of Shandong Juli, Fang Hong had quietly made another 200 million yuan. Since he started managing the institutional account on May 25, a total of 23 trading days had passed, during which he had profited by 500 million yuan.

He had originally planned to post on Weibo when his account broke the one billion yuan mark to gain some followers and Reputation Value, but to avoid the spotlight from having exited Shandong Juli at the absolute peak, he had to stay silent.

He would wait a while. Thankfully, the Chief of the Suicide Squad had come along to “run interference” for him. Now, whenever people mentioned Shandong Juli, they were no longer talking about K-God but were abuzz about The Helmsman, who had bought the dip after the cliff-like plunge. He had successfully diverted the investors’ attention.

Fang Hong was silently grateful to The Helmsman for shifting the focus.

Over the weekend, the post by “Spicy A-shares” on the Shandong Juli stock forum went viral throughout the stock trading circle. It struck a chord with investors and netizens, especially those who had also been trapped and crushed in Shandong Juli. They empathized deeply with his experience.

Investors flocked to the original thread to witness the spectacle, sharing it widely. The comment section became a place where investors trapped in Shandong Juli could vent their frustrations, console each other, and engage in self-deprecating humor.

As the post’s popularity exploded, the phrase “eating noodles in the dark” was widely adopted by investors who had lost money, becoming the hot new slang in the stock trading circle.

…

Chapter 220: Rising Amidst Doubt

Saturday afternoon.

While catching up on the news, Fang Hong was surprised to find that the phrase “Eating noodles in the dark” was being used throughout the stock trading circle, which quickly caught his attention.

As a veteran investor in the A-share market, it was impossible for him not to know the “Eating noodles in the dark” meme.

But that wasn’t what Fang Hong was focused on.

The key point was that the “Eating noodles in the dark” meme wasn’t supposed to appear at this point in time, in June 2009.

Fang Hong definitely knew the phrase—no one who traded A-shares didn’t—and he clearly remembered the origin of the “Eating noodles in the dark” meme from his past life. It first came from a post on the East Money stock forum.

On December 7, 2011, the “black swan” event involving Chongqing Beer occurred, causing its stock price to plummet with consecutive limit-downs. Then, on the evening of December 15, after Chongqing Beer had suffered six consecutive limit-downs opening at the limit, a user on the East Money stock forum posted in the Chongqing Beer section with the title, While Eating, While Crying.

The post was very simple, containing just one short sentence:

【Today I came home, cooked some noodles to eat. I cried while I ate, my tears dripping into the bowl. I didn’t turn on the lights.】

It was this very post that, after being published, quickly resonated with retail investors and netizens.

From then on, the phrase “Eating noodles in the dark” began to be widely quoted, gradually evolving into a unique expression of inner anguish for the domestic retail investor community.

Quite surprised, Fang Hong couldn’t help but search for the origin of “Eating noodles in the dark,” which had suddenly gone viral in the stock trading circle. A few minutes later, he found the source.

“The content of the post is exactly the same…” Fang Hong murmured to himself. He was staring at his computer screen, which displayed a post from a user named ‘Spicy A-shares’ on the Shandong Juli section of the East Money stock forum.

It was the same, yet different. The content and the scene were the same, but the person and the target stock were different.

After his rebirth through transmigration, local history had begun to subtly deviate.

Fang Hong glanced at the post’s content again and was left speechless.

It really was too tragic!

But the post was still just as classic.

There wasn’t a single word of complaint, not one curse, not an ounce of indignation, nor a hint of sorrow between the lines.

Yet this single short sentence vividly portrayed a state of sorrow so deep it became numbness, a torment of both soul and body.

The final four words, ‘didn’t turn on the lights,’ were a perfect depiction of the exhaustion that comes after profound mental trauma, when all of life’s desires have withered. It was the masterstroke, bringing the image to life so vividly.

Fang Hong continued to browse the follow-up replies and saw that the Original Poster later stated he had withdrawn all his money, was closing his brokerage account to quit the market, and would stay away from A-shares forever.

Seeing that he was planning to close his account and quit, Fang Hong couldn’t help but chuckle to himself and say, “Quitting the market is a good thing, too.”

Although he felt deep sympathy for this investor who had gone all-in on Shandong Juli and taken the last baton, he wasn’t going to help him because of it.

No one could. In this market, you might be able to save one person, but you can’t save everyone.

In the game of the capital markets, you can only save yourself.

Especially in emotional trading.

…

Monday, June 29.

The monster stock Shandong Juli opened flat today and trended down throughout the morning session, with its largest intra-day drop reaching -4.73%. However, after 11 a.m., the stock stopped falling and began to rebound.

It continued to rebound after the afternoon session opened, turning positive for the day at 1:19 p.m.

At 1:48 p.m., Shandong Juli was up over 6%. Two minutes later, large funds began to ignite a straight-line rally. At 1:51 p.m., the stock price surged to 14.60 yuan, hitting the limit-up with a gain of +9.91%.

In three days, its cumulative gain was 30%. If calculated from last Thursday’s limit-down price, the cumulative increase had already exceeded 44 percentage points.

The stock’s popularity also remained extremely high.

[Damn, this stock is a real monster. Get it right and you ascend to heaven instantly. Get it wrong and you get spiraled to heaven.]

[The Chief of the Suicide Squad went against the trend and bought the dip. He must be making a killing!]

[The 10.11 price was clearly the true bottom, no doubt about it.]

[A rebound isn’t the bottom, and the bottom doesn’t rebound. The bottom is bought into existence by big money.]

[Retail investors really never learn their lesson. Last week they were all wailing and crying, and now they think it’s all good again.]

[Is it possible they’re not the same group of retail investors? The ones who were wailing before are probably still licking their wounds…]

[However fiercely they’re piling in today is how fast they’ll be running tomorrow. They might not even be able to get out.]

[Then you’d better remember to set your alarm to put in a limit-down sell order tomorrow, you hear? If you’re late, you won’t get out. Take care!]

[This is hilarious. The stock forum is full of bears, but there were buying opportunities all morning. Where were you all? Is there any point in being so negative? Juli is going to keep flying. You reactive bears can go cry in a corner. We gave you a chance and you were useless, hah.]

[People are like that nowadays. Just jealous and petty.]

[All the ones calling for a limit-down are the ones who don’t own the stock. Pure schadenfreude. Does the market listen to you guys who are sitting on cash? For any stock that’s gone wild, isn’t this part of the journey?]

…

After its massive plunge, Shandong Juli posted three consecutive days of retaliatory gains. Today, the broader market index also continued to hit new highs, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising +1.61% to close at 2976.92 points, gearing up for a push toward the important 3000-point mark.

The next day, Tuesday, the market opened high and trended low. The monster stock Shandong Juli was suspended from trading for an hour at the open due to abnormal price volatility. After trading resumed, it gapped up and then plummeted, closing down -7.72% at 13.47 yuan with a trading volume of 324 million yuan.

After Shandong Juli’s sharp drop, the bulls and bears on the stock forum resumed their fight.

[Are my friends who jumped in this morning doing okay?]

[Haha, another batch trapped!]

[Stay away from monster stocks to stay safe.]

[Aren’t all retail investors geniuses in hindsight and pigs beforehand? Full of passion at the open, beating their chests in regret at the close.]

[I really don’t get the logic behind this garbage stock. All this wild speculation, and in the end, it’ll just be a complete mess.]

[Hilarious. I wouldn’t say anything if you were talking logic with blue-chip stocks, but you’re talking logic about a monster stock? You should go play with the Shanghai SE 50 ETF. The people who were talking about logic and fundamentals last year? The grass on their graves is already two meters high.]

[Playing monster stocks is a game for the brave.]

[Did The Helmsman get out? I don’t believe he’d flee with such a small profit. I’m buying!]

[I missed K-God’s ride, I can’t miss the one The Helmsman is driving. Just fucking do it.]

…

Wednesday, July 1.

On the first trading day of the second half of the year, the A-share market staged a strong engulfing pattern rally. The Big Finance sector led the index to successfully break through the 3000-point integer mark. This was the first time it had reclaimed this key integer level since falling below it on June 12, 2008.

By the closing bell, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.65%, closing at 3008.15 points.

Meanwhile, Shandong Juli, which had plummeted yesterday, surged +6.03% today to close at 14.28 yuan per share, with a full-day trading volume of 304 million yuan.

…

Thursday, July 2.

The market accelerated its rally, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising another +1.73% today to close at 3060.25 points.

Shandong Juli also followed the broader market’s rally today, rising amidst investors’ doubts to hit the limit-up with a +9.98% gain, closing at 15.71 yuan with a trading volume of 364 million yuan.

Not only did the monster stock form an engulfing pattern over Tuesday’s huge bearish candle today, but it also carved out a new recent high. From its lowest point of 10.11 yuan, its cumulative gain had now exceeded 55 percentage points.

…

Friday, July 3.

On the last trading day of the week, the market opened low and trended high. The Shanghai Composite Index set another new high for the year, closing up +0.92% at 3088.37 points, with the 3100-point mark now in sight.

The monster stock Shandong Juli once again shattered market expectations, closing with another strong gain of +6.19% today. Its price surged to 16.68 yuan on an expanded trading volume of 522 million. From its lowest point, the cumulative gain had now exceeded +64.98%.

As the week concluded, Fang Hong continued to make a fortune in silence, quietly earning over another hundred million. His account assets grew from one point two billion to one billion, three hundred fifteen million, nine hundred ninety thousand yuan. His cumulative return since converting to an institutional account had reached +87.99%.

As his capital grew, the speed of its expansion also accelerated under the effect of compounding.

But the happiest person of all was undoubtedly Cao Chenghui. He had bought the dip on Shandong Juli at 10.11 yuan with seven million yuan, and was now up by over four point five million!

Ah Hui now felt nothing but pure adoration for his Boss. That bonus was going to be sweet!

Fang Hong himself did not participate in this second main uptrend wave for Shandong Juli. The rally was still ongoing, and this primary rally had not yet reached its peak. However, he was helping Ah Hui keep an eye on the market, lest he get hit by The Helmsman’s “one-word soul-severing blade” and end up giving all his winnings back to the market for nothing.

…

Chapter 221: A 1.5 Billion Valuation

As the second half of the year began in July, the market index stood above 3,000 points. The rally was just about reaching its peak.

Fang Hong was timing his moves down to the day. Compared to the scale of Stellaris Capital’s investments in the A-share market, the one billion or so in his personal account was small change.

Stellaris Capital currently had two major positions in the A-share market. The first was a 20-billion-yuan position built when the market index was over 1,600 points last year. As of today, it had generated a floating profit of +237%, an absolute profit of 47.5 billion yuan.

The other fund consisted of capital from the coal boss Li Yongzhi, Xiao Quan of Pengrui Capital, and their associates. A total of 24 billion yuan entered the market at the end of May, and as of today, it had a floating profit of around +36%, an absolute profit of 8.65 billion yuan.

The total market value of Stellaris Capital’s holdings in the A-share market had just broken through the 100-billion-yuan mark. After deducting all leveraged funds and capital costs, the net value was 57.5 billion yuan.

Once these funds were withdrawn from the A-share market, the capital cashed out from the secondary market could be deployed into the real economy and the primary market.

However, the rally wasn’t over yet. Asset prices were still appreciating, so they could keep the party going for another month or so.

After this month, the days of brain-dead investing in the A-share market, like in the first half of this year, would be over. The next opportunity wouldn’t come until the epic, leveraged bull market of 2015.

Saturday morning, at the Tranquil Heart Residence.

Qin Feng, the founder of Stellar Universe Technology, had come for a visit. Fang Hong didn’t even have to think to know that Stellar Universe Technology was most likely running out of money.

The last time he had provided Qin Feng’s company with 35 million in financing was over three months ago, which fit perfectly with Fang Hong’s estimates.

In the villa’s living room.

Fang Hong, Qin Feng, and another young man were seated. This man, in his late twenties, was introduced by Qin Feng as his good friend, Hou Junda.

Fang Hong briefly set aside the matter of Hou Junda and got straight to the point with Qin Feng. “Tell me, how much money do you want this time?”

Qin Feng was concise and to the point. “Three hundred million RMB in financing!”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded to himself and mused for a moment before looking at Qin Feng. “Then how about a valuation of one and a half billion for your company?”

Qin Feng nodded. “No problem.”

Sitting to the side, Hou Junda was stunned for a good while. This was a financing deal involving hundreds of millions, wasn’t this a bit too straightforward?

One of them actually dared to ask for it, and the other actually dared to give it!

Hou Junda knew a little about his friend Qin Feng’s company, Stellar Universe Technology. It currently had just over two hundred employees. In a sense, besides those two hundred people, it had nothing. Were two hundred people worth 1.5 billion?

That’s right!

What Fang Hong valued was the people!

This would be the A-round of financing, and once again, Stellaris Capital would be the sole investor. With a valuation of 1.5 billion and an investment of 300 million, they would be acquiring a 20% stake. Combined with the previous angel round, Stellaris Capital’s equity in Stellar Universe Technology would rise to 44%, making it the company’s largest shareholder.

Fang Hong spoke in an orderly manner, “Go find President Hua at Stellaris Capital. I’ll give him a heads-up later.”

Hou Junda was bewildered again. The deal was done?

Wow!

That was an astronomical sum of 300 million, decided in less than a minute.

Hou Junda exclaimed internally. This was completely different from what he had imagined.

It was simply unbelievable.

After a moment, Qin Feng glanced at his friend Hou Junda, then turned to Fang Hong. “Bro Fang, this friend of mine is also planning to start a business. He has a project, so…”

At this, Hou Junda hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. He was actually five or six years older than Fang Hong, but at this moment, he felt a little nervous. Fang Hong’s every move and word exuded the powerful presence of a big shot.

It had nothing to do with age.

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “Since he’s a friend of yours, he must be extraordinary.”

Hou Junda immediately responded with humility, “Mr. Fang, you flatter me. There’s still a huge gap between me and Qin Feng. He’s far more capable than I am.”

Fang Hong smiled leisurely, then said, “Money isn’t an issue for investing in your project. But I have one question for you. For a startup company, what do you think are the essential elements?”

Qin Feng remained silent. He had already made the introduction to their financial backer; whether or not Hou Junda could impress the man before them was now entirely up to him.

After a moment, Hou Junda thought it over. Fang Hong’s question was incredibly broad; it was both easy and difficult to answer.

Finally, after organizing his thoughts, Hou Junda began to speak. “I’ve studied the history of Alibaba’s success and found three key points. First, you need a massive target market. Second, you need to find a group of incredibly reliable people to work with you. And third, relative to your competitors, you need to have a sum of money that you can never run out of.”

As soon as he finished, Hou Junda added, “The third point is especially crucial. Capital is vital for a startup. If you’re always short on money, it’s very difficult to grow the company. Only when you have a seemingly endless supply of funds do you have the courage and guts to try new things.”

With that, Hou Junda fell silent, indicating he had finished his answer.

Fang Hong nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he looked at Hou Junda and said, “Alright, go with Qin Feng to Stellaris Capital. For the angel round, I’ll invest five million in you.”

What is an angel investment? It’s when you have no way of knowing if a project will succeed, no basis for judgment. You invest the money fully prepared for it to go down the drain, which is why it’s called an “angel” investment. But if the project succeeds, you make a killing, with returns of tens, if not hundreds, of times the original investment.

Hou Junda was stunned by this and quickly said, “Mr. Fang, you’re investing without even asking what I’m doing? This… this is…”

Were people in the VC circle all this easygoing?

“Heh…” Fang Hong chuckled and said with an air of ease, “It’s an angel round, after all. It’s basically a shot in the dark. Whether the project will succeed is anyone’s guess. We’re investing in ideas, and ideas come from people. So ultimately, an angel investment is a bet on the person, not the project. Since you’re a good friend of Qin Feng’s, and as they say, birds of a feather flock together, I trust his friends can’t be too bad. Your relationship with Qin Feng is enough for me to risk five million to test the waters.”

Hou Junda was left speechless. His financial backer was throwing money at him without even asking about the project, but as an entrepreneur, he felt he had to say something. “The project I’m working on is an online streaming video website. The site is already built, and its Chinese name is ‘Hummingbird Video’.”

Hmm?

An online video website?

A flicker of surprise crossed Fang Hong’s previously relaxed face. He immediately said, “Elaborate.”

The video website sector was a key area of focus for Stellaris Capital. Yixing Video was already in the works, and they had just made their move in the online video copyright space. Investing in Hou Junda’s Hummingbird Video would create an overlap in business, a classic waste of resources.

Hou Junda was also taken aback for a second. Hearing Fang Hong’s tone, he quickly explained, “Hummingbird Video is a video player based on P2P technology.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask, “What did you say? P2P technology? Isn’t that Kuaibo’s playbook?”

So-called P2P, or peer-to-peer technology, relies on the computing power and bandwidth of network participants rather than concentrating the load on a few servers.

P2P networks are typically used to connect nodes through Ad-Hoc connections. These networks can be used for various purposes and have already been applied in all kinds of file-sharing software. P2P technology is also used for data communication in real-time media services like VoIP.

The video player Kuaibo was launched in 2007 and grew rapidly by riding the P2P technology wave.

It was now known as a must-have software for seasoned users.

Kuaibo used the P2P model, which required users to use a specific plugin player to watch videos. The website only needed to provide the seed. When the user base became large enough, over 90% of the video files were downloaded from other users’ computers, which drastically reduced the website’s bandwidth consumption and, therefore, its operational costs.

After all, the “internet bill” was a major expense for online streaming video sites. The larger the scale, the greater the traffic consumption, and the higher the “internet bill.”

Fang Hong hadn’t expected Hou Junda to choose this path right from the start.

He knew very well what Kuaibo’s final fate was.

That path was a dead end!

Chapter 222: The Performance Bet Agreement

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Hou Junda nodded and said, “Indeed, Hummingbird Video copied Kuaibo’s P2P model because it significantly lowers the website’s operational costs.”

Fang Hong crossed his legs, let out a breath, and spoke slowly, “From a purely technical standpoint, P2P video technology is a breakthrough in the video playback field. Kuaibo is just one player in this technological space, and there’s reason to believe that P2P technology won’t fall out of favor easily. But…”

At this point, Fang Hong’s tone shifted as he looked at Hou Junda and added, “Have you considered a few things?”

Hou Junda said humbly, “Please, enlighten me!”

On his way here, his friend Qin Feng had told him that Fang Hong was no ordinary investor. His insights into the internet industry were among the best, and he wasn’t some investor who didn’t understand technology.

Fang Hong held up one finger and said coolly, “First, video transmission is the core technology of a video website. No forward-thinking video website would ever hand its core technology over to another company.”

Then, Fang Hong held up a second finger. “Second, Kuaibo’s model can’t distribute content through a single channel. If you put your original program on Kuaibo, then any other website using Kuaibo can, in theory, stream your program simultaneously.”

Fang Hong held up a third finger. “Third, the future trend for video websites is direct online playback without plugins. The prerequisite for using Kuaibo is installing a browser plugin, which is unacceptable for most users, reducing the installation rate to at least below fifty percent. Even other browser plugins don’t have high installation rates.”

Lowering his hand, Fang Hong continued, “One last point. Kuaibo has a lot of momentum right now, but what did it rely on to get there? I think you know very well. Such a terrible, deeply ingrained impression directly affects the website’s image and advertising revenue. Most importantly, one wrong move and you could end up in prison.”

Hou Junda opened his mouth but hesitated. “Uh…”

Fang Hong cut to the chase. “This is the project you’re working on. In that case, I’m not investing.”

As soon as he said this, both Hou Junda and Qin Feng were stunned.

Hou Junda, in particular, felt extremely awkward. It was a classic case of joy turning to sorrow. He had just been on the verge of showing his excitement, but the reversal had come so quickly and abruptly.

If he hadn’t managed to restrain himself and had shown his excitement earlier, he would have been so embarrassed he’d be curling his toes into the floor.

Qin Feng was speechless. Even if he had something to say, now wasn’t the time.

But then Fang Hong spoke again. “Have you been following the news that Stellaris Capital recently spent over two billion to acquire the copyrights for more than ninety thousand film and television titles?”

Hearing this, Hou Junda suppressed his embarrassment and nodded. “I have heard about it. According to the news I’ve followed, with the addition of the previous twenty thousand-plus copyrights, your company now holds a library of over one hundred ten thousand copyrighted works. Basically, that means that current video sites like Youku, Tudou, and iQiyi are all infringing, and on a massive scale. Kuaibo is even worse, needless to say.”

The news had broken this past Thursday: Stellaris Capital had spent 2.3 billion to acquire the online streaming rights for over ninety thousand film and television works. Added to the previous twenty thousand, their content library now stood at one hundred ten thousand titles.

The copyright holders, fearing Stellaris Capital would back out, had rushed to sign the official contracts to pocket the profit for peace of mind.

In reality, both sides were afraid the other would have a change of heart.

Now that the dust had settled, Stellaris Capital had already begun making payments. Over the next ten days or so, the money would be fully transferred to the various film and entertainment companies, all of which were content to receive their
several-hundred-million-yuan slice of the pie.

At that moment, Fang Hong looked at Hou Junda and said, “Let me be frank with you. Stellaris Capital has spent over three billion in total to buy a content library of one hundred ten thousand titles. The outside world thinks the company is hoarding for speculation to sell for a profit later. Wrong. Completely wrong. Stellaris Capital is focused on the online streaming media sector. Qunxing’s subsidiary, Art Star Media Group, is currently drafting a sub-project: Yixing Video.”

Hearing this, Hou Junda’s heart sank. He lost all hope of securing an investment this time.

However, Fang Hong’s next words left him stunned once more. Fang Hong looked at him and said, “How about this? Yixing Video is still just a proposal on paper. I’ll absorb your team directly. I’ll let you and your team take charge of the Yixing Video project. What do you think?”

Hou Junda was astonished. “What? You want my team to do it?”

He was utterly shocked to hear Fang Hong offer to absorb his team to create Yixing Video. Stellaris Capital had just shelled out over three billion for a content library of one hundred ten thousand titles. That alone showed how massive the scale of Yixing Video would be.

Fang Hong continued, “That’s right, I’m handing it to you and your team. But your team will have to sign a performance bet agreement with Stellaris Capital.”

At this moment, Hou Junda’s heart was pounding. If they were really absorbed, it would be a meteoric rise. Yixing Video was aiming to compete directly with giants like iQiyi and Youku.

Most importantly, it had a wealthy backer like Stellaris Capital behind it!

Upon hearing about the performance bet agreement, Hou Junda suppressed his excitement and said, “Please, go on.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yixing Video will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Art Star Media Group. It will be financially independent, and its performance will not be consolidated with the parent company’s. One of its future goals is to be listed on the A-share market.”

As an internet company, it was basically impossible for Yixing Video to get approved for an A-share listing through the normal process. A backdoor listing was the only way.

Fang Hong went on, “The main content of the performance bet is this: we will offer a fifteen percent equity package in Yixing Video to be shared among your team. You will decide the specific distribution of this fifteen percent package. In short, it will be allocated to you, and you and your team will decide how to divide it. In return, your team must grow Yixing Video’s user base to over three hundred million by the conclusion of 2012 and become the number one online streaming media website in the country. Both of these goals must be met.”

Even if the entire team was absorbed, equity still had to be distributed. People always work harder for themselves than for others. With equity, Hou Junda’s team would feel like they were working for themselves and would naturally put their heart and soul into boosting performance.

Hou Junda quickly did the math in his head. The total user base for online video websites in the country was just over two hundred million, and the total number of netizens was only 338 million. However, given the country’s population, it wouldn’t be difficult for the number of netizens to exceed five hundred million by 2012.

Fang Hong added, “In addition, within the 2012 deadline, when Yixing Video’s user base surpasses fifty million, your team will receive an additional cash bonus package of one hundred million. When the user base reaches one hundred million, your team gets another two hundred million cash bonus package. At two hundred million users, another three hundred million. And when you reach three hundred million users, your team gets another five hundred million cash bonus package.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong added, “The fifteen percent equity package plus the cash rewards. Nothing else. The company will not pay you salaries. We’ll only cover your food and lodging.”

The requirement was clear: Hou Junda’s team was to have a single objective—to work themselves to the bone to hit the performance targets. If they delivered, they would get the equity and the cash. The first one-hundred-million bonus package alone would basically secure lifelong financial freedom for the team.

A moment later, Hou Junda asked, “And if we fail the bet?”

Fang Hong spread his hands with a smile. “You lose the fifteen percent equity package. Any cash rewards paid out must be returned in full, with interest. Furthermore, you’ll have to sign a non-compete agreement, barring you from entering this industry for three years starting from your day of departure.”

These were the punitive clauses for failing the bet. The clawback of cash rewards was particularly harsh. For example, if Yixing Video reached fifty million users in 2010 and the team received the one-hundred-million bonus, but then failed to meet the final goal of three hundred million users by 2012, they would have to return the entire bonus, plus two years’ worth of interest.

To put it bluntly, if the performance bet succeeded, they would reach the pinnacle of their lives, gaining both fame and fortune. If it failed, they would lose everything, be saddled with a mountain of debt, and be banned from the industry for three years.

Given the current pace of technological iteration, a three-year ban from the industry would essentially mean their careers in this field were over.

Once Hou Junda’s team accepted this performance bet agreement and signed on, their only option was to charge forward. Even if there were a thousand other paths, there would be no road back.

The pressure was imaginable, but the temptation was also fatal.

Finally, Hou Junda said, “Mr. Fang, could you give me two days? I need to discuss this with my team.”

Fang Hong replied without hesitation, “No problem. Give me an answer in three days.”

…

Chapter 223: Bulls Won’t Die, Shorts Won’t Stop

Qin Feng and Hou Junda left Tranquil Heart Residence, and Fang Hong immediately called Hua Yu to give him a heads-up about the financing for Qin Feng’s Stellar Universe Technology.

As for Hou Junda, Fang Hong was confident that he and his team would be recruited and brought into the fold.

The Performance Bet Agreement he had offered was a huge gamble—they could lose everything—but the potential rewards were far too tempting. Most importantly, Fang Hong had made Hou Junda understand one thing: if he wanted to make a mark in the streaming online video industry, there was only one path—to be incorporated by Stellaris Capital into the Art Star Media Group and lead Yixing Video.

The fact that Stellaris Capital possessed a library of 110,000 films made Hou Junda realize the scale of their ambition. They weren’t just stockpiling content to sell at a high price; they were planning to build their own online video platform.

Hou Junda could foresee that once Yixing Video launched, the other online video sites in the country would soon face endless intellectual property infringement lawsuits. It would be difficult to win these lawsuits and make the sites pay damages, but that wasn’t Stellaris Capital’s goal at all.

Their real purpose was to curb the growth of their competitors and starve their platforms of content. A user-uploaded video would be taken down after a lawsuit, and if it reappeared under a new guise, Stellaris Capital would simply sue again.

Hou Junda was absolutely certain that Yixing Video, with a wealthy backer like Stellaris Capital, would eventually hire a dedicated team. These people would have only one job: to browse other online video sites all day long.

The moment they spotted an infringement, they would file a lawsuit.

If he accepted the performance bet agreement, Hou Junda himself would adopt the same strategy. He wouldn’t expect the other video sites to pay damages, nor would he expect them to remove all their infringing content immediately.

But the relentless lawsuits would succeed as long as they achieved one thing: ruining the user experience on those sites.

Imagine a user trying to watch a movie or TV series on a competing site. It is available one day, then suddenly disappears the next. It reappears the day after, only to be taken down and become unavailable again. It might be there in the morning, gone by the afternoon, and then pop up again at night.

Needless to say, such a user experience would be absolutely terrible.

At that point, the advantage of Yixing Video—with its massive, readily available content library—would become clear.

Even without explicitly voting with their feet, if given a choice, the vast majority of users would undoubtedly prefer to watch on Yixing Video.

Two days later, on Monday morning.

In the second-floor trading room, Yifulei and the sisters, Lin Yan and Lin Yun, were executing stock trades according to Fang Hong’s instructions when his phone rang. It was Hou Junda.

“Mr. Fang, we’ve made our decision. We’re willing to accept the performance bet agreement,” Hou Junda’s voice came through as soon as the call connected.

“Good,” Fang Hong said crisply. “Go to the Stellaris Capital headquarters. I’ve already spoken with President Hua. When you arrive, just tell the receptionist that I sent you and give them my name. Someone will take you to meet President Hua. All right, that’s all.”

With that, Fang Hong hung up. He wasn’t surprised at all that they had agreed.

As for the specific execution, Fang Hong didn’t need to supervise them. The Performance Bet Agreement was the best form of motivation they could have. Once signed, they would undoubtedly work day and night to achieve their performance goals.

If they couldn’t reach a user base of three hundred million by 2012, they couldn’t claim victory. Failure meant they would have worked for nothing and be left with empty hands. This was their greatest driving force.

Once Hou Junda’s team actually achieved the performance goals, if they started to slack off, he could simply remove them from management. They could take their money, leave their positions, and make way for others. Whether they held on to their equity or cashed out would be their choice.

By then, Yixing Video would have become the largest online streaming platform in the Mainland. The Matthew effect—the strong get stronger—would ensure its continued success. As long as no one made any stupid mistakes, anyone could manage it and guide its steady growth alongside the domestic internet industry.

Meanwhile, in today’s A-share market, the upward trend continued, with the Shanghai Composite Index breaking through the 3100-point mark.

By the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.18% to 3124.67 points, with a full-day trading volume of 206.8 billion yuan. This was the first time this year the index’s single-day trading volume had surpassed the 200-billion-yuan mark. The last time that happened was on June 13, 2007, two years ago.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose +1.89% today to 12489.92 points on a volume of 95.4 billion yuan. The combined volume of both markets surged to 302.2 billion yuan, breaking the 300-billion-yuan level for the first time.

Ever since the broader market retook the 3000-point level, everyone had been shouting that a bull market was here.

Almost no one had expected the A-share market to reach 3000 points just as the second half of the year began. At the start of the year, the market had been languishing around 1800 points. In less than eight months, the index had climbed from a low of 1644 points to its current level—an accumulated gain of +87.67%. Such a rally was unthinkable before it happened.

And so, the market climbed amidst skepticism.

But once the broader market surpassed 3000 points, many now believed a bull run was coming, and the trading volume hitting 300 billion yuan was the clearest sign.

In terms of individual stocks, the popular monster stock Shandong Juli’s daily K-line formed a long upper shadow line today. Intra-day, the stock price surged to 17.59 yuan, a gain of +5.45%, but it plunged in the afternoon session and turned negative. It closed at 16.64 yuan, down -0.23%, with trading volume spiking to 556 million yuan.

This long upper shadow line led a minority of investors to see it as an “immortal pointing the way,” signaling further gains. The majority, however, interpreted it as a “shooting star,” a bearish sign for the future.

Cao Chenghui was also spending a bit of time watching the market every day now. Based on today’s chart, if the Boss hadn’t told him he would be notified when it was time to sell, he would have definitely taken his profits and gotten out.

But since the Boss hadn’t given the word, Cao Chenghui held on steadily. The intra-day volatility didn’t put any psychological pressure on him at all.

The next day, Tuesday, July 7.

The market entered a correction. The monster stock Shandong Juli also experienced a sharp plunge intra-day; its price dropped to a low of 15.73 yuan per share, a decline of -5.46%, as a large amount of profit-taking occurred.

However, during late trading, it was quickly pulled back up and turned positive. By the close, Shandong Juli was up +0.68%, at 16.76 yuan, on a heavy volume of 769 million yuan.

The daily K-lines from these two days were almost mirror images of each other. Yesterday was an inverted hammer with a long upper shadow, and today was a hanging man with a long lower shadow.

Wednesday, July 8.

As soon as the market opened, Shandong Juli gapped up +2.28%. After the open, the stock rallied directly without any pullback.

At 9:52 AM, various stock market apps pushed a notification:

[Shandong Juli has hit the limit-up; Teli A and other stocks are following suit.]

Hitting the limit-up so strongly within the first half-hour left bearish investors stunned. Even Teli A was following the trend again.

By the close, Shandong Juli remained firmly sealed at its limit-up for the entire day. It was a limit-up on shrinking volume, with the stock closing at 18.43 yuan, up +9.98%, on a volume of 597 million yuan.

[Fuck, I got shaken out.]

[The Helmsman is incredible!]

[This damn stock is unbelievably awesome. It can actually start a second primary rally, and in such a short time. Truly wild swings.]

[It’s either a huge loss or a huge profit. So brutal.]

[Speaking of taking a loss, that dude Spicy A-shares is so tragic. He sold at a loss at 10.11, and just a few days later it’s at 18.43. It’s already up more than 82 percent. If he had held on, or even gone full position at 10.11 yuan, he probably could have broken even. Too bad there are no ‘what ifs’.]

[Look at it another way. The stock can only rise after all the retail investors sell at a loss. If they don’t, the price will just keep getting hammered.]

[Uh… that actually makes a lot of sense. Those few limit-downs after The Helmsman first broke the limit-down were truly brutal. Everyone who tried buying the dip got buried alive. It’s clear now that it was a shakeout. I even suspect the shares he bought when he broke the limit-down were just so he’d have stock to dump and push the price even lower. Damn it, how many people can withstand that kind of shakeout tactic?]

[All I can say is, bulls won’t die, shorts won’t stop.]

Chapter 224: This Team Has a Master Guiding Them

Not long after the market opened in the afternoon, while Fang Hong was directing the three maids in their stock trading, he received a call from Xu Jingren, the head of Quantum Beat.

As soon as the call connected, Xu Jingren’s voice came through: “Boss, something big happened in the industry today.”

Something big in the industry?

Fang Hong was surprised for a moment. He glanced at the date, and after a little thought, he had a good idea of what Xu Jingren was about to say. Still, he asked calmly, “What is it?”

Xu Jingren immediately replied, “Fanfou’s platform has been ordered to shut down due to inappropriate comments. Several other microblogging platforms were also shut down. Fanfou was hit especially hard—their blog service was closed, their Baidu Fanfou forum was shut down, and even their Baidu Encyclopedia entry was deleted. Who knows when they’ll be back.”

It was indeed that event. This piece of history hadn’t deviated.

Right now, internet content regulation was gradually becoming stricter. Platforms like Fanfou had become venues for reporting and commenting on many social events. With a user base of over seven million, Fanfou was already a very important media outlet.

Although Fanfou couldn’t be called a massive hit compared to competitors like Quantum Beat Weibo and Tencent Weibo, its user metrics had been steadily growing.

Wang Xing’s thinking at this time didn’t seem to have caught up. To be precise, he hadn’t yet realized that Fanfou was also a source of information for many news reports, even if it couldn’t compare to the current Quantum Beat Weibo, Tencent Weibo, or Sina Weibo.

Fang Hong stared at the large screen on the trading room wall, where the intraday line of the Shanghai Composite Index was staging a deep V-shaped rebound in the afternoon. With an air of ease, he said, “When will they be back? They’re not coming back. These platforms that have been sent to the penalty box can basically be declared out of the game. They have no future in the microblogging space.”

Fang Hong, familiar with this period of history, knew what would happen next. Fanfou would be shut down for over five hundred days.

What did such a long period mean for an internet company? Needless to say, the microblogging battlefield was currently white-hot, with Quantum Beat Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Sina Weibo, Sohu Weibo, Qianxiang Weibo, and more.

All sorts of major players were fiercely competing; if you didn’t advance, you fell behind.

From a business perspective, the moment Fanfou and the other platforms were shut down, they became largely irrelevant. The investors’ money could basically be declared as having gone down the drain. They could only accept their losses.

Wang Xing had no choice but to declare another failed startup after his campus social network.

Fang Hong knew that this entrepreneur would start a new venture next year—founding Meituan Delivery. But that was a story for another time.

Most importantly, whether Wang Xing could succeed with Meituan Delivery would, in a sense, depend on whether Fang Hong decided to preempt him.

At that moment, Xu Jingren said with emotion over the phone, “Boss, you truly have foresight. You had our team implement extremely diligent community content moderation well in advance, especially monitoring sensitive topics. Although we took some flak from some users, at least we avoided Fanfou’s fate.”

After all, Quantum Beat Weibo’s user base was already ten times that of Fanfou. The latest data showed that the platform’s registered users had surpassed the seventy million mark. If this growth rate continued, breaking one hundred million within the year was a sure thing.

A larger scale meant greater influence, which in other words, made them more than ten times as dangerous as Fanfou. But this time, Quantum Beat Weibo was clearly unaffected.

As Fanfou and other platforms were sent to the “penalty box,” drawing attention within the industry, Quantum Beat ironically drew even more scrutiny from industry insiders. The fact that nothing had happened to Quantum Beat Weibo made many major tech firms realize that this startup and its founding team were by no means simple.

At the very least, this team had a master guiding them.

Those big shots in the internet world simply couldn’t believe that Xu Jingren’s team of a few university students had come this far on their own. The company’s development showcased foresight at every step. They had managed to get ahead of all their peers to seize every explosive point of user growth while also dodging potential crises. All of this had to be the result of a master’s guidance from behind the scenes.

Finally, Fang Hong said into the phone, “Keep up the good work on community management and proceed according to the original plan. The microblogging field is still in a chaotic warring states period; we’re far from the point of breaking through the siege and dominating the market. We can’t let our guard down.”

Xu Jingren nodded. “Understood. On the product features front, everything is arranged. We’ve already launched the AIR client this week, and Micro-Groups has entered internal testing. Features like Micro-Territory are also under development.”

The Micro-Groups feature was designed to bring together friends with common hobbies or tags, consolidating all related topics within the micro-group. This allowed like-minded friends to participate and communicate more conveniently through microblogs. It was initially being built around verticals in the real estate industry, primarily consisting of four categories: residential community micro-groups, real estate micro-groups, home furnishing micro-groups, and lifestyle micro-groups.

By integrating with Micro-Territory, Quantum Beat Weibo would allow users to easily find nearby shops, coupons, ATMs, and other information, or check the footprints of friends and celebrities, supporting a feature for users to sync check-ins and earned badges to their Weibo updates.

After a few more words, Fang Hong hung up. Quantum Beat was currently developing steadily and rapidly, methodically advancing and achieving its goals one by one.

As for competitors, Tencent Weibo was leveraging the massive user base of its QQ platform to drive traffic, and its initial momentum was fierce. In terms of registered users, it seemed poised to surpass the old-timer, and the user gap between it and Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform was continuously shrinking.

However, Quantum Beat Weibo remained the industry leader in user scale, with a lead of over ten million users over Tencent Weibo. The latter’s aggressive chase was putting significant pressure on Xu Jingren’s team.

It was good for the team to be under pressure; Fang Hong was happy to see it.

Pressure would keep them from slacking off. But Fang Hong himself knew very well that while Tencent Weibo’s momentum seemed ferocious, the Penguin’s corporate DNA wasn’t in this area. Over a longer time frame, the outcome would become clear.

As long as Quantum Beat themselves didn’t do anything foolish and Xu Jingren’s team followed the strategic plan set by the big boss, Tencent Weibo would inevitably end up strategically abandoning the project.

Fang Hong put his thoughts aside and refocused his attention on the market, continuing to guide the maids in their trading: “Xiao Yun, you buy Kailuan Shares. Xiao Yan, you buy Shanxi Coking Coal. Xiao Yi, you buy Xi’an Aircraft International and Poly Real Estate.”

He then told them the purchase amounts and the number of lots to place in their orders.

The women all followed his instructions to trade. By now, the pair of beautiful sisters, Lin Yan and Lin Yun, had become adept at buying and selling stocks through their recent trading. They could also understand the meanings of K-line charts, moving averages, technical indicators, and more.

…

Time moved to Thursday, July 9.

Today, the market opened low and trended high before surging and then falling back to turn negative for the day. But in the afternoon, it began to fluctuate upwards, closing high and forming an engulfing pattern over Tuesday’s bearish candle from the recent correction.

In terms of individual stocks, the one that attracted the most attention from investors was undoubtedly the current monster stock, Shandong Juli. It still firmly held its position as the overall sentiment leader in both markets, unshakable by any other stock.

The stock gapped up at the open today by +2.01% at 18.80 yuan. After the open, it rallied directly, just like yesterday, without any pullback. It didn’t drop below its opening price all day, and in the first half-hour of trading, it had already risen by over eight percent.

It was heading for a limit-up, but around 10:00 AM, the broader market, which had opened low and trended high, began to dive, dragging this high-sentiment stock down with it.

However, when the market turned positive after the afternoon open, Shandong Juli once again rallied.

Around 1:25 PM, just as the Shanghai Composite Index rose +0.72% to reclaim the 3100-point mark, Shandong Juli’s stock price climbed to 20.27 yuan, hitting its limit-up with a +9.98% gain. This marked two consecutive limit-ups. The trading volume after it sealed the limit-up board reached 590 million.

In eleven trading days, it had hit five limit-up boards, with the first being an earth-to-sky board.

After the previous A-share sell-off, Shandong Juli’s second primary rally wave had, in just eleven trading days, surged from a low of 10.11 yuan to today’s 20.27 yuan, an accumulated gain of +100.49%. The second primary rally had already doubled the stock’s value.

Shandong Juli had quietly doubled again, catching countless investors off guard. But the ones who felt the most furious were the retail investors who had sold at a loss earlier. There were few among them who weren’t questioning their entire existence.

It was safe to say that before this rally played out, almost no one believed this stock could rise to 20 yuan. The investors who sold at a loss were all beating their chests and stamping their feet in regret.

…

Chapter 225: The One-Word Soul-Severing Blade Reappears

Friday, July 10th.

The last trading day of the week started as scheduled. During the call auction phase, Shandong Juli was suppressed heavily today, ultimately opening at 16.41 yuan, down 4.24%. After the market opened, it fluctuated around the -4.5% level, below its opening price.

But the trading atmosphere was unusually active. Many retail investors were not afraid at all, entering the market to buy shares while the price was down.

This was because last night, a rumor had been spreading in various chat groups and stock forums: the Helmsman intended to suppress the price to prevent Shandong Juli from hitting the limit-up today.

According to the relevant regulations of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, a cumulative deviation in the closing price increase of 20% over three consecutive trading days constitutes abnormal stock trading volatility. Shandong Juli had already hit two consecutive limit-ups on Wednesday and Thursday, and this was while the broader market was strengthening.

If the stock closed with a gain of more than 3% today, it would trigger the abnormal volatility rule, leading to a one-hour trading suspension at the market open next Monday.

But that wasn’t the main concern.

A one-hour suspension was nothing to worry about. The real fear was a regulatory notice over the weekend, which could lead to the stock being locked in the ‘penalty box’ for at least a week.

When this stock had previously skyrocketed, it had already defied regulations with consecutive limit-ups and even received intra-day guidance.

Just a few days had passed, and the stock price had doubled again.

What would happen if it continued to surge with consecutive limit-ups?

Therefore, the theory was that the stock had to close with a gain of no more than 3% today and definitely couldn’t hit a third consecutive limit-up. This theory was hotly debated in various stock chat groups and forums.

And today’s deep-water open, followed by underwater fluctuations, further validated this idea. Consequently, a large number of investors thought they had figured out the main players’ hand and decisively entered the market to gain a first-mover advantage.

Besides this rumor, the biggest reason retail investors dared to enter with large orders was the stock’s immense popularity. After the second primary rally doubled the price and the profit potential became evident, there was no shortage of retail investors willing to jump in.

Those who had been trapped and crushed before might never return; even if they wanted to, they had no money left after cutting their losses.

However, the A-share market now has one hundred million investors. The total number of Shandong Juli’s shareholders was not even a fraction of a fraction of the entire A-share investor base.

As long as the stock demonstrated profit potential and maintained its popularity, even if everyone participated with the mentality of “supporting it with one lot,” the sheer size of the A-share investor base would provide enormous liquidity.

Around 10:45 AM, the Shanghai and Shenzhen market indices began to rally.

However, Shandong Juli did the opposite, breaking through its intraday trading range and widening its decline to -6.29%. But as soon as it plummeted, the sell-off was absorbed. Retail investors believed the main players were intentionally suppressing the price to avoid a suspension next Monday. As long as today’s deviation didn’t exceed 20%, they expected great things next week—a huge profit.

Meanwhile, in the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong was staring at a screen displaying Shandong Juli’s intraday chart. When the stock’s decline reached -6.29%, it suddenly shot up five percentage points to the -1.25% level, then instantly dropped back three percentage points to the -4% level.

During the price dive, numerous retail investors scrambled to snap up shares.

The Chief of the Suicide Squad was selling off his position!

Shandong Juli’s intraday chart today showed the “one-word soul-severing blade” pattern. This involves a rapid short-term pump, followed by selling at a price approximately 3% lower than the current price.

The instantaneous price drop easily attracted a large volume of buy orders, but the selling pressure seemed endless. Whenever a block of sell orders for Shandong Juli was consumed, new ones would appear, continuing until the sellers ran out of shares.

The characteristic of the one-word soul-severing blade is a rapid pump and dump. In an instant, a small number of buy orders drive the price up, attracting momentum traders. Then, the price is immediately slammed back down, which in turn attracts even more investors chasing the rise, allowing the major players to distribute their shares.

This was precisely what was happening with Shandong Juli’s intraday price action. After a split-second pump, large sell orders would always appear. Once they were absorbed, more would follow, seemingly without end.

However, Shandong Juli’s stock price didn’t drop significantly. This was because whenever there was a noticeable decline, the large funds would buy back a small portion themselves to prop up the price, giving themselves ample time to offload their holdings.

Fang Hong was quite surprised to see the “one-word soul-severing blade” pattern on Shandong Juli’s intraday chart. This sell-off technique could unload a large number of shares in a short period and was typically used for stocks with insufficient followers and poor liquidity, or during a bear market.

But this was no bear market. The market’s trading volume had even surpassed three hundred billion, meaning liquidity was very abundant.

Moreover, as the current overall sentiment leader in both markets, Shandong Juli was not lacking in liquidity. With plenty of followers and strong liquidity, they could have easily exited their position by pumping the price. Theoretically, the Helmsman didn’t need to use a flashy technique like the “one-word soul-severing blade” to sell off this stock.

But he did use it! That could only mean he had a large number of shares to distribute and wanted to offload them all today. After all, he wasn’t acting alone. Who knew how many others were following his lead, ready to advance and retreat together?

However, at this moment, the vast majority of retail investors involved with Shandong Juli saw this intraday line and actually believed the main players were suppressing the price to avoid a suspension next Monday. They thought the goal was to keep the price from rising, so they bought in even more boldly. Those who already held shares held on tight.

As time passed and the afternoon session began at 1:00 PM, Shandong Juli’s price once again shot up from underwater, rising three percentage points to a gain of +2.2%. It then instantly dropped back to the -0.58% level. The preceding intraday line looked like an EKG, a clearly abnormal pattern.

But the retail investors became even more convinced that the main players were suppressing the price.

Six or seven minutes later, the price shot up another 3.3 percentage points, surging to the +2.98% level. A few seconds later, it dropped back to near the zero-axis line. Seeing this pullback, funds once again followed the trend, piling in to snap up shares.

Those who understood this was a “one-word soul-severing blade” had already taken advantage of the surge to get out or wouldn’t enter the market at all. But there were many more who didn’t understand. These people were only thinking about the cheap shares they had scooped up and were quietly celebrating.

Those who had bought shares in the morning when Shandong Juli was down around -6% were especially happy, as they were now sitting on a floating profit of six or seven percent.

Around 1:17 PM, Shandong Juli’s price flattened out at the +0.86% level. In the trading room, Fang Hong was watching the stock’s intraday chart and immediately picked up his phone to call Cao Chenghui.

“Boss!”

“Shandong Juli’s rally is over. This stock will hit limit-down this afternoon, and it’ll be trapped in at least one more limit-down next week. Sell it off immediately,” Fang Hong said crisply, ending the call after that simple instruction.

Cao Chenghui was at his company, in his office. Upon receiving the call from his boss, he immediately logged into his trading software and switched to Shandong Juli’s intraday market data.

At that moment, the stock began another rally, and the intraday line shot up vertically like a scallion pulled from dry earth, climbing to 20.90 yuan (+3.10%), 21.13 yuan (+4.24%), 21.56 yuan (+6.36%), and 21.88 yuan (+7.94%).

Seeing this trend, many retail investors thought the price could no longer be suppressed; it was on its way to a third consecutive limit-up. For the first time, many who had entered in the morning session found themselves hoping their stock wouldn’t hit the limit-up.

But even more retail investors were unaware of the situation. Thinking it was about to hit the limit, they rushed in to snap up shares!

At the same time, just as Shandong Juli’s price surged to 21.88 yuan, a gain of +7.94%, Cao Chenghui liquidated his entire position with a single click, placing a sell order at the limit-down price.

He didn’t have time to consider the details. The boss said to sell, so he liquidated everything with one click at the limit-down price.

Cao Chenghui had invested seven million yuan to buy shares at the bottom, at a price of 10.11 yuan. With the price now at 21.88 yuan, his cumulative floating profit reached +116.41%, and the market value of his holding had soared to 15.15 million yuan.

His holdings were definitely a large block of shares. Dumping them like this abruptly halted Shandong Juli’s rally, causing the price to instantly reverse from 21.88 yuan and take a nosedive.

It wasn’t just Cao Chenghui’s order that was smashing the price. Since the stock’s gain had now far exceeded the +3% mark around 20.88 yuan, and seeing that the rally couldn’t be contained, many investors who had entered yesterday with a first-mover advantage also began to dump their shares and run, fearing a trading halt next week. This directly triggered an even steeper vertical dive.

Within about half a minute, the stock was smashed down from 21.88 yuan to the 20.39 yuan level, with the gain retracting to +0.59%.

When investors saw the price had been knocked back down near the zero-axis line again, they rushed to buy what they saw as cheap shares and loaded up.

Chapter 226: Please Don’t Drop, It’s Over, We’re Screwed

The trading volume for Shandong Juli had already exceeded 800 million. When the stock price dropped back in a straight line to near the zero-axis line, the retail investors who had sold during the sharp run-up couldn’t resist buying back in at the current price.

Their reasoning for buying back was that since they had sold during the surge, they had already secured a profit of over seven percent. With the price dropping back, it was like having a free seven-percent profit cushion. Being able to sell today was clearly due to having gained a first-mover advantage yesterday.

After a day trade, their re-entry cost basis had dropped to around 18 yuan per share. Protected by a profit cushion of more than ten percent, they figured if the stock showed weakness next Monday, they could just exit then. At worst, their profits would shrink, but their principal would remain intact.

It was this thinking that gave them the courage to jump back in.

…

“Oh yeah—”

Sitting in his office, Cao Chenghui was refreshed and delighted to see that all the shares in his account had been sold. In his eyes, the money in his account was a bonus from the Boss, just one obtained from the stock market.

Over 14.7 million yuan!

Crucially, none of it was subject to personal income tax, as the transaction stamp tax had already been levied on the stock trades.

Cao Chenghui’s average selling price for Shandong Juli was 21.26 yuan/share. After holding the stock for twelve trading days, his cumulative return was +110.28%, for an absolute profit of around 7.7 million yuan.

Regarding the distribution of this 14.7 million-plus yuan, Cao Chenghui decided to take 10 million for himself and share the rest as a bonus package with his subordinates.

He realized that to establish a firm foothold within Stellaris Capital, besides hugging the Boss’s leg and being loyal to him—which was the absolute top priority—he also needed a group of trusted subordinates who would stand firmly by his side and charge into battle for him.

When he had gone to the Boss’s house to report on his work, Cao Chenghui remembered the Boss telling him to take the kickback he received and distribute it as a bonus, but he also mentioned giving some to his subordinates. This made him realize he couldn’t keep all the money for himself.

More important than this was the underlying message. Cao Chenghui sensed that the Boss was implicitly encouraging him to build his own team. Although he wasn’t sure of the Boss’s exact intentions, since the Boss had suggested it, he was all the more determined to do so.

To get a group of people to charge into battle and become his reliable allies, he had to share tangible benefits. Cao Chenghui mulled it over and concluded that the big boss’s intention was for him to step up. With a reliable team to assist him, he would be better equipped to handle bigger and more important tasks in the future, and even take charge of projects independently.

…

Meanwhile, in the stock market, trading had entered the late session at 2:00 PM. There was only one hour of trading left.

After selling the stock, Cao Chenghui didn’t rush to close the trading software. He had nothing else to do at the moment.

Shandong Juli continued to trade flat at around +0.50%. At 2:16 PM, the stock’s intraday line briefly surged by nearly three percent before instantly dropping back down. The entire intraday chart was riddled with sharp peaks.

The intraday high of 21.88 yuan, in particular, stood tall like a spire. Many people who had bought at that price were now stuck, growing anxious as the price refused to climb. But anxiety was useless.

At this moment, the comments on the stock’s forum were exceptionally lively.

[Full position. Be greedy when others are fearful.]

[Hold steady, hold steady for me, dammit! Don’t run it up any further. Best to close around 2 percent. We’ll take off directly next week!]

[Coughing up blood! I can’t believe how strong you are. I missed out on two huge profit opportunities. Looking back now, I have a fear of heights and don’t dare to buy. Sigh~]

[The Helmsman is selling off like crazy, one-word soul-severing blade! This stock is done for. Take some advice and save yourself the trouble. Anyone who can get out, run now!]

[Bullshit! The major players are obviously suppressing the price. You’re just envious because you’re in cash and talking it down.]

[Okay, okay, you’re right. The major players are suppressing the price. So why don’t you buy more? Sell your house and car and go all-in.]

[The intraday chart pattern really does look like a one-word soul-severing blade. I’ve been burned by it before, so I know this stock is about to be finished when I see this pattern.]

[Too bad no one believes it. A whole bunch of people are cursing me out, haha.]

[To be fair, they’ve already bought in. Of course they’re going to curse you for being so bearish, isn’t that normal?]

[Uh… I’m speechless.]

[The market is born in despair, grows on skepticism, and collapses in euphoria.]

[Oh, look at you, holding court on the stock forum? You’re such a master, how many points did you make?]

[Hehe, I got lucky. Followed K-God for the first primary rally wave of six limit-up days and made over 70 percent. Then I followed The Helmsman for the second primary rally. I got in on the trading day after The Helmsman first broke the limit-down, but then, just like with Spicy A-shares, I was eating noodles in the dark. I didn’t get out, though. Later, when The Helmsman bought the dip again, I decisively added to my position. There’s a saying in the community: If you don’t follow the pros from Jiefang South Road, even a god can’t make money in stocks. Today, I saw The Helmsman use his one-word soul-severing blade and got out immediately. Made another 40-plus percent on this wave.]

[Hahaha, you boasted so well I almost believed you.]

[Run! Hurry up and run! Sell your shares to me, thank you.]

[A washout is good for your health!]

[Sigh~, this is ridiculous. Well, I wish you all wealth.]

…

As time went on, around 2:28 PM, the bears in Shandong Juli finally showed their hand.

Cao Chenghui, who was staring at the stock’s intraday chart, instinctively blurted out, “Holy crap—”

Just before 2:30 PM, near the end of late trading, Shandong Juli’s intraday line, which had seemed to have strong support, suddenly began a waterfall decline. The line plunged straight down… -2.73%… -4.37%… -7.53%…

The price action sent a shiver down Cao Chenghui’s spine, but he was more excited than scared. After all, he had already gotten out. Looking at the price where he had sold, he muttered to himself in excitement, “Damn, that’s brutal. How exciting—!”

Simultaneously, the Shandong Juli stock forum and various chat groups for the stock exploded.

[It’s over, it’s over, it’s all f*cking over…]

[Please, please don’t drop!]

[Tsk tsk tsk, that’s really brutal. This isn’t a one-word soul-severing blade, this is a one-word guillotine!]

[Thanks for the risk warning, old bro. I just got out. It was a close call, so thrilling. I broke out in a cold sweat. Bro, can I add you on Q?]

[Sure, private message me.]

[To the buddy who said ‘be greedy when others are fearful,’ are you still greedy now? You fool, right?]

[I’m stubbornly holding on. Just not selling.]

[If you got in today, how the hell are you gonna get out?]

[I got out in the morning with a 5 percent loss. I still made a few points on the trade, so it wasn’t a loss. I don’t care if it goes crazy or hits a new high later.]

[Pull it up! It’s about to hit the limit-down!]

[With so many retail investors piled in, you still expect the major players to pull it up for you?]

[Oh, we’re screwed. It hit the limit-down. Over 200 million in limit-down sell orders. They don’t want to let a single person escape. Looks like it’s guaranteed to open limit-down tomorrow.]

[Spicy A-shares: This is the rhythm, this is the feeling. Now you’ve all experienced it, right?]

[Eating noodles in the dark!]

[Just place your sell order tonight. It’ll open limit-down on Monday anyway.]

…

Around 2:31 PM, Shandong Juli’s stock price fell to 18.24 yuan/share, hitting the -10.01% limit-down. In an instant, over 100,000 lots of limit-down sell orders sealed the stock’s fate.

If the price action before the plunge was a one-word soul-severing blade, then the late trading collapse around 2:30 PM was definitely a one-word guillotine.

As Shandong Juli sealed its limit-down fate, Cao Chenghui closed the trading software. All that remained was a sense of worship for his Boss, a feeling as endless and unceasing as a surging river.

Cao Chenghui shook himself, shifted his attention back to his work, and began to wait for the Boss’s next mysterious code.

Although his job at Stellaris Capital came with a pre-tax annual salary of one million, which amounted to only a few hundred thousand after taxes, the real big money definitely came from the mysterious codes the Boss occasionally provided.

As for his company salary?

He wouldn’t even care if it was one yuan a year now. He had made over 7 million from the Shandong Juli trade alone. Adding the kickback money he received as a reward, and after subtracting the amount he planned to share with his subordinates, Cao Chenghui himself would be enjoying 10 million.

Moreover, the 50ETF wealth code had also made him several million, and the Boss hadn’t said to sell yet, which meant it could still go higher.

Adding in the profits from following the Boss in the market on previous occasions, Cao Chenghui’s net worth was now approaching 20 million. He knew very well that he had attained all of this by latching onto his Boss, which had completely changed the trajectory of his life.

…

Chapter 227: The Emotionless Wealth-Harvesting Machine

Around 5 PM, Cao Chenghui, in high spirits, clocked out from work with great satisfaction. The company’s official hours were nine to five.

However, the company’s traders and the investment research and analysis department staff all arrived at eight in the morning for their pre-market briefing, as the market would open shortly after nine.

After work, Cao Chenghui didn’t go home. Instead, he drove to a high-end residential complex on the other side of the city.

Ever since he had made his fortune, he had secretly bought an apartment here, unknown to his wife and child. Mr. Cao had bought this place to keep a mistress.

That’s right, he was supporting a beautiful lover, and this apartment was where she lived.

Cao Chenghui’s worship of his Boss stemmed not only from his god-like trading technique in the stock market but also from his lifestyle.

He was particularly impressed and prostrated himself in admiration after visiting the Boss’s pleasure mansion and witnessing it firsthand. His Boss’s harem was so harmonious and stable; Mr. Cao had pondered for a long time but could never figure out how his Boss managed to hold that scene together.

However, Mr. Cao knew he couldn’t compare himself to his Boss. In any case, he wouldn’t dare let his wife and child know about his mistress, much less bring her home.

So, he could only hide her away.

You have to spend and enjoy the money you earn, right? You can’t just let it depreciate in the bank. What’s the point of making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?

He never had the means before, but now that he did, Mr. Cao realized he was just an ordinary man after all.

But he had no intention of divorcing his wife; the thought had never even crossed his mind.

As the saying goes, don’t abandon the wife who shared your humble beginnings. He couldn’t just cast aside the wife who had gone through thick and thin with him just because he’d become successful. If he were forced to choose, Cao Chenghui would undoubtedly choose the wife who had stood by him through all the hardships.

Even if his wife wanted a divorce, Cao Chenghui himself would never agree.

His mind was clear on this. He knew it would be detrimental in every way. Not only would it be bad for his children’s upbringing, but turning on the one who was with you from the start the moment you made it big was a sign of forgetting your roots—an extremely despicable act.

Most importantly, Cao Chenghui knew this would lead to another, more severe consequence: unhesitatingly abandoning the wife who had weathered storms with him would plant an irretrievably foul impression in his Boss’s mind.

If you can cast aside the wife who went through thick and thin with you without the slightest hesitation, then what does your Boss mean to you? If the price is right and the benefits are sufficient, wouldn’t you backstab him just as easily?

One could only imagine the consequences of leaving such a terrible impression on his Boss. Could he still hope to gain his Boss’s utmost trust and be entrusted with important responsibilities in the future?

He could dream on!

Cao Chenghui knew that his young Boss was a monstrously talented prodigy. Trying to play mind games with him, with the meager tricks he had up his sleeve, was simply not enough. Only sincerity and honesty were foolproof.

Although his Boss had once joked that if he followed him, he could change wives once a year, Cao Chenghui knew it was clearly a joke and absolutely not to be taken seriously. He wouldn’t even dare to test it, for fear that one try would be his last.

While Cao Chenghui was secretly having a tryst with his young mistress, he was unaware that his name had appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List. When investors saw that the trading seat of K-God’s apprentice, “Weathered Salted Fish,” was on the list, they took notice.

The person himself had all but vanished from the Tianya Forum. After introducing K-God, he had never logged into that account again.

So, investors flocked to Fang Hong’s K3478 Weibo account to leave messages.

Today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, and the overall sentiment leader, Shandong Juli, was on it. The top seller’s seat was occupied by none other than The Helmsman, who had furiously sold off more than two hundred million yuan worth of shares.

The Helmsman had basically finished distributing his shares over the past two days, making a massive profit of over one hundred million yuan. His use of the “one-word soul-severing blade” to sell off his position was executed to perfection, on full display during intra-day trading.

The second seller’s seat was listed as “For institutional use only,” with sales amounting to over thirty-six million yuan.

Cao Chenghui’s brokerage branch office also had a spot. He was in the fourth seller’s seat, and the data showed a net sale of over 14.7 million yuan.

Once this Dragon-Tiger List data was released, the Shandong Juli stock forum completely exploded. All the major players had run, and they had run so thoroughly.

Anyone who bought in today felt a chill run down their spine. In truth, even before the Dragon-Tiger List came out, they already had a bad feeling when Shandong Juli hit limit-down during trading hours. They just hadn’t been willing to accept that they were the ones left holding the bag, still clinging to a sliver of hope.

Even some retail investors who had sold at the highs today were now numb. They had quickly bought back in, thinking they had successfully used a day trade to significantly lower their cost basis, but they never imagined the stock would actually hit its limit-down.

Although they had brought their cost basis down to around eighteen yuan, still leaving a tiny bit of profit, and today’s limit-down hadn’t yet eaten into their principal, they knew it was only a matter of time. Next Monday, the stock would surely open deep in the red, or even open at its limit-down.

This was especially terrifying after seeing the previous stock that went from limit-up to limit-down, followed by five consecutive limit-downs. The memory alone made them want to die.

Today was practically another heaven-and-earth board. For the retail investors who chased the stock when it was up nearly eight percent, they had essentially eaten a full limit-up to limit-down drop. The key was that this might only be the beginning; the subsequent plunge was what would be truly despair-inducing.

…

The weekend arrived.

Saturday morning.

Fang Hong logged into his Weibo account and found his private messages had exploded again. The recent comments under his latest post were all related to Shandong Juli.

After reading for a while, he finally understood why.

It turned out that Cao Chenghui’s trading seat had appeared on Friday’s Dragon-Tiger List. Investors all knew that “Weathered Salted Fish” from the Tianya Forum and K-God were master and apprentice; Cao Chenghui had introduced himself as such in his original post.

Furthermore, when investors saw “For institutional use only” in the second seller’s seat on the list, while K-God’s apprentice was in the fourth seller’s seat, they assumed the institutional account belonged to K-God.

Fang Hong glanced at the private messages and comments. Realizing he hadn’t posted on Weibo in over half a month since he exited Shandong Juli at the 27.50 yuan mark, he decided to compose a new post:

[Everyone’s saying the second institutional seat on Shandong Juli’s Dragon-Tiger List is me. I haven’t touched that stock since I sold it last time. We’ve been in an index-driven market recently, and over 90% of my position is in large-cap blue-chips. The index is already at 3000 points. Isn’t it tiring to keep gambling on monster stocks? Isn’t it much better to win effortlessly by holding big-ass stocks?]

After writing the text, Fang Hong took a screenshot of his returns to go with it, though he didn’t reveal his specific holdings.

[Target Stocks: 19 individual stocks]

[Daily P&L: +23.15 million yuan]

[P&L Ratio: +1.61%]

[Cumulative Return: 760.95 million yuan]

[Total Return: +108.70%]

[Total Assets: 1.46095 billion yuan]

Fang Hong glanced over it, confirmed there were no issues, and updated his Weibo account. After more than half a month of silence, he posted again, flatly denying the rumors of his re-entry into Shandong Juli.

But after the post went live, it was the latest asset figure that left the investors utterly shocked.

[My God! It’s already over 1.4 billion?]

[This growth is a little absurd!]

[The Grandmaster is incredible (voice cracking)——!]

[Last I saw, it was just over 700 million. Now it’s over 1.4 billion. Did he double it that quickly after switching to an institutional account?]

[He switched to an institutional account at the end of May. It doubled in a month and a half!]

[What’s most absurd is that he doubled such a massive amount of capital in such a short time.]

[Value investing? What value investing… Screw that.]

[I thought the Chief of the Suicide Squad making over 100 million on Shandong Juli was ruthless enough. I didn’t expect K-God to be even more so. He’s the strongest of the new generation of hot money, no problem with that, right?]

[His assets swelled by over 700 million in less than two months. He’s truly an emotionless wealth-harvesting machine…]

…

Chapter 228: Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group (210)

When everyone saw the asset performance chart Fang Hong posted on Weibo, and when they saw the asset scale of over 1.4 billion, they believed he hadn’t participated in the second primary rally of Shandong Juli.

Although the second primary rally saw the stock price more than double, its market cap was ultimately a bit too small to accommodate such a large amount of capital.

The Helmsman had jumped in with thirteen million shares, buying nearly 150 million yuan’s worth, and had a hell of a time selling off his position in the end, resorting to the “one-word soul-severing blade” to exit.

The amount of capital from a single Helmsman was already pushing it. If K-God had also bought over a hundred million yuan worth of this stock, they might have ended up trampling each other, preventing both from getting out, or at least from getting out at their target prices and profits.

Most importantly, when K-God’s fans saw his performance curve, they realized that they could earn even more by trading big-ass stocks instead of playing with monster stocks.

From starting to operate the institutional account on May 25th until now, in just two months, he had made a profit of over 700 million, doubling his capital. Only big-ass stocks with ample liquidity could generate such returns.

That was because you could build a large position in large-cap stocks. One percentage point of profit-taking in a large-cap stock was equivalent to six or seven points, or even more, in a small-cap stock.

Thinking about it this way, the retail investors felt that given K-God’s skill in trading large-cap index movers, and the fact that he had already made a huge profit of nearly 200% from the previous wave, there was indeed no need for him to compete with The Helmsman for a piece of the action.

Monday, July 13th.

When the A-share market opened today, Shandong Juli was, as expected, sealed at a limit-down, opening at the limit. The stock price fell to 16.41 yuan, with a total daily trading volume of only 25.85 million yuan. The ones who took the last baton had to pay the bill for everyone else’s party.

As for the indices, the broader market corrected again today, losing the 3100-point mark and closing down -1.07% at 3080.56 points.

In the afternoon, at the headquarters of Stellaris Capital.

Inside the CEO’s office, Hua Yu looked at Fang Hong and said, “On Saturday morning, I met with Wang Qingxiong, the Chairman of the Board of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. I once again proposed to acquire their ancient formulas and the ‘Yisheng Tang’ brand, but he rejected it again.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong let out a chuckle and said with an air of ease, “That’s to be expected. Hengtong spent so many years buying up those ancient formulas just to shelve them, so they could sell more profitable drugs.”

In Wang Qingxiong’s eyes, a medicine that could cure an illness for a small amount of money was not a good medicine. The good ones were those that treated the symptoms but not the root cause, the ones you were fine on but couldn’t live without once you stopped taking them.

Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group’s great effort over the years to collect those formulas wasn’t to promote them, but to keep them out of circulation.

However, the group’s Yisheng Tang, an old and established brand, was very famous and was genuinely a conscientious traditional Chinese pharmacy. It had experienced old physicians who saw patients in-house, and the brand’s reputation was excellent. It also had a group of capable Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners under its umbrella.

This was because Wang Qingxiong needed to use the Yisheng Tang brand to cover up his true objective. To put it bluntly, he wanted to be a whore while demanding a monument to his chastity.

But that was his genius. If you accused him of deliberately shelving ancient TCM formulas or suppressing TCM, he would just point to Yisheng Tang for you to see.

In reality, one only needed to look at Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group’s revenue structure to see the fox’s tail. Yisheng Tang’s revenue accounted for a mere 3.16% of the company’s total, not even five percent.

And what was brilliant about Wang Qingxiong was that he would emotionally declare to the public that TCM wasn’t profitable and constituted a very small part of the group’s business, but the legacy of their ancestors could not be discarded. So even if it didn’t make money, they had to keep it going and support it, which was why Yisheng Tang must continue to operate, and so on and so forth.

It sounded reasonable and convincing, and it won him considerable praise from the public.

Ordinary people truly couldn’t see through it.

Just then, Hua Yu’s assistant, Yue Qing, walked in and sat down on a vacant sofa nearby. She brought a file with her, which contained materials on Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

Yue Qing opened the file, skimmed it for a moment, and then said, “Hengtong Pharmaceutical was founded in 1998. The company’s current scope of business includes: the sale of proprietary Chinese medicines, chemical drug preparations, antibiotic preparations, biochemical drugs, disinfectants, health foods, dairy products, Chinese medicinal materials, prepared slices of Chinese crude drug, chemical raw materials, antibiotic raw materials, biological products, pharmaceutical packaging materials and containers, and pharmaceutical excipients; as well as the retail of Class I and Class II medical devices.”

“Last year, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group achieved an operating income of 28.439 billion yuan, with total taxes and fees of 457.97 million yuan. It is the second-largest private enterprise in Xincheng, second only to Huayang Group. It ranks among the top three of nearly ten thousand pharmaceutical distribution enterprises nationwide and is currently number one among private pharmaceutical distribution enterprises. It has been listed among the top 500 Mainland enterprises for five consecutive years.”

“As of the first half of this year, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group has total assets of 18.193 billion yuan, registered capital of 1.5 billion yuan, and 12,513 employees. It has over 80 subsidiary companies and 876 directly-operated and franchised retail pharmacies.”

“This is the report compiled from the due diligence conducted on the company so far.” After giving a brief overview, Yue Qing handed another copy of the file to Fang Hong. He took it, opened it, and after looking through it for seven or eight minutes, he quickly noticed some key information in the report.

Fang Hong immediately looked at Hua Yu. “Is Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group in trouble now?”

Hua Yu nodded. “They are indeed in trouble, and it’s not a small one. Over the past three years, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group has expanded extremely rapidly, and the global financial tsunami that erupted last year has also had a major impact on the group. Wang Qingxiong is facing big problems right now.”

Fang Hong looked at the report again and said, “Elaborate.”

Hua Yu continued, “The problem began five years ago, in February 2004. To accelerate Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s expansion, Wang Qingxiong brought in external capital. At that time, Zhongtai Capital invested 1.35 billion for a 30% stake, becoming the second-largest shareholder. After receiving financial backing, Hengtong Pharmaceutical entered the fast lane of accelerated expansion.”

An investment of 1.35 billion yuan was an astronomical figure at the time, and it would still be an astronomical figure a decade later. Back in 2004, it was undoubtedly worth even more. At the time, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group was given a valuation of 4.5 billion.

Hua Yu paused for a moment before adding, “While Zhongtai Capital brought Wang Qingxiong funds, it also shackled him, forcing him to expand desperately. This is because the two parties signed a ‘betting agreement’ clause. If, for reasons not attributable to Zhongtai Capital, Hengtong Pharmaceutical was unable to go public within five natural years after the investment, Zhongtai Capital had the right to exit Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group via a buyback.”

Hua Yu immediately added, “Strictly speaking, it’s not a ‘betting agreement clause’ but a ‘share repurchase clause’.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded as if talking to himself. “In other words, when Hengtong Pharmaceutical raised funds in 2004, Wang Qingxiong and Zhongtai Capital had already explicitly agreed that if Hengtong couldn’t go public within five years, it would have to buy back the shares held by Zhongtai Capital. And according to this due diligence report, it must also guarantee a reasonable return for Zhongtai Capital…”

Hua Yu immediately said, “According to the reliable information I’ve obtained, in the agreement signed back then, Zhongtai Capital demanded an annual compound return of about 45%. In other words, for Zhongtai Capital’s original investment of 1.35 billion yuan, they are now demanding an exit with a principal and interest totaling at least over 8 billion yuan this year. Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group needs to fork over 8 to 8.3 billion to buy back the 30% stake held by Zhongtai Capital.”

This was equivalent to a five-fold return on investment.

When they bought the shares, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group was valued at 4.5 billion. This meant that for Zhongtai Capital to sell its stake and receive a five-fold return on its original investment as stipulated by the agreement, the difference would have to be compensated by the proceeds from Wang Qingxiong selling his own shares.

Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group’s current total assets are around 18 billion yuan, with net assets of about 10.2 billion yuan. Even if valued based on net assets, Wang Qingxiong would have to sell 39.7% of his own shares to compensate Zhongtai Capital.

After a moment, Hua Yu spoke again, “It’s July now. Five and a half years have passed since the deadline of their agreement. Zhongtai Capital has already granted a six-month extension, but that deadline has now been reached. We can basically declare that Hengtong’s IPO plan has failed. You could say that Wang Qingxiong is now completely in Zhongtai Capital’s grasp. It all just depends on whether Zhongtai Capital decides to initiate the series of procedures outlined in the agreement.”

Whether they’ll initiate it? Was there even a question?

It is in capital’s nature to chase profit. The current situation was that Hengtong Pharmaceutical was a fish on Zhongtai Capital’s chopping block.

Fang Hong closed the file, looked at Hua Yu, and said decisively, “Since Wang Qingxiong is being stubborn and won’t sell Yisheng Tang and the ancient formulas in his hands, then we’ll just acquire Hengtong Pharmaceutical and kick him out.”

As soon as he said this, both Hua Yu and his assistant, Yue Qing, were stunned. Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group was the second-largest enterprise in Xincheng. An acquisition worth tens of billions would be a massive event in Xincheng’s business circle, and it would be a major acquisition even on a national scale at this time.

Chapter 229: Less Than Two Billion Is Enough to Acquire Hengtong

Inside the CEO’s office at Stellaris Capital headquarters.

Fang Hong paid no mind to their shocked expressions and continued, “Get in touch with the people at Zhongtai Capital. Stellaris will take over the Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group shares they hold. We need to complete the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical in a blitz.”

Seeing the determination his immediate boss was showing, Hua Yu realized he was truly set on swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical whole. He immediately said, “Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s assets are valued at over eighteen billion. Our current liquidity might not be enough. Should we cash out from the capital market to free up liquidity?”

Hua Yu figured that if Stellaris Capital was serious about acquiring Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, they would most likely have to cash out from the external capital markets to bring in a sum of money.

Fang Hong shook his head calmly. “No need. To take down Hengtong, less than two billion is more than enough.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu instantly understood how he planned to play it. It was the same approach they used for the High-Tech Industrial Park project in the northern suburbs of Xincheng: establish a subsidiary, pledge one hundred percent of its equity to a financial institution in exchange for cash flow, then launch a private equity fund to raise more capital. Finally, Stellaris Capital would put up a small portion of its own hard cash as the subordinated tranche. The leader would take the subordinated position while the followers took the senior. If there were losses, Stellaris’s money would be the first to go.

This way, they could pool the funds needed for the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical. This strategy indeed didn’t require much money—or rather, it didn’t require Stellaris Capital to put up much of its own money for the acquisition. Instead, it was about using other people’s money to buy other people’s companies.

The game of capital was to use other people’s money whenever possible and your own as little as possible.

At that moment, Fang Hong considered for a moment before speaking, “When you approach Zhongtai Capital, offer to buy the thirty percent stake in Hengtong Pharmaceutical they hold for 3.56 billion, but split the payment into two parts.”

Hua Yu was surprised. “Split it into two parts?”

Fang Hong nodded. “That’s right. Otherwise, why would Zhongtai Capital sell to me? The net value of that thirty percent stake is 3.06 billion. We have to make Zhongtai Capital see that selling to me is how they maximize their benefit.”

Hua Yu immediately asked, “How should we do it, specifically?”

Fang Hong explained, “First, we’ll set up a shell company. We’ll use this shell company to buy the thirty percent stake in Hengtong Pharmaceutical held by Zhongtai Capital for 3.06 billion. We’ll transfer the other five hundred million to another shell company’s account. Then have Zhongtai Capital set up a shell company of their own, and we’ll use that five hundred million to buy it or do an equity swap. The legal risks must be properly isolated.”

Without proper risk isolation, it would become an improper benefit transfer. However, evading the potential legal risks wasn’t difficult.

The moment Hua Yu heard his big boss’s plan, he understood. Zhongtai Capital would certainly sell its thirty percent stake to Stellaris, because it meant they would earn an extra five hundred million.

Moreover, for a transaction of this magnitude, there weren’t many players with the capacity to take it on. Zhongtai Capital would inevitably choose Stellaris Capital.

The purpose of splitting the transaction was to avoid an equity premium. According to the series of agreements signed between Zhongtai Capital and Wang Qingxiong, the difference would need to be compensated by the proceeds from Wang Qingxiong selling his own shares.

From a legal standpoint, these would be two separate and unrelated transactions. Zhongtai Capital’s equity transfer of its Hengtong Pharmaceutical stake to Stellaris Capital for 3.06 billion yuan would be a standalone deal—perfectly legitimate, legal, and compliant, with no issue of selling assets at a low price.

The other five hundred million would be a separate transaction between Stellaris Capital and Zhongtai Capital, having nothing to do with Hengtong Pharmaceutical. But in reality, Zhongtai Capital would pocket an extra five hundred million.

If the transaction wasn’t split, and they bought the thirty percent stake for 3.56 billion, it would be a five-hundred-million-yuan premium. According to their agreement, Wang Qingxiong would need to cover a difference of 4.54 billion yuan, allowing Zhongtai Capital to exit with 8.1 billion in principal and interest.

But by removing that five-hundred-million-yuan premium and buying the thirty percent stake for 3.06 billion, Wang Qingxiong would need to cover a difference of 5.04 billion yuan according to their agreement. Zhongtai Capital would then actually exit with 8.6 billion in principal and interest, earning an extra five hundred million.

Procedurally, however, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t be buying the thirty percent stake in Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group directly from Zhongtai Capital.

According to the series of agreements between Zhongtai and Wang Qingxiong, with Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s dream of going public now shattered, it was required to buy back Zhongtai Capital’s stake. The company needed to come up with an exorbitant 8.1 billion yuan to repurchase that thirty percent stake.

There was absolutely no way Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group could come up with that much money now. What could be done? The only path left for Wang Qingxiong was to sell his own shares to make up the difference. Currently, Wang Qingxiong held an absolute majority of sixty-seven percent of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

The company itself needed to pay 3.06 billion to buy back the thirty percent stake, but it didn’t have that much liquidity. The only way was to bring in new capital through external financing.

This created a new problem.

In the current environment of a global financial crisis, capital was in a contraction cycle. What investor would be willing to provide financing at a time like this?

What’s more, Hengtong was mired in a host of other troubles. Fearing they’d get bogged down in the mess, investors would surely keep their distance. Times were already tough; they would steer as far clear of a problematic project like this as possible.

This was precisely the moment for Stellaris Capital to make its entrance. And Wang Qingxiong would have absolutely no bargaining power. Stellaris Capital was paying an extra five-hundred-million-yuan premium to Zhongtai Capital, and Fang Hong wasn’t about to take that loss himself. He would inevitably claw it back from Wang Qingxiong.

How? By suppressing the price of Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s assets, of course. That included suppressing the control premium. Getting more equity for less money would offset the premium paid to Zhongtai Capital. In any case, a world where both Zhongtai Capital and Stellaris Capital were the chopper and Wang Qingxiong and Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group were the meat on the block was destined to happen.

From the moment Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s dream of going public was shattered, the final fate of Wang Qingxiong and the company he founded was already sealed.

A lightning-fast hunt for Hengtong Pharmaceutical was about to begin.

The plan to take over Hengtong was finalized by Fang Hong on the spot. He laid out the details for Hua Yu to execute, then left Stellaris Capital.

As the big boss left, Hua Yu’s assistant, Yue Qing, couldn’t help but say, “This hunt set up for Wang Qingxiong, this three-step strategy, the thought process is so meticulously clear. I suspect your young boss had this plan to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical whole from the very beginning. I originally thought he was just a stock market genius, but I never imagined he could play the capital operations game at such a high level. To think it could be played like this… he’s as formidable as he is ruthless.”

“This acquisition is bound to cause a sensation throughout the business world. My father was right; there’s a considerable gap between him and me,” Hua Yu said with emotion. He glanced at Yue Qing and added, “If he wasn’t ruthless enough, wasn’t formidable enough, how could he have grown Stellaris Capital to its current scale in such a short time?”

A moment later, Hua Yu instructed, “You arrange the schedule. I’ll personally make a trip tomorrow to talk to the leader of Zhongtai Capital. Also, you immediately begin executing the first step of the three-step strategy to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical.”

His assistant nodded and left the office to make the arrangements.

The entire three-step strategy was an exquisite scheme, with each part interlinked.

The first step was to prepare the necessary funds for the acquisition. Stellaris Capital valued Hengtong Pharmaceutical at 9.2 billion yuan, about ten percent lower than its normal valuation—a clear move to suppress its value for the acquisition.

They decided to spend 8.1 billion yuan to acquire an eighty-eight percent stake in Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. To gather these funds, they would first establish a shell company called “Ruihe.” As the name implied, the shell company had nothing.

Then, they would pledge one hundred percent of Ruihe’s shares to a financial institution, swapping them for forty-seven percent of their 8.1 billion yuan valuation, which amounted to around 3.8 billion yuan.

Why could an empty shell company be leveraged for such a staggering sum?

The financial institution wasn’t looking at the shell company, but at the credit and strength of Stellaris Capital behind it.

Next, Stellaris Capital itself would contribute 1.62 billion yuan in hard cash, serving as the project’s subordinated tranche. Any losses would hit Stellaris’s money first. Why? Because higher risk meant higher returns and greater benefits.

Finally, they would launch a private equity fund to raise another 2.68 billion yuan externally. This would all be senior tranche funding, with lower risk but also relatively lower returns.

Thus, with 1.62 billion of their own money, plus 2.68 billion from the private equity fund, plus the 3.8 billion from the pledge, they would have assembled the 8.1 billion needed for the acquisition.

…

Chapter 230: Reaching a Consensus (4/10)

The next afternoon, Hua Yu left Xincheng and flew to the city where Zhongtai Capital was located. He didn’t even stop at his hotel to rest after landing, heading straight to Zhongtai Capital’s headquarters for a visit.

“Are you serious?”

In the VIP room at Zhongtai Capital’s headquarters, its leader, Liu Qizheng, looked at Hua Yu in considerable shock. They had been meeting for about ten minutes, and Hua Yu didn’t beat around the bush, getting straight to the point and laying out his intentions.

Before Hua Yu could speak, Liu Qizheng added, “President Hua, didn’t I hear that your company recently, uh… lost a lot of money?”

Hua Yu laughed heartily. “I’ve already said those are just rumors. I won’t be modest at this point. Whether in the Mainland capital market or the overseas markets, my Stellaris Capital has made a killing. If I didn’t have the financial muscle, would I dare come all this way to pull your leg, President Liu?”

Hearing this, Liu Qizheng also laughed to lighten the mood but then said with a hesitant expression, “Frankly, this is all a bit too sudden…”

At that moment, Hua Yu cut in, “Sudden is good, President Liu. We have to be quick. If we’re too slow, who knows, I might just lose it all again someday.”

Liu Qizheng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. “You’re joking, President Hua.”

The implication was easy to understand: Stellaris Capital wanted to get this deal done quickly. There was no time to dawdle. They were offering a premium of 500 million, and the payment would be incredibly fast. He needed a straight answer—was it a deal or not?

If not, they’d move on.

Liu Qizheng had heard about the recent affair between Stellaris Capital and several major domestic entertainment companies. In the end, it was the entertainment companies who were begging Stellaris to buy. Knowing Stellaris’s usual style, they really might just walk away.

Most importantly, the plan Hua Yu proposed was excellent. Not only would it allow Zhongtai Capital to earn an extra 500 million—pure profit—but even more significantly, there was a buyer willing and able to take over.

Zhongtai Capital could quickly cash out 8.6 billion, fill its coffers, and make a smooth exit. Offloading such a massive amount of capital was no easy task, especially in the current market environment where the financial tsunami was ravaging the globe. Finding a buyer willing to pay an astronomical sum of over 8 billion to take over was truly difficult, and finding one who could make a swift cash payment was even rarer.

With Stellaris Capital approaching them directly, they knew that if they let this opportunity slip by, they might never find such a generous buyer again.

Although Stellaris Capital had recently been caught in a “going bust” controversy, it now seemed that those were indeed just rumors. The efficiency with which they wired money to the major domestic entertainment companies was enough to see the whole picture. It proved that Stellaris Capital was not short on cash and had extremely ample liquidity.

“President Hua, how does your company plan to acquire Hengtong Pharmaceutical?” Liu Qizheng also spoke frankly. They were both intelligent men. Stellaris Capital was clearly aiming to acquire Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, and Hua Yu hadn’t bothered to hide it.

Both sides understood that this was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Zhongtai Capital sought an exit, while Stellaris Capital sought entry. This was a world where only Wang Qingxiong would get hurt.

This was a detail that could be disclosed, and it also required Zhongtai Capital and Liu Qizheng to play a crucial role as intermediaries in this acquisition plan.

Hua Yu spoke methodically, “For this transaction, my Stellaris Capital will not be acquiring Hengtong’s equity, only its assets. It saves worry, effort, and trouble. We can’t be bothered with due diligence.”

Liu Qizheng couldn’t help but smile. “As it should be. After all, for a deal this large, risk control must be thorough.”

Typically, acquiring a company involves an equity acquisition, meaning you directly take over its shares.

However, the equity acquisition model has a massive potential problem: the company you acquire might be riddled with debts, especially hidden debt. You have no way of knowing how much debt is lurking beneath the surface.

Due diligence often can’t uncover it all.

If Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group turned out to be saddled with a pile of hidden debt, Stellaris Capital would be left holding the bag like a huge sucker.

To mitigate this potential risk, Fang Hong opted for an asset acquisition. Stellaris would not acquire the equity of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group—Wang Qingxiong could keep that for himself. Stellaris would only acquire the company’s assets. In other words, they would buy everything valuable from Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group and leave the remaining mess for Wang Qingxiong.

This kind of operation is known as “swapping the bird in the cage,” and it was the second step in the strategy to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole.

How would this “swapping the bird in the cage” work?

The shell company “Ruihe” that Stellaris Capital established was created precisely to take over the acquired assets of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. They would all be consolidated into Ruihe, which would then undergo an asset restructuring.

For example, take Yisheng Tang, a subsidiary of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. Its most core assets are the three characters “Yisheng Tang” and its Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners. After the acquisition, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group would no longer own the rights to use the “Yisheng Tang” brand. Fang Hong’s plan was to have the shell company create another controlled shell company, then simply rename that shell company to Yisheng Tang. Meanwhile, the original Hengtong Pharmaceutical would no longer be able to use the brand.

Once the “swapping the bird in the cage” step was complete, the assets of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group would be merged into Ruihe. At that point, Stellaris Capital would hold an 88% stake in Ruihe, while Wang Qingxiong would only own 9%, with other small shareholders holding the remaining 3%.

As for Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group itself, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t own a single share and would have no connection to it whatsoever. Wang Qingxiong would remain the largest shareholder of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group with a 67% controlling stake. However, by then, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group would be nothing but an empty shell and a mess, as all its valuable assets would have been moved to Ruihe.

And what would the reality be?

At that point, Ruihe would be the new, true Hengtong. But Wang Qingxiong would only own a 9% stake in Ruihe. In effect, he would have gone from being the majority shareholder with 67% absolute control to a minor shareholder. In Ruihe, he wouldn’t just lack absolute control; he wouldn’t even have the right to call a shareholders’ meeting, as that requires a stake of over 10 percent.

“President Hua, in that case, here’s to a pleasant cooperation.” In the VIP reception room, Liu Qizheng considered it for a moment longer before making his decision. With that one sentence, he made his stance clear. The two parties had reached a consensus in their very first meeting.

Stellaris Capital would get what it wanted by swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. Zhongtai Capital, after a three-year investment of 1.35 billion, would make a smooth exit with 8.1 billion in principal and profit, also getting what it wanted.

Over the next two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, the market finished its correction and continued its upward trend. It was still a market where the elephants were dancing, with heavyweight blue-chip stocks leading the index to one new high after another.

The Shanghai Composite Index surged by +2.10% on Tuesday, closing at 3145.16 points. On Wednesday, it rose again by +1.38%, closing at 3188.55 points, a new high for the year, and an end-of-day price that was near its peak for the session. The market’s trading volume once again broke the 300 billion mark.

Shortly after the market closed, Fang Hong arrived at the Stellaris Capital headquarters again.

In the CEO’s office, Hua Yu was holding a print newspaper from that day. Print media still existed, but the impact of the internet wave on traditional newspapers was obvious.

Hua Yu handed the newspaper to Fang Hong with a smile. “Zhongtai Capital moves fast. It looks like they’ve already started putting the squeeze on Hengtong.”

Fang Hong took the Xincheng Business News. The headline on the front page was exceptionally striking: “Wang Qingxiong: Bringing in Zhongtai Capital Was a Catastrophic Mistake for Hengtong Pharmaceutical.” This clickbait-style article spread rapidly within the industry.

The article described, according to an inside source, that after Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s dream of going public was shattered, Wang Qingxiong had become quite critical of the investor, Zhongtai Capital. The article even quoted his complaints: “They (Zhongtai) didn’t provide much support for Hengtong’s development, yet they diluted so much equity for so little money. Bringing them in was a catastrophic mistake for Hengtong.”

The report further revealed that Wang Qingxiong had also complained that he had wanted to buy out this investment six months ago, but Zhongtai Capital’s required return was too exorbitant, and the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.

The conflict between Hengtong Pharmaceutical and Zhongtai Capital was now exposed to the public. Wang Qingxiong’s few words of discontent had sparked immense attention from the outside world.

Sitting on the sofa, Hua Yu said, “After it became a headline in Xincheng, perhaps because the public reaction was so huge, Wang Qingxiong became worried about the negative impact it might have on him. At noon today, when he was interviewed by the media again about the matter, he clarified, stating: ‘The rumors are untrue. Zhongtai Capital has great faith in us, and that was the basis for their investment in Hengtong. The P/E ratio they gave was also very high. At the time, Zhongtai’s offer was double that of other investors…’”

Hearing this, Fang Hong looked at the newspaper and said calmly, “Wang Qingxiong’s contradictory statements clearly reveal his conflicted state of mind. He wants to vent his frustrations publicly but is afraid of being misinterpreted by the outside world in a way that would be even more detrimental to him. Heh… to still be holding onto illusions at this stage… it’s already too late.”

Chapter 231: Wang Qingxiong is Completely Finished This Time

When Fang Hong arrived at Stellaris Capital, another rumor about Hengtong Pharmaceutical was circulating.

It claimed that if Hengtong Pharmaceutical failed to complete its IPO this year and had to resort to an acquisition, the exit for investors would become unpredictable. To guarantee a smooth exit, Zhongtai Capital had set up a safety net clause: if the company failed to go public, the founders would have to buy back Zhongtai Capital’s shares at five times the return on investment, ensuring the investors could cash out successfully.

The moment this rumor surfaced, it created a huge stir.

Since the end of 2007, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had been scrambling to list on the A-share market. The series of clauses in their agreement acted like a tightening band around Wang Qingxiong’s head, forcing him to accelerate the IPO process.

In early 2008, Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group formally submitted its listing application to the A-share main board. However, considering the number of companies in the queue and the lengthy review process, going public before 2009 was already a race against time.

However, the unexpected happened. The financial tsunami that swept the globe last year meant that after Hengtong Pharmaceutical submitted its application, the materials were effectively shelved.

After a year of fruitless effort, the door to an A-share listing was closed.

Following the rejection from the A-share market, Zhongtai Capital, citing the betting agreement they had signed, demanded that Wang Qingxiong buy back their shares at a high price as stipulated.

Wang Qingxiong felt he was taking a massive loss as well. Under the circumstances, both sides were dissatisfied, and tensions had been building for the past six months.

Still, Wang Qingxiong endured it and negotiated with Zhongtai Capital, hoping for a six-month extension.

After successfully securing the additional six months, Wang Qingxiong settled for his next best option and began pursuing an H-share listing in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours.

After six months of effort this year, the attempt to list on the H-share market could also be declared a failure.

Now, there was absolutely no way Zhongtai Capital would grant Wang Qingxiong another extension. They had only given him the previous six months because they hadn’t found a third party to take over.

But things were different now. Stellaris Capital had jumped in, proclaiming their willingness and ability to take over. Zhongtai Capital, of course, did not hesitate to choose an exit with both principal and interest.

As for what would happen to Hengtong Pharmaceutical and Wang Qingxiong, Zhongtai Capital couldn’t care less.

Hua Yu stood up, retrieved a document from his desk, and handed it to Fang Hong. “I met with Liu Qizheng, the helmsman of Zhongtai Capital, and obtained more specific details about the series of clauses in the agreement. With Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s failed IPO, a domino-like chain reaction will be triggered, activating the liquidation preference clause, the share repurchase clause, and the drag-along rights clause they signed with Zhongtai Capital.”

In private equity financing, it was natural for founders and investors to sign a list of investment agreement clauses, ranging from a dozen to several dozen. In the game between entrepreneur and investor, if the investor held the dominant position, they would impose all sorts of constraints on the founder to protect their own investment interests.

To put it bluntly, an investor’s money was not easy to get. Even if you got it, it came at a high price and with significant potential risks.

If an entrepreneur fell into a trap set by the investor without realizing it, how they were handled later was entirely at the investor’s whim.

Hua Yu stated with absolute certainty, “Wang Qingxiong is completely finished this time.”

Fang Hong glanced over the report, which detailed the liquidation preference clause, share repurchase clause, and drag-along rights clause that Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had signed with Zhongtai Capital.

After a moment, Fang Hong looked up with newfound respect. “Zhongtai Capital plays a slick game. These three clauses, in particular, are interlinked. Once one is triggered, it’s a chain reaction. Wang Qingxiong is truly finished. He’s fish on the chopping block, and that’s set in stone.”

The Liquidation Preference Clause

If Hengtong Pharmaceutical triggers a liquidation event, the Series A preferred shareholders, i.e., the investor (Zhongtai Capital), have precedence over the common shareholders, i.e., the founding shareholders (Wang Qingxiong), to receive a return of five times the initial purchase price per share.

“Liquidation” here did not refer to the typical bankruptcy liquidation due to insolvency. It extended further: if the company was merged, acquired, sold a controlling stake, or sold its primary assets, resulting in the existing shareholders holding less than 50% of the surviving company’s equity, that would also be considered a liquidation event.

In down-to-earth terms, if Hengtong were to sell its equity, Zhongtai Capital’s shares would be sold first, and Wang Qingxiong would have to wait in line behind them.

The Share Repurchase Clause

If a majority of Series A preferred shareholders (Zhongtai Capital) agreed, Hengtong Pharmaceutical would be required to repurchase the outstanding Series A preferred shares over three years, starting from the fifth year. The repurchase price would be equal to the original issue price plus any declared but unpaid dividends.

Of course, the trigger for the share repurchase could also be a specific time-based event stipulated by the clause, rather than a vote by the preferred shareholders. For example, if the company failed to achieve an IPO within five years, the share repurchase clause would be triggered.

Not only had the five-year period passed, but it had also been extended by six months. Without a doubt, Hengtong Pharmaceutical had already triggered this clause due to a time-based event.

The Drag-Along Rights Clause

Before Hengtong Pharmaceutical was eligible for an IPO, if a majority of Series A preferred shareholders (Zhongtai Capital) agreed to sell or liquidate the company, the remaining Series A preferred shareholders and all common shareholders must agree to the transaction and sell their shares at the same price and on the same terms.

All three of these clauses had now been triggered, leaving Wang Qingxiong as meat on a platter.

The liquidation preference clause meant Zhongtai Capital could sell first; this was the first link. The share repurchase clause ensured Zhongtai Capital could exit with principal and interest even if the IPO failed; this was the second link. The drag-along rights clause meant Zhongtai Capital could sell its stake in Hengtong Pharmaceutical to whomever it chose, and Wang Qingxiong had to accept the deal.

Zhongtai Capital now wanted to sell to Stellaris Capital, and there was nothing Wang Qingxiong could do. Most importantly, the key was the “drag-along” aspect. This meant that whoever Zhongtai Capital sold to, Wang Qingxiong also had to sell his shares at the same price and on the same terms, because any shortfall would have to be compensated by Wang Qingxiong selling his own equity. This was the final link.

Caught in this interlocking chain of clauses, Wang Qingxiong had no control over his own fate. From the moment the IPO failed, he could no longer decide the future of Hengtong Pharmaceutical. He was completely in Zhongtai Capital’s grasp.

Fang Hong put the document aside and said immediately, “Quickly package up a portfolio of debt and put it onto the shell company Ruihe’s current balance sheet. Throw in some of your Huayang Group’s non-performing asset packages as well.”

Hua Yu nodded and asked bluntly, “How much?”

Fang Hong pondered for a moment before replying concisely, “Let’s package about twenty billion.”

Hua Yu nodded again. “Understood.”

Packaging twenty billion in debt or non-performing assets into Ruihe was, of course, for the third step of the strategy to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. This third step, devised by Fang Hong, was to completely oust Wang Qingxiong—the most ruthless part of the entire scheme.

After completing the second step, the “Swapping the bird in the cage” strategy, all of Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s valuable assets were moved to the shell company Ruihe. At that point, Stellaris Capital would hold an eighty-eight percent stake in Ruihe, while Wang Qingxiong would still hold nine percent, with the remaining three percent belonging to other small shareholders.

Though a minority shareholder compared to Stellaris Capital, Wang Qingxiong, with his nine percent stake, was still the company’s second-largest shareholder and retained a significant say.

After acquiring Hengtong Pharmaceutical, Fang Hong planned to conduct a massive restructuring of Ruihe. The biggest obstacle would undoubtedly be the second-largest shareholder, Wang Qingxiong. The first thing on Fang Hong’s mind was not the restructuring itself, but completely kicking Wang Qingxiong out first. Otherwise, he would constantly voice his dissent. Even if he couldn’t actually block the plans, he could be a persistent annoyance.

Fang Hong was absolutely convinced that Wang Qingxiong would do just that. After all, from his perspective, how could he willingly accept the company he had founded and built being swallowed by Stellaris? How could he not harbor resentment?

For instance, Wang Qingxiong could use his status as the second-largest shareholder to demand an audit of the books, incite the few small shareholders to call for a shareholders’ meeting, propose to dissolve the company, and so on. Procedurally, they would have to play along and go through the motions with him.

Although such attempts would ultimately fail, they would be a nuisance.

Therefore, he had to be forced out completely. The game of capital markets is not so black and white.

As a rational person, Fang Hong’s choice was to be ruthless in this matter, to take everything and leave nothing behind, ensuring no potential risks remained.

Fang Hong felt no psychological burden for being so merciless. This was the reality of the capital markets. Besides, Wang Qingxiong himself was no saint, so his fate did not deserve any sympathy. That made the decision even easier.

…

Chapter 232: Wiped Clean

As for how to completely kick Wang Qingxiong out of the picture, Fang Hong had already set the stage. The series of clauses Zhongtai Capital signed with Wang Qingxiong were all interlinked, just like the interlocking steps of Fang Hong’s three-step strategy to annex Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

This third step of the strategy was to finally kick Wang Qingxiong out and wipe him clean.

Stellaris Capital’s plan for this annexation was meticulously arranged. The first step was to suppress the valuation of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. The company had total assets of about eighteen billion and net assets of about 10.2 billion. Ultimately, its assets were acquired at a valuation of 9.2 billion. They would certainly not touch Hengtong’s equity or its mess; they only wanted the assets, which ensured they wouldn’t be left holding the bag with a pile of debt.

Wang Qingxiong had no choice. Who told him to sign the drag-along rights clause with Zhongtai Capital? And who told him Zhongtai’s chosen buyer was Stellaris Capital?

According to the drag-along rights clause, Wang Qingxiong had to sell to Stellaris Capital along with them.

Stellaris Capital held an 88% stake in Ruihe, making it the actual controller with absolute power. Control comes with a premium, typically ranging between 25% to 35%.

So why was there no control premium for Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s assets, valued at 9.2 billion? Because Stellaris was buying Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s assets, not its equity. The control of Hengtong Pharmaceutical was still in Wang Qingxiong’s hands; he had absolute control over the company, so of course, there was no question of a control premium.

Not only was the control premium gone, but the price was also about 10% lower than the company’s net asset value. Between one thing and another, Wang Qingxiong was essentially selling his shares at a 30% discount.

But was kicking Wang Qingxiong out with a 30% discount enough? Far from it. Fang Hong wanted him out with a “broken-bone” discount.

At that point, Wang Qingxiong would still hold a 9% stake in Ruihe. To get him out completely, the usual method would be to buy back his shares directly. But he would undoubtedly demand an exorbitant price. Fang Hong wasn’t about to let him raise the price on the spot.

So, how would it be done?

That was the third step of the strategy to annex Hengtong: a judicial auction of Ruihe!

The first step had already laid the groundwork for the third. Stellaris Capital had pledged 100% of the shell company Ruihe’s equity to financial institutions to swap for 3.8 billion in cash. After completing the second step, Stellaris Capital held 88% of Ruihe’s equity, making it the largest shareholder with absolute control.

Then, Ruihe would simply contact the bank, send them an official notice or something, and say that the company now had over two hundred billion in liabilities and bad assets. They had no money, so they couldn’t repay the 3.8 billion owed to the bank. They had no choice but to default!

In industry jargon, this is called a technical default.

Good grief!

The bank would look at this handsome young lad and think, “You’re not paying me back, and you’re this cocky about it?”

So, they would immediately sue Ruihe and put 100% of Ruihe’s equity up for public judicial auction.

Once the process entered a judicial auction, Wang Qingxiong’s 9% stake, already discounted by 30%, would be discounted yet again—a discount on top of a discount. It would be a broken-bone discount, plain and simple.

When Ruihe’s 100% equity was pledged to the bank, it was given a valuation of 8.1 billion. Now that it was going to a judicial auction, the court would enforce a discount.

In a judicial auction, the first round is typically held at 70% of the appraised value. Seventy percent of 8.1 billion is 5.67 billion.

If there were no bidders in the first auction and it failed, the next step would be a forced sale, with a price reduction of no more than 20% of the previous starting price. Assuming the second auction offered another 15% discount on the 5.67 billion base price, the bidding price would be 4,819,500,000.

And Fang Hong’s strategy was to let the first auction fail and then make his move during the second auction at the discounted price of 4.8 billion.

How would he make his move?

Simple. He would have another of Stellaris Capital’s alt account companies pay 4.8 billion to acquire 100% of Ruihe’s equity. He was certain the auction would fail and wasn’t afraid of anyone competing with Stellaris for the prize because, before triggering the judicial auction process by having Ruihe technically default on the bank loan, he had already stuffed Ruihe with two hundred billion in debt.

And he had done it all in a perfectly reasonable, legal, and compliant way, with no legal loopholes to be found.

With a two hundred billion liability and bad asset package sitting inside, who would dare to snatch this piece of meat?

If someone actually dared to jump in and bid halfway through, Fang Hong wouldn’t fight them. He’d let them win the bid and then immediately demand payment on the two hundred billion debt. “Pay me my money!”

He would earn a clean two hundred billion, and in the end, Ruihe would still effectively fall into Stellaris’s hands. Such a good deal was a rare find.

Therefore, the reality was that, apart from Stellaris Capital, no one in the entire market would dare to bid. Anyone other than Stellaris’s alt account company who came forward would be a huge sucker.

Once the alt account company acquired it for 4.8 billion, it would own 100% of Ruihe’s equity. Wang Qingxiong would be completely out of the picture, not owning a single share. Not only would the company have nothing to do with him anymore, but he would also have exited not with a premium, but with a broken-bone discount.

In this scheme, Wang Qingxiong had absolutely no chance to object. This carefully orchestrated trap was set for him long ago. He had to jump, whether he wanted to or not. Once he fell into Zhongtai Capital’s first pit, the series of pits that followed were unavoidable. He could only accept his fate of being bled dry once by Zhongtai Capital, only to be bled dry again by Stellaris Capital.

With the auction concluding at a price of 4.8 billion, Wang Qingxiong’s 9% stake would only fetch him 432 million. He had single-handedly founded Hengtong Pharmaceutical, pouring over a decade of his heart and soul into it, growing its assets to over eighteen billion. Had he continued smoothly, he could have surely reached a scale of fifty billion or even larger, and perhaps even a hundred-billion-level enterprise in a decade.

But now, the final fate awaiting Wang Qingxiong was to be kicked out with 432 million. To an ordinary person, it was an astronomical sum, but to a tycoon like Wang Qingxiong, it was nothing more than a bit of charity from the capital world after a crushing defeat. In his eyes, what he received wasn’t 432 million, but shame.

Back in the CEO’s office at Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong pondered for a moment before speaking in a grave voice, “After Wang Qingxiong is out, he will inevitably become an object of sympathy. Stellaris Capital, on the other hand, will be cast as the villain, a cruel capital group that bleeds Mainland entrepreneurs dry. That can’t happen.”

At this, Fang Hong looked up at Hua Yu and instructed, “We can’t let Wang Qingxiong become an object of sympathy. The world needs to know that he’s a man who has reaped what he sowed and that this outcome is what he deserves. Go dig up some dirt on him. If you’re going to hammer him, hammer him to death so he has no chance of ever getting back up.”

A chill ran down Hua Yu’s spine. The big boss usually appeared as harmless as any other young man, but when it was time to get serious, he was both decisive and ruthless. As the saying goes, a kind heart is no good for command.

After a moment, Hua Yu replied, “It won’t be difficult to dig up dirt on Wang Qingxiong. Just the fact that he shelved ancient formulas, publicly supported TCM while privately suppressing it, and made that outrageous statement that ‘a good medicine is one that causes problems if you stop taking it but is fine if you keep taking it,’ is enough to completely ruin his reputation and make him a pariah hated by all.”

Leaking this information would certainly cause Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s downfall, but it wouldn’t affect Stellaris Capital. They were only annexing Hengtong Pharmaceutical’s assets, while the equity, including the Hengtong brand itself, was a mess left entirely for Wang Qingxiong.

Yisheng Tang, the former sub-brand of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, might be somewhat affected, but its association with the parent company wasn’t very strong, so the impact wouldn’t be too significant.

What Fang Hong valued most were the Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians who conducted consultations in Yisheng Tang’s various stores. Truly skilled TCM physicians are incredibly hard to cultivate and are an extremely scarce and precious resource.

Just then, Hua Yu changed the subject, adding, “However, if that happens…”

He trailed off, seeming hesitant.

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.

Hua Yu turned his head. “Come in.”

Fang Hong looked over as well. The office door opened, and two women walked in. Hua Yu’s assistant, Yue Qing, led another woman into the office.

“Mr. Fang, this is the applicant for your assistant position, Tian Jiayi. She has already passed our interview process. Since you happened to be in the company, I brought her over,” Yue Qing said with a smile.

Having passed the company’s interview, she was practically one in ten thousand, but she still needed to pass Fang Hong’s final interview.

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately shifted his gaze to Tian Jiayi, sizing her up for a moment.

She was dressed in a summer shirt and a half-skirt, her attire simple, smart, and of high quality. The V-neckline added a touch of authority. Her ponytail was tied high. Her overall appearance lacked the rawness of a newcomer but also avoided being so overly mature as to seem stuffy. Instead, she projected the image of a composed and capable intellectual with the air of a sophisticated older sister.

As Fang Hong observed Tian Jiayi, she was also looking at him, feeling utterly astonished. For a moment, she wondered if Hua Yu’s assistant was playing a joke on her.

Clearly, she had not expected her potential direct superior to be such a young… new boy?

Such a thought was quite normal. After all, judging by appearances alone, someone of Fang Hong’s age should absolutely not be in such a position.

But seeing the respect Hua Yu and his assistant showed him, Tian Jiayi realized this was no joke. Looking closer, she seemed to sense a unique quality about Fang Hong, or perhaps the aura of a superior.

Hua Yu’s assistant handed a file to Fang Hong—it was Tian Jiayi’s resume.

At this, Fang Hong withdrew his gaze and accepted the file, opening it to have a look.

[Tian Jiayi, 26, born in 1983, PhD graduate this year…]

Fang Hong’s eyes immediately lifted from the resume. He glanced at Tian Jiayi with a hint of surprise. Most people with a master’s degree were around twenty-seven, yet she had obtained her doctorate at twenty-six. It was a testament to her outstanding ability; even graduating with a PhD at thirty would be considered very young.

She was an elite, one in ten thousand, who combined looks, figure, ability, and talent.

Fang Hong returned his gaze to the resume. Her family background was not illustrious, but they were a middle-class family. Her father was a high school teacher, and her mother worked at a bank.

After a quick scan, he closed the file. Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi again and said with a smile, “Very good. You’re hired. You’ll be working with me from now on.”

…

Chapter 233: The Shocked Tian Jiayi

Tian Jiayi was slightly stunned. She hadn’t expected to be hired without saying a single word in the final interview. She had prepared meticulously, organizing her thoughts and speeches, but it all turned out to be for naught.

Still, getting hired so smoothly wasn’t a bad thing.

She quickly recovered and said politely, “I’m deeply honored to be offered this job. Thank you!”

Yue Qing immediately brought over a prepared agreement and handed it to Tian Jiayi, saying, “Sign this, and you’ll be part of the company’s executive management. The company’s core commercial secrets will be open to you.”

Tian Jiayi took the agreement and sat down to carefully review its contents. It wasn’t an employment contract, but rather a collection of clauses for a non-disclosure agreement, a non-compete agreement, and the like.

She read it word by word. In truth, she had already seen the template and was skilled enough to confirm there were no issues without needing a lawyer, which spoke to her excellent capabilities.

She was rereading it now to reconfirm that the final document was consistent with the template and didn’t contain any newly added traps.

There were many clauses; after all, this wasn’t a hiring for a regular employee. It would take Tian Jiayi some time to review them all.

“…Where were we?” Fang Hong asked, looking at Hua Yu. He didn’t seem to mind Tian Jiayi sitting to the side reading the agreement. Upon hearing this, she immediately said, “Gentlemen, I haven’t signed the agreement yet. Perhaps I should step out for a moment.”

Fang Hong turned his head to look at Tian Jiayi, who was also sitting on the sofa in the lounge area. “No need,” he said. “Just focus on your reading. If everything looks good, sign it. Don’t worry about what we’re discussing.”

With him saying that, Tian Jiayi had no choice but to continue reading the rest of the agreement.

Seeing this, Hua Yu knew the big boss was certain she would join as his assistant, so there was no need to hide certain things from her. He immediately picked up the topic of Wang Qingxiong, saying, “Digging up dirt on Wang Qingxiong shouldn’t be too difficult, and we don’t need to worry about him making a comeback later…”

As Tian Jiayi was reading the agreement, she heard every word of their conversation. A flash of astonishment crossed her eyes, but since her head was down, focused on the document, she quickly regained control of her expression.

But inwardly, she was utterly shocked.

Wang Qingxiong?

Could it be that Wang Qingxiong, one of Xincheng’s most famous and wealthiest men, the founder and Chairman of the Board of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals?

In this office, she was absolutely certain that any mention of the name Wang Qingxiong had to refer to the helmsman of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals.

Stellaris Capital wants to take down Wang Qingxiong?

She never would have imagined that before she even signed her name, she would overhear such an explosive piece of information.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong acted as if Tian Jiayi wasn’t there. Hearing Hua Yu’s words, he understood the underlying meaning and retorted, “Are you saying you focus on the issue, not the person? Or are you implying that if you have dirt or I have dirt, someone could expose us in the same way in the future? So, you want to take out an insurance policy for yourself? If I don’t go after your people, you’ll also focus on the issue and not me if I’m ever in trouble?”

Hearing this, Hua Yu fell silent, tacitly admitting it.

Tian Jiayi also remained silent. She couldn’t avoid hearing their words, but she could only pretend she hadn’t, keeping her head buried in the agreement.

Fang Hong said flatly, “That’s just wishful thinking. If there’s dirt that can truly destroy you, they will dig until you’re buried. Even if there’s no dirt, they’ll find a way to fabricate facts, stopping at nothing.”

At this point, Fang Hong glanced at Hua Yu and added, “What kind of skeletons do you have in your closet? It’s nothing more than that little matter.”

Hua Yu: “…”

Yue Qing, who was also in the office, happened to overhear this as she brought over two glasses of water.

Both Hua Yu and Yue Qing suddenly felt awkward. Although the big boss hadn’t specified what “that little matter” was, they both knew he was referring to their little matter.

In fact, both Hua Yu and Yue Qing knew the big boss was likely aware of the situation between them. A prodigy like him could surely see through it with his sharp eyes and judgment.

But Boss, can’t you be a little less direct? How are we supposed to respond to that?

Of the four people in the office, only the newcomer, Tian Jiayi, had no idea what “that little matter” referred to.

Fang Hong suddenly smiled and continued, “And what kind of dirt could I possibly have? It’s just that sort of thing, and that doesn’t even count as dirt. Since when is loving everyone considered a scandal?”

Hua Yu: “…”

Yue Qing: “…”

Tian Jiayi was filled with confusion. It felt like they were speaking in riddles. She was curious, but she knew this was definitely not the time for her to speak.

President Hua was speechless, but he couldn’t help complaining internally: Leave it to you, Boss, to describe ‘that sort of thing’ in such a refreshingly refined way!

But on second thought, Hua Yu felt he had a point. In fact, the big boss’s words made perfect sense. His own business with his female assistant wasn’t a huge deal, and since the big boss knew and hadn’t said anything, it was clearly tacit approval. So what was there to worry about?

As for the big boss’s business at his pleasure mansion, Tranquil Heart Residence, that couldn’t even be considered dirt. Hua Yu knew that the big boss was legally single.

That was just dating.

Aside from those filled with envy, jealousy, and hate who might morally criticize him as tacky or having low-brow tastes, there was nothing that could have a substantial impact on him. Besides, the other parties involved had never said a thing.

After thinking it through, Hua Yu realized his immediate boss truly didn’t have any dirt that could substantially affect him. Compared to others who carried the “original sin” of their pasts, he was like a beacon of purity.

At the very least, the big boss was too young. Youth had its advantages. Dirt needed time to accumulate, time to build up. From that perspective, older people would naturally have more of it.

However, Hua Yu felt that with the big boss’s shrewd-to-the-bone risk awareness, as an extremely sharp and rational person, getting him to leave behind any kind of dirt would be next to impossible.

At that moment, Fang Hong leaned back against the sofa and said to himself, “In this circle, there’s no room for a gentleman to survive, so one cannot be a gentleman. Of course, one certainly cannot be a villain either, because villains always meet a miserable end.”

Fang Hong looked at Hua Yu and added with a chuckle, “…One must position oneself between a gentleman and a villain. To put it bluntly, it’s just the art of grasping propriety and handling things perfectly. As Confucius said: ‘The Doctrine of the Mean has reached its apex!’ The Doctrine of the Mean is the ultimate path, there is nothing to add to it.”

Upon hearing this, Hua Yu nodded to himself with a look of enlightenment. “Understood.”

At this very moment, another flash of surprise crossed the eyes of Tian Jiayi, who was sitting nearby reviewing the agreement. A hint of disbelief showed deep within her gaze, as she realized that Hua Yu’s attitude toward Fang Hong had been that of a subordinate the entire time.

Wasn’t Hua Yu the leader of Stellaris Capital?

Who was Fang Hong, then?

Why would Hua Yu be so respectful and humble toward him?

What role did Fang Hong play at Stellaris Capital?

These questions filled Tian Jiayi with immense curiosity. She knew that as soon as she signed the agreement, her questions would soon be answered.

A moment later, Fang Hong looked at Hua Yu again and said, “You want to raise your gun barrel by an inch for others, hoping they’ll do the same for you if you’re ever in a crisis. That’s putting your life in someone else’s hands, letting them decide your fate based on their mood.”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong said with an air of ease, “Build up your own muscles until they’re formidable. When they see you as a behemoth, even if they have dirt on you, would they have the guts to expose it?”

In truth, Fang Hong knew that Hua Yu wasn’t really worried about his own dirt. To be precise, he was more concerned about his family’s history. Although their “transformation” had been very successful, their origins weren’t as pure and clean as Fang Hong’s, carrying none of that “original sin.”

Fang Hong’s words brought Hua Yu a sudden epiphany. Indeed, the ultimate answer was to become so strong, so massive, that even if someone knew your weakness, they wouldn’t dare expose it.

Hua Yu nodded again, the doubts in his mind quickly fading away.

As time passed, the two of them more or less finished their discussion about Hengtong Pharmaceuticals and Wang Qingxiong.

A few more minutes later, Tian Jiayi finally looked up at the others. Yue Qing, who was sitting beside her, immediately asked, “Do you have any questions?”

Tian Jiayi shook her head. “No, I have no objections to any part of the agreement.”

With that, she signed the series of agreements on the spot, officially becoming Fang Hong’s assistant.

After she and Yue Qing exchanged copies of the agreement for their records, Yue Qing smiled at Tian Jiayi and said, “Let me reintroduce you to Mr. Fang Hong. Born in 1988, he is twenty-one years old and currently a junior at Xincheng University. Of course, his most important identity is as the founder and actual controller of Stellaris Capital. In other words, he is our mutual boss.”

…

Chapter 234: Hua Yongming: This Fang Hong is Unassailable (810)

In fact, Tian Jiayi had already vaguely guessed Fang Hong’s identity as the ultimate big boss. But to have it confirmed by Yue Qing was still a great shock.

Who would have thought that the true helmsman behind Stellaris Capital, a company that had risen so abruptly in the business world in recent years, would be so ridiculously young?

And Hua Yu, the public face and leader of Stellaris Capital, was not the true number one but the number two. He actually had to answer to a twenty-one-year-old youth operating from behind the scenes.

It was unbelievable just to think about it.

Who would believe something so utterly absurd? And yet, this absurd thing was the truth.

To think that at only twenty-one, he had already built a capital giant group worth tens of billions. In this day and age, given Stellaris Capital’s current asset scale, the term “capital giant” was no exaggeration.

Before entering this office, Tian Jiayi had never imagined that her direct superior would be five years younger than her. Suddenly, the world felt a little hard to believe.

However, after hearing the earlier conversation between Fang Hong and Hua Yu about Wang Qingxiong, Tian Jiayi realized that this boss, who was young enough to be her little brother, was by no means an ordinary person.

The things Fang Hong had said earlier were not words that someone in their early twenties could utter. The aura that emanated from between the lines gave Tian Jiayi the feeling that it could only belong to someone long accustomed to a position of power.

Possessing a temperament that didn’t match his age, and having built a capital giant group, left Tian Jiayi both shocked and bewildered. At the same time, she became incredibly curious about Fang Hong. In her eyes, her young direct superior had instantly become an enigma.

At this moment, Hua Yu’s assistant, Yue Qing, looked at Tian Jiayi and said, “As per Mr. Fang’s request, your salary will be paid to you personally by Mr. Fang, not by the company. At the company, you will only receive a symbolic salary of one yuan.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

Yue Qing added, “Mr. Fang does not hold a position in the company, so your official corporate title will be Vice President.”

The position was that of an assistant, but it all depended on whose assistant you were. As the assistant to a company’s leader, the Chairman’s assistant, your actual power was equivalent to that of a Vice President. In some areas, it even surpassed a VP’s authority, because procedurally, you could exercise certain rights on behalf of the Chairman.

As the de facto big boss, Fang Hong did not appear on Stellaris Capital’s management roster, so Tian Jiayi could only be given a Vice President position, while in reality, she would be working as Fang Hong’s assistant.

Yue Qing briefly explained Tian Jiayi’s work to her. About ten minutes later, Fang Hong left Stellaris Capital, and Tian Jiayi left with him.

As the two left the CEO’s office, Yue Qing watched them go. She closed the door, returned to the sofa in the lounge area, and complained to Hua Yu, “If Tian Jiayi hadn’t been here, he probably would have just bluntly pointed out our relationship. This boss is sometimes a little too direct.”

Hua Yu said, “Actually, this is good. I’m more inclined to believe he was telling us, in his own way, that he knows about our private office romance. He has now made his attitude clear: he won’t interfere. But at the same time, he’s also telling us that we need to be mindful of the boundaries.”

Hearing his analysis, Yue Qing couldn’t help but nod. “That makes sense. Knowing his clear stance saves us the trouble of guessing and worrying, so we won’t have to fret over it anymore.”

Yue Qing then looked at Hua Yu and changed the subject to the acquisition of Hengtong. “His three-step plan to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole has completely changed my perception of him. He is a combination of an angel investor and a devil capitalist. These two completely different traits are vividly embodied in him.”

She called Fang Hong an angel investor because she had seen how tolerant and magnanimous he was with Xu Jingren’s team at Quantum Beat and Qin Feng’s team at Stellar Universe Technology. Those investment cases were the best interpretation of the term “angel investor.”

But now, Yue Qing saw a different side of Fang Hong in his dealings with Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group and Wang Qingxiong. There was no trace of tolerance or magnanimity. One could even say he was wiping him out without the slightest hesitation. It was a foregone conclusion that Wang Qingxiong would be kicked out of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, the company he had founded.

This pharmaceutical group had assets of over eighteen billion, yet Wang Qingxiong would not only be completely forced out but would also only receive 430 million in the end. Through this matter, Fang Hong had perfectly demonstrated the side of a “devil capitalist.”

Yue Qing found it hard to imagine how the traits of an angel investor and a devil capitalist could both be so perfectly embodied in him.

At this, Hua Yu said with a sigh, “That’s what makes him so formidable. He can effortlessly switch between ruthlessness and benevolence. When he needs to be ruthless, he shows his ruthless side. When he needs to be benevolent, he shows his benevolent side. This is both what makes him formidable and what makes him worthy of admiration.”

Speaking of which, Hua Yu looked at his lover and assistant and added, “To use my father’s evaluation of him, Fang Hong is a person who has truly grasped the essence of moderation and mastered it completely. This person is unassailable.”

“Unassailable?” Hearing such high praise, Yue Qing was surprised but not entirely convinced. She immediately said, “I admit he’s formidable in business games, but to say he’s unassailable, I don’t necessarily think so. His private life is quite colorful, you know. In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before this Tian Jiayi falls for him. Perhaps he’ll stumble because of women.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu chuckled and sighed. “When I was talking to my father, I expressed a similar sentiment. Guess what he said?”

Yue Qing looked curious. “What did he say?”

Hua Yu replied concisely, “Willingly debasing himself.”

Yue Qing was stunned. “Huh? Your father evaluated him like that?”

Hua Yu then calmly elaborated, “My father did indeed use that phrase, but not as a criticism. Rather, he praised his ‘willing debasement’ as a mark of his brilliance. Think about it carefully. Aren’t you afraid of a person who is so perfect they have no flaws? If this person had no influence, it wouldn’t be a concern. But what if this person’s influence is enormous and constantly expanding? That’s another story altogether.”

Hearing this, Yue Qing fell into thought.

Hua Yu continued, “Imagine if Fang Hong continues to develop at this pace. What heights will his influence reach in ten or twenty years? If, at that time, he is still a flawless, perfect man, some people might start to ask: Why has he made himself so perfect? What does he want? What is he trying to do?”

Yue Qing was taken aback. “Your father thinks he’s doing it on purpose?”

Hua Yu nodded. “This way, he has flaws, he has vulnerabilities. Most importantly, when you see an exceptionally capable person who is only obsessed with beautiful women and uninterested in other things, especially in Power, then you can rest easy. And the fact that he started indulging in such things at twenty-one makes it all the more convincing.”

After a brief pause, Hua Yu continued, “When someone says that Fang Hong’s obsession with beautiful women is a deliberate disguise, well, look—he’s been obsessed with them since he was young, consistently for decades. How could that possibly be a deliberate disguise? It’s like a villain who pretends to be a hero by doing good deeds for his entire life. How do you judge such a person? Think about it.”

At this moment, as if in a sudden epiphany, Yue Qing couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement. “I really never thought of it on that level. But thinking about it carefully, your father’s use of ‘unassailable’ to describe him is truly apt. I have no idea what he’s been through to have such an unfathomably calculating mind at only twenty-one. It’s as if even a hundred thousand schemes couldn’t fill the depths of his mind.”

In that instant, Yue Qing suddenly felt that it was no longer so incredible that he could design the three-step strategy to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole and wipe out Wang Qingxiong so thoroughly.

At this moment, she also became incredibly certain that with such a young and capable helmsman, Stellaris Capital’s future would be to grow into a towering tree, a colossal giant that would awe everyone.

After a moment, Hua Yu changed the subject. “Alright, let’s not talk about this. Time to get to work. Settle the matter of the shell company, Ruihe, as soon as possible. Zhongtai Capital has already started to move. We need to keep pace.”

At this point in time, a major priority for Stellaris Capital was to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole.

…

Chapter 235: A Rewarding Wealth Code (910)

Meanwhile, Fang Hong left the Stellaris Capital headquarters with his newly hired assistant, the beautiful and mature Tian Jiayi.

As they stepped outside the office building, Fang Hong stopped, turned his head to Tian Jiayi, and suddenly asked, “How much cash liquidity can you access right now?”

Tian Jiayi was puzzled but answered quickly, “A little over twenty thousand yuan. President Fang, why do you ask?”

As she spoke, she looked at Fang Hong with feigned curiosity.

She had just graduated with her doctorate not long ago, so, strictly speaking, this was her first official job. Although she came from a middle-class family, Tian Jiayi obviously hadn’t accumulated any wealth of her own yet. Having over twenty thousand yuan was already quite good.

She could ask her parents, but she didn’t want to do that.

Fang Hong smiled. “To pay your salary, of course.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi’s face once again showed confusion. She couldn’t understand the connection between her salary and the amount of cash she had on hand.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Fang Hong added, “The way I pay salaries is a bit… special.”

Tian Jiayi asked curiously, “Special?”

Fang Hong looked away and started walking again. His private car was parked by the roadside, the chauffeur having waited for some time. As Fang Hong walked slowly toward the car, he said, “I won’t be paying you a single cent in salary. Instead, I can tell you which stocks to buy to make big money. I’ll give you the stock code, and you just use your money to buy it.”

At his words, the beautiful, mature assistant was stunned.

Tian Jiayi suddenly felt that this young boss was playing a trick on her, trying to get her labor for free while making her risk her own money.

But that couldn’t be right. It didn’t make sense. Would the helmsman of such a large company really need to freeload off a single assistant?

When the chauffeur saw Fang Hong approaching, he quickly opened the car door. Fang Hong paused at the door and looked back at Tian Jiayi, who was following him. Seeing the expression on the mature beauty’s face, he seemed to know what she was thinking and smiled. “Just work for me, and don’t worry about a thing. If you make money, it’s all yours. If you lose money, I’ll provide a safety net for you. But you can’t leak the code to anyone. Only you can buy it.”

With that, Fang Hong tilted his head, gesturing for her to get in, and then got into the car himself.

Tian Jiayi wanted to say something but hesitated. Seeing that Fang Hong was already in the car, she decided to get in first. The chauffeur closed the door and immediately drove away, heading for the Tranquil Heart Residence villa in Huayang Mountain Villa.

In the back seat, Fang Hong turned to the beautiful assistant beside him and smiled. “If you lose your principal, not only will I cover it for you, but I’ll also give you an additional subsidy equal to your unrealized loss.”

Tian Jiayi was slightly taken aback. This method of paying a salary was simply unheard of. All profits were hers to keep, but he would not only cover any loss of principal but also provide an additional subsidy for the floating loss.

That meant she would profit no matter what.

For instance, if she bought one million yuan worth of a stock and it went up by 50 percent, the five hundred thousand yuan profit would be hers. If it dropped by 50 percent, he would cover the five hundred thousand yuan loss of principal and then give her another five hundred thousand as a subsidy for the loss.

For Tian Jiayi, that would still be a net gain of five hundred thousand yuan.

Just then, Fang Hong asked with a smile, “How about it?”

Tian Jiayi did some quick mental math. If the stock she bought incurred a loss, it was equivalent to profiting from a short position. In theory, the maximum drop was -99.99 percent, since A-share market stock prices can’t fall into negative territory, so the downside was limited. Assuming she invested one million yuan and it dropped by the maximum of -99 percent, the subsidized floating loss would mean she would earn nine hundred ninety thousand yuan.

But a stock’s potential for gains was unlimited. If she invested one million and the stock price doubled, she would make one million. If it tripled, she would make two million. If it rose sixfold, she would make five million.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi met Fang Hong’s gaze and said with a lovely smile, “I profit if it goes up, and I still profit if it goes down. It seems I have no reason to refuse a deal where I can’t possibly lose. In that case, you can’t go back on your word, okay~”

Her last sentence carried a subtle, almost coquettish tone, using her natural feminine charm to close the distance between them.

Of course, Tian Jiayi believed that since Fang Hong dared to say it, he would honor his word. Why would the big boss pulling the strings of a capital group worth tens of billions try to scheme her out of a salary that amounted to a few hundred thousand a year?

…

Huayang Mountain Villa, Tranquil Heart Residence.

As the two entered the main gate of the villa and walked toward the house, Fang Hong glanced at Tian Jiayi and said, “I generally don’t go to the office unless something major comes up. Your job is to act as a bridge. Yue Qing will tell you the specifics later.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay.”

Fang Hong continued, “Later, go find the house manager and pick an empty room. From now on, while you’re working for me, you’ll live here.”

Tian Jiayi was surprised and couldn’t help but look at the approaching mansion.

Live here from now on?

That made sense. The boss was staying behind the scenes for now, and as his personal assistant, it would be convenient for her to live in his house.

Tian Jiayi nodded again. “Okay, got it.”

A moment later, Fang Hong asked, “Can you get at least one million yuan in liquid cash?”

Tian Jiayi shook her head honestly and said, “Being your assistant is my first official job. I have basically no savings yet. About one hundred thousand is my limit.”

Fang Hong looked at her and laughed. “Just one hundred thousand would be a waste of a good market opportunity and the wealth code I’m giving you. How about this? Don’t go around trying to borrow money and dealing with people’s attitudes. The boss will support you with one million. Working for me, you don’t need to—and you aren’t allowed to—worry about what other people think. The only one you need to please is the boss.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and giggled. She looked at Fang Hong with a beaming smile and said, “Your words are making me feel incredibly flattered.”

“Haha…” Fang Hong chuckled and said, “Oh, right, one more thing. Don’t use the polite ‘you’ and all that. Formality is for outsiders, and by deciding to hire you, I’m not treating you like an outsider!”

At his words, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but flash a smile and nod lightly.

She found this young direct superior to be quite easy to get along with. Tian Jiayi felt that working for him in the future would be a very pleasant experience, and she began to look forward to the job.

“I’ll have the house manager wire one million to your account in a bit. When you get it, buy the recent IPO stock, Dongfang Yuhong,” Fang Hong said, recalling something. He continued, talking to himself, “This stock is currently trading around twenty-six yuan…”

After a moment, Fang Hong turned back to his beautiful assistant and smiled. “Now isn’t the best time to get in. There should be a better price point in a while. Keep an eye on it. When the stock drops below twenty yuan per share—a drop of about -25 percent—go in with a full position and hold for the rise.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay, I’ll remember that.”

Fang Hong added, “For the target stock Dongfang Yuhong, you can expect a target price of eighty yuan over the next ten months. When it hits that price, you can sell. You should be able to cash out with a threefold profit.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi’s beautiful eyes flashed with astonishment. She looked at Fang Hong, stunned, and said, “You mean it can triple in value by around April of next year?”

Fang Hong smiled. “More or less. Just buy it, you won’t go wrong.”

Tian Jiayi stared at him for a long time, sensing an almost absolute confidence radiating from him—as if it was a certainty that this stock would triple within ten months.

The beautiful assistant was extremely curious about the source of his confidence. Or could it be that Stellaris Capital was planning to act as the market maker for Dongfang Yuhong?

Investing one million yuan and selling after it tripled would mean an expected net profit of three million yuan. Tian Jiayi was both shocked and excited. She knew that if she were to receive a normal salary for her assistant position at Stellaris Capital, it would be around eight hundred thousand yuan a year. Including other benefits, it would come to about one million a year, but she would still have to pay taxes. Her actual take-home income would only be around six hundred thousand.

But earning three million from the stock market was not only four or five times that amount but was also tax-free.

Fang Hong said with a smile, “As long as you work for me, I’ll reward you with at least one stock that doubles in value every year.”

Tian Jiayi put her thoughts aside and replied with a joyful smile, “Thank you for your generosity, President Fang. With such great treatment, I’d be willing to work for you for a lifetime.”

Fang Hong gave a leisurely smile and a nod without replying. They continued chatting as they walked, and after rounding a corner, they passed by the heated outdoor swimming pool.

Before she could see the pool, Tian Jiayi heard the sounds of several women playing and laughing from that direction. A moment later, she stared in astonishment at the women in the pool, their voices as pleasant as the chirping of orioles. Their good looks and figures were in no way inferior to her own, and each had her own unique charm, all vying for attention.

“Bro Hong is back”

“Wanna come for a swim with us?”

“Good afternoon, Bro Hong!”

The girls in the pool saw Fang Hong and greeted him with beaming smiles. There were five people in the outdoor pool at that moment: He Xuan, who was on summer break; Yifulei; the pair of beautiful sisters, Lin Yan and Lin Yun; and the new housemaid, Luo Lan, who had just started three days ago.

Tranquil Heart Residence now employed four housemaids.

“You guys have fun, I’ve still got things to do,” Fang Hong said with a smile to the girls. However, the girls in the pool quickly noticed the unfamiliar woman by his side.

He Xuan, his young girlfriend, asked in surprise, “Who’s this pretty big sister? Is she a new maid you hired?”

Fang Hong said, “This is Tian Jiayi, my business assistant. Today is her first official day, which means she’s also officially moving into Tranquil Heart Residence.”

Hearing this, He Xuan’s face lit up. “Welcome to our family, big sister! Let me introduce everyone…”

He Xuan immediately introduced herself to Tian Jiayi and then introduced Yifulei, Luo Lan, and the other girls. The newly arrived beautiful assistant, still in a state of bewilderment, greeted them and got acquainted.

Afterward, as she followed Fang Hong toward the house, she silently observed her young boss from behind, not expecting him to have this side to him.

He was quite… a player.

She was even more amazed by He Xuan. Tian Jiayi didn’t detect any hint of displeasure from her. To let her own boyfriend be surrounded by a bevy of beauties—she was either incredibly broad-minded, or there was more to the story.

In any case, at that moment, Tian Jiayi felt the same way the house manager, Yu Qiu, had when she first started her job.

…

Chapter 236: No Comparison, No Pain

Tranquil Heart Residence, living room.

Upon entering the house, Fang Hong saw the house manager, Yu Qiu, in the living room and called her over. “Xiao Yu,” he instructed, “this is Tian Jiayi, my work assistant. She’ll be living at Tranquil Heart Residence from now on. First, take Xiao Tian to pick out a vacant room, and while you’re at it, transfer one million yuan to her bank card.”

Standing beside him, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but inwardly grumble when she heard her boss’s words, especially the way he addressed her. Xiao Tian? He’s clearly a newbie five years younger than me…

The name felt a little odd to her.

Setting aside their professional relationship, he was, chronologically speaking, her “little brother” boss. Being addressed like that by someone five years her junior gave Tian Jiayi a strange feeling…

“Alright,” Yu Qiu replied with a smiling nod.

The two women then introduced themselves to each other, both speaking quite politely.

Fang Hong wasn’t concerned. There was plenty of time; once they got to know each other better, they wouldn’t be so formal.

Yu Qiu led her to the second floor, where Tian Jiayi quickly chose a vacant bedroom. She then left Tranquil Heart Residence to cancel the lease on her apartment and bring over all her luggage.

Starting today, she would be living and working in this luxurious villa.

Late that night.

Tian Jiayi came out of her bedroom, planning to get a cold drink from the refrigerator downstairs. Her room came with a small fridge, but since she had just moved in that day, it was completely empty; she had forgotten to stock it with water and drinks.

Just as she reached the ground floor, the drowsy Tian Jiayi headed toward the kitchen, where the refrigerator was located.

But at that moment, she faintly heard some sort of noise coming from that direction. Her muddled mind cleared considerably. Pricking up her ears, she listened carefully and confirmed there was indeed a sound. A flicker of curiosity on her face, she walked forward.

Soon, she saw two figures next to the refrigerator. The door was half-open, and in the partial light spilling out from inside, Tian Jiayi got a clear view of their profiles.

A man and a woman, with the woman in front, her back to the man. They were locked in an embrace.

Tian Jiayi’s beautiful eyes flew wide open. She quickly raised a slender hand to cover her mouth, standing frozen for about six or seven seconds. When she snapped out of it, she carefully backed away, then tiptoed upstairs, trying her best not to make a sound. All the way up, her pretty face was a mask of utter shock and surprise.

Once she was back in her room with the door closed, Tian Jiayi finally lowered her hand. Stunned, she muttered to herself, “Him and her…”

She never imagined she would stumble upon something like this on her very first day. The beautiful assistant’s heart pounded, and she couldn’t calm down. The scene she had just witnessed replayed over and over in her mind.

Meanwhile, by the refrigerator on the first floor.

Fang Hong raised a hand to cup her delicate chin, turning it to the left for a kiss. But as her face turned toward him, he was stunned to see who it was. He lowered his voice, “Xiao Yu? Why is it you? This…”

At that moment, Yu Qiu gazed at Fang Hong behind her. Hearing his words, she replied in a soft, whispery voice that was both coy and resentful, “You said Yifulei’s name just now on purpose… didn’t you?”

Fang Hong fell silent for a few seconds. The look of astonishment on his face gradually faded as he met her gaze. He didn’t answer her question. Instead, he calmly countered, “And you were the one being deliberate by staying silent and not reacting, right?”

Yu Qiu hadn’t expected him to ask that. The crucial point was that he had hit the nail on the head. Flustered, she quickly averted her gaze and stammered, “Th-that’s not true… You’re talking nonsense…”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but grin mischievously at her. “Heh heh, you can’t even speak straight, and you still deny it? Do you even believe that yourself?”

“I…” Yu Qiu was speechless. After a moment, she tried to change the subject. “Please, just let me go back to my room. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Giving up halfway isn’t my style. That’s a bad habit,” Fang Hong stated, not moving an inch. He seemed completely unswayed. “We’ve come this far, so let’s see it through to the end. You have to finish what you start, you know?” he added.

Seeing that he had no intention of letting her go, Yu Qiu started to get anxious. She looked back at his face in the dim light, her gaze pleading as she silently met his. She looked exquisitely alluring, a picture of pitiable beauty.

How was that pleading?

It was practically a blatant provocation.

Just as Fang Hong was about to proceed, Yu Qiu quickly said, “Wait!”

Fang Hong looked at her silently, pausing his actions. Yu Qiu bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then met his eyes again and said weakly, “Let’s go to my room…”

That was exactly what he’d been waiting for her to say. Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile.

And so, the two of them quietly left and went to the beautiful house manager’s room. Once inside her bedroom, Fang Hong closed the door and flipped on the light, revealing her pretty, crimson-flushed face.

The beautiful house manager just stood there in a daze, her head lowered, not daring to meet his eyes and not knowing what to say.

While she stood there motionlessly, Fang Hong was not one to wait. Without another word, he acted, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her toward the bed. Yu Qiu instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, then suddenly said with worry, “What if He Xuan wakes up and finds you’re gone?”

“It’s fine,” Fang Hong said with an air of ease. “She’s a heavy sleeper. Even if she does wake up, she’d never think I’m in your room, much less come here looking for me.”

Yu Qiu felt that made a lot of sense, which put her at ease. She stopped overthinking and now only wanted to bring their unfinished business to a proper conclusion.

After some time, Fang Hong looked down at Yu Qiu and suddenly asked, “Were you crouching at the door that night? How long were you there? Be honest.”

Yu Qiu’s hazy eyes instantly became bright and clear. She looked up at Fang Hong, her beautiful eyes wide. “What… what nonsense are you talking about? I don’t know what you mean!”

Seeing her dazed expression first turn to shock and then shift to feigned composure—a look that screamed guilt—was utterly adorable. Fang Hong chuckled. “You left ‘evidence of your crime’ at the scene, you know. Have you already forgotten? I remember it very clearly. You even cleaned up the ‘crime scene’ yourself that day. Mhmm, the scent is exactly the same as right now. And you still want to argue?”

Yu Qiu immediately covered her face with her hands, squawking in exasperation, “Be quiet! Don’t say another word!”

As the words left her mouth, she suddenly clenched her teeth and, in an instant, seized the opportunity to launch an unexpected and ferocious retaliatory pincer attack. It was pure, unadulterated revenge.

Fang Hong, who had been gloating and was completely unguarded, was caught off guard. He sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, almost sent reeling by the sudden punitive strike. Fortunately, he didn’t lose his composure.

As a veteran of a hundred battles with a wealth of experience, Fang Hong quickly stabilized the situation. He brought his formidable improvisational skills to bear. Fleeing in panic in the face of a sudden pincer attack would only lead to heavy losses—an unacceptable outcome. Only a counter-offensive could win back the initiative. As the saying goes, to catch the bandits, first catch their king. At a time like this, his opponent would never expect him to strike directly at the command center, leaving her rear defenses inevitably vulnerable.

Fang Hong decisively plunged deep into her heartland, striking directly for the dragon’s den. He intended to wreak havoc in her rear, certain it would throw her forces into disarray and allow him to seize the initiative once more.

But just as Fang Hong reached the core territory and prepared to launch an earth-shattering campaign, he discovered she was already prepared. Though her rear defenses were weak, she had used the treacherous terrain to deploy a water-based stratagem.

The moment he arrived, before he could even arrange his formation, a surging torrent erupted. Fang Hong’s expression changed instantly, and he was forced to execute a full, decisive retreat.

With things as they were, he had no choice but to withdraw, avoid the brunt of the attack for now, and formulate a new long-term plan.

The water-based stratagem was indeed brilliant, but it was not a sustainable one. Once the waters had mostly subsided, he would launch another fierce assault and victory would surely be his.

The next morning.

In Yu Qiu’s bedroom, she changed the bedsheets by herself, then took the old ones to the washing machine.

As she walked out of her bedroom carrying the sheets, she ran into Lin Yan, who smiled upon seeing the bundle in the house manager’s hands. “Sister Yu, let me take that. You just need to tell us to do these things.”

Hearing this, Yu Qiu quickly replied, “No, it’s fine. I can do it myself. You go on with your work.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want the help, but it was absolutely impossible. A large patch of the sheet in her hands was soaked through, currently bundled up on the inside.

After the lesson she’d learned at the door last time, she absolutely could not let anyone find the evidence of her crime again.

With that, Yu Qiu calmly carried the sheets away herself. Lin Yan didn’t think much of it and went back to her own tasks.

A short while later, after tossing the sheets into the washing machine, Yu Qiu finally felt relieved.

She returned to her bedroom and went to the nightstand. Opening the bottom drawer, she took out the small box inside. She opened it and glanced at the contents—little toys like pleasure balls and other such things—without a word.

After a moment, Yu Qiu found a black trash bag. She unhesitatingly threw all the toys into the bag, then took it out and personally tossed it into the dumpster.

She wouldn’t be needing these anymore!

Because she had already found something better!

No comparison, no pain. After experiencing something better, she couldn’t even look at these things anymore.

Meanwhile, the beautiful assistant Tian Jiayi had changed into her work uniform and was ready to head to the company. As the true big boss of Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong rarely went to the office, but Tian Jiayi needed to. From now on, she would also be the one to bring company work reports back to him.

When Tian Jiayi came downstairs and passed through the living room, she saw Fang Hong there. The moment she saw him, she subconsciously recalled the scene by the refrigerator last night.

Fang Hong saw her too and noticed something was off about her. “Are you alright?” he asked with concern. “Zoning out this early in the morning. Are you not feeling well?”

“Ah? Um… No, I’m fine. I probably just didn’t sleep well last night,” Tian Jiayi explained quickly, startled back to reality by his voice. She swiftly composed herself and flashed a radiant smile. “Thank you for your concern, President Fang.”

She tried hard not to think about what she’d seen last night and forced herself to act as naturally as possible, lest Fang Hong discover that she’d discovered their secret.

Unaware of what was on her mind, Fang Hong smiled at his beautiful assistant. “If you’re not feeling well, you can take a few days off. There’s no rush to start work. Your health is your most important asset, after all.”

Maintaining her smile, Tian Jiayi said, “It’s alright. I just slept a little poorly. A nap during my lunch break will fix it.”

Fang Hong didn’t dwell on the issue. He changed the subject, “Can you drive?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Yes, I have a license.”

“The commute to the company from here isn’t short,” Fang Hong continued, “and it’s not easy to get a car around here. There are a few spare cars in the garage. You can pick one and drive yourself to work for now. In a few days, the company should arrange a dedicated car and chauffeur for you.”

After all, her official title at the company was Executive Vice President, and a dedicated car was a standard perk for that position.

Just then, Fang Hong saw the house manager, Yu Qiu, passing by and called out to her, “Xiao Yu, take her to the garage to pick out a car for her commute.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but glance at the house manager. She sensed that Yu Qiu’s aura today was slightly different from yesterday, as if she carried a unique sense of satisfaction and happiness.

Yu Qiu exchanged a look with Fang Hong and nodded with a smile. She then turned to Tian Jiayi and said, “I’ll go get the car keys first.”

A little while later, Yu Qiu took Tian Jiayi to the underground garage. She chose the Porsche to drive to work.

Chapter 237: A Look Ahead at Core Leadership Adjustments

Fang Hong sat on a sofa in the first-floor lounge. With Tian Jiayi now at the company, his thoughts turned to Stellaris Capital.

More precisely, he was contemplating the design of the company’s core decision-making layer.

Currently, aside from himself as the founder, Hua Yu held the most actual power as the company’s number two figure. He also owned one percent of the company’s equity—a promise Fang Hong had made and fulfilled after Hua Yu secured ten billion in liquidity.

Of course, Hua Yu’s one percent stake wasn’t held directly in Stellaris Capital. According to Fang Hong’s top-level design, it was reflected in the company “Zhenxing.” Stellaris Capital’s equity was one hundred percent co-owned by two limited partnerships: “Zhenxing” and “Shenxing.”

Fang Hong was considering an adjustment to Stellaris Capital’s decision-making mechanism. When it came to a company’s system, there was no “best,” only what was “most suitable.” The right system had to be tailored to the company’s specific circumstances.

An old saying goes, “Running water never goes stale, and a constantly-used door hinge never rusts.”

Why do so many senior executives gradually lose their initial drive over time and become aristocratic? It’s because they’ve been in their positions for too long. Therefore, one person could not be allowed to occupy the position of Stellaris Capital’s Chairman of the Board for an extended period.

For these reasons, Fang Hong decided that Stellaris Capital’s core leadership would adopt the rotating chairman system that Old Master Ren used at Huawei.

Fang Hong believed Old Master Ren was undoubtedly a master of the I Ching, as Huawei’s current rotating leadership mechanism was the best interpretation of it. The ninth line of the Qian hexagram in the I Ching reads: “When all lines are nines, a group of dragons appears without a leader. This is auspicious.”

Translated, this line means: “When using the ninth line, it is very auspicious to see a gathering of dragons without a discernible leader.”

At first glance, based on intuition and common sense, a leaderless team would surely be like a plate of loose sand, easily thrown into chaos and defeated one by one under external pressure.

But in the I Ching’s Qian hexagram, a group of dragons without a leader is clearly an auspicious sign.

This must be understood from two perspectives. First, if there’s no leader, it means no one is holding you down; you are free to do as you please. Second, if there’s no leader, I can become the leader. Just as in the martial world, when a leaderless situation arises, a new champion is inevitably chosen to lead everyone through adversity or toward a great cause.

Since there is no leader, there is an opportunity to vie for that position. To be the leader of a gathering of dragons—not just any leader, but the leader of a group of elites—how could great things not be accomplished? Of course, it is highly auspicious.

Hence, “When all lines are nines, a group of dragons appears without a leader. This is auspicious.”

However, even if it was auspicious, one could not be careless. After all, leading a group of dragons was no easy task. One had to be sufficiently prepared, capable of commanding their respect with absolute strength and prestige, and making them serve one’s own cause.

If one could not win their hearts, then no matter how many elites there were, they would be mere decorations, and things would devolve into endless internal strife and friction.

Fang Hong’s decision to adopt a rotating system was precisely to create a group of “dragons without a leader.” For Fang Hong himself, this was unquestionably “highly auspicious.” He already commanded absolute strength and prestige in the minds of Hua Yu, Cao Chenghui, and the other executives in Stellaris Capital’s decision-making circle.

Especially after the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, he would undoubtedly be able to command the respect of these dragons and make them work for him.

Fang Hong’s main purpose for this adjustment was to ensure Stellaris Capital’s leadership could embody the principle of “running water never goes stale, and a constantly-used door hinge never rusts.” To put it bluntly, it was to prevent the leadership from becoming aristocratic or bureaucratic. The solution was not to let the same person stay in the top position for too long.

At the same time, the rotating system would ensure that everyone remained highly motivated. After all, when there was no clear leader, it meant everyone had a chance to compete for the top spot.

With a rotating system providing a legitimate opportunity to sit in that seat, it was safe to say that no one in the core decision-making layer didn’t want to be the chairman.

Those not in the chairman’s seat would naturally strive to become the next one, rather than adopting a Zen-like attitude of slacking off. Their drive would naturally follow. Those currently in the chairman’s seat wouldn’t dare to relax either, or they might not get another turn. Not only could they miss the next rotation, but they might even be ousted from the core leadership altogether. The pressure would be immense.

However, Fang Hong himself certainly wouldn’t be competing for the chairmanship. He was the ultimate big boss, the one who made the rules. Hua Yu and the others were merely players within those rules.

From this, it was clear that Fang Hong was above everyone in Stellaris Capital’s core leadership. No matter who became chairman, they could make decisions when Fang Hong was silent. But as soon as Fang Hong spoke, the chairman had to obey his will absolutely and execute it.

Fang Hong’s intention in changing the core leadership to a rotating system wasn’t to allow himself to be turned into a figurehead or replaced. It was to keep the company vital and to ensure the core team remained motivated instead of slacking off. If you slacked off, you had to move your butt and let someone else take your seat.

However, the time wasn’t right for the change yet. Fang Hong had the idea and would inevitably implement it, but he had to wait for the opportune moment.

First and foremost, he needed to wait for Cao Chenghui to step up and accumulate enough qualifications for a promotion. Then, he could be naturally nominated to Stellaris Capital’s Board of Directors.

Fang Hong wasn’t worried about Cao Chenghui’s ability; he had the system to assist him. When the time came, he could use a system item card to directly boost his operations and management skills, making him competent enough for the role of rotating chairman of Stellaris Capital.

Right now, Cao Chenghui mainly lacked the qualifications for promotion and was not yet a match for Hua Yu. He lagged behind Hua Yu in ability, seniority, and backing.

Fang Hong already had a list in mind for Stellaris Capital’s rotating board of directors: seven people. They were Hua Yu, Cao Chenghui, Qiu Guangcheng, Zhao Sheng, Tian Jiayi, Wu Cheng, and Shi Yao.

Among them, Qiu Guangcheng, Zhao Sheng, Wu Cheng, and Shi Yao were the current vice presidents in charge of different business groups at Stellaris Capital. But the most special was Tian Jiayi. She was the only woman in the rotating leadership Fang Hong had planned, and also the youngest person on the list.

What made her special was that she was Fang Hong’s assistant. In the eyes of Hua Yu and the others, she was the ultimate big boss’s “projection” at Stellaris Capital, or perhaps more accurately, the big boss’s “avatar.” In a sense, even if Fang Hong wasn’t there, she represented him. This would make Tian Jiayi’s role in the rotating leadership extremely unique.

Based on ability, seniority, and other criteria, Tian Jiayi would have no chance of securing a place in Stellaris Capital’s rotating leadership. But who else was closer to the big boss? It was fine if people didn’t respect her, but who would dare disrespect the ultimate big boss, Fang Hong?

As for Tian Jiayi’s role, Fang Hong only intended for her to have a seat in the rotating leadership, not to serve as the rotating chairman. Her capabilities were indeed debatable.

Of course, if she could prove herself capable of handling the role of Stellaris Capital’s chairman in the future, and if she herself desired the position, Fang Hong wouldn’t mind putting her into the actual rotation.

But the reality was that Tian Jiayi would probably never serve as Stellaris Capital’s rotating chairman. Her current caliber was insufficient, so Fang Hong wouldn’t let her take the position. By the time her skills were polished enough to be competent for the job, she would surely have realized that being Fang Hong’s “avatar” and “projection” was far more valuable than the position of rotating chairman.

Once she truly reached a level where she was competent enough, Tian Jiayi would certainly not compete for the rotating chairman position. She would definitely choose to maintain the status quo, satisfied with just having a seat in Stellaris Capital’s rotating leadership.

Her special status would allow her to remain firmly in the core leadership, making her the number three figure in the company, second only to the rotating chairman. While the chairman would change periodically, as long as Tian Jiayi remained Fang Hong’s assistant, her position as the number three figure would be permanent.

…

Chapter 238: Since the Terms Have Been Triggered, Let’s Follow Procedure

Regarding Stellaris Capital’s future adjustment to a rotating mechanism, Fang Hong wasn’t just blindly copying Huawei’s model. For instance, he decided that each rotation would last ten calendar months, whereas Huawei’s was six.

Copying a model wholesale without adaptation would be a foolish and inflexible approach. Every company’s situation is different, and adjustments must be made based on its specific circumstances.

It was worth mentioning that Fang Hong was not a fan of Western corporate management models.

The times were changing, and the world was on the verge of a great transformation unseen in a century.

Especially a decade from now, more and more Mainland entrepreneurs would discover that the models they had learned from the West were struggling to adapt to the domestic environment. Even a powerhouse like Alibaba, currently at its zenith, would begin to show signs of fatigue in ten years.

In the future, a growing number of Mainland entrepreneurs would find that the philosophical ideas ingrained in the Chinese people were, in fact, better suited to the demands of the new era’s business environment. When entrepreneurs reached the highest level of competition, it would all come down to their philosophical depth.

Huawei’s rotating mechanism had contributed to the telecommunications giant’s ever-growing strength. Of course, its power was the result of a combination of factors, not just the rotating system alone. However, the rotating mechanism was undoubtedly one of the most critical factors. The top-level design is a key determinant of a company’s ceiling.

Naturally, Fang Hong wouldn’t wait a decade to make adjustments. The fact that Western models would be obsolete in ten years was a signal that action needed to be taken now. Otherwise, a decade down the line, you would be mired in trouble, or even be the one left behind. By the time you had that sudden realization, it would be too late.

As the leader of a company, playing the role of a navigator, one must see further than anyone else and possess exceptional foresight. Without this quality, one is unfit to be a helmsman; otherwise, they would lead the entire company and its team into a ditch.

Just as Fang Hong was mulling over the adjustments to the rotating mechanism for Stellaris Capital’s core leadership, He Xuan saw him on the sofa in the lounge area. She glided over, came before him, and sat down on his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck.

“Recently, I’ve noticed you’ve had ‘shrinking volume’ every few days, sometimes severely. And when I woke you up this morning, you ‘shrank’ again. Confess, have you been secretly ‘subscribing to a new IPO’?” He Xuan whispered, gazing at Fang Hong.

Luo Lan, the maid who had just started a few days ago, was currently cleaning the lounge area. She had been a little surprised at first by the casual displays of affection between her employers, who would hug and cuddle in front of the staff, but after a few days, she had grown used to it.

Hearing He Xuan’s words, Fang Hong was taken aback. This little minx was quite sharp, wasn’t she? To notice such a detail?

“I knew it. Your silence is a confession. Looks like I guessed right.” He Xuan hummed in dissatisfaction while looking at him, then lowered her voice and asked, “Hurry up and tell me, which ‘new stock’ did you go for? One or two? Or more than two?”

Hah…

Fang Hong was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, and he could only confess honestly. “I just went for two ‘new stocks.’ Yifulei, that was two or three months ago. And last night, I went for the second one. Um, it’s Xiao Yu.”

Hearing this, He Xuan pouted, puffed her cheeks, and let out a small breath. “I knew it,” she said. “Yifulei had long suspected something was off about her. And just now, when Sister Yu was facing me, I noticed her eyes seemed to hold a trace of guilt. I’ve seen that same look in Yifulei’s eyes before.”

Fang Hong was stunned. “Uh…”

He Xuan continued, lost in her own thoughts, “A sense of guilt towards me… Does that mean she’s done something behind my back to wrong me? Pondering what she could possibly do to wrong me, the only thing that would generate that kind of guilt is if she had a secret tryst with you. So I suspected you must have gotten to both of them.”

Fang Hong was stunned again, speechless. Her logic was sound and well-supported; he couldn’t find a single flaw in it.

At that moment, He Xuan sighed dramatically and muttered to herself, “The newcomer, Luo Lan, and then Lin Yan and Lin Yun… It won’t be long before they fall into your trap too, I suppose. Oh, right, and what about Tian Jiayi, who just arrived yesterday? She’s one of your targets too, isn’t she?”

“Isn’t she, uh…” Fang Hong replied instinctively without thinking. Realizing what he’d said, he froze for a second, then wrapped his arms around He Xuan’s waist, looked her in the eye, and turned the tables. “Isn’t it your fault for bringing them all to my doorstep? Who could withstand a test of this magnitude?”

He Xuan shot him an exasperated glare. “Hmph, you’ve profited and yet you’re feigning innocence. You’re secretly overjoyed, aren’t you? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

As lunchtime arrived, Fang Hong joined the women for their daily meal. The table in the main dining room could seat up to sixteen people, but for now, there were only eight: Fang Hong, He Xuan, Yu Qiu, Yifulei, Luo Lan, Lin Yan, Lin Yun, and Tian Jiayi, who had returned from work.

Fang Hong came to the table and had just sat down, glancing at the sumptuous spread, when Yu Qiu, on his left, placed a piece of food in his bowl. She said with a beaming smile, “Bro Hong, have more of this. It’s delicious and good for your body.”

The beautiful house manager had changed quite a bit today. This was the first time she had served Fang Hong food, a small gesture that reflected a much closer side of her, a significant warming of their relationship.

He Xuan, sitting to his right, also put a piece of food in his bowl and said, “This is also very restorative, and it tastes great too.”

Looking at the food in his bowl, Fang Hong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Did they really think his body couldn’t handle it? Was his system’s cheat function just for show? Still, he couldn’t help but complain, “I’m telling you, can we change up the menu? I’ve already had two or three nosebleeds recently, and you’re still feeding me this restorative stuff.”

Yu Qiu smiled. “Don’t be fooled by your youth and strength. Your consumption must be immense. There’s nothing wrong with nourishing your body a little more.”

He Xuan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Fang Hong was at a loss, glancing at the two of them with a helpless expression. “You can’t just eat super-nourishing things indiscriminately, okay? It can actually be bad for your health.”

Lately, Fang Hong had noticed the private chef giving him strange, meaningful looks. A young man constantly eating these kinds of foods… it was impossible to explain, though he didn’t need to explain anything to a few chefs.

Tian Jiayi, dining at the same table, was mostly silent. This was her first time eating with Fang Hong, and she was surprised to see him dining with all his employees. What surprised her even more was the conversation between him, Yu Qiu, and He Xuan.

If she hadn’t stumbled upon the events of last night, Tian Jiayi wouldn’t have thought much of it. But after what she had accidentally witnessed, the amount of information to process was a bit overwhelming.

As she ate, Tian Jiayi’s mind was racing. [Could it be that all these girls… are with him? Oh my god…]

While deep in thought, she couldn’t help but glance at He Xuan, feeling an immense shock. From the looks of it, she wasn’t being kept in the dark; she knew. This made the information even more incredible.

The thought of it all left Tian Jiayi reeling. She stealthily glanced at Fang Hong, who was eating, then casually looked around at Yu Qiu, Yifulei, and the others. Tian Jiayi subconsciously muttered to herself in her head, “He really does need to nourish his body…”

…

Two hours later, at the headquarters of Zhongtai Capital.

In a reception room, Liu Qizheng, the leader of Zhongtai Capital, spoke to Wang Qingxiong, the leader of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, with an expressionless face. “Mr. Wang, I gave you over half a year, but Hengtong’s A-share IPO failed, and its H-share IPO also failed. The clauses of our agreement have been triggered. Let’s just follow the procedure as outlined in the agreement.”

The relationship between the two parties was already quite unpleasant, so naturally, neither wore a friendly expression. This was a conflict of interests, where red faces and volleys of curses were perfectly normal.

At this moment, Wang Qingxiong knew the situation was hopeless. Looking back now, he deeply regretted signing the senior liquidation preference clause, the share repurchase clause, and the drag-along rights clause with Zhongtai Capital. They had now become an interlocking death trap.

Wang Qingxiong had dared to sign such a high-stakes performance-based agreement back then because he had been extremely confident. But for all his calculations, he had never predicted that at the critical window for the IPO application last year, he would run into a financial storm that swept the globe, causing the Chinese A-share market to plummet from over six thousand points to below two thousand.

If the “black swan event” of the financial storm hadn’t occurred last year, there was a greater than ninety-five percent chance that Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group would have successfully listed on the A-share market. But now, it was too late to say any of that.

…

Chapter 239: A White Knight?

If Wang Qingxiong wanted to turn the tide and reverse the current situation, he would need to secure eight point one billion in liquid capital for Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group in a short period. But given the current climate of the capital market, where on earth was he supposed to get such a colossal sum?

This wasn’t eight hundred and ten thousand, but eight point one billion.

Even Zhongtai Capital would find it difficult to produce over eight billion in cash, let alone the trouble-plagued Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

Financial institutions?

Those scoundrels were the type to offer an umbrella on a sunny day and snatch it back when it rained. A bank not recalling its loans would be an act of immense mercy. Oh, right, the banks had actually already recalled their loans from Hengtong, and they had done so five months ago—a perfect display of risk control.

Private equity firms?

Given Wang Qingxiong’s current predicament, they would stay as far away as possible. If he tried to raise a new fund, only ghosts would show up; it was highly unlikely a single human would invest.

Zhongtai Capital couldn’t easily come up with over eight billion in cash, yet Stellaris Capital could. This demonstrated the immense financial strength of Stellaris Capital. A major reason Liu Qizheng wanted to build goodwill with them was precisely because of their deep pockets.

At this moment, Liu Qizheng wasn’t just thinking about securing an exit for Zhongtai Capital’s own interests. After witnessing Stellaris Capital’s power, he now wanted to become a familiar face and build a good relationship with them. Who knew, there might be profits to be made in the future, and he could turn to them for help if he ever ran into trouble.

In this day and age, no one could guarantee smooth sailing forever. More friends meant more paths, though he knew he also had to be wary of Stellaris Capital.

If Liu Qizheng could fully penetrate Stellaris Capital’s current underlying assets and its numerous hidden debts, he would probably be cautiously keeping his distance. Stellaris Capital’s nominal net worth was indeed enormous, but that was its nominal value. It hadn’t been cashed out, and the terrifying potential risks were still hanging over its head, yet to fall.

But obviously, it was impossible for Liu Qizheng to know the structure of Stellaris Capital’s underlying assets, just as Stellaris Capital was unaware of Zhongtai Capital’s.

In any case, what Liu Qizheng saw in Stellaris Capital could be summed up in one word: extravagant!

They could throw over eight billion in cash in your face if they said they would. They weren’t just talking; they could actually produce that much money. They were so rich it was ridiculous.

Finally, Wang Qingxiong closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened them and looked at Liu Qizheng, saying, “Since it has come to this, I’m willing to accept my loss. But why sell to Stellaris Capital? You could have sold to anyone else.”

Since Zhongtai Capital was selling the assets corresponding to its shares to Stellaris Capital, according to the signed “drag-along rights clause,” Wang Qingxiong had no choice but to sell to Stellaris Capital as well.

This was not what he wanted to see.

Because Stellaris Capital had repeatedly tried to buy those ancient formulas and Yisheng Tang from Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, Wang Qingxiong knew that if they became the majority shareholder with absolute control, it would be even harder for him to regain control of the company. He knew his philosophy clashed with Stellaris Capital’s, and he would have no say in the company anymore.

Clearly, unable to reverse the situation, Wang Qingxiong was settling for the next best thing. He still wanted to hold the position of the head of the company, hoping that after the acquisition, he would be entrusted with managing it.

As long as he was in that position, there was still some hope. At the very least, he could secretly engage in some improper benefit transfers to recoup some of his losses.

At that moment, Liu Qizheng sneered inwardly. How laughable. He’s still dreaming of running the company even now. Stellaris Capital is paying so much for this acquisition; how could they possibly keep you around? What a fool…

Liu Qizheng only sneered in his heart, not letting a trace of his thoughts show on his face. Although he didn’t know Stellaris Capital’s complete three-step strategy for acquiring Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, as a fellow player in the capital game, he knew that given the current situation, Stellaris Capital would definitely find a way to kick Wang Qingxiong out.

Because if it were him, Liu Qizheng would do the same. After Stellaris Capital acquired Hengtong, the biggest obstacle would undoubtedly be Wang Qingxiong. Getting rid of him would absolutely be the first thing they’d want to do post-acquisition.

Suppressing his inner scorn, Liu Qizheng said calmly, “It doesn’t have to be Stellaris Capital. In that case, Mr. Wang, please go find another investor willing to take over. My abilities are limited; Stellaris is the only interested party I could find.”

Wang Qingxiong was left speechless by his words.

Liu Qizheng then added self-righteously, “Zhongtai doesn’t care who takes over. I only care that Zhongtai can exit smoothly according to the agreement. If you can’t find a third party other than Stellaris Capital, then I have no other choice but to sell to them.”

“You…” Wang Qingxiong seethed.

Liu Qizheng just shrugged, adopting a non-negotiable stance.

Wang Qingxiong snorted coldly, stood up, and stormed out with a hint of resentment. He knew there was nothing left to discuss.

In truth, Liu Qizheng didn’t want to waste any more words on him either. In the three-way game between Zhongtai Capital, Stellaris Capital, and Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, Zhongtai Capital was in the driver’s seat. If he had any worry, it was that Stellaris Capital might back out of the deal. As for Wang Qingxiong, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he couldn’t stop the process from proceeding according to the agreement.

Now that they had laid their cards on the table, Liu Qizheng had to accelerate the exit process. If he dragged it out, Wang Qingxiong might secretly gut Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, and then it would be too late for tears. So, although Zhongtai Capital was in the driver’s seat, the arrow had already been loosed from the bow; there was no turning back.

…

During the weekend, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa in Huayang Mountain Villa.

In the first-floor living room, Yifulei and the pair of beautiful sisters, Lin Yan and Lin Yun, were gathered on the sofa. Fang Hong was resting his head on Yifulei’s fair leg as if it were a pillow, blissfully enjoying a massage from the maid. Lin Yun was massaging his legs, while Lin Yan sat to the side, peeling fruit.

Their maid outfits were all of different styles, with no two being the same.

It was a lifestyle so comfortable that even the gods would be envious. Cao Chenghui wasn’t wrong to call the Tranquil Heart Residence the Boss’s pleasure mansion.

A moment later, Luo Lan walked over with a rolled-up newspaper. “Bro Hong, today’s paper.”

The rise of the internet had dealt an unprecedentedly severe blow to traditional print media, but things hadn’t yet reached the state they would be in ten years. Fang Hong took the newspaper and glanced at Luo Lan. The newly joined maid had just met his eyes for a second before hastily looking away and hurrying off.

Fang Hong noticed that Luo Lan was the shyest among them, blushing at the drop of a hat. She was soft and cute, exuding an air of pure innocence.

Pushing these thoughts aside, he opened the newspaper. It was the Xincheng Business News. The front-page headline of today’s edition was once again related to Stellaris Capital, with the title: Stellaris Capital Poised to Take Over Hengtong Pharmaceuticals. Could Stellaris Become Wang Qingxiong’s “White Knight” to Solve Hengtong’s Crisis?

The moment Fang Hong saw the words “White Knight” in the headline, he couldn’t contain his laughter. He didn’t bother to control his expression; the maids around him were complete outsiders with no ulterior motives, and even if they had any, it wouldn’t matter to Fang Hong.

He wondered if the journalist who wrote this article was some kind of brilliant mind or if Liu Qizheng had slipped them some money. Regardless, the analysis in the article was quite methodical and seemed plausible.

Liu Qizheng, who also saw the article, couldn’t hold it in either. Stellaris Capital, a white knight? More like a black assassin!

Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group was Xincheng’s second-largest private enterprise, an undisputed pharmaceutical giant of its time. The turmoil from its current crisis was not only big news in Xincheng’s business community but also drew significant attention from capital firms and industry insiders across the country.

The author cited several major reasons for believing Stellaris Capital would be Wang Qingxiong’s “white knight.” First, Stellaris Capital had previously invested in Quantum Beat and Stellar Universe Technology, making them a bona fide “angel investor.” Second, Stellaris Capital was incredibly wealthy, displaying immense extravagance whether investing in Quantum Beat and Stellar Universe Technology or in its film and television copyright acquisitions.

Due to its aggressive investment style and deep-pocketed nature, Stellaris Capital was now being dubbed “the SoftBank of China” by many in the industry, as SoftBank was also famous in the VC circle for being loaded with cash.

But Fang Hong absolutely hated this nickname. Yet, there wasn’t much he could do about it—people could say what they wanted.

Among the many people who read this article was, of course, the man himself, Wang Qingxiong. It would be an understatement to say he was fuming with rage when he saw the report.

The outside world had no idea that he and Stellaris Capital already had friction between them, as he had repeatedly, and rather impolitely, rejected their offers to buy all the ancient formulas and Yisheng Tang.

Now, with Stellaris Capital about to acquire Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, Wang Qingxiong found himself in a very awkward position.

…

Chapter 240: Stellaris Capital’s First-Half Performance Report

What enraged Wang Qingxiong even more was that if he still harbored any thoughts of leading Hengtong, he could only bottle up his frustration and not dare to lash out at the article.

That was then, this is now. The current situation, where an acquisition by Stellaris Capital seemed highly likely and unavoidable, meant Wang Qingxiong was now thinking about how to smooth over their previous unpleasantness.

He still wanted to remain the head of the company after the acquisition, so this was definitely not the time to do anything that would displease Stellaris Capital.

Wang Qingxiong thought to himself that he was, after all, the founder of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. Under his leadership, Hengtong’s performance had flourished over the years, with profits and revenue seeing high-speed growth for eight consecutive years.

This should be plain for all to see.

Since Stellaris Capital was also a capital group, and capital seeks profit, and he, Wang Qingxiong, also sought profit, their interests should be aligned.

He believed he still had considerable negotiating power with Stellaris Capital and stood a good chance of securing the company’s operational and management rights from them.

Although he would go from being the company’s owner to an employee, as long as he could hold on to his position as the head, there was still hope. In the future, he might even be able to regain control through a buyback.

While Wang Qingxiong was deeply displeased with the news report, he could only swallow his pride and endure it for the time being.

…

Monday, July 20th.

The A-share market ushered in the first trading day of the new week. Today, both markets opened higher. After a twenty-minute pullback following the opening bell, they began to trend upward with fluctuations, showing a one-sided rise.

The Shanghai Composite Index hit another new high for the year.

Over the past two days, the market had been boosted by positive news. Foreign exchange reserves had broken through the two trillion US dollar mark, reaching 2.1316 trillion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 17.84%. In addition, both M1 and credit growth had set historical records.

In the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was directing several maid-traders in their stock operations. There were now four traders: Yifulei, the sister pair of Lin Yan and Lin Yun, and the recently joined Luo Lan.

Lin Yan and Lin Yun were now able to execute buy and sell orders with great skill, flawlessly carrying out Fang Hong’s trading instructions. Luo Lan, who had joined just a few days ago, was still in her rookie adjustment period.

In any case, any maid who joined the staff at Tranquil Heart Residence had to double as Fang Hong’s personal trader and master the skill of stock trading.

Given today’s market conditions, Fang Hong did not make any large-scale portfolio adjustments. Since July 10th, he had been heavily invested in the shipping sector and blue-chip stocks, and he hadn’t touched any small-cap stocks recently.

His holdings remained unchanged, but he was still executing intraday T-operations for profit-taking.

Today’s market once again saw the “Elephants dancing” phenomenon. ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks led the way in both gains and trading volume. In terms of volume, more than half of the top ten stocks in both markets today were large-cap ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks, each with a daily turnover of over two billion yuan. Amethyst Mining, in particular, became the stock with the highest trading volume in both markets, with nearly six billion yuan traded.

The brightest star among them was the shipping sector, where Fang Hong was currently heavily invested. The market had clearly entered an acceleration phase, and the shipping stocks he held were also ‘Zhong’-prefixed, all showing excellent gains.

‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks like Zhongyuan Shipping, Zhonghai Container Lines, and Zhongguo Ocean Shipping surged by +7.40%, +6.51%, and +7.43% respectively today.

In addition, other ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks also saw major gains, allowing investors “to eat meat”. Zhongjin Lingnan soared +10.00% to its limit-up, Zhongguo Aluminum skyrocketed +10.03% to its limit-up, Zhongguo Life jumped +8.07%, China Shenhua climbed +5.36%, and Zhongmei Energy rose +4.54%, among others.

“Let’s start reducing our positions. Follow my instructions…” Fang Hong said to the women. Yifulei and the others all nodded, awaiting his trading commands. Upon receiving them, they began executing the sell orders.

The market was growing increasingly feverish. With the index rising sharply today, Fang Hong anticipated a significant pullback tomorrow. He decided to sell half of his position today and the other half at tomorrow’s opening, then buy back in when the prices were underwater.

By the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index had risen sharply by +2.42% to 3266.92 points, with a trading volume of 236.5 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index had climbed +1.90% to 13381.21 points, with a volume of 116.4 billion yuan. The combined trading volume of both markets swelled to 352.9 billion yuan, with the volume figure setting yet another new high for the year.

Fang Hong glanced at his account data after the close.

Holdings: 14 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +70,220,000 yuan

P&L Ratio: +4.37%

Cumulative Return: 977,260,000 yuan

Total Return: +139.60%

Total Assets: 1,677,260,000 yuan.

Riding the surge of the ‘Zhong’-prefixed large-cap stocks, he had made a handsome profit of over seventy million yuan today, and his intraday floating profit also set a new record. He was not far from the two billion mark.

It was now mid-to-late July, and the A-share market was becoming increasingly heated. The Shanghai Composite Index alone had a trading volume of over 200 billion yuan, and the combined volume of both markets had reached 350 billion. The index was charging toward the 3300-point mark, a clear case of both volume and price rising in tandem.

Investors were convinced a bull market was coming, as the current market index level and trading volume were almost identical to the main uptrend wave of 2007. Many investors who had missed out on the rally were now rushing into the market.

However, Fang Hong knew that the current market frenzy would only last for a few more days. After about ten more days of gains, this era of “braindead” long-and-profit investing would conclude, followed by a long and arduous bear market journey that would last for four years.

After the market closed, the women dispersed. Lin Yan and the others went about their usual duties.

…

In the afternoon, around 5:40 PM, Tian Jiayi returned from work, bringing a document with her—Stellaris Capital’s financial report for the first half of the year.

Upon entering the villa, Tian Jiayi glanced around, searching for Fang Hong, but she couldn’t find him on the first floor.

“Luo Lan, do you know where President Fang is?” Tian Jiayi asked, happening to see Luo Lan.

“Bro Hong seems to be in the study on the second floor,” Luo Lan replied with a smile.

“Thanks,” Tian Jiayi said with a smiling nod and headed upstairs. Holding the financial report, she walked toward the study. Just as she reached the door, it happened to open.

The house manager, Yu Qiu, was standing just inside. Her eyes met Tian Jiayi’s, and for a moment, they both froze.

At that moment, the beautiful house manager’s lips were pressed together in silence. A moment later, Tian Jiayi noticed a distinct swallowing motion in her throat. Then, Yu Qiu’s small mouth parted slightly as she looked at Tian Jiayi and smiled nonchalantly. “Are you looking for Bro Hong?”

Tian Jiayi smiled and nodded. “I need to report to him about work.”

As she spoke, she gestured with the documents in her hand. Yu Qiu immediately smiled and said, “Bro Hong is in the study. I’ll leave you two to talk.”

After a brief exchange, Yu Qiu departed with a very composed demeanor.

Tian Jiayi entered the room. As the air of the study filled her nose, a peculiar smell made her frown slightly. A wave of suspicion washed over her. Recalling the swallowing motion she had inadvertently witnessed just moments before, Tian Jiayi was suddenly stunned.

But she quickly composed herself as Fang Hong, who was in the study, turned around. She immediately managed her expression and said with a smile, “President Fang, the company’s performance report for the first half of the year is out.”

She looked at Fang Hong, who was sitting in the swivel chair. He seemed listless, as if he had been drained of all energy.

All signs indicated that his current state was, nine times out of ten, Yu Qiu’s doing.

Fang Hong, unaware of what his beautiful assistant was thinking, said concisely, “Read it to me.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi pushed those thoughts aside, nodded, and opened the document. “Here are the company’s performance figures for the first half of this year. Operating revenue was 2.276 billion yuan, and profit was 1.353 billion yuan.”

Tian Jiayi added, “In terms of investment returns, the net investment value in the A-share market for the first half of the year was 52.361 billion yuan. The net overseas investment value was 15.043 billion US dollars, equivalent to 102.894 billion yuan. The company’s net asset value for the first half of the year is 165.255 billion yuan. Total assets are 253.168 billion yuan, with a debt scale of 102.913 billion yuan, resulting in a debt ratio of 40.65%.”

The company’s operating revenue for the first half of the year was just over 2.2 billion yuan, yet its total assets had ballooned to a terrifying 253 billion yuan. The two figures were off by two orders of magnitude, a difference of more than a hundredfold.

This was because Stellaris Capital was an investment company, and its biggest business in the first half of the year was stock investment and trading. Funds used to purchase stocks directly were recorded as trading financial assets, and related expenses, such as transaction fees, were included in investment income.

Investment income is neither main business revenue nor other business revenue; it is a separate accounting item. Profits, interest, dividends, and bonuses from investments are taxable items for corporate income tax, and corporate income tax is levied according to the law.

As an investment management company, Stellaris Capital’s operating revenue was not the main focus. The core of its financials was reflected in the balance sheet, and the company’s net asset value had already swelled to over 250 billion yuan in just six months.

They had paid very little in taxes for the first half of the year because most of their holdings were unrealized assets.

To put it in down-to-earth terms, Stellaris Capital’s current investments had not yet been realized; they were all floating profits on paper. Only after they cashed out from the capital market and the company secured the investment income would they be required to pay corporate income tax at a rate of 25%.

…

Chapter 241: This is the Power of Backing

Stellaris Capital’s performance in the first half of the year was already astounding. But if you looked at the current data from today, July twentieth, the floating profit from the company’s net investment value in the A-share market had reached 76.7 billion yuan. Overseas capital gains had reached 19.1 billion, equivalent to about 130 billion RMB. The company’s net asset value had soared to 212.5 billion yuan, and its total assets had reached 309.8 billion yuan.

It could be said that this had greatly exceeded the expectations of Hua Yu and the other senior executives.

Furthermore, the debt ratio had dropped to around thirty-one percent. With the current bull market and the A-shares charging towards the 3300-point mark, the value of the stock assets held by Stellaris Capital was appreciating.

Since the company’s debt hadn’t expanded much recently, the current debt ratio on the balance sheet naturally declined.

While the company’s asset appreciation in the first half of the year made the taxes paid seem almost negligible in comparison, the amount Stellaris Capital would have to pay in the second half would be astronomical.

The more than twenty billion yuan repatriated from overseas would be recorded in the second half’s financials. On top of that, in a few days, Fang Hong planned to liquidate and exit the company’s A-share positions. The combined investment income from domestic and overseas markets would certainly amount to over one hundred billion yuan cashed out.

Although investment income is accounted for separately and does not count towards the company’s operating revenue, it must be included in the total profit to calculate the corporate income tax of about twenty-five percent. Add in urban construction and maintenance tax, vehicle and vessel tax, land use tax, and other miscellaneous levies, and Stellaris Capital would contribute over thirty billion yuan in taxes in the second half of the year.

This would instantly make it the number one taxpayer in Xincheng. When it came to taxes, Fang Hong’s guiding principle for Stellaris Capital’s management could be summed up in eight words: no evasion, no omission; pay all that is due.

Stellaris Capital’s greatest advantage was its lack of “original sin.” To put it plainly, the company’s initial capital accumulation was clean, legitimate, and compliant. This was the ultimate source of his confidence to be so audacious.

Fang Hong appeared to play a wild game, with some of his strategies bordering on reckless—such as using one billion to leverage twenty billion in funds, or daring to take on tens of billions in capital at a fifteen percent annual interest rate. To outsiders, these were incredibly risky maneuvers where a single misstep could drive the company into a ditch.

But this series of operations was entirely reasonable, legal, and compliant.

In short, Stellaris Capital could withstand scrutiny. It could withstand a retroactive audit. Even if it were investigated down to the last detail, no problems would be found.

Being able to withstand scrutiny—just these simple words represented a feat that very few companies could achieve.

There were truly not many companies that could confidently claim they could withstand a thorough investigation. Setting aside other things, just the thought of the tax bureau showing up to audit the books was enough to make countless bosses’ knees weak.

Let alone other, more clandestine matters.

Unconventional methods were not entirely foreign to Fang Hong, but his approach was based on one premise: everything had to be in accordance with the law and regulations. Adhering to this premise was crucial for effective risk isolation.

At this moment, Tian Jiayi saw Fang Hong signal to her. She immediately walked over and handed him the report.

Fang Hong took it, opened the file, and read it over again, nodding to himself. “Hmm, not bad. We’ve got our food for the second half of the year.”

If Stellaris Capital’s primary mission in the first half of the year was to make money, then the second half would be focused on spending it—that is, shifting to large-scale investments in the primary market.

And the first investment of the second half would begin with swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole.

Beside him, Tian Jiayi quietly watched Fang Hong browse through the materials. She found that although this much younger boss had an overly indulgent private life, his calmness in the face of billion-dollar figures was as if it were commonplace. This couldn’t help but make her look at him in a new light.

When Tian Jiayi first saw the financial report herself, she was utterly shocked. The power of Stellaris Capital was more than ten times beyond the limits of her imagination.

She had originally thought that the asset value of this rapidly rising newcomer investment firm, even with an optimistic estimate, would be around twenty billion yuan. She never imagined that it had already reached the 250 billion level by the end of the first half, and if current data were included, it was at the 300 billion level.

The most incredible thing was that the young man before her, only twenty-one years old, had achieved all this in just one year. For entrepreneurs in some traditional industries, building a company with a valuation in the hundreds of billions would take the efforts of at least two generations for most.

Having just joined Stellaris Capital a few days ago, Tian Jiayi’s understanding of the terrifying reproductive power of financial capital was utterly refreshed.

However, industrial capital and financial capital each had their advantages and disadvantages. The expansion speed of financial capital was certainly terrifying, but it was quite “hollow.” Industrial capital, though slow to grow, was very “solid.” In the event of a financial crisis, the wealth of financial capital could be wiped out in an instant, but industrial capital at least had a large amount of tangible assets.

Even if those physical assets were devalued to the price of cabbages during a financial crisis, the tangible assets themselves would not vanish into thin air. At such times, anyone with a keen eye could pick them up for a song, which was equivalent to finding free money.

If one could see through to Stellaris Capital’s underlying assets, they would find that although the company had swelled to a scale of 300 billion, it was actually in a somewhat “hollow” state.

Fang Hong himself was well aware of this and naturally wouldn’t let Stellaris Capital remain in such a condition.

Walking on two legs was the only sound principle.

Therefore, the main mission of “spending money” in the second half of the year was to invest heavily in physical industries, injecting liquidity into industrial capital to form a virtuous cycle in a double helix structure. The physical industries would support the financial capital, and the financial capital, having gained immense liquidity, would then feed back into the physical industries.

Stellaris Capital was a private company, so it did not need to disclose its financial statements to the public. Fang Hong had no intention of taking Stellaris Capital public, but rather its numerous subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries in the future.

Finally, Fang Hong closed the report and handed it back to Tian Jiayi. After a moment of thought, he turned to his beautiful assistant and instructed, “Go tell Cao Chenghui to come with me to Yixing Media Group tomorrow. You too.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay.”

Hou Junda’s team had taken over the Yixing Video project under Yixing Media Group. This online streaming media website was one of the most important core assets of Yixing Media.

In the past few days, Fang Hong had learned that Hou Junda was facing some difficulties. His attempts at poaching talent had been met with a snub. He wanted to go see what was going on.

Another important purpose of the visit was to decide to put Cao Chenghui in charge of Yixing Media Group, which was why he was being called along. This was also related to the future adjustment of Stellaris Capital’s core decision-making layer to a rotating system.

It was obvious that Fang Hong was helping Cao Chenghui accumulate qualifications for promotion. To put it plainly, he was giving him the opportunity to build up a track record of achievements so that he could be promoted to the Board of Directors when the time was right.

The Boss was very pleased with this kid, Ah Hui.

He was socially savvy, competent, and had good emotional intelligence. He had high hopes for him.

Tian Jiayi smiled. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

“Wait a moment,” Fang Hong said suddenly.

Tian Jiayi paused and turned around gracefully. “Is there anything else?”

Fang Hong considered for a moment, then met her gaze. “You need to adjust how you address me in different situations. You are now one of the Executive Vice Presidents of Stellaris Capital. Tomorrow, at Yixing Media Group, you can’t call me President Fang in front of Hou Junda and the others. The public leader of Stellaris Capital is Hua Yu; otherwise, they’ll be confused.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi nodded and asked, “How should I address you then?”

She waited for his answer. After a moment of thought, he told her what to do. Learning of his request, she was completely taken aback.

After leaving the study, Tian Jiayi returned to her room and thought for a long time but still couldn’t understand his reasoning. So, she called Yue Qing for clarification.

Within Stellaris Capital, where her relationships with colleagues were still distant, her bond with Yue Qing was relatively the best. She was also very grateful to Yue Qing; without her, she would never have even met Fang Hong.

Yue Qing was now also looking out for Tian Jiayi, even seeming intent on developing their relationship into that of best friends.

At that moment, the two were on the phone. Tian Jiayi said in a puzzled voice, “Sister Yue Qing, what do you think President Fang means by this? I really can’t figure out his intentions.”

On the other end of the line, Yue Qing sounded surprised. “He really said that? He asked you to call him ‘little brother’ when you’re outside?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Yes, he said we should address each other as sister and brother from now on.”

Yue Qing’s voice came through immediately. “Little Tian, you really don’t understand President Fang’s intentions, do you? He’s doting on you, but more importantly, he’s giving you an endorsement within the company. So many people would be envious and jealous of this treatment, and here you are, still confused.”

Tian Jiayi was stunned for a moment. On the other end, Yue Qing explained further, “You are President Fang’s de facto assistant, but don’t forget that your position as Executive Vice President is a genuine, powerful role in the core leadership—that’s also a fact. Normally, with your resume, it would be impossible for you to be in your current position. Right now, you have no track record, no backing, and even if you have the ability, it will take time to prove it.”

Yue Qing continued, “For someone in your situation to be parachuted into the core leadership, besides myself, President Hua, and a few others, do you think the rest won’t harbor some veiled criticism, even if they don’t say it out loud? Qiu Guangcheng, Zhao Sheng, Shi Yao—which one of them isn’t stronger than you in terms of ability and experience? You’re only twenty-six and you’re already their equal. What do you think they’re thinking? Not to mention the colleagues at the next level down; they’ll be even less likely to respect you.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi wanted to say something but stopped. She found she had no rebuttal. Her situation was exactly as described, and she too felt she had been incredibly lucky to be placed directly into the core leadership upon joining Stellaris Capital, a fact that made many envious and jealous.

After a moment, Yue Qing’s voice came again, “Of ability, experience, and backing, the one thing President Fang can give you immediately is backing. Think about it. When those who hold veiled criticisms against you suddenly hear you call President Fang ‘little brother,’ their complaints will vanish instantly. In the future, they won’t dare to intentionally make things difficult for you at the company. In fact, they’ll be too busy trying to curry favor with you. That is the power of backing.”

…

Chapter 242: Major Domestic Entertainment Companies Cry Foul

Tian Jiayi suddenly had an epiphany. So that was the hidden intention behind a simple form of address. Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. If she put herself in others’ shoes, even if she wouldn’t go so far as to fawn over someone like that, she would certainly try to avoid conflict with them as much as possible.

On the other end of the line, Yue Qing said with a smile, “Do you understand now?”

Tian Jiayi replied, “I do. Thank you for clearing that up for me, Sister Yue Qing.”

Yue Qing joked, “Out of everyone in the company, you’re the only one who gets this kind of treatment. I’m so envious. Maybe I’ll need you to pull some strings for me in the future. That’s right, I want to ride your coattails right now.”

Tian Jiayi laughed. “Sister Yue Qing, please don’t tease me. I’m the one who’s been riding your coattails all this time.”

However, Yue Qing’s words had given her a pleasant surprise.

They chatted for a few more moments before ending the call. In truth, Tian Jiayi had only told Yue Qing half of the story. The other half was that Fang Hong had another strange request: outside, she was to call him “little brother,” but at home, she had to call him “Bro Hong.”

She had noticed that everyone at Tranquil Heart Residence, whether it was Yu Qiu or Yifulei, all addressed him this way.

“Could it be… I’m one of his targets too?” Tian Jiayi suddenly muttered to herself in a daze, a look of shock flashing across her face.

She immediately recalled her conversation with Yue Qing and finally understood the subtext woven into her words. The joking tone might not have been entirely a joke.

The thought that Yue Qing would see her in that light from now on left Tian Jiayi speechless. Her thoughts became more and more tangled. The dilemma that tormented her was, if Fang Hong were to one day want something more to happen between them… should she refuse or accept?

That was the question.

If she refused, her career would very likely come to an end. If she accepted, could she really accept such a promiscuous man?

At this moment, the beautiful assistant was caught in a difficult paradox, her mind a chaotic mess.

After a long while, Tian Jiayi let out a soft sigh and pushed all her thoughts aside, murmuring to herself, “I’ll just let nature take its course…”

Meanwhile, executives from several major film and television entertainment companies were on the phone with Cao Chenghui.

The boss of Enlight Media questioned him repeatedly, “Mr. Cao, what is going on? Didn’t your company… didn’t you say you were facing massive losses? How do you still have the ability to acquire Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group?”

The news had spread. Media reports described Stellaris Capital as a “White Knight” for Wang Qingxiong, coming to rescue Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

When the major domestic entertainment companies saw this news, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that something was damn well wrong with how this was unfolding!

Not long ago, everyone was saying that Stellaris Capital had gotten wrecked in the overseas stock market, forcing them into a strategic retreat and to slash a series of expenses, including a massive budget cut for film and television copyright investments.

But how long had it been?

Less than a month, and now Stellaris Capital was making an even bigger move—the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

This was a major corporation, currently one of the top five hundred companies in the Mainland and a leading enterprise in the private pharmaceutical sector, with total assets exceeding eighteen billion.

Did this look like the move of a company that had lost a ton of money?

And there was another major investment: a two-billion-yuan strategic stake in Radiance Glass. If they had really gotten wrecked, did that money just appear out of thin air?

The more the major domestic entertainment companies thought about it, the more they felt like they had been duped, though the feeling was subtle.

At that moment, Cao Chenghui retorted, “Who said my company was facing massive losses? Mr. Qin, didn’t I tell you before? Not only did Stellaris Capital not lose money, but we actually made a hefty profit. The outside rumors are just that—rumors that have been distorted as they spread. No way, you didn’t actually believe those rumors, did you?”

Hearing this response, Mr. Qin was rendered speechless. He felt as if he was being mocked, and a thousand curses ran through his mind.

It was true that Stellaris Capital had never once said they had lost money on their investments. When he had contacted Cao Chenghui previously, he had specifically asked, and the response had indeed been that they hadn’t lost money and had even made a profit.

It was just that few people had believed it at the time. Everyone thought there was a real problem, that they had suffered a massive loss and were just putting up a brave front.

Good grief, it turned out he was the clown all along.

Damn it, who could he even complain to?

Thinking about how he had sold the copyrights in his hands to Stellaris Capital for about twenty-five thousand yuan per title, he was fuming. He was practically kicking himself with regret.

The other major domestic entertainment companies felt more or less the same way, crying out in regret. They even increasingly felt that they had been tricked by Stellaris Capital.

Although the actual transaction price wasn’t a loss, looking at the current situation, they had definitely sold too low.

If they had just held on, they absolutely would have gotten more than that price. For one hundred thousand film and television copyrights, they had missed out on at least six billion yuan in profit. The very thought made them want to beat their chests and stamp their feet in regret.

But it was too late now; the opportunity was long gone.

The transaction was complete. A month or so had passed, and Stellaris Capital had already transferred all the money into their accounts. There wasn’t a single outstanding receivable. The settlement was complete, a clear sign of their immense wealth.

Their liquidity was ridiculously abundant. How did that look like a company that had suffered huge losses?

At this moment, Mr. Qin was like a mute man eating a bitter herb—he had to suffer in silence, unable to even muster a retort. The other party had said from the beginning that their company was fine and hadn’t lost any money. It was his own damn fault for imagining things. Who could he blame?

He had been careless!

He had been truly careless this time!

Although he regretted it, there was nothing he could do now but accept the outcome. He had to accept it, whether he liked it or not.

Frustrated, Mr. Qin said a few more words and hung up. His call was more an expression of helpless unwillingness than anything else.

Just as Cao Chenghui was about to put his phone back in his pocket, it rang again. He glanced at the caller ID and immediately straightened up. The contact name was Tian Jiayi.

“Ms. Tian, is there something I can do for you?” Cao Chenghui quickly answered the phone, his tone warm and pleasant. He dared not slight this young woman who was over ten years his junior, because he knew that although her title was Executive Vice President, she was in fact the Boss’s personal assistant.

Besides, she was young, vibrant, and beautiful. Mr. Cao felt it was highly likely that Tian Jiayi would end up having a thing with the Boss. Given the Boss’s “universal love,” Mr. Cao was certain she would become his woman sooner or later.

So, treating her as the Boss’s woman couldn’t be wrong.

He couldn’t afford to offend her, lest she make things difficult for him later. The power of pillow talk was not to be underestimated these days.

“President Fang is going to the Yixing Media business group tomorrow. He asked me to inform you to go with him,” Tian Jiayi’s voice came from the other end of the line. Upon hearing this, Cao Chenghui immediately nodded and replied, “Alright. Does the Boss have any other instructions?”

Tian Jiayi replied, “That’s all for now.”

Cao Chenghui nodded again. They exchanged a few more words before hanging up. He instantly felt his spirits lift. He had a feeling the Boss was about to assign him a new task.

To put it in a down-to-earth way, what Cao Chenghui wanted most right now was more work. Sitting in the office all day with the air conditioning on was comfortable, but it wasn’t a good thing.

Having work to do meant that when something came up in the company, the Boss thought of him first.

What Cao Chenghui desired most right now were merits and achievements. Producing stellar results was the best proof of his ability, allowing him to accumulate the qualifications for promotion and climb further up the ladder in the future. And that required a prerequisite.

That was the appreciation of his superior. Only then would he get work, and only with work could he produce results.

Cao Chenghui was also aware of a workplace paradox: the most capable person was often the hardest to promote. This was because after promoting the capable person, their replacement’s performance would not match up, so the most capable person was kept in their position forever to create stable value and profit for the company.

Conversely, those who did no work and spent all day sucking up to the boss often got promoted faster, creating a situation where the more capable a person was, the less likely they were to be promoted.

But Cao Chenghui knew that Fang Hong’s caliber was absolutely not that low. Moreover, he had previously received a clear message from the Boss: Merit will be rewarded, mistakes will be punished, and they cannot cancel each other out.

This statement was quite direct. At least with Fang Hong, Cao Chenghui firmly believed that when the Boss gave him work, it was a sign of trust. And if he did it well, there would surely be a reward. He had completed the copyright acquisition task, and the Boss had immediately rewarded him with the wealth code that was Shandong Juli.

Cao Chenghui wasn’t afraid of the Boss giving him tasks; he was afraid of the Boss not giving him tasks. Receiving this call from Tian Jiayi made him incredibly happy.

Chapter 243: Yixing Video Project Progress

The next day, Tuesday, July 21st.

When the A-share market closed that afternoon, Lin Yan, Luo Lan, and the other women left the trading room. The day’s trading had concluded as scheduled. Fang Hong also walked out and, seeing Luo Lan trailing behind the others, casually said, “Luo Lan, go get me an outfit for going out.”

Luo Lan nodded. “Alright.”

The A-share market had pulled back as expected. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had fallen by 1.64% to 3,213.21 points, with a trading volume of 232.3 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index had dropped by 1.52% to 13,177.21 points, with a trading volume of 113.7 billion. The total trading volume for both markets was 346 billion, roughly the same as the previous day.

As for their operations today, they had cleared out the remaining half of their position at the market open and gone to a full position again in the afternoon. At the same time, they had added two new ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks, Zhong Petroleum and Zhong Petrochemical, and heavily invested in Zhongxin Securities again.

Fang Hong changed his clothes and went down to the first-floor living room. Tian Jiayi had been back from the office for about ten minutes. Seeing him approach, she stood up and walked toward him. “Let’s go,” Fang Hong said.

The two of them left the house together.

A Maybach was parked outside the villa’s entrance. They both got into the back seat, and the car drove out of Huayang Mountain Villa, heading for the offices of Art Star Media Group, whose headquarters were also located in Xincheng.

…

Cao Chenghui had arrived fifteen minutes early, but he hadn’t entered the Art Star Media Group building.

When he saw Fang Hong’s private car approaching, Cao Chenghui immediately got out of his own and hurried over to greet him. Seeing Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi exit the car one after the other, he smiled and said, “Boss!”

Fang Hong gestured toward the Art Star Media Group building with his head. Cao Chenghui understood immediately and walked ahead of his boss. The employees of the subsidiary company were unaware that Fang Hong was the big boss of Stellaris Capital, so on the surface, Cao Chenghui held the higher rank.

However, within Art Star Media Group, Hou Junda, who was in charge of the Yixing Video project, knew that Fang Hong held a pivotal position at Stellaris Capital. He had learned this from his friend, Qin Feng. Moreover, the fact that he was able to take on the Yixing Video project was largely due to Fang Hong.

At this moment, Cao Chenghui walked slightly ahead into the Art Star Media Group building. Fang Hong followed beside Tian Jiayi, carrying her handbag. To anyone who didn’t know better, he looked more like the beautiful vice president’s assistant.

Upon learning that senior management from the parent company was visiting, Yang Guang, the current person in charge of Art Star Media Group, came to receive them immediately. The top leadership position at Yixing Media had not yet been formally decided, but Zhao Sheng, a member of Stellaris Capital’s Board of Directors, was serving as the acting president of Yixing Media.

“Take us to the Yixing Video project department,” Cao Chenghui said unhurriedly, his words and mannerisms exuding an air of leadership.

“Of course. This way, please,” Yang Guang said, leading them to the floor where Hou Junda’s project team was located.

Temporarily playing the role of Tian Jiayi’s assistant, Fang Hong followed along to the Yixing Video office area. He gave the public workspace a quick glance and saw a development team of roughly sixty-plus people, mostly young programmers.

When Hou Junda received word that senior management from the parent company’s parent company, Stellaris Capital, had arrived, he also put down his work to greet them.

This was the wealthy backer of his wealthy backer.

It was worth noting that Yixing Video was a subsidiary business operating independently of Art Star Media Group. It was also financially independent and its performance would not be consolidated with the parent company’s financial statements, because Fang Hong’s plan was for Yixing Video to go public as a separate subsidiary in the future.

“Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Cao Chenghui, the General Manager of Stellaris Capital, and this is Ms. Tian Jiayi, the Executive Vice President of Stellaris Capital,” the head of Art Star Media Group introduced them to Hou Junda one by one.

Hou Junda was a bit stunned when he saw that Yang Guang didn’t introduce Fang Hong. But he reacted quickly, saying, “Director Cao, Director Tian.”

He then nodded in acknowledgment to Fang Hong, feeling puzzled about the situation.

Some employees in the public office area couldn’t help but look at Tian Jiayi in surprise. They hadn’t expected this young, beautiful woman to be the vice president of Stellaris Capital; many had assumed she was Cao Chenghui’s assistant or secretary.

Fang Hong, on the other hand, went largely unnoticed. Seeing him carrying a woman’s handbag beside Tian Jiayi, and after learning she was the vice president, everyone simply assumed he was the beautiful VP’s assistant.

“Everyone, let’s move somewhere more private to talk,” Hou Junda said with a smile, inviting them into a conference room. Cao Chenghui turned to Yang Guang, the head of Art Star Media Group, and said, “You can get back to your work. Having Hou here is enough.”

It had to be said, Director Cao knew how to put on an act; he had the vibe down perfectly.

As soon as they entered the conference room and the door closed, Director Cao was like a different person. He swiftly pulled a chair out from under the conference table, looked at Fang Hong, and said, “Mr. Fang, please have a seat.”

Hou Junda was stunned again.

His eyes darted between Fang Hong and Cao Chenghui as he thought to himself, It seems Qin Feng’s guess was spot on. Fang Hong’s status within Stellaris Capital is extraordinary.

He had faintly suspected this when he went to the Tranquil Heart Residence mansion to see Fang Hong. The fact that Fang Hong had decided on the spot to let his team take over the Yixing Video project was not something an ordinary person could authorize.

The acquisition of the 110,000-title film and television library alone had cost a staggering three billion plus. Since Art Star Media Group was developing its own online streaming media business, that massive content library would inevitably be directed toward Yixing Video, the project he was in charge of.

Hou Junda was now more certain than ever that Fang Hong was a heavyweight big shot within Stellaris Capital. The respectful demeanor of a high-level executive like Cao Chenghui was the best proof.

What still puzzled him, however, was that Fang Hong would carry a handbag for Tian Jiayi. What was their relationship? It must be an extraordinary one.

At that moment, Fang Hong casually sat down, placing Tian Jiayi’s handbag on his lap. He crossed his legs and looked directly at Hou Junda, getting straight to the point. “How is the project progressing?”

His words snapped Hou Junda back to reality. He immediately replied, “Oh, Mr. Fang, the project is progressing quite smoothly. The Yixing Video website has already passed internal testing. Barring any unforeseen issues, it should be online before August.”

After speaking, Hou Junda quickly retrieved a work laptop and placed it in front of Fang Hong. The screen displayed the UI interface of the Yixing Video website.

As Fang Hong navigated the online video site, he listened to Hou Junda’s explanation of the video technology. The overall user experience of the website was quite good, and the UI was clean.

“…As for future ad placement, we plan to adopt some of YouTube’s models, such as allowing users to manually skip ads after five seconds. We also need to be selective about the quality of the ads,” Hou Junda continued, explaining his ideas to Fang Hong.

When it came to subpar ads, whether based on his own principles or the terms of the Performance Bet Agreement, he didn’t want the Yixing Video website to accept that kind of business.

For example, they wouldn’t accept ads for low-quality web games. Improving ad quality would enhance the user experience, which was directly related to the betting agreement. A better user experience would encourage more user registrations, which would naturally help them achieve the performance targets of the agreement.

Forgoing some low-quality ads would certainly impact Yixing Video’s future advertising revenue, but online video platforms were notoriously unprofitable anyway. Even YouTube, the world’s largest streaming video website, was still operating at a loss.

Therefore, Hou Junda felt that this bit of ad revenue was not a major concern. After all, their financial sponsor, Stellaris Capital, was loaded with cash and could definitely afford the loss. His priority was to focus on the performance targets; the pressure from the betting agreement was immense.

The goal Fang Hong had set for his team was to capture market share first. Expansion was the most crucial task for Yixing Video at this stage. As for making a profit, it was far too early to even consider that.

“Yes, the website’s design and user experience are quite good,” Fang Hong said with an affirmative nod. He then looked at Hou Junda and said, “Stellaris Capital has already acquired the online streaming rights for 110,000 films and television shows. This resource will be fully dedicated to Yixing Video, instantly giving you the largest copyrighted content library in the country… I want to hear how you plan to utilize this resource, including your expansion plans for Yixing Video.”

…

Chapter 244: Hou Junda’s Report

In the conference room of the Yixing Video project department.

After hearing Fang Hong’s question, Hou Junda fell silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking. “Now that Yixing Video has acquired this library of one hundred and ten thousand film and television works, my plan is to develop a search engine and then establish a legal team. Their sole job will be to monitor all the major online video websites daily. The moment they discover an infringing video, we’ll immediately sue the platform.”

Fang Hong listened with great interest. “Sue the platform? That’s likely to be more trouble than it’s worth. It’ll be very difficult to stop them.”

Hou Junda smiled. “Mr. Fang, I know the relevant laws in the Mainland are still imperfect, but I never expected to make competing websites take down infringing videos just by suing them. Instead, I intend to use this as a means to strategically ruin the user experience on our rivals’ sites.”

Pausing for a moment, Hou Junda organized his thoughts again and continued, “They can have their schemes, but I have my own countermeasures. The primary purpose of constantly suing them is to force their content to be repeatedly put up and taken down, up and then down again.”

“For instance, say I’m binge-watching a show in the morning, really getting into it. Then I have lunch and come back in the afternoon to continue, only to find the video is gone. It’s bound to be a buzzkill. Then, it might pop back up in the evening. Or maybe I’m halfway through a movie, it starts to buffer, so I refresh the page, and suddenly the video is gone, showing a ‘This content has been removed’ message, and so on.”

“This is the strategic goal of my plan to sue them relentlessly. The cost of building a legal team will just be considered an operational expense. As long as we can ruin the user experience on our competitors’ sites, Yixing Video’s advantages will become even more apparent.”

As Fang Hong listened to his strategy, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction. This was exactly how you were supposed to play the copyright game.

Hou Junda added, “Regarding our expansion plans after the website goes live, our team has unanimously decided not to accept any advertising business in the initial phase. We want to maximize the user experience, attract users, and make them stick around first and foremost.”

After all, their wealthy backer had money. This approach would also help them achieve the performance-bet target of reaching three hundred million users and becoming the number one online video website in the country.

Having no ads in the initial phase was a huge competitive advantage. Other online video websites were tight on cash, so they had to take on almost any advertising deal they could get. Those sites were all operating at a loss with VC money, and getting that money meant giving up the founder’s equity, so naturally, they didn’t dare to spend lavishly.

But Hou Junda was now an employee of Yixing Video, so he wasn’t as pained to spend money—at least, not as much as the founders of other video sites. His team had to achieve the performance-bet targets to get their fifteen percent share of the equity.

Hou Junda added, “I plan to cooperate with Alipay to run a promotion. If a user successfully refers a friend to register an Yixing Video account, they’ll receive a one-yuan reward. This will create viral expansion.”

To put it bluntly, it was just about throwing money around. However, Fang Hong fully endorsed Hou Junda’s strategy. The chance to make money was the biggest motivator.

By partnering with Alipay, the partner would also be very happy, because this would promote Alipay as well, but the money would come from Yixing Video. Alipay would surely be thrilled. Both parties would get what they want, and since there was no business conflict and they weren’t competitors—Alipay being in online payments and Yixing Video in online streaming media—it was a perfect match.

At this time, Ali hadn’t even considered acquiring an online video website, nor had they thought about entering the streaming media domain.

However, Yixing Video wasn’t letting Alipay freeload either; they would also have to share their own user traffic.

To participate in this referral program, users would need to bind their account to a mobile phone number for it to be valid. This was to prevent professional teams from taking advantage of the freebie. Just binding a phone number was enough; setting the bar too high would be counterproductive, but having no barrier at all would just lead to professional teams exploiting the system for a large number of zombie accounts.

So, binding a phone number would suffice. It presented a certain barrier, but not a high one. Having some zombie accounts was acceptable; strictly speaking, even zombie accounts had value, as they could at least pad the user numbers. But they couldn’t make up the vast majority of the user base.

“I don’t mind spending the money. Getting a user for one yuan is a great deal. One hundred million users would only cost a hundred million yuan. Forget one hundred million, even two hundred million would be a profitable venture,” Fang Hong said slowly with a smile. “The strategy is good, but your approach to spending money is too simple and crude. I think it needs further optimization to maximize its effectiveness.”

Fang Hong turned to Hou Junda and said, “You could do it like this: make the rewards progressive. That is, the more new users someone refers, the bigger their reward. Give relatively less for fewer referrals and more as the number increases.”

“For example, for the same one hundred yuan spent, under your plan of one yuan per referral, you could optimize it to reward one yuan for one person, fifteen yuan for ten people, and thirty yuan for twenty-five people, and so on. For the same one hundred yuan, you could attract one hundred and ten people. When extrapolated to large numbers, this makes a huge difference.”

Hou Junda’s eyes lit up. This strategy was indeed more refined. Fang Hong continued, “Or you could give users a task-based betting game. For instance, set a target, say one hundred and fifty people, and offer a reward of two or three hundred yuan for hitting it. The point is, the potential return needs to be greater than the regular promotion to motivate them to refer people.”

“If someone accepts this task but ultimately fails to meet the target, there should be a penalty, but you can’t just give them nothing. Just pay them the standard referral rate for the number of people they did bring in, but they won’t get the bonus. This provides a guaranteed minimum payout, so they won’t worry about working for nothing if they fail the task.”

Hou Junda nodded repeatedly, quickly making a note of the strategy Fang Hong provided. This method was indeed better at motivating people. The potential earnings also seemed intuitively larger. Earning one yuan for one referral might not seem like much, but a task that offered a direct payout of a hundred or even several hundred yuan upon completion was a much more attractive sum for the average person.

Besides, they wouldn’t lose anything but a bit of time by trying to refer people.

Fang Hong could foresee that once this referral program went live, the most enthusiastic participants would surely be students. Students have no source of income, are the most active group on the internet, and have plenty of free time.

Students have the motivation and the time to participate. Earning a hundred yuan or so to pay their internet bill would be great for them.

And every student has their own QQ friends, QQ group members, and so on. This was, without a doubt, a massive group for viral expansion.

Most importantly, the potential value of these student users was enormous because they were young, and youth is the most valuable asset.

They might not have spending power now, but they will eventually grow up and enter the workforce. If Yixing Video could enter their world during their student years, accompany a generation as they grow, and form the habit of “go to Yixing Video to watch videos online,” the results would be immense.

Ten years from now, today’s students would bring enormous monetization potential to the website. An internet platform must have a long-term vision.

Moreover, the capital market would buy into this story. With such an expectation on the table, the company’s valuation could be pushed up, making it extremely valuable.

Profit represents a company’s ability to make money, but valuation represents how much a company is worth. What’s enjoying a company’s profit compared to feasting on its valuation premium? The money from a valuation premium is fast and plentiful. Cashing out after the stock price has multiplied ten or twenty times is incomparable to the profit distributions from the company based on share percentage.

Finally, Hou Junda methodically laid out another point. “In addition, as a supplementary part of our plan, users with visitor status can only watch videos in 480p standard definition, logged-in users can watch in 720p high definition, and becoming a VIP member unlocks 1080p ultra-high definition, with access to all video resources on the site for free.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately asked, “You mean, some films and shows on the site will require a VIP membership to watch?”

Hou Junda nodded and said, “Exactly, but that’s a later plan. Initially after launch, all video content will be free for all users. Later, depending on the growth of our user base, we will gradually cultivate an awareness of paying for content. At that time, some film and television content will require VIP access to watch, but we will also run rotating limited-time free promotions, making them available to non-VIP users for a certain period.”

Hou Junda added, “Furthermore, for every piece of content currently under VIP access, we will display a countdown to its next limited-time free period. Users who don’t want to spend money can clearly see when the movie or show they want to watch will be available for free, and can come back then.”

The limited-time free promotion was actually a compromise, a middle-ground strategy. Being completely free would be detrimental to building copyright awareness later on, while making everything VIP-only would mean completely giving up on the free-user demographic. So, they had to find a middle ground.

The free users could wait a couple of days to watch. The duration of the free period would need to be carefully studied; it couldn’t be too long, or free users wouldn’t wait and would just go to other video sites.

Those who were willing to pay and didn’t want to wait could unlock VIP to watch anything at any time, getting a better viewing experience and enjoying earlier access for their payment.

After listening to Hou Junda’s series of plans for Yixing Video’s development, Fang Hong was quite satisfied. He had basically nothing to add. Hou Junda had essentially formulated corresponding strategies for what to do at each stage of the website’s development, and there were no major problems with them.

…

Chapter 245: Only Schemes Win Hearts

“Get in touch with President Hua later and have him allocate 350 million in funding for the Yixing Video project,” Fang Hong said, looking at the beautiful assistant sitting beside him. Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright.”

As she spoke, she took a file out of her bag to make a memo of the matter.

At that moment, Hou Junda was screaming “Good grief!” in his head. Both a General Manager and an Executive Vice President of Stellaris Capital were subordinate to Fang Hong.

Wasn’t his status a bit ridiculous?

Fang Hong, unaware of what Hou Junda was thinking, turned back to him and asked, “With 350 million, that should be enough for the second half of the year, right?”

Hearing this, Hou Junda nodded repeatedly. “It’s enough, more than enough. We might not even be able to spend it all.”

He wanted to kneel before his wealthy backer, who was just outrageously generous.

Yixing Video’s beginning was simply too spectacular. Other video streaming sites would be crying with envy and jealousy, and they would be panicking hard about this new competitor.

And this didn’t even include the content library of over one hundred and ten thousand film and television copyrights, which Stellaris Capital had spent more than three billion to acquire. Yixing Video was allowed to use these resources for free.

However, these copyrights were currently categorized as the intellectual property of another subsidiary under Stellaris Capital. They weren’t owned by Yixing Video, but the subsidiary granted Yixing Video free use of the entire content library.

This meant that Yixing Video was spared the enormous expense of content licensing. As a result, its largest expenditure would likely be bandwidth costs.

As time went on, Hou Junda continued to report to Fang Hong on the progress of the Yixing Video project. When Fang Hong felt he had a good enough grasp of the situation, he suddenly asked, “I heard you’ve been trying to poach talent from competitors recently, but it’s not going so well? Is that true?”

These words made Hou Junda feel slightly awkward. He gave a dry laugh and nodded honestly, “Indeed, I’ve hit a wall.”

Fang Hong was intrigued. He said succinctly, “Elaborate.”

So, Hou Junda explained the poaching process. After listening, Fang Hong shook his head and immediately said, “Poaching people is the right move. There’s nothing wrong with it; you’re doing the right thing. In the end, all competition in this world comes down to a battle for talent. Whoever gathers the talent wins the future. But that’s not how you poach people. Let me teach you a few tricks on how it’s done…”

The big shot was about to offer his guidance. Regardless of whether it would be useful, Hou Junda nodded repeatedly, assuming a posture of humbly awaiting his wisdom.

Tian Jiayi and Cao Chenghui, who were standing by, also turned their attention to Fang Hong. The latter paused for a moment before speaking in a measured tone, “What kind of talent do you need to poach to grow Yixing Video? Competitors, of course, specifically top-level talent from leading competitors. First question: is it easy to get a list of these people?”

Hearing this, Hou Junda couldn’t help but say, “To be honest, it’s not easy.”

Fang Hong said flatly, “Wrong. Getting a list of these talented individuals is easy. Very easy.”

Hou Junda: “Uh…”

Fang Hong glanced at him and then continued, “Let me ask you, does every industry have an association?”

Hou Junda nodded.

Fang Hong went on, “Then go talk to the people in your industry association. Propose an industry forum and networking event hosted by the association. The sponsorship fee won’t cost much; the company isn’t short on that kind of pocket change. Book a nice five-star hotel, a high-class venue. Then, in the name of the industry association, gather all the people you want to poach to attend the forum. Once they show up, won’t you naturally have their information in your hands?”

At these words, Hou Junda was momentarily stunned, then subconsciously nodded. “Right, why didn’t I think of that?”

Fang Hong said slowly, “You can’t poach people directly. When you approach a high-level talent from a rival company, they know immediately that you’re there to poach them. They’ll inevitably feel some resistance. After all, isn’t it a betrayal of their current employer? If they’re resistant from the very first contact, how can you possibly poach them? Real talent can’t necessarily be won over just by throwing money at them.”

Fang Hong then added, “But if you change the setting, create an event, an industry forum, to mask your true intentions, and use that as your first point of contact, their resistance will be greatly reduced. During the forum, don’t you need to communicate with them about their presentation script? When they send you their script, won’t you have a chance to engage in a clash of ideas with them about their content?”

Fang Hong looked directly at Hou Junda and said slowly, “The more your ideas clash, the more he’ll realize that you understand him. Even if you don’t, you need to find reasons to understand him, to plant the idea in his mind that you ‘get’ him. A very important motivation for most core executives or top talent to leave their company is that their boss doesn’t understand them. You must grasp one principle: people in this world are always more willing to build a career with like-minded people who understand them.”

Hou Junda nodded to himself, listening thoughtfully.

Fang Hong continued eloquently, “So, if you want to poach a truly high-level talent, you first need to create a setting, a setting where you can communicate on the same wavelength, one that allows them to lower their guard. Second, you must understand them. So, will you be speaking at the forum? Industry forums are also known as bragging conferences.”

“You’ll have an opportunity at the conference to brag to a large audience. What should you brag about? How much potential Yixing Video has? How much funding you have? How vast the future prospects are? You can’t brag about any of that. If you’re genuinely impressive, bragging will make others lose face. If you’re not impressive, bragging will just make them laugh at you internally. So, what you should brag about is dreams, passion, and the future!”

“Dreams. In this world, it’s usually people without dreams who follow those with dreams. People with small dreams follow those with big dreams. Most people earn hard-earned money, so you need to create an opportunity for equity. Tell them that you’ll first earn some hard-earned money together, and then you’ll lead them to make money from capital gains. His dream might have initially been just to earn a decent salary, but you suddenly open a door to a whole new world, showing him that by following you, he has a chance to earn from capital gains.”

“A lot of people say the core of recruiting talent is benefits, telling them how much money they can make with you. That’s laughable. Can’t a truly talented person make money with anyone? Why should they follow you? If you approach it that way, your caliber seems far too low. You should put it like this: ‘Let’s earn some hard-earned money first, but that’s not a long-term solution. We need to make money from capital gains together.’”

Fang Hong looked at Hou Junda and said calmly, “Do what I’ve just said. When he compares you to his current boss, the difference will become apparent. Differences are revealed through comparison. He’ll soon feel that following you offers a much better future. So, the first thing is to showcase the dream, and this dream must include the person you want to poach. It’s a dream that he can achieve with you. You have to let him know this dream includes him.”

At this point, Hou Junda was completely dazed. Wasn’t this exactly how Fang Hong had poached him to join Yixing Media and lead the Yixing Video project?

Good grief!

Fang Hong added, “After bragging about dreams, brag about passion. Don’t think talking about passion is too intangible. It’s not. To put it another way, it’s called personal charisma. And then, brag about the future. You need to paint a framework and blueprint of the future for him. The story has to be beautiful and compelling. Once you’ve bragged about these three things, he’ll have a decent impression of you.”

Taking a sip of water, Fang Hong continued to enlighten Hou Junda, “Everything I’ve mentioned so far is just the setup. Poaching requires skill. The next step is to create a private space, right? How do you do that? Drinking, for example. Whether you like to drink or not, you must understand that alcohol is a good thing. It can lower a person’s guard.”

“Inviting him out alone at the beginning might be very difficult. So, when you organize a drinking session, lock onto your primary targets. But don’t just invite the people you want to poach. You also need to bring a few supporters, a few wingmen, to sing your praises in front of them, to act as your endorsement.”

“At the drinking party, never get too drunk. If you do, you won’t be able to talk about anything serious. At the dinner table, people are usually a bit reserved at first. Chat a little, talk about celebrity gossip, whatever. After three drinks, go up to him and say, ‘Hey, bro, let’s have another one!’ This quickly closes the distance between people.”

“After drinking, don’t go to Karaoke. How can you have a real conversation at Karaoke? It’s actually hard to discuss serious matters at the dinner table; it’s mostly for bragging. After drinking, you should find a suitable teahouse to have some tea and sober up. That’s when the two of you can have a heart-to-heart talk until 3:30 in the morning.”

“So what should you talk to him about? For example: ‘Bro, frankly, your speech at the forum today was brilliant. Truly, great minds think alike. Every word you said hit upon the industry’s key issues, pain points, and highlights. For instance, when you talked about XXX, or that point about XXX… I think you’re not just someone who can help a company, but someone who can be a huge help to the entire industry. Actually, my biggest dream isn’t just to build up my company, but because I love this industry and want to push it forward, to contribute my strength to it…’”

At this point, Fang Hong looked at Hou Junda with a smile and added, “Follow that script, and won’t your class, caliber, and level immediately rise? At the same time, doesn’t it give him a way to save face? It allows him to psychologically convince himself that he’s switching jobs more for the development of the industry, and only secondarily for himself.”

“Try this and see if you can poach him. If you still can’t, then do one more thing. Go to his apartment building, stand downstairs, and give him a call. Say you just happened to be passing by and wanted to invite him down for a drink and a chat. Do this once, twice, three times, four times… If you still can’t poach him after all that, I won’t believe it. As long as you have a determined heart, there’s no talent you can’t poach.”

Finally, Cao Chenghui, who was standing to the side, exclaimed internally: [As expected of the Boss. You know he’s the real deal the moment he makes a move. I’ve learned so much.]

And Hou Junda, after this round of enlightenment, felt as if he had awoken from a dream—a sudden, profound realization. When he compared his own poaching tactics to his boss’s strategy, they were almost too embarrassing to look at. The big shot’s schemes were one after another, an interconnected chain of traps, and for the first ninety percent of the process, you couldn’t even tell his intention was to poach someone.

At this moment, Hou Junda was prostrating himself in admiration for the big shot. The big shot’s way of thinking was simply beyond his reach. It turned out that the people who “understand you” and “always have your best interests at heart” were secretly armed with a full arsenal of schemes.

…

Chapter 246: The Arrangement for a Parachuted-in Leader

After receiving such pointers from the big shot, Hou Junda’s confidence in the upcoming poaching operation soared.

Sitting beside them, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but look at Fang Hong. A peculiar light flickered in the beautiful assistant’s eyes as she secretly grumbled to herself, “So many schemes, all effortlessly devised and impossible to guard against. This guy must have a thousand tricks up his sleeve…”

No wonder he was the real big boss of Stellaris Capital.

Fang Hong stayed at Yixing Media for about an hour before leaving. Outside the company building, he looked at Cao Chenghui, who was walking beside him, and said, “I’m putting you in charge of Yixing Media’s business. You will also serve as the President of Art Star Media Group.”

So the Boss had a task for him after all. Hearing this, Cao Chenghui’s spirits lifted, and he immediately nodded in response, “Understood.”

Fang Hong’s decision was delivered with crisp decisiveness, fully demonstrating his absolute authority within Stellaris Capital. He then turned to his beautiful assistant and said, “Later, give Hua Yu a heads-up and have Zhao Sheng handle the work handover for this area.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay.”

Fang Hong then looked at Cao Chenghui again. “With a new leader parachuting in, your job at Yixing Media won’t be easy.”

Cao Chenghui replied with a smile, “Anyone can take it easy. I prefer to do challenging things.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong turned to glance at the smiling Cao Chenghui. Their eyes met, and Fang Hong gave a satisfied smile without saying a word. Cao Chenghui’s words had made his attitude clear: he was eager to climb the corporate ladder and be entrusted with greater responsibility.

Fang Hong looked away and got into his private car, and his beautiful assistant followed him in.

Cao Chenghui watched as the big boss got into his Maybach and drove away. He then got into his own car and quickly left as well.

Cao Chenghui quickly understood what the big boss meant. The first thing he would have to resolve after taking charge of Yixing Media was his relationship with the current de facto leader.

The acting President of Art Star Media Group was Zhao Sheng, but this was mostly a title in name only. The person actually on the front lines was Yang Guang, the man who had just received them. Yang Guang had been working very hard and diligently, driven by the motivation to shed his acting title and become the official President of Art Star Media Group.

Moreover, the employees within Art Star Media Group generally believed that in a little while, Yang Guang would take over the president’s position. Everyone already treated him as Yixing Media’s number one.

But now, the higher-ups had decided to parachute in an executive from the parent company. Such a personnel arrangement was bound to catch Yang Guang and the other employees of Yixing Media off guard. Yang Guang in particular, who had been working so hard, would see his expectations dashed. He might even feel like someone else was reaping the fruits of his labor, leaving him feeling demoralized and possibly resentful.

This decision by Fang Hong was, in fact, a test for both Cao Chenghui and Yang Guang.

It was a test of whether Cao Chenghui, as the parachuted-in leader, could quickly stabilize Art Star Media Group and unite its staff to set it on a path of steady development. If he couldn’t even handle a company like Yixing Media, how could he be expected to lead a major front in the future? And how could he be promoted to Stellaris Capital’s core leadership?

It was also a test of whether Yang Guang could quickly regain his composure after his expectations were shattered and continue to work as hard as before. If he couldn’t let go of something he never truly had, then such a mentality would prove he was unsuitable to be a leader.

Although Art Star Media Group was just one piece of Stellaris Capital’s larger puzzle, and its profitability might not rank among the top in the future, it was crucial in the battle for public opinion, and its importance was self-evident.

If Yang Guang possessed the insight befitting a leader, he would realize that Cao Chenghui’s appointment to Yixing Media was only temporary. Once Cao Chenghui moved on in the future, the position would open up, and as the second-in-command, Yang Guang would naturally be the one to smoothly step into the top role.

If he lacked even this much insight and couldn’t let go of what he never had, then the decision not to promote him would be absolutely correct.

As the ultimate big boss of the entire Qunxing ecosystem, Fang Hong’s most crucial task was personnel management, not micromanaging every single detail. Once a business grew large, trying to handle everything personally would only lead to being overworked to death and still not keeping up.

His job was to utilize his people effectively, delegate sufficient authority, and then firmly hold the power over their appointments and dismissals. His word had to be law.

Appoint the capable, and dismiss the useless.

That evening, in the Hua family’s mansion.

After dinner, Hua Yu was with his Father, Hua Yongming, discussing matters related to Stellaris Capital.

“Father, what approach do you think I should take with Cao Chenghui?” Hua Yu asked, looking at his Father. “Lately, it seems he’s been trying to form his own faction within Stellaris Capital…”

Cao Chenghui had been a headache for Hua Yu recently. He wasn’t one of the Huayang-affiliated personnel, but he’d had the heaven-defying luck of meeting a benefactor like Fang Hong, which led to his current success.

Hua Yu knew Cao Chenghui’s background; before meeting Fang Hong, he was just an unremarkable small-time boss, the kind who runs a sole proprietorship.

What was giving Hua Yu a headache now was that although Cao Chenghui wasn’t from the Huayang-affiliated circle, he had branded himself as Fang Hong’s man. This was his greatest asset within Stellaris Capital, and it was true that Fang Hong had brought him in, which made dealing with him tricky.

Hua Yongming was concise and to the point. “What is Fang Hong’s attitude?”

Hearing this, Hua Yu thought for a moment before replying, “I’m not exactly sure… Oh, right. This afternoon, Fang Hong’s assistant gave me a heads-up. He’s decided to put Cao Chenghui in charge of Art Star Media Group.”

Hua Yu had already had someone else in mind, but since the big boss had made a decision, he had no choice but to let Cao Chenghui be parachuted in. As the head of Stellaris Capital, he didn’t actually have the final say on everything. He couldn’t defy the big boss’s will; opposing the big boss would inevitably result in his own replacement.

At this point, Hua Yongming said, “If things go as expected, Fang Hong will likely promote Cao Chenghui to the Board of Directors in the future. His faction-building is probably also something Fang Hong has tacitly approved of.”

Hua Yu couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “Tacit approval? Isn’t he worried about the internal strife and friction this could cause?”

Hua Yongming replied calmly, “Only an incompetent leader would cause internal friction in a company. A capable and strong leader not only isn’t afraid of it but actually needs his people to form factions. He might even worry if you don’t form them, because with several factions inside, it’s easier for him to maintain control.”

Hua Yongming continued, as if talking to himself, “Fang Hong is the Founder, the one who decides your rise and fall. If he were dissatisfied with you and wanted to bring you into line, the Huayang-affiliated people would speak up for you. If he looked around and saw no one supporting him, it would put him in a difficult position. But when there are several factions, his move to discipline your faction will inevitably be supported by another. This avoids the risk of being cornered by a united front of subordinates.”

Why would the other faction jump to support the big boss? Because when factions exist, there are issues of resource allocation. For example, if someone from another faction makes a mistake and is dismissed by the big boss, the resources that person controlled are now up for redistribution. Are you going to fight for them or not? If you don’t, your own subordinates will. If you don’t fight for them, your people will be deeply disappointed and feel there’s no future in following you.

Hua Yongming explained methodically, “From a leader’s perspective, having the company be too united isn’t necessarily a good thing for him. If a time comes when their opinions differ from his, it becomes very troublesome. Fang Hong might have the final say, but you are the ones who have to carry out the work. If you don’t cooperate, it’s very difficult to implement things properly. Therefore, what Fang Hong needs is for his subordinates to be united under him, not united among themselves with the power to oppose him. That is the fundamental difference.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu had a sudden realization. “I see.”

Hua Yongming then looked at his youngest son and advised, “Fang Hong’s management philosophy is extremely valuable. You need to study it well while you’re with him. It will be of great benefit to you in the future.”

At this point, Hua Yongming couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. If any one of his sons had even half of Fang Hong’s ability, he could retire with peace of mind and confidently hand over the reins of Huayang Group.

Right now, he held his youngest son, Hua Yu, in the highest regard. By training under Fang Hong at Stellaris Capital, Hua Yu could one day take over and lead Huayang Group.

This thought brought Hua Yongming some relief. After a few years under Fang Hong’s tutelage, his youngest son was bound to turn out well. He no longer had to worry too much about Huayang’s successor and could hand over the reins with confidence when the time came.

Chapter 247: An Industry Sensation: Stellaris Capital Scores Another Massive Win Overseas?

The next day, Wednesday, July 22nd.

Today in the A-share market, after yesterday’s pullback, both markets opened slightly lower during the call auction before immediately launching into a rally without any retracement, staging a strong engulfing pattern.

Stocks in both markets saw a broad rally, with over 1200 of the more than 1500 stocks rising.

The market continued its “elephants dancing” trend, with ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks maintaining their upward momentum. Zhong Petrochemical hit its limit-up in the afternoon; the stock had doubled in value since the broader market bottomed out at just over 1600 points.

Zhong Petroleum also surged by more than five percent today.

The Shanghai Composite Index rallied to an intra-day high of 3301.43, touching the 3300-point mark.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had risen by +2.60% to 3296.61 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index was up +1.34% at 13353.21 points. The combined trading volume for both markets remained above the three hundred billion yuan level.

Over the last two trading days of the week, the market continued its upward trend.

On Thursday, the Shanghai Composite Index rose another +0.97% to 3328.49, successfully closing above the 3300-point mark.

On Friday, the index marked its third consecutive day of gains, closing up +1.33% at 3372.60. Its intra-day high reached 3398.05, nearly breaching the 3400-point threshold.

The latest data showed that the asset size of Fang Hong’s institutional account had reached a new high of one billion, seven hundred seventy-three million, seven hundred thousand yuan, a return of +153.38%, bringing him ever closer to breaking the two billion mark.

This week, the market was incredibly hot. Outside capital was rushing in, and amid the frenzy of a returning bull market, many investors who had missed out on the rally were eagerly jumping in.

…

Friday afternoon.

At the outdoor tennis court of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was playing tennis with a few girls. His opponent at the moment was Lin Yan.

A short while later, a business van pulled up to the villa’s main gate. Dressed in a form-fitting office lady outfit, his beautiful assistant, Tian Jiayi, got out of the vehicle. Upon entering the villa and seeing Fang Hong on the tennis court, she strolled over.

“Lin Yun, you’re up.”

Fang Hong said upon seeing Tian Jiayi approach. He handed his racket to Lin Yun, and the pair of beautiful sisters continued playing.

Tian Jiayi handed him the documents she had brought. After a quick look, Fang Hong made a decision. “Tell Hua Yu to begin a large-scale liquidation of our core asset targets in the A-share market starting next Monday.”

Fang Hong closed the folder, handed it back to her, and added, “The entire liquidation plan must be completed within the next seven trading days.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Understood.”

Currently, the total market value of Stellaris Capital’s holdings in the A-share market had reached a staggering one hundred forty-three billion yuan, with a net floating profit of eighty-nine billion. Once the liquidation was complete, cashing out and withdrawing the funds would easily secure a net profit of eighty billion yuan.

The current market conditions were the best they had been all year, reaching the fever pitch of the 2007 bull market. Daily trading volume was consistently above the three hundred billion yuan level. This level of liquidity was comparable to a market with a daily trading volume of a trillion yuan ten years from now.

After all, ten years in the future, the A-share market would have expanded to nearly five thousand stocks, whereas it currently had only around fifteen hundred. The trillion-yuan market during the 2015 leveraged bull market was a different story.

In short, now was the perfect time to retreat. There was ample liquidity and premium. The broader market index had been climbing from its bottom to nearly 3400 points, and the Shanghai Composite Index had already doubled.

The vast majority of individual stocks had doubled, some even several times over. For instance, Shanqi Coking Coal had increased 4.5-fold from its low point and had even set a new all-time high, breaking through the peak set during the previous major bull market.

Stellaris Capital had started building its position and perfectly timed the bottom when the market crashed to just over 1600 points. In about eight months, it had generated an average floating profit of around ten billion yuan per month, truly making a fortune.

Its overall investment return in the A-share market during these eight months reached approximately +164%, significantly outperforming the index.

In fact, based on Stellaris Capital’s initial twenty billion yuan used to buy the dip, the return on that capital reached an astonishing +293%. The reason the overall return was lower was due to an additional thirty-four billion yuan invested in late May, which had so far achieved a +67% return.

Even so, an overall return of +164% still outperformed the Shanghai Composite Index by a wide margin of sixty-five percentage points.

…

Shortly after the market closed this afternoon, the first piece of positive news emerged: the full implementation of the ‘stimulus package’ and the steadfast implementation of proactive fiscal policies and accommodative monetary policies.

In short, liquidity was to remain loose.

Shortly after, around 5:40 PM, another piece of news caused a sensation in domestic capital circles. An insider claimed to have reliable information that Stellaris Capital had returned triumphant with massive profits from its overseas investments, raking in over twenty billion yuan this time—double the amount from before.

Back in June, rumors were flying that Stellaris Capital had lost its shirt on its overseas investments. No one expected such a swift reversal.

Only now did people realize that the news from June had just been a rumor.

Several major domestic entertainment companies were beating their chests and stamping their feet in regret. That fake news had really done a number on them! They slapped their thighs in frustration, silently cursing themselves for being idiots. Back then, Stellaris Capital had said they hadn’t lost money, but they had refused to believe it, insisting the company must have suffered massive losses.

Now, they were full of regret, shedding tears over their own shortsightedness.

…

As the weekend began, another major piece of financial news related to Stellaris Capital emerged.

With July drawing to a close, major companies began releasing their preliminary half-year reports. A few that were quicker had already officially disclosed their half-year earnings. At the same time, many listed companies, especially blue-chip stocks, started announcing changes in their shareholders and institutional holdings for the second quarter.

And this news was about Stellaris Capital having massively increased its position in A-share blue-chip stocks by over thirty billion yuan during the second quarter. The news spread rapidly within financial circles, and retail investors were also discussing and analyzing it.

Even Fang Hong heard about it. He initially thought it was Hua Yu’s doing and had Tian Jiayi check to confirm.

On Saturday afternoon, Tian Jiayi went to the fitness room and reported to Fang Hong, who was on the treadmill. “I just called President Hua. It wasn’t Stellaris’s doing.”

Fang Hong stepped off the treadmill. The beautiful assistant handed him a towel she had ready. Wiping away his sweat, Fang Hong said thoughtfully, “It wasn’t? Then we’re being used.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, curious, “Being used?”

Fang Hong glanced at her, smiled, and said nonchalantly, “Believe it or not, right now there are probably some mouthpieces out there forcibly connecting yesterday’s news—the twenty billion the company brought back—and hyping up the idea that my Stellaris Capital is going to go all-in on A-shares.”

There happened to be a tablet nearby. Her interest piqued, Tian Jiayi picked it up and started searching for the latest news related to the capital markets online.

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant before looking away to do some leg stretches.

A moment later, Tian Jiayi stared at the tablet, slightly stunned. She then turned to Fang Hong and said, “You actually called it.”

Numerous institutions, analysts, and stock market pundits were commenting on the matter. They were all saying that Stellaris Capital was more bullish on the future of the A-share market, which was why it had cashed out from overseas markets and brought the funds back—all to increase its position in A-shares in the third quarter.

Stellaris Capital had decisively entered the market to buy the dip when the index fell to just over 1600 points, a time of utter despair for everyone. Then, in the second quarter, it had poured over thirty billion more into A-share blue-chips, making a fortune.

It was now hailed as the epitome of “smart money,” with a formidable track record among investment institutions. In terms of investment returns alone, it had left its peers in the dust. An institution with such sharp instincts is continuing to load up on A-shares, so what are you retail investors afraid of?

Just buy!

Clearly, this was using Stellaris Capital’s brilliant and formidable track record as an endorsement, followed by a frantic hype campaign to persuade investors who had missed the rally to jump in, claiming the market index would reach at least 4000 to 4500 points.

The narrative went something like this: An institution like Stellaris Capital is definitely more professional than you retail investors. These top investment firms are bullish on the future and are continuously increasing their positions, and capital is rushing in. If you don’t get in now, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself for not making money.

Investors who saw this kind of news found it very persuasive. Even those who had been hesitant about chasing the rise, after seeing similar analysis in forums and chat groups, made up their minds to jump in as soon as the market opened on Monday.

…

Chapter 248: The ChiNext Board is About to Launch, A Forward-Looking Layout

Tian Jiayi looked at the news on the tablet, lost in thought. She turned to Fang Hong and asked, “Some people want to use Qunxing’s brilliant track record as a forceful endorsement to create the impression that large institutions are piling in, attracting retail investors who missed out on the rally to follow suit. Should we react to this?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong chuckled and threw up his hands. “How should we react? We’re going to start liquidating our position on Monday anyway.”

“And after you liquidate?” Tian Jiayi pressed.

Fang Hong shook his head. “No reaction is the best reaction. No matter what you say in this situation, you’re wrong. If you jump out and say the money isn’t from new positions, investors will say you’re trying to destroy the market’s bullish sentiment and blame you for any big drop. If the market keeps rising, they’ll just laugh at you for missing out on the rally.”

Tian Jiayi mulled it over for a moment, then looked at Fang Hong with a puzzled expression. “But if we don’t react, isn’t that a tacit admission that the news about institutions piling in is true? When the third-quarter data comes out and everyone sees that Stellaris Capital’s holdings have disappeared, won’t it look even more like we deliberately put out that news to bullshit retail investors who missed out into holding the bag?”

Fang Hong naturally understood what she was trying to say. If they didn’t react, they would likely face even harsher criticism after the third quarter.

He smiled and met her gaze, retorting, “Who says our holdings will have disappeared in the third quarter? We can just buy them back before the Q3 shareholder data is updated, can’t we?”

His words stunned his beautiful assistant, leaving her speechless for a moment.

Fang Hong continued as if talking to himself, “This sharp drop down won’t go straight to the bottom. I reckon after the rapid plunge, there will still be a technical rebound during the third quarter. The technicals will form a sub-high point, with the index bouncing back by about 25 percent. Only then will the bear market officially begin.”

At this point, Fang Hong looked at his assistant again and added with a grin, “It solves the previous problem and lets us profit from the fish tail rally in the third quarter. Why wouldn’t we do it?”

Tian Jiayi said languidly, “Let’s hope the third quarter goes according to your perfect forecast.”

Fang Hong smiled. “It’s not hope. It’s a certainty.”

His words seemed to carry an absolute confidence. Tian Jiayi was a little skeptical. She hadn’t been with Stellaris Capital for long, nor had she ever copied Fang Hong’s homework like Cao Chenghui, which was why she had her doubts.

If it had been Cao Chenghui, he wouldn’t have had the slightest shred of doubt.

A short while later, Fang Hong picked up his phone and made a call. It was to Cao Chenghui. As soon as the call connected, a voice came through: “Boss!”

Fang Hong immediately asked, “You’re still holding the 50 ETF, right?”

Cao Chenghui replied, “Still holding it.”

The market this year had been a raging bull. The Shanghai Composite Index had already doubled, and the Shanghai SE 50 ETF had risen from a net value of 1.292 yuan when the market was at a low of over 1600 points last year to its latest net value of 2.745 yuan, a cumulative gain of +112.46%. Even just holding an ETF index fund this year would have resulted in huge profits.

The market trended in a one-sided rise, making it an easy money-making environment.

Fang Hong stated concisely, “Liquidate it if there’s a spike during late trading tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Chenghui on the other end of the line immediately responded, “You got it!”

When the Boss said it was time to get out, you get out decisively. Trusting the Boss was never wrong.

Cao Chenghui’s cost basis for this ETF product was 1.355 yuan, and his current floating profit had reached +102.58%. Moreover, he had used three times leverage, bringing his absolute profit to over seven million.

After hanging up, Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi and asked, “By the way, you’ve been tracking the Dongfang Yuhong stock, right? What’s its price now?”

Tian Jiayi nodded and replied, “Yes, I’m tracking it. It closed down last Friday, falling 2.37 percent to 25.15 yuan per share.”

Fang Hong smiled at her words. “Then let’s wait a bit longer. No rush. With the upcoming sharp market sell-off from the peak, this stock will definitely drop below 20 yuan. When it does, put all of that one million you have into it. Set your target price at around 75 yuan.”

His beautiful assistant nodded again. After all, any profit was hers to keep, and if there was a loss, her boss would not only cover the principal but also give her an additional subsidy equal to the amount lost, effectively doubling her compensation for the principal loss.

She would profit either way. All she had to do was follow his instructions.

…

Around five in the afternoon on the weekend, another piece of major news hit the capital markets: 108 companies recommended by 30 sponsor institutions had submitted their initial applications for listing on the ChiNext board to the CSRC.

Among these 108 companies, some had transferred from the “queue” for the SME Board, while others came from the over-the-counter system. The vast majority were innovative enterprises in fields such as new energy, new materials, biomedicine, electronic information, environmental protection and energy conservation, modern services, and modern manufacturing.

In the news, the launch of the ChiNext board was being hyped up considerably. Experts were proclaiming that the Oriental “Little Nasdaq” was about to land on the A-share market, directly comparing the ChiNext board to the Nasdaq in the US.

In short, the hype was off the charts.

Around 5:50 PM, Tian Jiayi made a trip to the company and returned with a file related to the ChiNext board.

As an investment management company, Stellaris Capital naturally paid close attention to the launch of the ChiNext board on the A-share market and intended to participate. Although Stellaris Capital had only been established for about a year, its current size already made it one of the top large-scale investment institutions in the country.

Tian Jiayi was dressed in casual, light summer clothes today, not her usual work uniform, as it was the weekend. At that moment, she was sitting with Fang Hong in the leisure area on the first floor of the villa.

“…According to the administrative approval schedule, excluding the time for feedback and revisions, the maximum time to complete the review of one company is about three months. A preliminary estimate suggests that if everything goes smoothly, the first batch of companies to list on the ChiNext board will officially go public in late October or early November.” Tian Jiayi handed the materials she brought back, which contained information on the hundred or so companies applying for a ChiNext listing, to Fang Hong.

“These three are our strategic investment targets. Don’t bother with the others.” Fang Hong glanced through the materials, casually circling three targets with a pen before adding, “After subscribing to these three, continue to increase our holdings. The lower they fall, the more we buy. Acquire a stake of no less than 15% and no more than 20% in each.”

Tian Jiayi glanced at the three companies he had marked and muttered their names, “EVE Energy, Aier Eye Hospital, CTI.”

Fang Hong had designated these three companies as strategic investment projects, meaning they would be held for at least five years and would be subject to large-scale accumulation of shares. Of the 108 companies applying for a ChiNext listing, no more than 30 would ultimately be approved.

According to the original historical trajectory, there were 28 companies in the first batch to list on the ChiNext board, and EVE Energy, Aier Eye Hospital, and CTI were definitely among them. EVE Energy and Aier Eye Hospital, in particular, would grow into listed companies with market caps in the hundreds of billions a decade later, capable of delivering investment returns of over 50 to 80 times.

Tian Jiayi made a note of his decisions to take to the company the next day.

Fang Hong kept his shareholding in the three targets below 20 percent for two reasons. First, it signaled that he was not seeking control of the companies. Second, a stake below 20 percent could lower taxes.

The percentage of a company’s shares held corresponds to different rights, responsibilities, and interests. Owning 5% of a listed company’s total share capital is a major warning line for equity changes and requires a stake disclosure.

A 10% stake grants the right to apply for the company’s dissolution; a stake below 20% can reduce taxes; a stake of over 30% is the standard for being recognized as a listed company’s actual controller; a 34% stake grants veto power on major corporate matters; a 51% stake is legally considered relative control and allows for the consolidation of financial statements; and a 67% stake provides absolute control over a company.

As an investment management company, Fang Hong’s approach to investing in a company was either to acquire over 51% of the shares to gain control or to keep the investment below 20% of the total share capital. This was because a stake under 20% resulted in lower taxes.

The decision to invest no more than 20% in EVE Energy, Aier Eye Hospital, and CTI was a financial investment action based on this logic.

…

Chapter 249: Out With the Old, In With the New

“Of course, after the ChiNext board opens, we should also go and show some support for the other stocks.”

Sitting on the sofa in the lounge area, Fang Hong spoke with a smile. After a moment’s thought, he looked at his beautiful assistant again and added, “Tomorrow, give Hua Yu a heads-up. Have him set up a few short-term funds and assign some traders to manage them. After the ChiNext board launches, have them give it a boost. It’d be great if they can make a profit, but as long as they don’t lose money, it’s fine.”

Tian Jiayi nodded gently. “Mm, understood.”

She immediately made a note of the task.

With the ChiNext board just opening, it was necessary to show some support as a sign of their proactive engagement.

Stellaris Capital’s assets had already surged past the hundred-billion-yuan mark, placing it firmly in the ranks of the nation’s top-tier large investment groups. Moreover, they had already earned a substantial amount from the A-share market.

It was only right to show some support; they weren’t lacking that kind of awareness.

The next day, Monday, July 27th.

On the first trading day of the week, the A-share market opened and both markets fluctuated their way higher, with both indices setting new highs for the year amidst rising volume and prices.

Investors who had missed out on the rally were now rushing into the market, chasing the rise. This was especially true for some retail investors who, influenced by the weekend news, had set their target for the market index at 4000 points and plunged in as soon as the market opened.

These investors rushed in with hopes of making a huge profit. As the market continued its upward climb throughout the day, extending its rally, they became even more certain that their judgment was correct. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to chase the rise; they could still make some good money.

However, the big money was secretly selling off their positions and making their exit.

Stellaris Capital was one of them. They were continuously selling their core asset holdings, planning to complete the entire sell-off within seven trading days. This meant cashing out over twenty billion yuan on average each trading day, which, given the current trading volume of the A-share markets, accounted for about 6% of the total.

They were liquidating most of their holdings, fleeing their positions while only retaining a few core assets, such as Moutai, which could weather both bull and bear markets.

As the day wore on, the market continued to surge higher into the afternoon.

It was another day of widespread gains, with over 1,200 individual stocks rising across both markets.

Around 2:30 PM, Cao Chenhui, having been notified by his boss, sold off his entire 50ETF position, which he had held for over eight months. He made a threefold profit on this investment. The 50ETF itself had doubled, and with the threefold leverage Cao Chenhui had used, his absolute profit was over seven million yuan.

On one side, retail investors were howling and rushing into the market, shouting that the bull was here.

On the other side, big money, institutions, and smart money were quietly withdrawing, distributing their shares and cashing out.

“Bro Hong, we’ve sold off all of Amethyst Mining,” Yifulei reported to Fang Hong as she watched the transaction data on the screen. It was already 2:45 PM in late trading, with about fifteen minutes left until the market closed.

Amethyst Mining had seen a colossal trading volume today, with turnover reaching a massive eight billion yuan. Even Zhongxin Securities’ volume was only around five billion yuan. Its turnover rate exceeded 11%. In late trading, it had rapidly climbed to a price of 12.25 yuan, a gain of +9.47%, and looked like it was about to hit the limit-up.

However, its attempt to hit the limit failed, and the price began to fall, at one point diving to the +6.34% level.

Amethyst Mining’s upward momentum was, to a large extent, brought to a halt by Fang Hong.

This was because he had frantically dumped 230 million yuan worth of shares, including principal and profit, to make his exit. The bulls were spooked by the 188,000 lots suddenly flooding the market, with tens of thousands of lots being continuously smashed out.

Time was running out, so Fang Hong had no choice but to dump the shares and run, as he needed the funds to buy into other stocks.

Although he knew the market was about to peak, that didn’t stop him from going all-in again.

As time ticked by, Fang Hong scanned the market information, then confirmed four target stocks and decisively issued new buy orders to the women. “Luo Lan, buy thirty-five million of TBEA; Xiao Yi, buy fifty million of Goldwind; Lin Yan, buy fifty million of Baogang Steel; Lin Yun, buy one hundred million of Baosteel.”

The four female traders bought the four stocks almost simultaneously. Many other investors also noticed these four stocks beginning to tick up and rally in late trading.

At that moment, Baosteel’s trading volume was rapidly approaching two billion yuan. In the final few minutes of trading, its volume surged, and its stock price shot up, repeatedly hitting new intraday highs.

+4.39%, one-minute volume of 39.44 million;

+4.76%, one-minute volume of 59.11 million;

+4.88%, one-minute volume of 43.68 million.

Over 140 million yuan in trading volume was generated within three minutes. The bulls and bears for this stock were both fierce. The bears sold aggressively, but the bulls absorbed the selling pressure even more aggressively.

Of the 140 million yuan that changed hands in those three minutes, 100 million was from Lin Yun’s purchase under Fang Hong’s command.

A short while later, the women reported in one by one.

Yifulei: “Thirty-five million of TBEA has been fully executed.”

Luo Lan: “Fifty million of Goldwind, all executed.”

Lin Yun: “One hundred million yuan of Baosteel, all done.”

Lin Yan: “My fifty million of Baogang Steel is also fully executed.”

Fang Hong glanced at his account holdings, nodding in satisfaction. After adjusting his portfolio, he was at full position once again. He looked around at the women and smiled. “Alright, that’s it for today’s work. You can all go do your own things now.”

Hearing this, the women all stood up and left the trading room.

Just then, the A-share market closed. Both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets had once again set new highs for the year, and the broader market had broken through the 3400-point mark in one fell swoop.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.86%, closing at 3435.21 points with a trading volume of 243.4 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +1.55%, closing at 13740.90 points with a trading volume of 111.7 billion yuan. The combined volume for both markets reached 355.1 billion yuan.

Fang Hong was still in the trading room. He glanced at his account information—it was another day of huge profits.

Holdings: 26 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +84.25 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +5.75%

Cumulative Return: 1.15795 billion yuan

Total Return: +165.42%

Total Assets: 1.85795 billion yuan.

He was just over 140 million yuan away from breaking the two-billion-yuan mark. It had only been two months since May 25th. When he switched to an institutional account, he had 700 million yuan. Now, it had grown to 1.857 billion. In just two months, his assets had increased by 1.157 billion.

Driven by the compounding effect, his returns were growing exponentially. Now, a single percentage point of profit meant over eighteen million yuan.

Just then, Fang Hong saw Yifulei return. She came back into the trading room alone.

Furthermore, as she entered, she furtively closed and even locked the door. Seeing this, Fang Hong knew that a loss of a few hundred million was likely unavoidable.

After locking the door, Yifulel turned to face Fang Hong. With a smile, she sauntered over to him. Standing before him, she feigned a serious expression and asked, “Bro Hong, is your little brother free right now? I want to play with him for a bit. I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

After she spoke, the maid’s serious expression broke into a playful, charming laugh.

Fang Hong replied calmly, “He’s sleeping.”

Yifulei feigned surprise. “Huh? It’s this late and he’s still sleeping? I’ll go wake him up. You just do your thing, don’t mind us.”

And with that, she truly paid him no mind. Fang Hong glanced down at the maid, then leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, sighing as if to himself, “Looks like I’m about to get extorted for a few hundred million again. But out with the old, in with the new. It’s not a bad thing…”

Afterward.

As Yifulei reached the door, she turned back to look at Fang Hong with a beaming smile. “Bro Hong, I’m leaving now. I’ll come find him to play again in a few days.”

With that, the maid left the trading room.

Fang Hong remained. After a moment, he tapped on the keyboard and entered a stock code:

【601668 (China State Construction)】

The code was already searchable in the trading software, but there wasn’t a single K-line yet because the stock had not yet been listed. It was scheduled to make its A-share debut the day after tomorrow, on Wednesday, July 29th.

The reason this company was so memorable to Fang Hong was that after the IPO market in the A-shares restarted this year, the listing of China State Construction, the first super-large-cap stock with a market cap over one hundred billion, had effectively confirmed the market top and ushered in a bear market.

China State Construction had a total share capital of thirty billion shares, with a planned issuance of no more than twelve billion shares, expecting to raise 42.6 billion yuan at an IPO price of 4.18 yuan per share.

The listing of this new stock was a major catalyst for the A-share market peak. By extension, the severe “liquidity drain” from new stock issuances became apparent, and China State Construction was the quintessential example.

For instance, some investors used four million yuan to subscribe to the China State Construction IPO, only to be allocated thirty-three lots. Out of their four million yuan, they only secured shares worth 13,700 yuan. However, during the subscription period, the entire four million yuan was frozen. This showed just how much liquidity was sucked out of the market by this single IPO.

This was an unavoidable situation. By this point in the rally, there were basically no cheap stocks left in the established sectors. Most of the older stocks had already doubled or even multiplied several times over in value. Even the poorer performers had risen by dozens of percentage points from their bottoms.

With the market having risen so much, old stocks were no longer cheap. A glance across both markets showed that any decent stock had basically doubled. For investors who had missed out on the rally, they were unwilling to risk buying in at these high prices. Subscribing to a new stock/IPO became the more attractive option.

Therefore, whenever a new stock was listed, everyone would scramble to subscribe. Many branch offices were now advising their clients with significant funds to do the same.

Chapter 250: Juggernaut IPO, Waterfall Decline!

Although China State Construction’s listing the day after tomorrow would create a powerful siphoning effect on the entire market, draining a massive amount of liquidity, blaming it for the peak of this A-share market rally would be laying it on a bit thick. In reality, the A-share market’s liquidity drains included not just IPOs, but also additional stock issuances and the lifting of lock-up restrictions on non-tradable shares.

Furthermore, in just over eight short months, the A-share market had triumphantly surged from a low of just over 1,600 points to its current level of over 3,400 points, essentially a one-sided rise.

The regulators were also concerned about another mindless surge followed by a crash and didn’t want the market to remain this frenzied.

Fang Hong mulled it over for a moment and decided this was a good time to post on Weibo and warn his followers of the risks. That was then, this is now. He hadn’t talked the market down when the index was below 2,000 points because the regulators wanted the A-share market to stabilize.

But now, the situation had clearly reversed. The regulators actually wanted the market to cool down.

Mindlessly talking up the market now would attract unwanted attention from the “village chief.” Being bearish was the correct answer at this moment. Whether one was bullish or bearish, one needed to adjust flexibly according to the situation.

Fang Hong had intended to post on Weibo right away, but seeing that his account was still about 142 million yuan short of his goal, he decided to wait until he hit the two billion mark. That would only take another two or three days.

…

The next day, Tuesday, July 28th.

The market was volatile all day, with intense fluctuations. The index’s intraday chart jumped up and down wildly. The Shanghai Composite Index once dropped by as much as -1.25%, breaking below the 3,400-point mark.

However, it quickly rebounded, tracing a V-shaped pattern in the morning session. After the afternoon session opened, it traced another V-shape. When it touched the intraday low again in the last half hour of trading, it was quickly pulled up to close in the green.

The broader market index edged up slightly to set another new high for the year.

As of the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up a minute +0.09% to close at 3,438.37 points, with a trading volume of 246.8 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index closed up +0.70% at 13,836.66 points, with a trading volume of 130.7 billion yuan. The total trading volume for both markets increased to 377.5 billion yuan.

The volume continued to increase today, but the price didn’t follow suit; it wasn’t a case of both volume and price rising in tandem. The daily K-line for the Shanghai Composite Index formed a hanging man line.

From a technical perspective, there weren’t any major problems with the broader market, and all the major technical indicators were healthy.

In today’s market, the steel sector led the gains. In late trading, it staged another “surprise attack” as a large-scale inflow of capital rushed in to snap up shares, causing more than ten stocks in the sector to surge to their daily limit.

The five steel stocks Fang Hong held from yesterday all brought in huge profits today. Baosteel Co. soared by +8.67%, Baogang Steel hit the limit-up at +9.84%, Maanshan Steel jumped +9.61%, HBIS rose +6.06%, and Angang Steel hit the limit-up at +10.03%.

Additionally, Goldwind, which he bought during late trading yesterday, surged +10.01% to its limit-up, and TBEA also rose significantly by +6.20%. As the market accelerated into its topping-out phase, the profit potential right before the tide went out was surprisingly strong.

If you don’t create profit potential, how can you attract people to hold the bag?

Creating profit potential and amplifying human greed makes it easier to sell off your position.

The index didn’t rise much today, but Fang Hong’s account continued to rake in huge profits.

Held Stocks: 28 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +85,270,000 yuan

P&L Ratio: +4.59%

Cumulative Return: 1,243,220,000 yuan

Total Return: +177.60%

Total Assets: 1,943,220,000 yuan

Although he earned over one percentage point less than yesterday, his absolute return profit exceeded the previous day’s, setting a new high for intraday profit. He was now just a step away from the two billion yuan mark.

Stellaris Capital continued to sell off its positions today, frantically cashing out over 27 billion yuan before exiting the market.

…

Wednesday, July 29th.

Today, the market welcomed the first hundred-billion-level juggernaut to list on the A-share market since the resumption of IPOs: China State Construction.

The market opened lower by -0.53% during the call auction. Some people were already getting out during the auction phase.

After the market opened, it quickly pulled back, and the Shanghai Composite Index soon fell by more than one percentage point. However, it then stopped falling and began to rebound. Around 10:00 AM, the index was about to turn positive. This move to pull prices higher was a bull trap that attracted a large number of retail investors who had missed out on the rally.

They thought the market had stabilized and was about to rise, so they rushed to buy.

In the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Yifulei looked away from the screen and turned to Fang Hong, “Bro Hong, we’ve completely liquidated our positions.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Mm, good job.”

Lin Yan immediately asked, “Aren’t we buying today?”

Fang Hong smiled and said, “We’ll buy, of course we’ll buy. But we’ll open new positions this afternoon. There’s nothing much to do this morning, so you’re all dismissed. Go have some fun. Come back around 1:30 PM.”

The women all nodded in unison and left the trading room.

Fang Hong remained, entering the stock code for China State Construction.

This juggernaut was listing today and was currently the most popular stock in both markets, receiving unparalleled attention from investors.

During the call auction, it opened high at 6.70 yuan, a +60.29% increase. In the first minute of trading, it posted an epic, massive volume of 4.4 billion yuan. Afterward, it surged all the way up. Around 9:45 AM, the stock price rallied to 7.92 per share, a gain of +90.19%, before quickly falling back. It was currently maintaining a gain in the +70% range.

At this moment, Fang Hong was watching the spectacle like a bystander. His positions had all been closed, and he was just waiting for the market to crash so he could scoop up shares below the opening price. He also planned to scoop some up in late trading to bet on a higher opening premium tomorrow.

Watching the more than 300 million yuan in funds change hands in that single minute at 9:45 AM, the investors who were left holding the bag at the 7.95 yuan price point didn’t realize that this price would be the super peak for the next five years. They wouldn’t even be able to think of breaking even within five years.

As time went on, around 10:47 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index rushed up to 3454 points, setting another new high for the year with a gain of +0.45%. Seeing the new high, a large number of investors chased the rise further.

But after hitting that point, the index started to turn downwards. Around 11:00 AM, the market turned negative again and then began to fall further.

Investors who bought the dip were immediately trapped. The market soon broke below the 3,400-point round number, and the decline widened to one percentage point. Investors flocked to buy the dip, but the index dived again, breaking its intraday low.

Another batch of investors bought the dip, but the sell-off continued.

As of the 11:30 AM close, the Shanghai Composite Index was down -1.73%, at 3378.88 points.

…

When the market opened at 1:00 PM, the index sold off further to around 3367 points, with the intraday decline widening to two percentage points, hitting the market index’s 5-day moving average.

At this time, traders using the “5-day line strategy” announced their entry to buy the dip. Quite a few investors bought along the 5-day moving average, and the market index was surprisingly supported at this level. Although it didn’t rebound, it didn’t continue to fall either.

That could only mean the army of “5-day line” warriors was massive. But this wasn’t without reason. Over the past six months or so, as the market rose steadily, the index had almost always stopped falling and rebounded upon pulling back to the 5-day moving average. It would recover either the next day or even the same day. Buying the dip on a pullback to the 10-day moving average was even more profitable.

So, when the index pulled back to the 5-day moving average again today, it attracted legions of investors to buy the dip just as they always had.

As time passed, under the frantic buying of the numerous “5-day line” warriors, the market index rebounded to around the -1.50% level.

But around 1:30 PM, the market sold off again, with the decline widening to three percentage points. The “5-day line” warriors held on for about half an hour before being wiped out. After the market dropped 3%, it began to consolidate again.

…

About half an hour after the afternoon session opened, Fang Hong and the team of female traders returned to the second-floor trading room.

This time, there were five women in the room, as a new maid named Hu Tao had joined that morning.

“Lin Yan, I’m leaving Hu Tao to you,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

“No problem, leave it to me,” Lin Yan replied with a charming nod. She then turned to Hu Tao and said, “I’ll teach you how to buy and sell stocks and all about it after the market closes. For now, just watch.”

“Okay, got it.” The newcomer, Hu Tao, was curious and a bit reserved. She never expected that working here would mean also being a stock trader.

Meanwhile, on the market.

After dipping to the -3% level, the Shanghai Composite Index began to consolidate, seemingly stabilizing.

At this point, many more investors entered the market to buy the dip. It had hit the 5-day moving average and then dipped again; it was a second pullback, a buying opportunity. The market was already down 3%, how much further could it fall?

Just buy it.

And yet…

They were immediately dumbfounded!

The A-share market quickly taught them a lesson. After 2:00 PM, the index held around the 3% drop for 20 minutes. This time, it didn’t even last half an hour before it sold off again to a new intraday low, and without even a decent defense.

At 2:14 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index broke below the 3300-point mark, with the intraday decline widening to four percentage points. At the same time, the technical indicator dropped to the 10-day moving average. The investors of the “10-day line strategy” all volunteered for battle.

Good grief!

The “5-day line warriors” had at least managed to hold on for half an hour. But now, the “10-day line warriors” came in and were wiped out on the spot. This level wasn’t just the 10-day moving average; it was also the 3300-point round number.

Yet, it couldn’t even hold for a minute before they were wiped out. Those who bought the dip didn’t even get a rebound, let alone a proper rally.

The entire market was now in a state of panic. The Big Finance sector dived straight down, dragging the whole market into a nosedive. Various bank stocks plummeted by more than 5% as capital fled in a stampede. The market immediately went into a waterfall decline.

…

Chapter 251: Aggressively Bottom-Fishing with a Full Position

Around 2:22 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index broke through the 3200-point mark, falling by more than 7 percent.

From its intraday high, the Shanghai Composite Index had dropped by 240 points.

The “five-day moving average warriors” and “ten-day moving average warriors” who had tried to buy the dip earlier were all wiped out. As the index fell below 3200 points, it reached the 20-day moving average line.

The twenty-day moving average warriors requested to join the fray.

But as soon as they jumped in, the index continued to get hammered. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged to around 3174 points, with its losses widening to 7.64%. Wails of agony could be heard across both markets.

The next line of defense was the 30-day moving average warriors, but at this rate, the broader market was heading for a limit-down.

In a single day, it had successively broken through 3400, 3300, and 3200 points. The previous five consecutive positive trading days were completely engulfed by this large bearish K-line. A decline of this magnitude was comparable to the market crash during last year’s A-share sell-off.

The broader market was down by more than 7 percent.

Around 2:25 PM, Fang Hong glanced at China State Construction. The stock had dipped to 6.21 yuan per share, its gains narrowing to +48.56%.

Market sentiment had hit rock bottom. It was time to act. Fang Hong decisively issued a trade order: “Lin Yan, Lin Yun, Yifulei, Luo Lan, each of you buy 150 million yuan worth of China State Construction. Place the order at 6.25 yuan.”

Upon hearing the command, the women acted almost simultaneously. Each placed an order for 150 million yuan, buying a staggering 600 million yuan worth of shares.

At this moment, the intraday market data for China State Construction was a frenetic game. The stock’s trading volume had already surpassed a staggering 26 billion yuan, with large orders of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of lots, being madly absorbed.

This massive 600 million yuan injection of capital was undoubtedly one of the major bullish forces in China State Construction’s late trading session today.

After giving the order, Fang Hong paid no more attention to the stock. Seeing that the women had all placed their orders, he immediately issued a new command: “Xiao Yi, buy 200 million yuan of Ping An Bank.”

The stock had surged by as much as +8.87% during the morning session, but had just plummeted and turned negative for the day. Without a second thought, he had the maid scoop up 200 million yuan worth of shares while they were underwater.

Seeing that both China Unicom and Pufa Bank were down 6 percent, Fang Hong issued another new order: “Luo Lan, buy 200 million of China Unicom; Lin Yun, you buy 200 million of Pufa Bank!”

Fang Hong then continued, “Lin Yan, buy 150 million of ICBC and 200 million of China Merchants Bank; Xiao Yi, buy 200 million of China Construction Bank and 200 million of Zhongxin Securities.”

The women all started buying upon receiving their orders. They were now very proficient, handling operations involving hundreds of millions of yuan with complete composure.

The volume of capital was massive. In just about three minutes, all orders were filled.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong wasn’t the only one with large funds buying the dip. Just as the market index hit 3174 points, it immediately began a sharp V-shaped rebound. In just five or six minutes, the Shanghai Composite Index bounced back to 3265 points, narrowing its losses to -5.03%. The index had rebounded by more than 2.5 percentage points.

This was the result of a strong rebound from heavyweight stocks in the Big Finance sector, which had plummeted earlier. The market had been dragged down by Big Finance, and now it was being pulled back up by it. Zhongxin Securities rebounded directly from being 8.43% underwater to -1.69%. Although it fell back to -4.07% by the close, the strength of the rebound was undeniable. The major bank stocks in the banking sector also halted their declines and rebounded to varying degrees after the sharp drop.

When the index was down 7.68%, Fang Hong had decisively gone full position, scooping up over 1.9 billion yuan worth of underwater stocks. With such a huge amount of capital, he bought only eight individual stocks today, five of which were banks: Ping An Bank, Pufa Bank, China Construction Bank, ICBC, and China Merchants Bank.

In addition, he bought three ‘Zhong’-prefixed stocks: China Unicom, Zhongxin Securities, and the newly listed China State Construction.

China State Construction, in particular, was scooped up with a massive 600 million yuan. The stock’s trading volume exploded today, reaching a terrifying 29.2 billion yuan.

As of the market close.

The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -5.00% to close at 3266.43 points, with a trading volume of 302.8 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged by -5.54% to 13070.59 points, with a trading volume of 132.2 billion yuan. The combined trading volume of both markets reached a staggering 435 billion yuan.

Today, wails of agony were heard pretty much everywhere in the A-share markets. The large negative candlestick was truly terrifying. Fang Hong had gotten out in the morning session to avoid the brutal sell-off and the resulting pullback on his profits, only to re-enter with a full position during late trading. While the market was a bloodbath for most, he still made a fortune.

Holdings: 8 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +65.87 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +3.39%

Cumulative Return: 1.30909 billion yuan

Total Return: +187.01%

Total Assets: 2.00909 billion yuan

Amid the market plunge, the account’s total assets officially surpassed the two-billion-yuan mark. After today’s crash, there wouldn’t be an immediate continuation of the sell-off. Instead, there would be a bull trap in the form of a strong rebound lasting a few days. A large amount of “national team” funds had entered the market during late trading to prop it up. The real decline would only begin once these funds were withdrawn.

There were still about three more days of fun to be had.

At this moment, the trading room was filled with the pleasant, chirping voices of the maids. They hadn’t left but had gathered around to teach the newcomer, Hu Tao, the basics of stock trading.

Fang Hong glanced at the institutional account, which had now reached a scale of two billion yuan. He had previously decided to post on Weibo once it broke the two billion mark, but given today’s brutal market where retail investors had suffered heavy losses, it didn’t seem appropriate for him to flaunt his huge win. He decided it would be better to wait until after the rebound, perhaps on Friday.

Meanwhile, out of the epic volume of over 430 billion yuan traded today, Stellaris Capital had furiously sold off a massive 40 billion yuan. This accounted for nearly 10% of the total trading volume of both markets. For today at least, Stellaris Capital was undoubtedly the biggest short-seller in the A-share market.

With such massive volume and so many people holding the bag, it was naturally a prime time for a massive sell-off.

In just three trading days, Stellaris Capital had already cashed out a whopping 97.8 billion yuan. They still had over 40 billion left, which they were confident they could sell off completely. They estimated they could cash out another 20 billion or so.

The remaining positions would be left untouched. While some stocks were being completely liquidated, others, like Moutai, hadn’t been touched at all.

…

At 5:30 PM, Tian Jiayi returned home from work. She was now in the living room, reporting to Fang Hong.

“The 21.9 billion yuan in pledged positions and their associated financing costs have all been settled. The company currently has about 100 billion yuan in liquid cash,” the beautiful assistant, Tian Jiayi, reported methodically.

They had cashed out 97.8 billion from the A-share market, repatriated 20 billion from overseas markets, and had a few billion in existing cash reserves, totaling over 120 billion.

After settling the pledged positions and their financing costs, the company was left with 100 billion yuan in cash reserves on its books. This 100 billion was no longer just paper profit; having been cashed out, the floating profit had become realized profit. It was a hundred billion in hard cash.

Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. After a moment of thought, he said, “Tell Hua Yu not to sell the remaining 20 billion-plus tomorrow. Wait for the rebound and sell on Friday, the day after tomorrow.”

Tian Jiayi replied, “Understood.”

…

The next day, Thursday, March 30th.

Following yesterday’s plunge, the A-share market opened higher today. Right from the opening bell, both markets experienced violent, wide-range fluctuations, with the intraday chart jumping up and down erratically.

In the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

The five maids sat in a row at their trading desks, while Fang Hong was at the main console.

The market opened at 9:30 AM, and the index quickly surged.

“Sell seventy percent of the China State Construction position immediately.” Fang Hong decisively gave the sell order. One minute into the trading session, China State Construction’s stock price, which had opened 4.13% higher, quickly surged to +5.67%.

Upon receiving Fang Hong’s order, the women immediately unloaded sell orders worth over 400 million yuan. Within that single minute, China State Construction saw a trading volume of 734 million yuan.

The more than 400 million yuan worth of shares were all sold.

Immediately after that one-minute surge, the stock turned and took a nosedive, with its gains quickly narrowing to +1.53%. However, it soon rebounded to +3.37% before pulling back to test its previous low again.

Fang Hong, who was watching China State Construction’s intraday chart, immediately said, “Luo Lan, buy 20 million yuan of China State Construction to ignite it.”

Luo Lan, now a proficient trader, immediately placed a 20-million-yuan buy order for China State Construction at the limit-up price. The stock instantly stopped falling and rebounded. Another wave of large funds followed suit, also pushing it up with about twenty million yuan.

Around 9:50 AM, China State Construction rebounded to +5.21%. Fang Hong immediately said, “Lin Yan, sell the entire remaining position in China State Construction.”

The maid Lin Yan executed the order at once, selling off the remaining one hundred million-plus yuan. A moment later, she reported, “Bro Hong, it’s all sold!”

Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction.

The 20 million yuan he just bought was to support the price, allowing the remaining position to be sold at a good price during a surge as shares changed hands. At this moment, China State Construction began to fall again.

As for the 20 million he had bought, he would just liquidate it tomorrow. It didn’t matter whether the stock gapped down or up at the open.

The stock would probably surge further in the afternoon, maybe to six or seven percent, but Fang Hong wasn’t obsessed with selling at the absolute peak.

He had gone in hard on China State Construction with 600 million yuan. Waiting for an afternoon surge to get out would likely be a futile effort, and he might even lose money. The trading volume in the afternoon couldn’t compare to the first half-hour of the morning session. Trying to unload a massive position of over 600 million yuan then could very well crash the stock’s price.

Another important reason was that he had other stocks to manage. He was now doing ultra-short-term trading with large positions, and time during the trading session was precious, especially the first half-hour in the morning.

Yesterday, he had bought the dip in China State Construction at an average price of 6.24 yuan. Today, he sold it all during the surge at an average price of 6.88 yuan. This trade netted him a 10 percent gain, with an absolute profit of over 60 million yuan—a huge win for sure.

…

Chapter 252: Winning Effortlessly Feels Great, and It Always Feels Great to Win Effortlessly!

The market index, after opening, quickly surged to 3335 points, an increase of over two percent. It then plummeted to 3215 points in a panic sell-off, dropping 1.55 percent. But just as the broader market was about to fall below the 3200-point mark, it began to rally with fluctuations, executing a pullback to the 20-day moving average before climbing higher.

The battle between the bulls and bears was exceptionally fierce.

After 10:00 AM, the banking sector exploded. Bank stocks surged higher on explosive volume. Around 10:07 AM, Ping An Bank’s stock price hit 26.18 yuan, a +10.00% increase, sealing its limit-up.

The moment it hit the limit-up, Fang Hong decisively issued a sell order: “Ladies, dump all the bank stocks. Hurry, hurry! The last one to sell gets a spanking.”

The women giggled but quickly executed the collective sell-off. The Ping An Bank shares were all sold at the limit-up price. Pufa Bank was sold for a profit of over seven percent, China Construction Bank for over five percent, China Merchants Bank for around four percent, and ICBC for around three percent.

A moment later, the women announced in uncanny unison, their voices as pleasant as the chirping of orioles, “Bro Hong, we’ve sold everything.”

Fang Hong nodded with satisfaction. Now, he was only holding two stocks: China Unicom and Zhongxin Securities. At that moment, Zhongxin Securities was underwater by about -1.2 percent, while China Unicom was up over five percent.

Fang Hong had no intention of selling these two stocks; he was holding them with a bigger picture in mind. There would be a surge in the afternoon—Zhongxin Securities was expected to rise by three percent, and China Unicom was expected to hit the limit-up during late trading. The trading volume for both stocks was enormous, starting at five billion, and they hadn’t seen their full volume yet. Besides, he hadn’t bought nearly as much as he had of China State Construction, so he wasn’t worried about being unable to unload them.

Today, it was still the stock with the highest trading volume in both markets. Although it was a significant shrinking volume compared to yesterday’s massive 29.2 billion, hitting a volume of ten billion today shouldn’t be a problem.

After dealing with the banking sector stocks, Fang Hong once again directed the ladies to enter new positions.

…

Meanwhile, at the Xinhong Securities proprietary trading desk.

Fei Liang, who was copying his homework, saw that Fang Hong’s institutional account data had been updated and couldn’t help but mutter, “The master is done with the Big Finance sector and is going back to ‘mining’?”

Fei Liang saw that the newly entered target stocks were all in the non-ferrous metals sector. He immediately said to the traders under him, “Time to get to work…”

A moment later, Fei Liang added, “Mark them…”

The master wasn’t done buying yet, so they could only mark the stocks for now. They would buy in after he was finished to help pump up the price for him.

Fei Liang looked at the fund he was managing, which had already swelled to a massive 1.1 billion, and was overcome with excitement. It felt like a dream; he even felt like he was a Stock God.

At least a “Stock Demigod,” right? Can’t find a flaw in that!

He had made an insane amount of money by secretly copying homework, and the traders under him were also ecstatic. They were set to share a five percent commission on the fund’s profits, which amounted to nearly fifty million.

Winning effortlessly once is a thrill, but always winning effortlessly is pure bliss!

…

After the market closed at 3:00 PM, both markets had staged a rebound on shrinking volume.

The Shanghai Composite rebounded to close at 3321.56 points, up +1.69%. The 3300-point mark was lost and then regained. The trading volume was 226.6 billion. The Shenzhen Component rebounded to close at 13272.53 points, up +1.54%. The total trading volume for both markets was 334.8 billion, a massive decrease of over one hundred billion compared to yesterday’s volume.

Of the eight stocks Fang Hong had entered yesterday, the five bank stocks performed as follows: Ping An Bank closed up +10.00% at its limit, with a trading volume of 4.8 billion; Pufa Bank closed up +7.52%, with a volume of 4.2 billion; China Construction Bank closed up 6.02%, with a volume of 3.9 billion; China Merchants Bank closed up +4.15%, with a volume of 3.5 billion; and ICBC closed up +3.29%, with a volume of 3 billion.

China State Construction closed up +6.28%, with a trading volume of 11.2 billion; Zhongxin Securities closed up +3.15%, with a volume of 6.4 billion; and China Unicom closed up +9.57%, with a volume of 5.1 billion.

Today’s rally on shrinking volume had been a day of super huge profit for Fang Hong. He reaped a massive profit of over seven percent on his full position, once again setting a new record for his single-day profit.

His latest holding data was:

Holding: 14 stocks

Daily P&L: +145,860,000 yuan

P&L Ratio: +7.26%

Cumulative Return: 1,454,950,000 yuan

Total Return: +207.85%

Total Assets: 2,154,950,000 yuan

Today’s profit was “1.45 small goals.” Since switching to an institutional account about two months ago, he had tripled his funds. To achieve an average monthly return of doubling his money with such a large amount of capital was an incredible feat.

Ultimately, big-ass stocks were more profitable. A small-cap stock doubling in price might not yield the same absolute profit as a big-ass stock hitting its limit-up.

Fei Liang, the homework-copier, felt like kneeling before the master. He swore this was the most brutal wealth-harvesting machine he had ever seen in his entire career.

A truly ruthless wealth-harvesting machine.

In a sense, profit and loss share the same source. The truth of the capital market is that every profit one person makes is a piece of flesh cut from another, especially in the zero-sum game of short-term trading.

When someone makes money, someone else loses it. Those who get in first profit from those who come later. If no one else comes, the person holding the last stick is left with the loss.

Although Fang Hong had entered fourteen new stocks today, he only invested about one billion yuan, which was about a 46% position.

He wasn’t at full position because the large-cap stocks wouldn’t have much movement tomorrow. With the market’s volume shrinking drastically, it meant he couldn’t build a large position in any single stock, unlike yesterday when he could go full position on just eight big-ass stocks without worrying about exiting them all the next day.

If he were to buy thirty or forty stocks, Fang Hong’s strategies could easily handle it.

But the ladies couldn’t.

He was short-staffed now. Although Lin Yan, Lin Yun, Luo Lan, and Yifulei were skilled, they still found it very taxing to keep up with the pace of Fang Hong’s short-term strategies.

As for Hu Tao, that girl was still a newbie who had just started trying today. She hadn’t even passed her probationary period.

If he had seven or eight skilled girls, it would definitely be enough. They could perfectly keep up with the rhythm of his short-term strategies.

But Fang Hong didn’t really care.

You could never earn all the money in the market, and the Chinese A-share market wasn’t going to close. There was no need to go full position and fight hard every single day. In fact, even if he had seven or eight highly skilled traders right now, he wouldn’t bother with thirty or forty stocks.

No other reason than it was tiring!

At that moment, in the trading room on the second floor of the villa, as soon as the market closed, Fang Hong was instantly surrounded by a bevy of beauties.

“You’re making over a hundred million in a single day now.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just incredible. It’s already at 2.1 billion.”

“Not even a money-printing machine is this ridiculous.”

“Bro Hong, you’re amazing”

The women gazed at Fang Hong with eyes full of admiration, their chatter as pleasant as the chirping of orioles. Except for the newcomer Hu Tao, Lin Yan, Yifulei, and the others were not at all reserved around Fang Hong. They knew their young, tall, handsome, and rich employer was a good person who put on no airs with them.

Sometimes he would even make suggestive jokes, which made them both blush and feel delighted, even looking forward to it.

Yes, when a man who is tall, handsome, and rich does it, it’s playful. If a man who is short, poor, and ugly does it, it’s harassment. One had to admit that double standards were everywhere in this world.

“You all deserve credit for achieving such handsome returns,” Fang Hong said with a smile, looking around at the women. After a moment’s thought, he made a decision. “How about this? As a reward, you can all go on a shopping spree. Pick a time to go shopping, and everything will be on Bro Hong’s tab.”

At his words, the women erupted in joyous cheers.

Just then, Lin Yan, seemingly overcome with excitement, suddenly leaned toward Fang Hong and gave him a sweet kiss. The act stunned the other excited girls, as well as Fang Hong himself.

For a moment, everyone fell uncannily silent.

Luo Lan and the others all shot Lin Yan a strange look. Feeling their gazes, she blushed and said meekly, “Bro Hong, I’m sorry. I got too excited and couldn’t help myself…”

In truth, this was a little scheme on Lin Yan’s part. She had clearly seized the opportunity, using the excuse of being overly excited to make a bold move, and then used that same excuse to explain it away.

At that moment, Fang Hong looked at Lin Yun and the other girls and feigned displeasure. “Look at you all. See how enlightened Lin Yan is? Where’s yours? All of you are just standing there. Bro Hong is very disappointed…”

The women were taken aback for a second before bursting into coquettish laughter. Yifulei, being bolder than the others, hummed flirtatiously, “Hmph, in your dreams.”

Fang Hong glanced calmly at the maid-like Yifulei and said, “How dare you push back against your boss? I’m docking your pay!”

Yifulei whined again, “As if you haven’t pushed me around enough?”

The other girls were stunned by her words, looking at Yifulei with suspicion. Listening to her, it seemed like Fang Hong often lost his temper with her.

But that couldn’t be right. Fang Hong never seemed to get angry with any of them. There had to be some other story behind it.

“Ha—?” Fang Hong said, feigning seriousness. “You dare speak to your boss like that? I’ll have a word with Xiao Yu later and dock ten percent of your salary this month to teach you a lesson.”

“No~, Xiao Yi knows she was wrong,” Yifulei immediately surrendered, her voice soft and bewitching.

“Don’t let it happen again,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

Yifulei suddenly stepped forward and planted a sweet kiss on him, causing Lin Yun and the other girls’ eyes to widen once more. Yifulei looked at Fang Hong and said with a mischievous grin, “Mhm~, thank you, Bro Hong.”

Luo Lan glanced at Lin Yan and Yifulei and muttered to herself, “Those two are a bit too bold. If Xuanxuan finds out, they’ll be in for it…”

And yet, while Luo Lan was thinking this, she secretly wanted to do the same thing and show her affection for Fang Hong.

But she was too timid and didn’t dare to be so blatant.

Just then, Fang Hong looked around at the women and said with a smile, “Alright, alright, stop messing around. You’re all dismissed.”

Everyone nodded and filed out of the trading room. Fang Hong then called out to Lin Yan, who was the last to leave, “By the way, Lin Yan, go talk to Xiao Yu. Have her reimburse the shopping expenses. And while you’re at it, just invite her to go with you all. You can decide on the time yourselves.”

Lin Yan smiled charmingly and nodded lightly. “Mhm~, okay.”

After speaking, she continued to hold Fang Hong’s gaze for a few moments, her eyes as soft as water. Lin Yan suddenly blushed and looked away, then silently turned and left.

Fang Hong stared at the doorway, stroking his chin in thought. “Something’s a bit off with that girl. Was what she just did intentional or not? The possibility of it being intentional is extremely high!”

…

Chapter 253: A Weibo Post to Send the Retail Investors into a Frenzy

The next day, Friday, July 31st.

Following Wednesday’s massive sell-off and yesterday’s rebound on shrinking volume, the A-share market gapped up significantly at the open. The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 3354.68, up +1.00% during the call auction. This turn of events made those who had sold at a loss during late trading on Wednesday beat their chests and stamp their feet in regret.

In the first hour after the open, the two markets experienced a volatile pullback. Around 10:00 AM, after the broader market retraced to the 10-day moving average and filled the regulatory gap below, it began a volatile rally, looking to form an engulfing pattern over the huge bearish candle from Wednesday.

Many retail investors were indignant, feeling unwillingly shaken out of the market, and charged back in today.

In the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence.

Fang Hong was methodically directing the girls to execute trades, managing the stocks they had bought the previous day—selling what needed to be sold and holding onto the positions they intended to keep for the long term.

Today, he continued to enter new target stocks. He was now rotating with a half position instead of aggressively trading with a full one.

Meanwhile, Fei Liang, a trader at Xinhong Securities’ proprietary trading desk next door, noticed that the Master’s target stocks had gone quiet. He immediately instructed the traders under his command, “Start buying Zhongguo Ocean Shipping, Zhonghai Container Lines, Zhongguo Shipbuilding, Zhongyuan Shipping, and Zhongji Group!”

The Master was ‘mining’ yesterday, and today he had pivoted to ‘chartering ships’ for export. He was back to playing stocks in the shipping sector, specifically the ‘Zhong’-prefixed state-owned enterprises.

A short while later, Fei Liang refreshed Fang Hong’s backend data and saw him entering new positions. He decisively said, “Mark Baogang Steel, Jinan Steel, Angang Steel, Antai Group, and Yantai Chemical.”

After some time, Fei Liang refreshed the data again and continued to mark several more of the Master’s target stocks. He noticed that for the past two days, the Master had been trading with a half position, so he also proportionally reduced his own position by half.

It was safe to say that Fei Liang was practically mirror-trading Fang Hong’s picks. It was a completely braindead, follow-the-leader strategy.

By the market close today, the Shanghai Composite Index had surged by +2.72% to close at 3412.06 points, reclaiming the 3400 mark. The Shenzhen Component Index soared +3.00% to 13670.72 points. The total trading volume for both markets was 334.6 billion yuan, another rise on lower volume.

Account holdings after the market close:

Positions Held: 15 individual stocks

Daily P&L: +56.3 million yuan

P&L Ratio: +2.61%

Cumulative Return: 1.51125 billion yuan

Total Return: +215.89%

Total Assets: 2.21125 billion yuan

At the close of trading today, Fang Hong’s account held only a 45% position overnight for the weekend. He planned to cash out this 45% position at Monday’s open and then take a break, staying in cash. After aggressively trading in the A-share market for the better part of a year, it was indeed time for a rest.

Around 5:35 PM, Tian Jiayi returned from work and reported to Fang Hong on Stellaris Capital’s liquidation of its A-share market positions.

“All target stocks slated for liquidation were sold off today. The company cashed out 122.5 billion yuan from the A-share market, and our current cash reserves are around 131.8 billion yuan,” Tian Jiayi reported to Fang Hong in the second-floor study.

“Give this document to Hua Yu.” Fang Hong handed her a folder from his desk, adding, “Just follow the instructions in the document and execute the corresponding operations.”

This document contained a new list of publicly traded A-share companies that Fang Hong had screened over the past few days. The market was headed for a sharp, month-long sell-off, at which point Stellaris Capital would re-enter and buy the dip.

This would solve the potential problem of being exploited by some institutions, while also forcing him to make another profit along the way.

For the second entry, the company would provide 70 billion yuan of its own funds. Then, it would pledge these 70 billion in stock holdings to secure about 30 billion more, meaning they would go long on the A-share market with approximately 100 billion yuan.

The current size of the A-share market was not suitable for injecting too much capital. Of this 100 billion yuan, most of the stocks were not intended for long-term holding. Aside from a few core assets that could weather both bull and bear markets, the rest would be completely withdrawn around December of this year.

Therefore, he couldn’t recklessly add leverage, lest he give back the profits he had earned. If he got trapped, he would either have to sell at a loss or wait until the great bull market of 2015 to break even.

Even for the core assets that could endure market cycles, he had to consider the circumstances. For instance, Moutai’s stock price would eventually be slashed in half due to issues with “three public consumptions” policies, so that was a risk to be avoided.

With this 100 billion yuan investment, Fang Hong’s expectation was to achieve a +30% to +35% return by the end of the year, which translated to a profit of 30 to 35 billion yuan.

Tian Jiayi took the file from Fang Hong. Their eyes met as she said, “There’s one more thing. President Hua informed me today that Huayang Group intends to directly convert the 10 billion yuan they swapped with you into equity, changing it to a holding in Stellaris Capital.”

This 10 billion yuan was what Fang Hong had obtained last year by pledging his profit rights for the next thirty years to Huayang Group. At the time, Fang Hong had told Hua Yu that if Huayang Group didn’t want the money back within the year, it would be converted through a debt-to-equity swap.

The conversion would be based on a valuation of 350 billion yuan, making the 10 billion yuan an asset of Stellaris Capital. In return, Huayang Group would receive a 2.85% stake in the company.

Of course, Huayang Group wouldn’t directly hold shares in Stellaris Capital. Instead, its stake would be reflected in “Shenxing,” the limited partnership that controlled Stellaris Capital.

Investors seeking to invest in Stellaris Capital didn’t buy its shares directly. They invested in “Shenxing” as resource partners, and since “Shenxing” exclusively held shares of Stellaris Capital, investing in “Shenxing” at the right valuation was equivalent to investing in the latter.

Huayang Group had previously invested one billion yuan in Qunxing for a 5% stake. With the decision to convert the 10 billion yuan, after dilution and recalculation, Huayang Group would end up holding a 7.7% stake in Stellaris Capital.

Hua Yu’s personal 1% stake would be diluted to 0.97%. As a senior executive of Stellaris Capital, his shares were held in a company called “Zhenxing,” which also held shares in Stellaris Capital. The logic was the same as “Shenxing,” except “Zhenxing” was comprised of internal senior executives and employees of Stellaris Capital.

Once the debt-to-equity swap was complete, the thirty-year profit rights pledge agreement between Fang Hong and Huayang Group would also be terminated.

Fang Hong replied succinctly, “No problem. Just follow the procedure.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay.”

Huayang Group no longer had any doubts about the valuation Fang Hong had placed on Stellaris Capital. Its net asset value alone had already surpassed two hundred billion yuan, an astonishing expansion in just one year.

It seemed incredible to even think about.

But both Hua Yu and his father, Hua Yongming, knew it was true, for they had a clear view and had witnessed firsthand how Stellaris Capital had risen over the past year.

That made it all the more shocking.

After finishing her report, Tian Jiayi left the study. She returned to her room, changed out of her work uniform and into form-fitting workout clothes that perfectly outlined her curves. The beautifully dressed assistant then headed to the gym to exercise.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong was still in his study. He opened his computer and logged into his K3478 Weibo account, which he hadn’t used in two months.

He glanced at his follower count—it had surpassed twelve million. He was, without a doubt, the number one finance and investment blogger in the country.

Fang Hong immediately posted a new update, uploading a pre-prepared screenshot of his account returns and composing the accompanying text.

This Weibo post was going to be bearish. He was doing this based on his judgment that the regulators wanted the market to cool down, and it also served as a warning to his followers not to throw their money away. As for how many would listen, that was up to fate.

Fang Hong figured that once this post was out, especially after the market began to fall, his follower count would likely see another massive surge, perhaps even reaching fifteen million.

After a moment’s thought, Fang Hong began typing on his keyboard, editing the text:

[July officially concludes today. The total assets in the account as of July 31st are locked in at 2.21125 billion yuan. Since switching to an institutional account at the end of May, I’ve achieved a +215% return in two months, with an absolute profit of over 1.5 billion yuan.]

[I entered the A-share market around July last year, so it’s been exactly one year. Starting with an initial capital of just over 60,000 yuan to the current 2.2 billion-plus, the investment return for this year is +3,284,037%, or about 32,840 times. I’m quite satisfied, haha…]

[Now, let’s talk about the market. What’s next for A-shares? My personal judgment is that the market will enter a correction period in the coming month of August. My overall view for August is bearish, based on the following six factors.]

[Factor 1: The market lacks hot sectors and new catalysts.]

[Factor 2: The trend of month-on-month growth in industrial value-added has been broken.]

[Factor 3: Selling pressure from profit-taking. There are too many accumulated profits from the early rally, with many positions having nearly doubled in value.]

[Factor 4: A decrease in new loans. The scale of credit in July is likely to be far less than in June, and the market is facing pressure from financing and refinancing.]

[Factor 5: Accelerated IPO issuance. The ChiNext board’s review committee has been established and is expected to launch soon. From an expansion perspective, this will dilute market funds away from hyped-up individual stocks. The ChiNext board will siphon significant liquidity away from the main board.]

[Factor 6: High fund positions may face redemptions. Many funds have positions exceeding 90%. I believe the current market fervor has allowed previously trapped fund investors to reach their break-even point. It’s likely many fund investors will start redeeming their funds once they break even, forcing fund managers to sell stocks to meet the redemption pressure.]

[In summary, my outlook for the August market is primarily bearish. My strategy is to stay in cash and take a break. At most, I’ll play around with a small fund of 100 million yuan just to keep an eye on and track the market.]

Chapter 254: Outrageous Profits That Caused a Sensation in the Circle

Fang Hong finished editing the text, gave it a quick scan to make sure there were no issues, and hit send.

But then he discovered he had exceeded the character limit.

The current character limit for a Weibo post was 256 characters. The text Fang Hong had written was over five hundred characters long. He either had to delete half of it or split it into two separate posts.

However, he didn’t choose to delete half the text, nor did he plan to publish it as two separate posts.

Instead, he copied the text he had written, opened a Word document, pasted it in, made some minor adjustments, and then took a screenshot.

If the text exceeded the limit, he could just post it as an image.

Fang Hong uploaded the screenshot, deleted all the text from the post box, and published the Weibo update with a single click.

…

In a certain stock trading group chat.

The group was quite lively at the moment, with members engaged in post-market analysis, discussing the trends of individual stocks, or debating the possibility of the market index hitting a new high next Monday.

But just then, a group member suddenly forwarded the two images Fang Hong had just posted on Weibo to the group.

The two images were a screenshot of his profits and a screenshot of the edited text.

Whoosh—!

After a moment of stunned silence, the members of the group chat erupted!

[What? What the heck? K-God has already made over 2.2 billion?]

[My goodness…]

[It went from 700 million to 2.2 billion in just two months?]

[That’s insane, K-God. The A-share market has basically become your personal ATM.]

[Grandmaster is awesome (voice cracking)!!!]

[Thirty thousand times in one year, can you believe it? Can you believe thirty thousand times in one year?]

[Last year at this time, I had 100,000 in my account, 30,000 more than K-God. A year later, my account is at 130,000, while K-God has over 2.2 billion. Damn it, this is just ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous.]

[I’m so jealous.jpg]

[Me too.jpg]

[Ten thousand times in October, thirty thousand times in a year. This is too damn much.]

[This must be the work of a god!]

[It’s truly awesome, really. This rate of return is completely beyond my comprehension. I can’t believe someone can actually make thirty thousand times their investment in a year.]

[To be exact, it’s over thirty-two thousand eight hundred times. That’s insane, simply outrageous!]

[Are you guys only paying attention to one picture?]

As the group members were left speechless by the terrifying profit screenshot, someone finally mentioned the second image. The conversation then shifted to the content of the second picture.

[Listen to this, is he even speaking human? “Just playing around with a small fund of one hundred million”… Good grief, I’m just… wow. One hundred million is just “a small fund to play with” in the Grandmaster’s eyes…]

[Damn it, he successfully flexed on us again!]

[As expected of the Grandmaster. I give this flex a perfect score.]

[That’s too much! K-God, don’t you ever consider the feelings of us retail schmucks? (facepalm.jpg)]

[That’s right. For K-God, one hundred million is just a small fund to play with. It’s less than 5% of his total current position.]

[K-God is actually bearish on the market?]

[Got it. Selling off everything and staying in cash next week.]

[Dude, you just said you were going full position and all-in next week. Now you’re going to stay in cash?]

[The six bearish factors K-God analyzed… the logic seems pretty solid!]

[Are we just going to stay in cash like that? I’m not resigned to it. That Wednesday plunge really hit me so hard I couldn’t get out of bed for three days, took a limit-down hit with a heavy position. Why is it so hard for me to make a little money?]

[Me too. Haven’t had a bite of meat, but haven’t missed a single knife. I lose when I chase the rise, lose more when I buy the dip. It drops as soon as I buy, rises as soon as I sell. It keeps rising when I’m just watching, and keeps dropping when I hold on. When it goes up, it’s a straight line; when it goes down, it’s endless… Why is it so hard for me, but for K-God, making money is as easy as drinking water?]

[Anyway, it’s extremely rare for K-God to be bearish. I’ll be more cautious. I’ll get out when the market opens next week and see what happens. If the market index doesn’t hit a new high, I’m out. No hesitation.]

[I think K-God might be wrong this time. The market is in a trend, and trends aren’t so easily broken. It’s the result of the market’s collective force and doesn’t bend to an individual’s will. I’m still bullish. I won’t fight the trend.]

[Indeed, I think so too. The market plunged over seven percent on Wednesday, but it created an engulfing pattern over that bearish candle in just two days. Today’s big rise put it back above the 5-day moving average. If it can hit a new high on Monday, I think the market will continue to rise.]

[I’m choosing to trust K-God on this one. I mean, he’s way more incredible than I am.]

…

Meanwhile, other stock trading groups and stock forums also exploded because of K-God’s latest Weibo update.

The two images were fervently shared and discussed by all sorts of investors.

Ten thousand times in October, over thirty thousand times in a year—everyone was utterly dumbfounded by this absurd profit screenshot.

At the same time, K-God’s bearish view on the market sparked intense debate within the circle. Investors’ opinions were not unanimous; some supported his bearish outlook.

But others disagreed and remained bullish.

By evening, the debate in the stock trading circle over whether to be bearish or bullish on the market’s future became even more heated, as investors brought Stellaris Capital into the discussion.

It had been rumored that Stellaris Capital was optimistic about the A-share market, having cashed out over twenty billion from overseas markets to increase its A-share positions. And according to the half-year reports and second-quarter shareholder changes released by various companies, it was discovered that Stellaris Capital had been aggressively buying in the second quarter. Now they had even cashed out from overseas to go hard on A-shares. It was obvious Stellaris Capital was bullish on the market.

The bearish investors brought out Grandmaster K-God, while the bullish ones brought out Stellaris Capital.

This investment firm was now very famous for bottom fishing when the market index was at around 1,600 points, making a fortune. They had also made a killing in overseas markets, previously repatriating ten billion and recently another twenty billion.

When a major institution like this was bullish—investors saw them plowing hard cash into the market—it suggested that the major funds were still optimistic about the future.

But the investors had no idea that Stellaris Capital had already completed its withdrawal today, let alone that K-God was actually the hidden big boss of Stellaris Capital.

As for the group supporting K-God, they were primarily his hardcore fans. This was especially true for the investors who had followed his lead since he first revealed those eight blue-chip stocks in the first quarter of the year and made a killing.

Those who followed him all profited. Those eight stocks basically doubled. Those who followed the long-term play and weren’t shaken out midway were now up by at least sixty to seventy percent. Those who followed him into Shanqi Coking Coal had casually earned double their investment.

So, when K-God turned bearish, they also followed him blindly.

And those who were still holding their positions decided to liquidate everything and get out on Monday after seeing today’s Weibo post.

Another group of K-God’s supporters believed that when a god-tier big shot who could achieve ten thousand times in October and thirty thousand times in a year expressed a bearish view, it had to be taken seriously, even if they couldn’t understand it. That terrifying rate of return was the best endorsement.

In short, Fang Hong’s Weibo post caused a major rift in a market that had previously been unanimously bullish, which also demonstrated K-God’s powerful market influence.

During the weekend, while investors were endlessly debating whether to be bearish or bullish, Fang Hong took his beautiful assistant to the Hua family’s villa estate. He was naturally there to terminate the ten-billion-yuan agreement.

He had initially swapped thirty years of his future profit rights for that ten billion. The party to the agreement was not Stellaris Capital; Hua Yongming had signed with Fang Hong personally. This was because of Stellaris Capital’s equity structure design; if something went wrong and Fang Hong was held accountable, he would only need to pay a few hundred thousand and be fine.

Therefore, Hua Yongming bypassed Stellaris Capital and signed with Fang Hong personally. That way, if something did happen, the temple can run, but the monk can’t.

It had to be said that in the business of investing in Fang Hong and his Stellaris Capital, although Hua Yongming had done very well and was now making a fortune, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of hindsight regret, wishing he had invested more.

If he had just given him a few billion back then, Huayang Group might now hold at least a 15% stake in Stellaris Capital.

That being said, Hua Yongming knew that even if he could do it all over again, he wouldn’t have. Investing one billion at the time was already his limit; after all, Huayang Group also had its risk control to consider.

At the time, the decision to invest one billion in Fang Hong for a 5% stake was met with unanimous opposition within Huayang Group. In the end, it was Hua Yongming who pushed it through against all dissent.

As for the current situation within Huayang Group, no one dared to say a word against Hua Yongming’s decision. Because the initial one-billion investment now had a net asset value of thirteen billion.

If valued according to Stellaris Capital’s 350-billion valuation, that initial one-billion investment would now be worth 17.5 billion.

This time, when Hua Yongming decided to proceed with the debt-to-equity swap for the ten billion, there wasn’t a single dissenting voice on Huayang Group’s Board of Directors. Those who had been skeptical before now had to pinch their noses and admit he had bet on the right horse.

…

Chapter 255: Capital Operations (✗), Building a Fortune from Nothing (✓)

On a weekend afternoon, at the Hua family’s villa estate.

Four people were gathered in a tea room: Fang Hong and his private assistant Tian Jiayi, Hua Yongming, and his youngest son Hua Yu, whom he considered the successor to the Huayang Group.

After signing two agreements, Fang Hong handed one of them to the beautiful assistant sitting beside him. With the signing of this agreement, the thirty-year revenue rights swap he had with the Huayang Group was officially terminated.

Following the debt-to-equity swap, Huayang Group’s stake in Stellaris Capital increased to 7.7 percent. Hua Yu’s personal share was diluted to 0.97 percent, and the remainder was held by the fifth trust fund Fang Hong had established in Hong Kong.

After a moment, Hua Yu spoke up, “Father, converting this ten billion in debt to equity will put immense pressure on Huayang Group’s liquidity.”

It was obvious, so much so that even the beautiful assistant beside him could immediately tell, that while his words were directed at his father, they were actually meant for Fang Hong. Hua Yongming, in turn, looked at Fang Hong with a smile. “We invested too little last time. We couldn’t miss this opportunity for a debt-to-equity swap. The returns on Stellaris’s shares are higher.”

Fang Hong then asked, “What is Huayang Group’s current debt level?”

Concise and to the point. The scale of their debt would essentially determine the speed and scale of Huayang Group’s expansion in commercial real estate. After all, the two parties were partners in the Art Star Media Group; wherever Huayang Real Estate expanded, a cinema under Yixing Media would open.

Hua Yu, who also served as the Vice President of Huayang Group, answered the question, “Currently, the overall debt ratio is around 92 percent, and our total assets have surpassed one hundred billion.”

Just last year, Huayang Group’s total assets were merely over forty billion. A debt ratio nearing one hundred percent was, by all accounts, extremely dangerous.

“The liquidity issue isn’t hard to solve.” Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. He glanced at Hua Yu, then picked up his teacup and said methodically, “For example, Bro Hua, let’s say you sell tea and I sell teacups. We can play it like this: you purchase ten thousand teacups from me, and I purchase one ton of tea from you. By doing so, our respective books will show sales of one ton of tea and ten thousand teacups.”

The beautiful assistant, who had been listening quietly, muttered to herself, Isn’t this just inflating each other’s performance?

Fang Hong’s smile remained as he looked at the father and son and continued unhurriedly, “That’s right, it’s inflated performance, but it’s legitimate and compliant. It’s reflected on the financial statements, and all due taxes are paid fully and on time, with no evasion or omission. Now, our companies each have accounts receivable for one ton of tea and ten thousand teacups. Bro Hua says I owe him for one ton of tea, and I say Bro Hua owes me for ten thousand teacups.”

Pausing for a moment, Fang Hong added, “Then, we take these two accounts receivable to the market for financing. Look, we have money, we have the guarantee of a major corporation with assets in the hundreds of billions, and we have sufficient accounts receivable to pledge as collateral. The key is a starting return of over 10 percent. Tell me, would you take this deal where you win by doing nothing?”

The father and son were stunned. Generating liquidity by inflating performance like that?

But they were not ordinary people. They instantly grasped Fang Hong’s meaning. For example, they immediately thought of the 7.7 percent equity stake Huayang Group now held in Stellaris Capital.

Based on a valuation of three hundred fifty billion, that 7.7 percent stake could be valued at 26.95 billion. Even if they discounted the premium and went by Stellaris Capital’s net asset value, it was still worth nearly twenty billion.

This asset was dead money if it just sat there, but it could absolutely be swapped out.

And there was the liquidity.

Furthermore, when pledging it, they could hype it up to the moon. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to value Stellaris Capital at four hundred billion. In that case, the 7.7 percent stake would be worth 30.8 billion, making it no problem to swap it for twenty billion in liquidity.

Finally, Hua Yongming asked bluntly, “How do we play this specifically?”

Fang Hong laid out his plan with perfect clarity. “Here’s how. Your Huayang Group continues to provide financing to my Stellaris, increasing your shareholding to 10 percent. That means acquiring another 2.3 percent. This 2.3 percent will be priced based on a valuation of five hundred billion for Stellaris Capital, meaning you’ll put in another 11.5 billion. Then, you take this 10 percent equity asset to the capital market for financing.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu nodded, then said, “But Bro Fang, after Huayang converted that ten billion in debt to equity, our current liquidity is so tight that, frankly, we’d struggle to come up with one billion, let alone 11.5 billion for financing.”

Fang Hong replied calmly, “Stellaris Capital has money. Stellaris will give you a bridge loan. I’ll lend you the money, and once Huayang Group secures financing from the capital market, you can just pay me back. Simple, right?”

The procedure for this capital operation, simply put, was this: Huayang was to spend another 11.5 billion to acquire an additional 2.3 percent stake in Stellaris Capital.

However, Huayang Group couldn’t produce 11.5 billion right now. The solution? Stellaris Capital said, “We have money and we’re willing to lend it to you.” The company had over one hundred thirty billion lying in its accounts; they were so poor all they had was money.

Stellaris would provide this 11.5 billion as a bridge loan to Huayang.

After receiving the 11.5 billion from Stellaris Capital, Huayang Group would turn around and use it to invest in Stellaris Capital. The money would flow right back into Stellaris Capital’s hands, which would also earn a little extra from the interest and fees on the bridge loan.

And what about Huayang Group?

It would gain an additional 2.3 percent of Stellaris Capital’s equity, while simultaneously incurring a debt of 11.5 billion to Stellaris Capital.

This was because the 11.5 billion that flowed back to Stellaris was Huayang’s investment capital, not a repayment of the bridge loan.

The 11.5 billion bridge loan had not yet been settled, so financially, it would be reflected as a 11.5 billion liability to Stellaris Capital.

At this point, Huayang Group would hold a 10 percent stake in Stellaris Capital. And what would they do with this 10 percent stake? Take it to the capital market for more financing.

By then, Stellaris Capital’s valuation would have been pushed up to five hundred billion, making that 10 percent stake worth fifty billion.

Was Stellaris really overvalued at five hundred billion?

It was hard to say.

You could argue it was an overestimation; five hundred billion was indeed a bit of a stretch. But you could also argue it was reasonable without major issue.

This was because Stellaris Capital’s current asset scale of three hundred billion provided a solid foundation. More importantly, the company’s formidable earning power created a powerful expectation for the future. It might not be long before it reached a scale of five hundred billion, thus justifying the current valuation.

Future earnings projections and the like were all about telling stories. Whether you believed it yourself wasn’t important; what was critical was whether the other party believed it.

With a 10 percent stake valued at fifty billion, raising over thirty billion in liquidity from the capital market would certainly not be a problem. This was precisely why the valuation was pushed to five hundred billion. It was like aiming for three inches but asking for five; after haggling and giving up two, you still get your three.

Once Huayang Group secured this liquidity, they would keep around twenty billion for themselves. The rest of the money would be used to settle debts, including repaying the 11.5 billion owed to Stellaris Capital. With that, their debt relationship would be cleared, and Huayang would no longer have any liabilities to Stellaris.

At that point, Huayang Group would have twenty billion in liquidity, and through this operation, Stellaris Capital would have also gained an extra 11.5 billion in liquidity.

The beautiful assistant who had been silently listening was utterly astounded. Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but think, So this is what they call capital operations? They really know how to play…

Tian Jiayi stole a glance at Fang Hong. Having heard the entire plan, she could only evaluate it with one phrase: building a fortune from nothing!

A moment later, Fang Hong continued to explain with crystal-clear logic, “The extra 11.5 billion that Stellaris Capital gets will be used to establish a new project company, a shell company. We’ll inject the 11.5 billion into it and then pledge one hundred percent of its equity to a bank to swap for 5.5 billion.”

Any bank would be absolutely thrilled to do this. That 11.5 billion was a tangible cash asset, perfectly compliant with risk control standards.

Fang Hong continued, “We’ll then start another private equity fund, raising 23 billion as senior funds, with that 11.5 billion serving as the subordinated funds. It’s the same old play: the leader takes the subordinated tranche while the followers get the senior.”

Upon hearing this, both Hua Yongming and his son recognized the strategy. It was very familiar territory. They had run this kind of play several times before and knew the ropes well.

Fang Hong went on, “This 11.5 billion will leverage nearly four times its value in funds, bringing it to around forty billion. Then we’ll sign an agreement with your Huayang Group to use this forty billion to purchase all the properties under your Huayang banner. But we won’t go through a direct pre-sale; we’ll bypass that step.”

Fang Hong had decided to use the forty billion to buy all the commercial housing developed by Huayang. But at present, there wasn’t even a shadow of a house. Forget pre-sales, the permits weren’t complete, the land hadn’t even been acquired at auction, and even the bricks for the buildings hadn’t been produced yet. How could they conduct a pre-sale?

Conducting a pre-sale under these circumstances would be a clear violation.

Fang Hong never did anything illegal or non-compliant. All his operations had to be built on a foundation of legality and conformity, so this had to be bypassed.

But in reality, the plan was to use forty billion to buy houses that did not yet exist.

…

Chapter 256: This Strategic Plan Is Worth a Hundred Billion, and That’s No Exaggeration

Fang Hong looked at Hua Yongming and his son, explaining lucidly, “With these forty billion, we buy Huayang’s properties. Won’t Huayang Group’s performance surge by forty billion? Won’t your debt ratio drop instantly? And then you can push on.”

A lower debt ratio meant they could take on more leverage. To put it simply, they could once again borrow money from the capital market. In professional terms, this was called refinancing.

The essence of finance is borrowing money, and Fang Hong’s words at this moment were a perfect encapsulation of this truth.

Fang Hong continued, “We’ll sign the agreement first, but I won’t actually transfer the forty billion to Huayang Group’s account. The money will sit securely in the shell company’s account. On your Huayang Group’s financial statements, it will be reflected as forty billion in accounts receivable. You then take this forty billion in accounts receivable and go to the market to raise money.”

Of these forty billion, twenty-three billion were from a private equity fund. The junior partners who were actually willing to show their support could, at most, come up with three billion.

Twenty-three billion was a huge sum. In this day and age, how could it be raised so easily? Where would the market even find that much money?

So, as expected, Stellaris Capital could only move money from its left pocket to its right, putting up twenty billion of its own to be reflected in the shell company’s funds.

Fang Hong would never give Qunxing’s money to Huayang Group to spend. What’s more, the properties didn’t even exist yet. Transfer the money over? With his keen sense of risk isolation and risk control, he would never do something so foolish.

Hua Yongming responded, “No problem.”

Once Huayang Group had this forty billion in accounts receivable on its books, it could be used for further financing.

Fang Hong spoke again, “I’m putting up forty billion to buy your yet-to-be-built properties. I don’t actually want the properties; in the future, you’ll have to pay to buy them back. If all goes as planned, the value of properties in prime locations will increase several times over. For this forty billion, I want to exit with both principal and interest, more than doubling my stake, at a premium of about one hundred and fifty percent.”

Standing nearby, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but do a quick calculation in her head. She wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t calculated, but she was shocked when she did. A premium of one hundred and fifty percent meant Huayang Group would have to pay one hundred billion for the buyback in the future.

Stellaris Capital hadn’t actually transferred a single cent in cash to Huayang Group, yet Huayang Group would have to pay Stellaris Capital one hundred billion for the buyback. By the same token, Huayang Group would not actually deliver a single property to Stellaris Capital.

In other words, the forty billion worth of properties served as a financial asset, a bridge for capital, all for the purpose of swapping for liquidity from the capital market.

The properties were, in reality, held by Huayang Group, while the forty billion in cash was held by Stellaris Capital.

However, on the asset and liability statements of Stellaris Capital, the properties were listed as their asset. This meant that, nominally, the properties belonged to Stellaris Capital. Meanwhile, the forty billion in cash was reflected on Huayang Group’s statements, meaning the money nominally belonged to Huayang Group, just as accounts receivable.

That was the long and short of it.

Once this entire set of capital operations was complete, the cash-strapped Huayang Group would find its liquidity at an unprecedentedly high level. Securing billions in liquid assets would be no problem, and these hundreds of billions in funds would support its high-speed expansion.

The vast majority of this hundred billion in liquidity would be used by Huayang Group to frantically bid on and acquire land. Upon acquiring the land, they would mortgage it to the banks to swap for more liquidity, which they would then use to acquire even more land. A hundred billion in liquidity was enough to leverage at least five hundred billion in capital. Such a rate of expansion was like strapping rocket boosters to both legs.

Huayang Group was to take the “three highs and two fasts” model—high debt, high leverage, high turnover, fast land acquisition, and fast sales—to its absolute extreme. If things went according to plan, it was not an unreachable dream for Huayang Group to surpass Wanke in just a few short years and become the largest commercial real estate group in the country.

Piling on leverage like crazy was fine for now because the country was in a phase of rapid economic development, with double-digit annual growth that could continuously absorb and offset the risks.

Then, before the finale of 2017, they would deleverage and reduce their debt, adopting a “cash is king” strategy. Just as everyone else was rushing in, Huayang Group would toss the last copper coin to the other players in the market.

There was no need to earn that last bit of money.

When other real estate companies were mired in debt and going bust one after another, Huayang Group would have long been safely ashore. By then, the Huayang Group brand would be the top choice for many genuine homebuyers.

This was because buying properties from other developers carried the risk of losing both money and property. It was bad enough to empty the six wallets of one’s family, but to end up with an unfinished building on top of that was the very definition of losing everything.

At that time, Huayang Group, having gone ashore, would have a low debt level and super-abundant cash reserves. Their newly developed properties would have guaranteed quality and completion, with no risk of default.

Genuine homebuyers would undoubtedly choose properties developed by Huayang Group. The remaining pool of genuine homebuyers at that time would be enough to ensure Huayang Group’s stable performance. While they couldn’t support all real estate companies, they could certainly support Huayang Group.

Around 5:00 PM, Fang Hong and his beautiful assistant bid farewell and left the Hua family’s villa.

This visit not only served to cancel the ten-billion-dollar agreement for a thirty-year profit rights swap, but he also took on the role of a “consultant” for Huayang Group, providing a complete and detailed strategic solution for their commercial real estate layout over the next decade.

“Haha, good! We’ll do exactly as Fang Hong said.” Hua Yongming was extremely invigorated. He added with another cheerful laugh, “This strategic solution he’s given us… it’s no exaggeration to say it’s worth a hundred billion.”

Hua Yongming was now convinced that if they followed Fang Hong’s plan, there was a real chance that Huayang Group’s assets could reach the trillion-yuan mark in a decade.

A trillion in assets!

Before this, not even Hua Yongming had dared to imagine it. But now, he increasingly felt that a trillion-yuan asset scale might not be impossible.

“Father, according to the agreement, our Huayang Group will have to spend one hundred billion on the buyback in the future. Let’s just consider it his ‘consulting fee’,” Hua Yu suddenly remarked. Hearing this, his father couldn’t help but nod and smile. “That’s right. You’re right. That little fox never makes a losing deal. Of course, it’s certainly no loss for Huayang to pay him a one-hundred-billion ‘consulting fee’ either.”

A year ago, Hua Yongming might not have agreed.

But times were different. With the growth of Stellaris Capital and the powerful talent Fang Hong had displayed in the capital market, coupled with his outstanding foresight in the business world—all of which was reflected in Stellaris Capital’s current net asset value of over two hundred billion—the weight of every word he spoke in Hua Yongming’s mind grew day by day.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong and his beautiful assistant were walking out of the Hua family’s villa estate.

As they headed towards the Maybach parked at the main gate, Tian Jiayi mused, seemingly to herself, “Today I’ve witnessed the terrifying power of the many financial derivatives born from capital operations. It’s truly taking the ‘empty-handed play’ to its extreme. If Huayang Group does this, others will see how profitable capital operations are and will surely follow suit. Who will be left to conscientiously build businesses and invest in the real economy?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong glanced at the beautiful assistant by his side and said with a smile, “I will!”

Tian Jiayi immediately turned to look at him. After a moment of exchanging glances, she said, her face full of doubt, “You? You’ll invest in real industry? All these capital operation ideas came from you…”

The moment she heard Fang Hong say he would invest in real industry and the real economy, his beautiful assistant was filled with disbelief. In her eyes, Fang Hong was the last person who would ever do such a thing.

They soon got into the car, and the Maybach began to pull away slowly.

Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi seated to his right and smiled. “Only children make choices. Adults want it all. If you only play with financial capital for profit-taking, it’s fine when you’re small. But if you’re big and you keep playing that game, you’re being foolish. Worse, you’re digging your own grave. The day you’re strung up from a lamppost won’t be far off.”

Tian Jiayi was slightly stunned.

Fang Hong turned his gaze forward again and said slowly, “Therefore, industrial capital is another major strategic layout for Qunxing. Even if the profits from real industry are far less than from financial capital, we must continue to increase our investment and keep acquiring hard assets. Only by increasing the scale of our investment in real industry can we bring a large number of jobs to society. Qunxing must use concrete actions to practice the saying ‘finance serves the real economy’.”

The company’s strategic investment in Radiance Group for a fifteen percent stake was just the beginning of financing for real industry.

This also applied to the project to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole. Stellaris Capital had no intention of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, cashing out, and leaving behind a complete mess.

Wang Qingxiong would definitely be kicked out, but the Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group he had founded was currently one of the top private pharmaceutical giants in the country. That was no small feat, and it shouldn’t be squandered.

Fang Hong’s decision was to dismantle and restructure the company after acquiring it, and then to continue its operations.

Chapter 257: Could There Be a Hidden Meaning Behind K-God’s Weibo Account?

Regarding the assets of the restructured Hengtong Pharmaceuticals, Fang Hong decided to spin off the traditional Chinese medicine-related assets and swap them over to the family enterprise, Fang’s Apothecary Hall. The remaining assets would be reorganized into a new pharmaceutical group.

It would be renamed Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, after the shell company, and would continue operations. At the same time, its previous business strategy of maximizing profit would be changed. Profits would return to a reasonable industry average, and the company would gradually grow bigger and stronger.

The ultimate goal, of course, was to go public on the soon-to-be-launched ChiNext board of the A-share market, helping Wang Qingxiong realize his dream of taking a company public.

It was just that the fruits of that dream would no longer have anything to do with him.

…

The next day, Monday, August 3rd.

The A-share market welcomed its first trading day of August. Judging by the opening, the market seemed unfazed by K-God’s bearish outlook and the divided opinions over the weekend. The Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.52% higher at 3429.69 points in the call auction, greatly encouraging the bulls.

At the 9:30 AM open, the market immediately opened high and then plummeted. Around 10:05 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index briefly fell below the 3400-point mark, making the bulls a little nervous.

Among the funds that fled at the market open today, a significant portion came from Fang Hong’s followers on Weibo—or more precisely, the group that mindlessly supported his views and others who were indirectly influenced.

These people started to dump shares and run the moment the market opened, especially those who had followed K-God to buy the dip on those eight blue-chip stocks in the first quarter and held them until today. All of them had made substantial profits.

Many had completely recovered the losses they incurred when the broader market panic sold from over 6,000 points down to just over 1,600 points last year. A small number who had held Shanqi Coking Coal for the long term not only broke even but had doubled their money.

This group that had “followed the car to eat meat” treated everything K-God said as gospel. In short, if K-God said he was bearish, they would flee without hesitation. If K said it was time to move, they would jump in just as quickly.

However, the market at this moment did not continue its panic sell after the Shanghai Composite Index fell below 3400 points. Instead, it stopped falling and began to recover. Around 10:30 AM, it turned positive for the day again and then began a volatile upward trend.

After the market opened in the afternoon, around 1:30 PM, various trading apps sent out a push notification:

[The Shanghai Composite Index has extended its gains to +1.23%, breaking through 3454 points and hitting a new high since June 3, 2008.]

The bulls were ecstatic. Another new high! The path upward was now open.

At the same time, they mocked the bears, loudly proclaiming that the market correction was over and the outlook remained bullish, with the index’s target price aiming for the 4000-point mark.

Anything below 4000 points was an opportunity. Buy anything.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.48% at 3462.59 points, with a trading volume of 240.1 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +1.36% at 13856.99 points, with a trading volume of 122.6 billion yuan. The total trading volume for both markets increased to 362.7 billion yuan.

The market trend today showed both volume and price rising in tandem.

…

The next day, Tuesday, August 4th.

Inside the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

The maids had just entered the trading room, ready to begin their daily stock trading as usual, when Fang Hong suddenly said to them, “For August, we’ll mostly stay in cash and take a break. I don’t need your help with trading. Go have fun. Your salaries will be paid as usual.”

Hearing this, the maids were surprised, but they all nodded and left the trading room.

It was true that he would mostly stay in cash for August. Fang Hong himself would use a hundred million or so to follow the market and trade some monster stocks.

Just then, Yifulei, who was walking at the back, suddenly came up to Fang Hong’s side. She leaned in conspiratorially, her voice a silky whisper by his ear, “Come to my room tonight. There’s a surprise”

After speaking, Yifulei quickly pulled away and walked toward the door as if nothing had happened.

Fang Hong turned his head to look at her, wanting to say something but stopping short. He was about to ask what the surprise was, but the maid had already left. Shaking his head with a laugh, he muttered to himself, “She’s actually learned how to keep me in suspense. Looks like she needs to be properly disciplined.”

On the other side, just as Yifulei stepped out of the trading room, Lin Yan pretended to be curious and asked her, “Xiao Yi, what secrets were you whispering to Bro Hong just now?”

Yifulei heard her and replied calmly, “Oh, nothing.”

Lin Yan looked at her suspiciously, trying to read some useful information from her expression. She couldn’t help but guess internally: [What did they talk about? Could it be that Yifulei also has feelings for Bro Hong? It’s probably not just her. Luo Lan and the others most likely do too…]

At this thought, Lin Yan felt an inexplicable amount of competitive pressure. She had to find a way to strike first.

…

Meanwhile, inside the second-floor trading room, Fang Hong was watching the market by himself.

The call auction was over. The broader market index had once again opened higher by +0.42% at 3477.11 points, setting another new high for the year.

After the open, numerous investors armed with their belief in a 4000-point market rushed to buy in. But the big funds fleeing were even more aggressive. A massive volume was traded at the open, yet the index didn’t rise. It merely pulsed up to 3478.01 points before diving.

The investors had not yet realized that this 3478.01 point level was not just the high for the day, but the great peak for the next five years.

Around 9:35 AM, the index rebounded to near its opening price, then dived again into a volatile decline. Half an hour after the open, it plummeted and turned negative for the day, then fluctuated back into the green, only to surge higher and fall back underwater once more.

When the market opened in the afternoon, it nosedived at one point, with the index plunging to -1.65%, putting the 3400-point mark in jeopardy.

But at this moment, the bottom-fishing funds were incredibly strong. A V-shaped rebound began quickly, and the market finished strong in late trading, turning positive for the day.

Last Wednesday, the market had once plummeted by more than seven percent intra-day, only to rebound by two percent in late trading. The following two days saw a direct engulfing pattern, and on the third day, it hit a new high. This was why investors dared to buy the dip; in fact, they hoped for a bigger drop so they could acquire cheaper shares and earn more on the subsequent rebound.

After the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up slightly by +0.26% at 3471.44 points, with a trading volume of 255.3 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index was up +0.34% at 13904.55 points, with a trading volume of 129.7 billion yuan. The total trading volume for both markets increased to 385 billion yuan.

The volume was high today, but the price didn’t follow, showing a divergence between volume and price. Moreover, the Shanghai Composite’s daily K-line formed a green hanging man line—a false bearish, true bullish candle.

…

A certain stock trading group chat.

After the market close, everyone in the group was discussing individual stocks or the broader market index, doing post-market analysis, or showing off their accounts—whether they were “taking a loss” or “eating meat.”

But gradually, a question thrown out by a group member suddenly sparked a heated discussion.

[Bros, I suddenly realized that today’s market high of 3478.01 looks really familiar, like I’ve seen it somewhere. It just hit me—isn’t that K-God Grandmaster’s Weibo account? His Weibo handle is “K3478”. Do you think it’s possible that…]

[Holy crap?]

[Holy crap?]

[Holy crap?]

[Don’t tell me K-God already predicted the market would top out at 3478 points. Damn it…]

[Last Friday, K-God posted on Weibo saying he had already liquidated his position. K3478… 3478 points. Crap, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets…]

[No way, absolutely impossible! It must be a coincidence. If this were true, it would be too ridiculous!]

[I also think it’s a coincidence. K-God registered his Weibo account last December. What was the market at back then? Around 1800-something points, right? How could he possibly predict the market top way back then, and with such a precise number? Only a god could do that.]

[The problem is, a ten thousand-fold return in ten months, thirty thousand-fold in a year—isn’t that a rate of return only a god could achieve? Even a god might not be able to do that. And don’t forget, when the market was at 1800 points, K-God was resolutely bullish without the slightest hesitation. Who believed him back then?]

[Now that you mention it, that’s true. Back then, everyone was saying the A-shares were hopeless and needed to be torn down and started over. It seemed like K-God was the only person on the entire internet who was so firmly and clearly bullish. At that time, his fame was nowhere near today’s level where everyone in the A-share market knows him.]

[I’m starting to feel more and more that K-God had a hidden reason for choosing such a strange numerical ID for his Weibo account. For all we know, he might have already set the target price for the A-shares at 3478 points back then.]

[Holy crap, can you not be so melodramatic? Accurately predicting today’s 3478 points from back when the market was at 1800, with an error of only 0.1 points… Damn it, that’s even more outrageous than his thirty thousand-fold return in a year. I feel like you guys are over-analyzing and deifying him too much.]

[Then how do you explain why the Grandmaster chose a handle like “K3478”? It’s obviously not something he just randomly typed on the keyboard.]

[It really doesn’t seem like random characters. If he were just mashing keys, it would probably be all letters or all numbers. But it’s specifically one letter followed by four numbers, K3478. The probability of that being intentional is much higher than it being random.]

[If this is true, then he’s really a god, holy crap!]

[Assuming it’s true, then in the code “K3478”, if 3478 represents the market top at 3478 points, what does the letter “K” in front mean?]

[K? Could it mean bearish? K… Kong? The “K” is the initial for the pinyin of ‘Kong’ (空), which means ‘short’. So, does “K3478” mean “Short at 3478 points” or “Bearish at 3478 points”?]

[Holy crap?]

[Holy crap?]

[Holy crap?]

[It feels like that’s exactly what it means!]

[This is getting more and more unbelievable. We should believe in science, okay? This is turning into metaphysics. I admit K-God is incredible, but it can’t be this absurd, right?]

[Damn it, I don’t care anymore. I’m liquidating my position right at the open tomorrow. Son of a bitch, better to believe it and be wrong than not.]

[I’m going to stay in cash too.]

[Staying in cash. If it breaks through 3478 points, I’ll get back in. Stay calm, no rush.]

[You guys stay in cash, I’ll add to my position. You guys are fearful, I’m greedy… (greedy.jpg)]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m going to lose all my money! (pumped.jpg)]

…

Chapter 258: A Mind-Blowing Play

As the broader market peaked at 3478 points, a few discussion groups and some investors within the stock trading circle began discussing K-God’s ID.

However, most people believed it was a coincidence. Those who were bullish on the market, in particular, mocked the people who had stayed in cash, claiming they had resorted to metaphysics to justify their bearish view. This only strengthened their conviction that the market would continue to rise.

Bullish investors argued that K-God couldn’t be right every time and that he had surely made the wrong call this time. He had liquidated his position last Friday with a bearish outlook, yet the market had hit new highs for two straight days at the start of the week.

They even boasted that they were just waiting for K-God to chase the rally and buy in at the 4000-point mark.

But as time passed and the market trend evolved, the situation began to change.

Wednesday, August 5th.

The market opened slightly lower and took a dive after 11 AM. During trading hours, the Shanghai Composite Index fell by as much as -2.43%, touching the 10-day moving average. However, it rebounded during late trading, ultimately closing down -1.24% at 3428.50 points.

Seeing the market fall today, K-God’s die-hard fans grew even more bearish about the future. The bulls, however, said they weren’t worried. They argued that while there was an adjustment, it was a perfectly normal one. The market had closed above the 5-day moving average, and the intra-day plunge of -2.43% to the 10-day line was a golden buying opportunity. With two retracements, they claimed that anyone who failed to buy the dip deserved to lose money.

Thursday, August 6th.

The broader market opened lower at 3401.48, down -0.79%, and immediately plunged after the bell. The 3400-point mark was breached in an instant. Within about an hour, the market’s decline had widened to -3.44%, with the index hitting a low of 3309 points.

This directly tested the support at the 20-day moving average and the 3300-point level.

However, after hitting a low of 3309 points, the market began a volatile rally. In the afternoon session, it recovered past its opening price and was on the verge of turning positive for the day. The bulls breathed a sigh of relief.

They had been genuinely panicked for a moment.

This wave was just shaking out the last of the weak hands. The market was about to reverse course with an engulfing pattern and begin its recovery.

But in the final half hour of trading, the market plunged again. Ultimately, the broader market closed down -2.11% at 3356.33 points, falling once more on shrinking volume. Including the deceptive hanging man line, the daily K-line had now shown three consecutive bearish candles.

After the market closed, some bad news hit the wires: the relevant authorities had issued a notice to strengthen the regulation of financial derivatives trading.

This was a move to squeeze liquidity.

Friday, August 7th.

On the last trading day of the week, both markets opened slightly lower. In the first five minutes, there was a fake surge—a bull trap—as the broader market pushed up to around 3374 points for a +0.54% gain, before it began to dive.

Following that, the market entered a one-sided downward trend for the rest of the day, falling on shrinking volume. The 3300-point mark and the 20-day moving average were both broken during trading hours.

The major funds that needed to exit had mostly done so already. Stellaris Capital, for example, had completed its full withdrawal plan the previous week.

With the major funds not going long, it was no wonder the trading volume was so low.

At the close, the market had plunged another -2.85% to 3260.69 points. The Chinese A-share market was now on a four-day losing streak, marking the third consecutive day of decline on shrinking volume.

Monday, August 10th.

The market saw another panic sell, marking a five-day losing streak and declining further on even lower volume. The combined trading volume of both markets for the day shrank to 230.9 billion.

By Tuesday, the market staged a minor rebound, and crucially, it didn’t set a new low. The bulls who had stubbornly held on without selling at a loss felt the washout was nearly over. They believed the market had stabilized and a rebound was imminent.

“Time to add to my position!”

But the market’s trading volume shrank even further that day. The combined volume of both markets didn’t even touch 200 billion, falling to just 188.3 billion.

Wednesday, August 12th.

Today’s market dealt a heavy blow to the bulls. After opening lower, both markets trended downward all day long, without so much as a decent rebound.

With the release of the economic data for July, the market plunged even further.

It not only broke below the previous low, but even fell past the lowest point of the huge negative candlestick from July 29th—the day of China State Construction’s IPO.

At this point, the bulls were completely numb from their losses.

The matter of K-God’s Weibo ID became a hot topic again today, spreading like wildfire through the stock trading circle. The legend of K-God predicting the 3478-point peak when the broader market was still languishing at 1800 points was being widely discussed.

That was back in December of last year.

His prediction, it was said, was hidden in his Weibo ID. At this very moment, the follower count for the “K3478” Weibo account was skyrocketing.

His most recent Weibo post was the bearish update from Friday, July 31st.

The afternoon session had only just begun half an hour ago, and the market was still falling. Anyone who had tried buying the dip at 3478 points was now trapped in a losing position.

A flood of comments appeared under the latest post. There were messages of worship from those who had successfully exited at the peak, lamentations of regret from skeptics who had been trapped and taught a lesson by the A-share market, and, of course, comments from onlookers who were just there for the show, teasing and stirring the pot.

[Grandmaster is incredible (voice cracking)!!!]

[It’s pretty much confirmed that 3478 was the top. Thank god I listened to K-God and got out early.]

[Isn’t that too much? Predicting the 3478-point top back in December? Not a single point off… that’s just insane!]

[So K3478 meant to go short at 3478 points. Damn it, I can’t believe I didn’t figure that out.]

[Dude above, don’t beat yourself up. It has nothing to do with whether you figured it out or not. K-God gave a bearish warning the Friday before last. You had at least three days to exit at the peak. If you’re trapped, you can’t blame anyone else.]

[K3478… tsk tsk tsk! That move by K-God was absolutely god-tier. A move worthy of legend. Tell me you’re not impressed!]

[Slick. So damn slick. My mind is blown. I can’t believe someone this awesome exists in the A-share market.]

[Maybe it really is just a coincidence? Predicting 3478 points last year is a bit of a stretch.]

[Is it that hard to admit someone else is amazing?]

[I don’t think it’s impossible. Isn’t there a legend about another master who accurately predicted the market’s 6124-point peak? Things like this are insane, but in a world this big, it’s not impossible for a few incredible people to emerge.]

[K-God, I was wrong. I didn’t listen to you. Now I’m trapped with a heavy position. What do I do?]

[Don’t panic, it’s just a technical adjustment… [Funny Face emoji]]

[Anyone who got trapped this time is definitely a fake K-God fan.]

[K-God gave a warning and you didn’t run. You had a full three days to react. Now you’re trapped and crying about it. What do you want to do? What do you expect other than being mocked? Figure it out yourself!]

[To put it bluntly, it’s greed and arrogance. Sometimes I really can’t understand these people. An ace who turned ten thousand-fold in ten months and thirty thousand-fold in a year gives a bearish opinion, and they don’t believe it. Fine, not believing isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s okay to have your own opinion and not be easily swayed. But at the very least, you should take the ace’s opinion seriously and be cautiously optimistic, right? Instead, they went in with a heavy position. Who else would get trapped if not you? Who else would lose money?]

[Alright, stop with the gloating. The guy is already numb from his losses. Don’t kick him while he’s down… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Listen to good advice and you’ll do well. I listened to K-God this time and made a killing, haha. Went heavy on Shanxi Coking Coal at 12.5 yuan, liquidated at 38 yuan for more than a 2x profit. Still in cash right now. Even though K-God hasn’t posted in over a week, I still log in every day to check. Waiting for K-God to enter the market again.]

[Same here. Waiting for K-God to enter the market again.]

[Haha, me too. I refresh Weibo every day just to see if K-God has posted.]

[Ten thousand-fold in ten months, thirty thousand-fold in a year. There’s a reason for that. Just follow him blindly, and you’ll be fine.]

By now, K-God’s name was legendary throughout practically the entire stock trading circle, known to nearly a hundred million A-share investors. Whether his ID had been a random string of numbers or a deliberate prediction no longer mattered. The story now spreading by word of mouth was that he had predicted the 3478-point peak back when the broader market was still trading at the 1800-point level.

As this story spread, it was no exaggeration to say that he had achieved a “god-like” status in the eyes of countless investors.

At this very moment, Fang Hong himself was lurking on Weibo, reading the comments. The story had gone viral within the trading circle, so of course, he knew.

His Weibo followers had surged by over a million in just a few hours.

This play had elevated his influence in the capital markets to a new level. It was no exaggeration to say that with his current market influence, if he were to publicly endorse a small-cap or even a mid-cap stock, investors would likely drive it straight to its daily limit-up in minutes—an effect comparable to that of the Stock God, Warren Buffett.

This was because people would now listen to every word he said, and many would believe him unquestionably. And these weren’t just thousands or tens of thousands of people, but millions of investors.

Fang Hong muttered to himself, “From now on, I’d better not casually reveal my specific holdings on Weibo…”

Things were different now. He needed to avoid being accused of using his market influence to interfere with stock prices or manipulate the market.

However, even though he could no longer post about specific target stocks, there was still no issue with him publishing his bullish or bearish analysis of the market as a whole, or of specific industry sectors.

Chapter 259: The Tire Special Safeguard Case

Meanwhile, on the trading floor.

It was now around 2:00 PM. The Shanghai Composite Index had already broken below the 3200-point mark, falling more than three percent on the day with no signs of stopping.

Fang Hong was scanning the market. Most of his capital was locked in reverse repos, leaving him with only about one hundred million yuan to participate in the market occasionally.

Moreover, this one hundred million had been transferred to his personal securities account. Of course, moving money from an institutional account to a personal one meant converting company funds into personal assets, which required deducting the corresponding taxes before it reached his personal account.

Fang Hong would never engage in any rule violations when it came to taxes: no evasion, no omission; pay all that is due.

Just around 2:04 PM, a stock suddenly surged toward its limit-up, a rather eye-catching move in today’s broadly declining market.

However, just as Fang Hong switched to the stock’s intraday market data, it hit its limit-up price of 8.67 yuan, only to have the limit-up board broke and plummet less than a minute later.

“Double Coin Holdings?”

Fang Hong muttered to himself. The listed company belonged to the basic chemical raw materials sector.

Essentially, they made tires. Seeing the stock’s name, Fang Hong quickly retrieved relevant memories from his past life. The company would later be renamed Huayi Group.

Its current market capitalization was around 5.5 billion.

“Double Coin Holdings, Double Coin Holdings…” Fang Hong watched the stock’s intraday line fall after breaking the limit, but he wasn’t paying attention to the intraday trend. Instead, he repeated the company’s name, his mind continuously searching through his memories. He had a vague recollection of a major event happening around this time.

After five or six minutes, Fang Hong froze for a moment.

He remembered.

“The Tire Special Safeguard Case…” Fang Hong immediately opened a search engine and looked up related news. After reading for a moment, he nodded and muttered to himself, “I remembered correctly. This is it…”

On April 20th of this year, the United Steelworkers union in North America petitioned its International Trade Commission to launch a “Special Safeguard Measures” investigation into tires produced in the Greater China region. They sought to impose quota restrictions on tires imported from the Greater China region, demanding a reduction from 46 million tires per year to 25 million.

The moment he thought of this so-called “safeguard case,” Fang Hong recalled even more related memories.

If nothing unexpected happened, in early September of this year, North America’s Obama would announce on September 11th the imposition of punitive tariffs on all passenger car and light truck tires imported from the Greater China region.

This was the first special safeguard investigation of his presidency, and it was set to take effect on September 26th.

The approved sanctions involved tariffs of 35%, 30%, and 25% over three years. Although these tariffs were lower than the high rates recommended by the North American International Trade Commission, they were still significantly higher than the 15% that was widely expected domestically.

In the last two years, about 40% of the tires manufactured in the country were exported, with one-third of those exports going to the North American market. This amounted to nearly 2.2 billion US dollars in export value, accounting for 17% of North America’s market consumption. The case was met with widespread opposition not only from domestic companies but also from businesses in North America.

After all, it meant increased costs.

Fang Hong remembered that after the punitive tariffs were announced on Friday, September 11th, the news triggered violent volatility in global natural rubber prices. By September 14th, natural rubber contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange opened locked at their limit-down by countless sell orders, and natural rubber prices at the world’s three major pricing centers also plunged.

Fang Hong also recalled that on September 14th, the two major stock exchanges’ tire stocks couldn’t escape the impact of the “safeguard case” and fell in unison. Among them, the leading stock, Double Coin Holdings, opened at its limit-down and remained solidly locked there. S Jiatong also opened at its limit-down, and other related stocks generally fell by more than six percent.

But it was only August 12th now, still early.

Putting these thoughts aside, Fang Hong added Double Coin Holdings to his watchlist. The stock had currently fallen back to around a seven percent loss.

After watching the market for a while, he decisively began placing buy orders, though they were all small orders of a few hundred thousand yuan each. As soon as one order was filled, he would place another, occasionally placing an order for around one million yuan.

This stock’s trading volume yesterday was just over 30 million. Even with increased volume today, it would top out at around 120 million.

Fang Hong planned to buy a few million worth today to get an initial position, then use it to smash the market tomorrow. He would quickly drive the stock price to its limit-down in an intra-day shakeout, with the goal of buying more shares.

It was highly probable that Double Coin Holdings would go wild in the near future. Coupled with the lackluster broader market and the lack of hot topics, this “safeguard case” would become a new focal point, leading to the stock being discovered by the market.

To put it in more down-to-earth terms: “Well, I’ll be damned. I never thought you, the unassuming scoundrel, were actually this capable! Getting the Americans all worked up about sanctions… you’ve got something, even if it’s not much. Folks, let’s pump this thing to the limit-up! Buying Double Coin Holdings is supporting domestic products! Limit-up all the way, non-stop!”

In any case, the period before September 11th would be the prime window for market speculation.

After the market closed, the only stock Fang Hong had entered was Double Coin Holdings.

【Target Stock: Double Coin Holdings (600623)】

【Shares Held: 8,875 lots】

【Average Price: 8.45 yuan】

【Current Price: 8.38 yuan】

【Market Value: 7,437,200 yuan】

【Unrealized P&L: -62,800 yuan (-0.83%)】

【Account Assets: 100,000,000 yuan】

He had bought over seven million worth in bits and pieces, which he would use to smash the market tomorrow. The trend would start soon, so he could only accumulate shares by smashing the price down. The market was just that cruel.

If he could accumulate shares by pushing the price up, Fang Hong wouldn’t mind doing so; a thousand percent profit here or there didn’t matter to him. But he also knew that if he was foolish enough to pump the price, existing holders would become reluctant to sell their shares. After all, with a profit cushion to protect them, why not hold on a little longer for potentially bigger gains?

That was human nature.

If everyone was reluctant to sell, how the hell was he supposed to get any shares? Was he supposed to just pump up the price for everyone else and be left holding the bag at the top?

Therefore, he had to smash the market to make the holders panic and flee, which would loosen up a large volume of shares.

Those who could withstand the shakeout? Well, you’re tough. You deserve to make money.

As for the market indices at closing today, the Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -4.66% to close at 3,112.72 points on a trading volume of 157.5 billion. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged by -4.15% to close at 12,591.66 points on a trading volume of 79.9 billion. The combined trading volume of both markets was 237.4 billion, a clear case of selling off on high volume.

The significant increase in volume compared to yesterday showed that many people were starting to sell at a loss, cutting their losses and leaving the market with heavy hearts.

Just as Fang Hong was getting ready to leave the trading room, Tian Jiayi suddenly appeared at the doorway and knocked. The door was open.

When she saw Fang Hong look over, she slowly walked in.

He glanced at his beautiful assistant’s very formal work attire. It was relatively conservative, but all it would take is a pair of black stockings to turn it into a uniform fantasy.

“Leaving so early today?” Fang Hong said with a smile. He noticed the file in Tian Jiayi’s hand, which surely meant she had something important to report. However, just as his beautiful assistant was about to begin her report, Fang Hong cut in, “By the way, don’t buy Dongfang Yuhong just yet.”

That stock had also dropped sharply today by -4.7%, with its price now in the 23-yuan range.

Tian Jiayi looked at him, puzzled. “Why not buy it?”

Fang Hong casually typed a string of numbers on the keyboard, and the K-line chart for Double Coin Holdings appeared on the screen. He glanced back at his assistant and smiled. “Tomorrow, as soon as the market opens, place a buy order for your entire one million at the limit-down price.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi glanced at the K-line chart on the screen and asked curiously, “It’s going to hit the limit-down tomorrow?”

It was worth mentioning that Stellaris Capital was not currently involved in the public fund industry and did not have a brokerage license, so it was not a rule violation for Tian Jiayi to follow his trade. Even the private equity they did was not in the secondary market but in the primary market’s funds, mostly using leverage.

Taking it a step further, even if it were a violation, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Besides, Fang Hong never did anything that violated regulations. He was already making a fortune through legitimate and compliant means; there was no need to get involved in things that were more trouble than they were worth.

“It has to hit the limit-down. If it doesn’t, I’ll smash it down myself.” Fang Hong’s smile remained as he added with feigned calmness, “So? The boss personally orchestrates a shakeout for you and will even pump up the price for you later. How do you plan to repay your boss?”

With that, Fang Hong leaned back in his chair, his smile fixed on her.

Tian Jiayi was slightly taken aback. She met Fang Hong’s gaze for a moment before she shyly looked away. “What do you want…?” she asked softly.

At that moment, the beautiful assistant’s heart began to pound, and she thought to herself, What do I do? Is he finally going to make a move? Should I refuse or just let it happen?

Fang Hong suddenly said with great seriousness, “Oh… I see what you mean. So you’re willing to give me whatever I want, right?”

Tian Jiayi was stunned. “Huh—?”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Let’s put it on a tab for now. You can come and pay up when your boss wants to collect.”

After saying this, Fang Hong stood up from his chair, took the file from her hands, and started walking toward the beanbag chair in the trading room while opening the file to read, not giving his beautiful assistant a chance to respond.

There was nothing Tian Jiayi could do about him, so she could only follow him silently.

The main reason was that Yifulei had secretly told him there would be a surprise, so he needed to conserve his energy to properly deal with the maid, who had been getting more and more feisty lately. Otherwise, he might have actually wanted to “subscribe to a new stock” with his beautiful assistant.

Assistant today, my girl tomorrow, my baby the day after that.

…

Chapter 260: Cutting Ties with Wang Qingxiong is Cutting Ties with Original Sin

Fang Hong leaned back in the beanbag chair without a word, flipping through the pages of the documents.

Seated beside him, his beautiful assistant watched him in silence. She had wanted to explain what she had meant earlier, but seeing how engrossed he was in the files, she hesitated and, after some thought, decided against it.

Just let it be…

If he wants it, I’ll just give it to him.

Besides, she was several years older than Fang Hong. Thinking about it that way, she felt like she was getting the better end of the deal. Tian Jiayi further convinced herself internally, treating it as a necessary sacrifice to keep her job.

Moreover, she now knew so many of Stellaris Capital’s critical business secrets that running away was out of the question. If she were to resign, she would not only lose the company’s protection but also find herself under endless surveillance. That was something a woman like her, with no connections, could never handle.

Tian Jiayi was well aware of the stakes. Sticking with Fang Hong, on the other hand, meant a future with limitless potential.

As Fang Hong silently browsed through the documents, Tian Jiayi, waiting for his instructions, couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him.

She found that, psychologically, she wasn’t really against the idea. She also noticed that when Fang Hong was serious and focused, he exuded the powerful aura of a business tycoon with everything under control. But when he was being mischievous, he was roguish, like a little scoundrel.

Yes, like a little scoundrel, but the kind you couldn’t bring yourself to hate. At least, she couldn’t.

Fang Hong had no idea what his beautiful assistant was pondering. After finishing the documents and thinking for a moment, he made his decision. “Tell Hua Yu, didn’t Wang Qingxiong demand a seat on Ruihe Group’s Board of Directors? Just give it to him. Heh, with 9% of the shares, he is the second-largest shareholder. A board seat isn’t an excessive request. Then…”

Hearing Fang Hong speak, Tian Jiayi pushed her thoughts aside. As she listened, she complained internally, “Just a moment ago, he was acting like a lecherous little scoundrel, and now he’s suddenly so serious. This guy…”

Fang Hong said calmly, “…Then, in Ruihe’s name, send a notification letter to the bank. State that the company is heavily indebted and insolvent, and can no longer repay its loans. Have Ruihe enter judicial auction proceedings as soon as possible.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

Stellaris Capital would not participate in the first auction, which would inevitably fail. If Stellaris didn’t bid, no one else would dare touch it. Anyone who did would be a huge sucker, essentially handing over more than twenty billion in hard cash to Stellaris Capital.

After the failed auction, the bank would initiate a second one. At that point, Stellaris Capital would use another shell company to acquire it. Wang Qingxiong would be crushed, forced to accept a paltry sum of just over four hundred million before being kicked out completely.

Fang Hong flipped through the documents in his hand again, glancing at them as he gave his orders in a methodical manner, “After kicking Wang Qingxiong out for good, the complete restructuring of all of Hengtong’s assets must be finished within three months. The traditional Chinese medicine-related modules are to be spun off and transferred to Fang’s Apothecary Hall.”

At this, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and emphasized, “Spin them off and set them aside for now, but Fang’s Apothecary Hall can start using them—for example, those ancient formulas and related Chinese medicinal ingredients that Wang Qingxiong shelved.”

Once Ruihe entered the judicial auction process, this ruthless move to take everything, leaving nothing behind, was bound to cause a sensation in the business world. The media would surely be filled with dramatic accounts of the feud between the entrepreneur and the investor.

At that time, Stellaris Capital would be in the eye of the storm, with its every move scrutinized by the public. If they were to transfer Hengtong’s assets to Fang’s Apothecary Hall at such a critical juncture, it would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention.

Fang Hong didn’t want Fang’s Apothecary Hall to be dragged into the mess and examined under a microscope. Thus, they would keep a low profile for a while. Once the furor died down, they could handle the transfer discreetly. By then, even if it garnered some notice, it wouldn’t cause much of a stir.

While Tian Jiayi was taking notes, Fang Hong continued with his instructions, “After spinning off the Chinese medicine module, the remaining assets will be reassessed and restructured to form the Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, which will continue its operations.”

A thoughtful look crossed Tian Jiayi’s face. She met Fang Hong’s eyes and asked, “According to the materials we’ve obtained, Hengtong Pharmaceuticals’ original executive management, including some of the physicians, have records of misconduct. How should we handle them?”

Fang Hong made his decision without hesitation. “The original executive management of Hengtong must undergo a major purge. Those who deserve it will be sent to prison. Send everyone we can, including Wang Qingxiong. As for the clean ones who are willing to stay, they can continue working. We’ll sign new contracts with them.”

“As for the mid-level management, including some of the physicians with violations, have a private discussion with them. Tell them they won’t be employed long-term; the company will hire new people to gradually replace them. If they help the company through the transition smoothly, they can have a soft landing. The company won’t make trouble for them, much less sue them. When they leave, we’ll give them a generous severance package.”

The original executive management of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had to be purged. A batch of them had to be sent to the prison workshop, and that included Wang Qingxiong.

Only by doing this could Stellaris Capital avoid being painted as the villainous corporation plundering an entrepreneur’s life’s work. The public and the media would then side with Stellaris Capital. Wang Qingxiong would be cast as the great evil villain, the truly greedy capitalist who endangered lives for profit, a man whose crimes were monstrous and unforgivable. Such a fate would be no more than he deserved.

When Wang Qingxiong and the original executive team of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group reported to the sewing machine team, it would certainly have a significant negative impact on Hengtong’s assets, including its subsidiary pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies.

But compared to maintaining the positive image and reputation of Stellaris Capital, that was a trivial matter.

In fact, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Wang Qingxiong and his original executive team would end up shouldering all the blame. By sending them to prison, Stellaris Capital would be making a public pledge: even if Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s reputation and performance suffered as a result, they were committed to facing the problems head-on.

The new Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had to make a clean break from the life-threatening, profit-driven deeds of Hengtong under Wang Qingxiong’s leadership. They would absolutely not profit from others’ suffering.

As the saying goes: you can’t build the new without destroying the old. Destruction must come before creation.

It might be difficult at first, but this course of action would inevitably lead to a turnaround, gradually regaining the trust of the public and the approval of society.

This was the only correct solution. Cutting ties with Wang Qingxiong and the old Hengtong was cutting ties with their original sin.

As she took notes on this series of decisions, the beautiful assistant couldn’t help but give Fang Hong a deep look. He happened to catch her gaze and, meeting her eyes, smiled. “Why are you looking at me like that? What are you up to?”

Tian Jiayi froze for a second, then, realizing, felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. She shot him an annoyed glance and couldn’t stop herself from complaining under her breath, “You…! One second, your words and actions are those of a cold and ruthless superior, and the next, you’re being so improper…”

The moment the words left her mouth, a look of shock crossed Tian Jiayi’s pretty face as she realized how inappropriate her tone had been.

“‘You…?’ That tone of voice…” Fang Hong suddenly stood up and walked toward her. Placing one hand on the beanbag chair she sat on, he leaned over her, his face drawing closer to hers.

Panicked, his beautiful assistant leaned back until her body was fully pressed against the beanbag with nowhere left to retreat. Fang Hong brought his face to within a hair’s breadth of hers and continued, “The way you said that… sounds like you’re flirting with your boss.”

Tian Jiayi quickly denied it. “Perhaps you’ve misunderstood, or my choice of words was poor just now.”

“The Boss is always right,” Fang Hong stated immediately.

Tian Jiayi: “…”

Just then, catching his beautiful assistant slightly off-guard, Fang Hong swiftly leaned in and kissed her. Tian Jiayi’s almond-shaped eyes flew wide open. The two stared at each other, speechless. Faced with his advance, she instinctively resisted, but after only a few seconds, her tightly clenched teeth parted involuntarily, and her eyes slowly closed.

Just as her hands were unconsciously reaching up to wrap around Fang Hong’s neck, a voice cut through the air.

“Bro Hong…”

It was Yu Qiu. The trading room door had been left open, and she had walked right in without a second thought.

The abrupt sound made Tian Jiayi’s newly closed eyes snap open. Her hands, which had been about to embrace him, instead pushed Fang Hong away with all their might. Yu Qiu stood frozen in place, staring at the two of them with a stunned expression.

Fang Hong shot a helpless glance at his House manager, as if to say: You just had to ruin my fun. I’ll punish you harshly for this later!

Though it sounds slow, it all happened in an instant. After a moment of shock, Yu Qiu quickly recovered and stammered, “Sorry, so sorry! Just pretend I was never here. I didn’t see anything. You two… continue…”

Without waiting for a response, she turned and hurried away. After disappearing from the doorway for two seconds, she darted back and pulled the door shut.

…

Chapter 261: A Confession Without Prompting

In the trading room on the second floor, by the beanbag chairs.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands. “Now there’s no explaining this at all.”

Just then, Fang Hong returned to his beanbag chair, casually crossing his right leg over his left knee. With an air of ease, he said, “Do you need to explain things between you and your boss to a house manager?”

Tian Jiayi immediately lowered her hands and turned to look straight at Fang Hong, blurting out, “But you and her…”

Halfway through the sentence, the beautiful assistant quickly shut her mouth. That was close, she screamed internally. She had almost blurted out how she had accidentally stumbled upon him and Yu Qiu by the first-floor refrigerator that night.

Fang Hong looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Feeling guilty, Tian Jiayi quickly replied, “N-nothing.”

At that moment, Fang Hong sighed with a look of exasperation and complained, “Of all the times to show up, she had to pick now. The perfect atmosphere, completely ruined by her.”

Tian Jiayi was speechless.

Fang Hong turned his gaze back to his beautiful assistant and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll just consider it an appetizer. There’s plenty of time in the future.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi shot him an indignant, resentful look. “What kind of person do you take me for?”

The ever-calm Fang Hong chuckled and retorted, “And what kind of person do you think I should take you for?”

Tian Jiayi opened her mouth, but no words came out. “I…”

For a moment, the beautiful assistant didn’t know how to respond. He had completely thrown off her train of thought.

After a brief silence, Fang Hong smiled. “Let’s talk business first. As for us, we’ll have plenty of time to explore that later.”

Tian Jiayi fixed her eyes on him, secretly grinding her teeth in frustration. She couldn’t keep up with his thought process at all; he was leading the conversation the entire time, leaving her completely passive. And now, he wanted to talk business…

She forced herself to calm her turbulent emotions, telling herself to think of it as Fang Hong training her on-the-spot emotional management.

And she wasn’t wrong. Fang Hong was indeed teasing her, but he was also using the opportunity to coach her emotional management skills. After all, she was different from the maids; she was his right-hand woman in his career and naturally required a higher standard.

It was fine for now, but in the future, when dealing with company matters, she would need to have a strong ability to adapt to situations on the fly. All of this required training.

After a while, Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and determined that she had more or less regained her composure.

She had adjusted quite quickly.

Fang Hong turned serious and said, “After the restructuring of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group is complete and it’s back on track, we need to actively start planning for its public listing. We should aim for Ruihe Pharmaceutical to be listed on the ChiNext board within the next year.”

Tian Jiayi noted down his decisions in her notebook, marking each one as important.

Fang Hong pondered for a moment, then added, “Also, based on a reasonable valuation for Ruihe, sell a twenty percent stake to the Xincheng local state-owned assets at a fifty percent discount.”

Hearing this decision, Tian Jiayi finished her notes and looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. “A fifty percent discount seems like selling at a loss, but it’s actually a very profitable move. This gives us a government endorsement, which will significantly reduce the negative impact of publicly purging Wang Qingxiong and his lingering influence. It will be a huge help in restoring Ruihe’s reputation, and the path to going public should be much smoother…”

Hearing her analysis, Fang Hong praised her readily with a smile. “Yes, not bad at all. That’s a great understanding of the situation, a huge improvement. And your use of the phrase ‘lingering influence’ was particularly sharp.”

The beautiful assistant smiled radiantly. “Is there anything else to add?”

Fang Hong met her gaze and grinned. “Yes, of course. Why don’t we continue what we were doing before Xiao Yu interrupted?”

Seeing his expectant expression, Tian Jiayi simply rolled her eyes at him in exasperation and chided, “I can’t be bothered with a scoundrel like you…”

Confirming that he was done with business matters, she closed her notebook, put it back in her briefcase, picked up the bag, and gracefully walked towards the door.

Fang Hong remained seated, watching her elegant figure from behind as he feigned dissatisfaction. “We only shared a few kisses, and you already dare to glare and give your boss the cold shoulder? At this rate, won’t you be walking all over me in the future?”

As Tian Jiayi walked away, she heard his words but didn’t look back. She couldn’t help but think to herself, Across all of Stellaris Capital, I’m probably the only one who enjoys the privilege of giving him the cold shoulder and calling him a scoundrel…

At that thought, the corners of the beautiful assistant’s lips curled up slightly into a brilliant smile. A sense of fearlessness born from being favored bloomed within her.

In that instant, she suddenly found that not only did she not resist this kind of relationship with him, she was even starting to enjoy it. Thinking about how Yu Qiu’s sudden intrusion had interrupted what could have been a relationship that went all the way, she felt a strange flicker of annoyance toward Yu Qiu.

Of all the times to show up, why did it have to be then?

Should I take the initiative to heat things up?

Tian Jiayi immediately dismissed the thought. Doing so would surely make him smug and make her seem unladylike.

An excellent hunter often appears as the prey, waiting until he can’t hold back anymore before reluctantly yielding.

With that in mind, the beautiful assistant nodded to herself.

She had made her decision. That was the plan.

Tian Jiayi came down from upstairs and ran right into the house manager, Yu Qiu, again in the first-floor living room. They were the only two there, and both froze for a moment upon seeing each other.

The two of them seemed a bit caught off guard.

“Are you two done?” Yu Qiu broke the silence with a smile, but upon seeing Tian Jiayi’s eyes suddenly widen, she realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself, “Er, no, are you two done talking?”

Well, now it was truly impossible to explain.

Tian Jiayi didn’t want to explain anymore either; it would only make things worse. She decided to change the subject.

But just then, she felt something was off. Yu Qiu’s slip of the tongue just now didn’t seem accidental; it felt intentional. The subtext seemed to be: I know what’s going on between you two. I have leverage over you. You wouldn’t want He Xuan to find out, would you?

Tian Jiayi thought to herself, Is she threatening me? Hmph, as if I don’t have any dirt on you…

Not to be outdone, the beautiful assistant looked at Yu Qiu, nodded slightly, and smiled. “Yes, we’re done talking. Oh, by the way, Yu Qiu, let me share some gossip with you”

Yu Qiu’s curiosity was piqued. “Huh? Gossip?”

Tian Jiayi nodded repeatedly, putting on a serious expression. “Mhm~, I remember one night, emmm… I forget which night exactly, but I got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water from the fridge on the first floor. And guess what I found?”

As Tian Jiayi spoke, Yu Qiu’s eyes grew wider and wider. She asked subconsciously, “What did you find?”

Seeing her reaction, Tian Jiayi inwardly gloated but maintained her serious facade. “I found two people doing… that… by the refrigerator. The light was dim, so I couldn’t see clearly who it was, but I know one of them was Bro Hong. As for the other person, it must have been…”

“That wasn’t me!” Yu Qiu blurted out.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the two women stared at each other, both stunned. Yu Qiu instantly realized what she’d done and slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

Well then…

That was a textbook case of protesting too much.

Looking at Yu Qiu’s face, which seemed to scream “not the sharpest tool in the shed,” Tian Jiayi feigned an innocent expression and said, “I didn’t say it was you.”

Yu Qiu was flustered. “I…”

Tian Jiayi nonchalantly changed the subject. “Alright, no more gossip. I’m heading to the office.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the villa without waiting for Yu Qiu to respond. The moment she turned her back, the beautiful assistant broke into the triumphant smile of a victor who had just evened the score.

Meanwhile, Yu Qiu stood frozen, staring in the direction Tian Jiayi had disappeared. After a long moment, the house manager couldn’t help but stomp her foot in frustration, muttering to herself in annoyance, “Damn it! I carelessly fell for her trap and confessed myself. I’m so, so mad!”

After a long while, Yu Qiu let out a silent sigh.

She had intended to intimidate Tian Jiayi, but she never expected to be so thoroughly outmaneuvered. It was a moment of true carelessness.

“It’s true what they say: the only way to keep a secret is to not do it in the first place. Someone found out after all. It’s all Bro Hong’s fault…” Yu Qiu mumbled to herself as she headed upstairs. She went to the trading room, closing and locking the door behind her.

It had to be said, she was much better at this part than Tian Jiayi.

Entering the trading room, Yu Qiu said to Fang Hong, “Bro Hong, Tian Jiayi found out about our secret. What do we do?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong calmly replied, “If she found out, she found out. You just found out about us a moment ago, didn’t you? Speaking of which, you’re the one who ruined my good time.”

Yu Qiu thought about it and realized he had a point. She was also at fault, so Tian Jiayi probably wouldn’t tell He Xuan; she was most likely just bluffing. The thought immediately put her at ease.

…

Chapter 262: The Mirror-Inverted One-Word Soul-Severing Blade

Hearing her mention this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What I’m more curious about is, how did she find out?”

Yu Qiu hesitated for a moment but still recounted the brief conversation she had just had with Tian Jiayi.

After listening to her simple explanation of the cause and effect, Fang Hong stared at the beautiful house manager in astonishment, utterly speechless.

After a long while, seeing him just staring at her, Yu Qiu couldn’t help but protest coquettishly, “What are you doing, looking at me with that strange expression…”

Fang Hong continued to meet her gaze, shaking his head slightly as he muttered to himself, “I always thought you were a sharp and clever person. What wire got crossed just now? How did you suddenly display such crystal-clear stupidity?”

Hearing this, Yu Qiu immediately raised a delicate hand, brandishing her fist as if to hit him. With a mock-stern face, she chided, “Who are you calling stupid?”

Fang Hong covered his face with his hand, looking like he was torn between laughter and tears. “She hadn’t even finished speaking, and you went and confessed without being pressed. That was spectacularly stupid.”

He suddenly found her foolishness a little cute.

His words left Yu Qiu speechless. After a moment, she said weakly, “I panicked at that moment…”

Then she shot Fang Hong a glare. “Not like you, you philanderer. You’re audacious and thick-skinned.”

Fang Hong lowered his hand, glanced at the beautiful house manager, and said with a smile, “Looking at how foolish you’re being, wouldn’t making you the house manager of Tranquil Heart Residence mean I’m also very stupid? Maybe you should be demoted to a maid. I’ll get someone else to take your place as house manager.”

Yu Qiu’s face immediately turned stern. “You dare!” she huffed. “If you dare, I’ll dare to snip that thing off!”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled to himself. He played along, quickly covering himself with his hands in mock fear. “Hey, some jokes aren’t funny! Okay, okay, I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. The role of house manager at Tranquil Heart Residence is yours and yours alone. No one else will do.”

Yu Qiu couldn’t help but pout her lovely lips, humming in satisfaction. “That’s more like it…”

However, she soon started complaining again. “That woman, Tian Jiayi, is so competitive. No, she’s vindictive… No, I can’t let her be so smug. I have to find a way to get back at her.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong paused for a moment and then said to Yu Qiu earnestly, “Hey, wait a second. Joking around is one thing, but don’t you dare pull a big one on me. Don’t actually set my backyard on fire. Living together in harmony is the most important thing. Scheming and causing a huge scene is completely unnecessary, totally unnecessary, you hear?”

Seeing Fang Hong’s serious expression, Yu Qiu stared at him in silence. After a moment, she couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles, her body shaking with laughter. She looked at him, her eyes crinkling with mirth, and said, “I wouldn’t have guessed it. So you’re also afraid of your backyard catching fire? If you knew that, why’d you go around chasing skirts everywhere?”

Fang Hong threw up his hands in resignation. “It’s not that I’m afraid; it’s just a headache. What can I do? I’m not a heartless person. ‘Universal love’ is my biggest weakness. I know it, but I don’t want to change.”

Yu Qiu shot him an exasperated look. “You’re just being shameless.”

Fang Hong immediately retorted, “What’s more important, you all or my pride? Without a doubt, when comparing my pride to you all, the answer is that you are more important than my pride, right?”

Yu Qiu didn’t say anything, and Fang Hong continued on his own. “Think about it. If I cared about my pride, it would mean I don’t want you all. If I don’t want you, it means I look down on you, that you’re less important than my pride. But by being shameless and choosing you, it proves you’re more important than my pride. Isn’t that the logic? Doesn’t that make sense?”

Hearing this, Yu Qiu felt a little dizzy from his convoluted reasoning and grumbled, “That’s all just twisted logic.”

Yu Qiu then added, “I don’t care~ Anyway, you’re coming to my room to attend to me tonight. Otherwise… hmph hmph”

The threat was self-evident.

Fang Hong said calmly, “I’m afraid tonight might not be convenient. Xiao Yi already beat you to it.”

Yu Qiu immediately stressed, “Then it’s even more necessary! In Tranquil Heart Residence, my status is second only to He Xuan, right? Even if we rank according to seniority, Xiao Yi has to line up behind me. Tell her to go cool her heels tonight. It must be me tonight!”

At this, an idea suddenly struck Fang Hong, and his interest was piqued. He suggested, “I have a solution that pleases everyone. Why don’t you both stop fighting, and we can just do a ‘double-slit experiment’ together?”

“What ‘double-slit experiment’?” Yu Qiu was suspicious, but she quickly figured it out. Without a second thought, she rejected him on the spot. “In your dreams. Anyway, you figure it out. I’ll be waiting. But if you don’t show up, hmph hmph”

His hopes dashed, Fang Hong felt helpless. He could have used force, and it certainly wouldn’t have been a problem, but that would spoil the fun.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go to your place,” Fang Hong agreed, silently adding in his mind: I’ll just have to go find Xiao Yi in the second half of the night. It will be a nice surprise for her after the disappointment. That’s good. Damn, thank god my constitution is up to the task and I have the system to provide a safety net…

Hearing him agree, Yu Qiu felt a satisfying sense of being favored and hummed with a pleased smile, “That’s more like it…”

Fang Hong asked, “By the way, what was it you came to see me about earlier?”

At his words, Yu Qiu slapped her forehead and said, “I almost forgot. The household’s daily expense account is running out of money. You should transfer some over.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong said, “Just withdraw it from my personal securities account yourself. From now on, if the household expenses are short on cash, you don’t need to ask me. Just withdraw and transfer it from the securities account directly. Here, write down the passwords for the securities account and the custodian bank.”

Fang Hong then told her the account passwords. In the future, for all daily household expenses, Yu Qiu could just take it from his personal securities account.

Then Fang Hong would go make money in the A-share market to replenish that account. Perfect.

It could be said that over ninety percent of retail investors make money in the A-share market only to spend it in the A-share market—they couldn’t dream of taking a single cent home.

But for Fang Hong, it was A-share money for household spending. If the family needed to spend, they could spend as they pleased.

…

Late at night, around three in the morning.

By now, both Yu Qiu and Yifulei had drifted off to sleep, utterly satisfied. Fang Hong, on the other hand, dragged his slightly weary body and mind back to the master bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed and didn’t want to move.

He Xuan turned on the bedside lamp. Seeing Fang Hong’s exhausted face, she asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong with you?”

Fang Hong mumbled, “The well has run dry. Turn off the light. If I’m not awake by nine tomorrow morning, remember to wake me.”

He Xuan wanted to say more but hesitated, complaining internally: He used to have more than enough energy left for me when he came back. How did he end up like this today?

Fang Hong had already fallen asleep. He Xuan still wanted to ask him about it, but seeing his state, she decided against it. She craned her neck to check the time and was shocked. “What? It’s already past three? Heavens! No wonder he’s like this after going at it until now…”

…

The next day.

Around nine in the morning.

An alarm woke Fang Hong up. He Xuan, who had woken up early, was just entering the bedroom to wake him. Seeing that he was already awake, she hurried over to sit beside him and said with some urgency, “I thought about it all last night, and the more I think about it, the more I feel you can’t go on like this. You’ll work yourself sick, and your body will break down sooner or later…”

Fang Hong got out of bed, stretched contentedly, and shook himself awake. He glanced at his worried little girlfriend and said nonchalantly, “Getting back to my peak is just a matter of a night’s sleep. My constitution is naturally built for this. It’s an innate talent, nothing to worry about.”

Speechless for a moment, He Xuan couldn’t help but say, “I know you’re capable, but everyone has their limits. Don’t you often say not to take things to extremes?”

Fang Hong turned to face her. “That’s because I’m far from my limit. Alright, I know what I’m doing. I dare to let loose like this because I have a powerful enough safety net. Don’t doubt my risk control awareness. Also, don’t you go lecturing Yifulei and Yu Qiu. That would be like revealing you know everything, and that would spoil the fun.”

After saying this, Fang Hong gave a calm smile and went to wash up.

He Xuan sighed in exasperation. Since she couldn’t win him over, she had to let it be. She would just ask Yu Qiu to buy more ingredients to help nourish his body.

…

9:30 AM.

In the second-floor trading room, Fang Hong was alone. He logged into his personal securities account. The current account balance was around 95 million yuan; Yu Qiu had transferred 5 million yuan out earlier.

Two minutes after the A-share market opened, the broader market index surged to 3132 points, its gain widening to +0.62%. But in the next minute, the intraday line began a sharp, one-sided dive. The 3100-point mark was breached with almost no resistance.

Less than half an hour after the market opened, the index panic sold down to the 3060-point level, with losses expanding to -1.65%, setting another recent low.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong paid little attention to the broader market’s performance. Today, he was focused on trading Double Coin Holdings. After opening slightly lower, the stock immediately started to dive. Ten minutes after the open, it had fallen 5 percent underwater, and Fang Hong hadn’t even started to sell off heavily.

It was dragged down by the plummeting market index.

Elsewhere, Tian Jiayi had already done as Fang Hong instructed. As soon as the market opened, she used her personal securities account to buy Double Coin Holdings, placing her order at the official limit-down price.

With nothing else to do for the moment, Tian Jiayi continued to watch the stock’s performance.

At around 9:55 AM, Double Coin Holdings was down about -5.37%. Fang Hong began to push the price down, smashing it with four consecutive orders of around five hundred thousand yuan each, one per minute, at the limit-down price.

The intraday line for Double Coin Holdings plummeted to -8.11%. At exactly 10:00 AM, Fang Hong directly smashed the market with 1.5 million yuan, and the stock price dived further to the -9.55% level.

Meanwhile, Tian Jiayi, who had been watching the market after placing her order, saw the stock price heading for limit-down and felt a faint sense of anticipation. Her buy order had already made it to the fifth spot on the buy side.

At 10:01 AM, Fang Hong threw out another sell order of over 2.8 million yuan. The stock price was instantly slammed to the -10.02% limit-down price of 7.54 yuan. The trading volume for that minute was close to 3 million yuan.

“It went through!”

The beautiful assistant felt a little excited as she looked at Tian Jiayi’s account information. The one million yuan she had used to buy in had an average price of exactly 7.54 yuan, the limit-down price.

She had bought up all the shares Fang Hong sold off at an unrealized loss.

At that moment, Fang Hong looked at the transaction data on the intraday chart and confirmed that Tian Jiayi’s one million yuan order had been filled. He had seen a one million yuan buy order on the limit-down board much earlier, and at the time, that was the only order of that size.

He could easily confirm that it was the one million yuan buy order from Tian Jiayi, especially since he had told her yesterday to place a limit-down buy order right at the market open.

Confirming that the beautiful assistant’s order was filled, Fang Hong immediately followed up by buying over a million yuan’s worth of shares at the limit-up price to ignite a rally. The order was quickly filled. He then placed another buy order of around two million yuan to ignite the price further, followed by continuous buying.

The intraday line for Double Coin Holdings began a super deep V-shaped reversal and rapid rebound.

Around 10:08 AM, the stock’s intraday line swiftly broke through the daily average price line, and the price rallied to 8 yuan per share, narrowing its losses from limit-down to the -4.53% level.

“Could that guy be pumping up the price for me?” Tian Jiayi watched the rebounding intraday line, a peculiar glint flashing in her blinking eyes. Her account was already showing a profit of over 5 percent.

Tian Jiayi watched for a little while longer before closing the trading software, no longer paying attention and turning her focus back to her work.

With that guy pumping up the price for her, he would tell her when to sell. There was nothing to worry about. Even if she lost money, he would compensate her double the amount of her losses.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong used a small number of sell orders to smash the market again, pushing the price down to 7.75 yuan, a -7.52% level. The rapid 3-percent drop triggered panic selling as frightened investors offloaded their shares to escape.

Fang Hong readily scooped them up, selling little and buying a lot.

This trading technique was a perfect mirror inversion of “The Helmsman’s” famous “one-word soul-severing blade.” The Helmsman used this technique to sell off his position by using small orders to create a momentary spike, then quickly smashing the price to unload his shares.

But Fang Hong was doing the complete opposite: using a small order for an instantaneous sell-off to then rapidly accumulate shares.

This method was rather troublesome. It required constantly trading this one stock because he had to buy in small orders to create the illusion that retail investors were the ones holding the bag. Otherwise, other big money would easily see through his actions as a shakeout to accumulate shares.

…

Chapter 263: Creating a Monster Stock

In the trading room.

Fang Hong was alone, spending the entire day manipulating Double Coin Holdings, conducting a shakeout to accumulate shares. The screen in front of him remained fixed on the stock’s intraday chart; he didn’t even switch to look at anything else.

It was now around 2:00 PM, and the market value of his holdings had reached about fifteen million yuan. He had accumulated nearly twice the amount of shares he had yesterday.

Double Coin Holdings’ intraday chart was oscillating above and below the daily average price line. Roughly every fifteen minutes, it would fluctuate by three percentage points, creating a jagged, sawtooth pattern that resembled an electrocardiogram.

It was a textbook “one-word soul-severing blade” intraday pattern. Around 2:22 PM, Fang Hong dumped the last batch of shares he could sell for the day, pushing the price down to accumulate another batch.

With no more shares to dump, he stopped trading for the moment. He didn’t buy either, letting the market move the price on its own. He placed a few million yuan in buy orders at various price points—if they were filled, great; if not, so be it.

Currently, the market value of his position was just over 16.5 million yuan. These shares were definitely not enough; he needed to continue accumulating.

This was actually one of the reasons Fang Hong didn’t like to create monster stocks, or at least, why he disliked getting involved before they took off. He was participating this time partly because he had nothing better to do, and partly to give his assistant darling a boost, letting her get in at a good price.

For him, getting involved with a monster stock now was mostly for fun; making money was just a bonus.

If he were truly focused on making money, with his current capital, he would go after big-ass stocks like China State Construction. He could throw down a massive six hundred million yuan, complete the turnover in minutes, and easily exit with a profit the next day on a surge, pocketing a cool sixty million.

At that moment, new comments were popping up on the stock forum for Double Coin Holdings.

[Eating noodles in the dark. Damn it!]

[This shakeout almost flayed three layers of my skin off. I barely held on.]

[The damned main force is just randomly smashing the market! I bought at the limit-up yesterday, and today they slammed me down to the limit-down. The pain was so bad I almost couldn’t get out of bed, but thank god I held on and didn’t sell at a loss.]

[This main force is just fucking around. They have no idea what they’re doing.]

[This is a bull trap. The support orders will definitely be blown up!]

[Sold at a loss. I’m blacklisting this stock forever!]

[I put in an order at the limit-down and it actually filled. Somehow made a few points off it…]

[Chumps, run! Look at this intraday pattern, the one-word soul-severing blade is back! If you don’t run now, you’ll be waiting for it to get slashed in half!]

[The Helmsman?]

[I don’t know if it’s The Helmsman, but this is definitely a one-word soul-severing blade pattern. Look at the intraday chart for Shandong Juli on the day it peaked at its sub-high point. It’s not just similar, it’s a perfect match. And Shandong Juli has already been slashed in half.]

[Silly kids, run!]

[Got it. I’m all-in!]

…

In the last half hour of late trading, Double Coin Holdings’ losses once narrowed to within one percentage point, looking like it might even turn positive and close in the green. However, it surged higher then fell back, with a significant amount of volume in the final minutes.

This was because many retail investors, after seeing the intraday chart and the comments on the stock forum, rushed to dump their shares and front-run an exit during late trading.

The “one-word soul-severing blade” mentioned in the comments was particularly intimidating to retail investors holding the stock. The monster stock Shandong Juli had displayed a similar electrocardiogram-like intraday pattern on the day it peaked at its sub-high point.

Furthermore, the stock had already doubled from its bottom of 2.67 yuan, meaning there were substantial profits to be taken. This, combined with today’s intraday chart, undoubtedly convinced more people that the main force was starting to sell off.

So, they all rushed to front-run their exit.

However, the retail investors’ late-day sell-off didn’t cause a ninety-degree nosedive to the limit-down as Shandong Juli had experienced, because Fang Hong had placed several million yuan in support orders to absorb the shares.

By the market close, Double Coin Holdings was down -3.34%, with a total trading volume of about sixty-two million yuan for the day.

The surge and fallback in late trading allowed Fang Hong to snap up another few million yuan worth of shares, bringing the market value of his position in the stock to about twenty million yuan.

The broader market experienced a shrinking-volume rebound today, forming a golden needle hitting the bottom. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +0.89% at 3140.56 points, reclaiming the 3100 mark which it had lost during the day.

…

Friday, August 14th.

The market first dived and then rebounded, creating a bull trap before starting a volatile downtrend.

Fang Hong continued to manipulate Double Coin Holdings today, reluctant to sell his shares. The stock gapped down by -1.23% and pulled back at the open. For the first twenty minutes, it oscillated below the opening price, washing out the short-term profit-takers from yesterday.

After all, the stock had hit the limit-down yesterday, attracting some bottom-fishers. Those who bought at the limit-down price had, at one point, seen unrealized gains of nearly seven percent.

In the first twenty minutes of morning trading, the broader market had dived quickly but was now rebounding strongly, about to turn positive. Double Coin Holdings, however, was still trading sideways, 3% below its opening price. Many short-term traders couldn’t hold on any longer. Fearing their profits from yesterday would shrink further, and wanting to chase other rebounding stocks, they began to sell their shares.

Around 9:52 AM, Fang Hong began to buy in, pushing the stock price up. He gave it a push to test the waters, to see if the profit-takers would release their shares. As long as the retail investors were willing to sell, he didn’t mind letting them walk away with a few points of profit.

Around 10:00 AM, Double Coin Holdings shot up to 8.54 yuan, its gains widening to +5.43%. Fang Hong pushed the price up to around a 5% gain and then stopped, placing buy orders between 8.35 and 8.50 yuan to absorb the shares from retail investors taking their profits.

…

At the 1:00 PM afternoon open, Fang Hong returned to the trading room.

He glanced at his account’s transaction history. It was so-so. He then continued to push the price up through oscillations, intending to drive it above Wednesday’s limit-up price to free the trapped longs who had bought at the limit-up that day.

As time ticked by, at 1:53 PM, the intraday line for Double Coin Holdings surged again. The price broke through the previous high of 8.67 yuan to reach 8.70 yuan, a gain of +7.41%. Fang Hong decisively stopped pushing it higher.

The price stopped surging there, but trading volume began to increase as the funds from the trapped longs at the previous high were being released.

Fang Hong was there to absorb these selling shares. The price pulled back before slowly oscillating upward again.

At 2:23 PM, the price of Double Coin Holdings broke its intraday high of 8.70 yuan and continued to surge, reaching 8.76 yuan. The gain expanded to +8.15%, and it looked like it was about to hit the limit-up.

“Hmm?”

Seeing this, Fang Hong acted swiftly. He threw out sell orders worth about one million yuan at the limit-down price to smash the market. As soon as this sell order hit, the stock price, which had just touched 8.77 yuan, took a nosedive. He followed up by dumping another few tens of thousands to continue the sell-off.

The stock’s intraday line finally turned and fell back, at one point dropping to below a 5% gain, which halted its momentum toward the limit-up. And then, Fang Hong bought the shares back again.

He absolutely could not let Double Coin Holdings seal the limit-up today. If it did, it would appear on the Dragon-Tiger List, and his trading seat would undoubtedly be the number one buyer.

With K-God’s current fame and influence, once that Dragon-Tiger List data was out, an army of retail investors would swarm in at tomorrow’s open, guaranteeing it would hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day.

He hadn’t accumulated enough shares yet. It wasn’t time to expose his hand.

By the close, Double Coin Holdings finished with a medium-length bullish candle, up +6.42% at 8.62 yuan, on a trading volume of 107 million yuan. Meanwhile, the broader market plummeted again to a new low, falling -2.98% to close at 3046.97 points.

For Double Coin Holdings, Fang Hong had accumulated over nineteen million yuan worth of shares today, bringing the market value of his position to about forty million yuan.

…

After the weekend, it was Monday, August 17th.

On the first trading day of the week, hit by negative news over the weekend, both markets gapped down significantly at the open. The Shanghai Composite Index broke through the 3000-point mark during the call auction. After a brief rebound in the first half-hour of morning trading, it began a one-sided decline, with the market index failing to mount a decent rally all day.

Despite such a poor open for the broader market, Double Coin Holdings only opened down by -0.35%. However, driven by the day’s market panic, the stock quickly dived to the -4% level after opening.

But it couldn’t fall any further from that point, because Fang Hong was there to absorb the selling pressure.

Around 9:40 AM, Fang Hong began to push the price up. Barring any surprises, he should be able to accumulate his target number of shares today.

At 9:45 AM, Double Coin Holdings turned positive, gaining +0.35%. It continued to rally, quickly breaking through 8.77 yuan to a new high, demonstrating a pattern of both volume and price rising in tandem.

At 10:00 AM, Double Coin Holdings rallied to 9.28 yuan, its gains expanding to +7.66%. At this point, Fang Hong stopped pushing it higher.

He was the main force behind this rally, using about ten million yuan to lift the stock from a 4% loss to its current price. The shares he now held exceeded fifty million yuan in value.

The stock then began to consolidate at a high level.

…

In the afternoon session, at 2:30 PM, the price of Double Coin Holdings rose to 9.29 yuan, up +7.77%, officially breaking the morning’s intraday high.

[Isn’t it time for the main force to get to work? Qingdao Doublestar next door hit its limit-up this morning. If you don’t hit the limit-up soon, the market’s gonna close! You useless leader! If you don’t do your job, I’m gonna start dumping my shares!]

At this moment, a retail investor posted a comment on the Double Coin Holdings stock forum.

What a coincidence.

Although Fang Hong hadn’t seen the stock forum comment, he was just about to ignite the rally and take the lead in sealing the limit-up.

Just as the price broke the morning’s high, Fang Hong split his orders into three batches: two one-million-yuan orders and one three-million-yuan order, entering one batch per minute to drive the price up.

At 2:31 PM, the stock rallied to 9.38 yuan, up +8.82%;

At 2:32 PM, it rallied to 9.45 yuan, up +9.63%;

At 2:33 PM, it rallied to 9.48 yuan, up +9.98%, sealing the limit-up. In that minute, Fang Hong directly used three million yuan to ignite the rally and take the lead in sealing the limit-up.

…

Chapter 264: K-God Returns, Has the Market Bottomed Out?

As Double Coin Holdings hit its limit-up, other tire stocks also began to move.

A moment later, major stock market apps pushed out notifications:

[Auto parts sector becomes active again in late trading. Double Coin Holdings and Qingdao Doublestar have hit their limit-up, with Guizhou Tyre A and other stocks following the rise.]

In terms of trading volume, Qingdao Doublestar was the leader, with its volume today approaching one billion. However, Fang Hong didn’t touch it because it didn’t have the potential for a significant run-up.

While this corner of the market was thriving, the overall environment of the A-share market was a scene of widespread misery.

Just as Double Coin Holdings hit its limit-up, the Shanghai Composite Index, having already lost the 3000-point mark during the call auction, broke through the 2900-point threshold. It now stood at 2891 points, a drop of over five percent.

The bulls in the market were getting their heads bashed in. Those who had gone all-in at 3478 points were now beginning to sell with great reluctance. They saw various technical indicators, such as the 60-day moving average being breached, the moving averages forming a bearish alignment, a MACD top divergence, and so on and so forth.

In short, it was time to sell at a loss!

…

Fang Hong looked at his personal securities account holdings. He held about 78,000 lots of Double Coin Holdings, with a cost basis of 8.90 yuan and a market value of over 70 million.

He had now reached his target position, and he wouldn’t be buying any more with the remaining 25 million or so.

As time went on, about five minutes after Double Coin Holdings had sealed its limit-up, Fang Hong noticed only a thousand lots in the limit-up order book. He suddenly dumped a sell order of about 3,000 lots.

At 2:40 PM, the limit-up board for Double Coin Holdings broke!

“The market is backing up to pick up more passengers, but only the destined ones…” Fang Hong mused with a smile as he watched the intraday chart after the board broke. He didn’t like to hog all the profit; a relay was better for creating a high-profile rally. The bulls he was letting in now would be the sellers of tomorrow.

After the limit-up board for Double Coin Holdings broke, the stock plummeted to around the +8.00% level. Some shareholders were spooked into taking profits and selling, but a large fund also came in to try and reseal the limit-up, buying around three million yuan worth of shares at this level. It might have been some smaller hot money.

At 2:46 PM, the price of Double Coin Holdings rallied to 9.47 yuan, a gain of +9.86%. It was just one cent away from resealing the limit-up, but it just couldn’t break through.

Right now, many retail investors were jumping in to gain a first-mover advantage, betting on tomorrow’s market action.

Fang Hong continued to wait for another minute. In this stock, he was undoubtedly playing the role of the main force. While not exactly benevolent, he was at least decent enough not to screw people over. As for the ruthless shakeout earlier, that couldn’t be helped.

It was human greed. If he hadn’t done that, the retail investors would have been reluctant to sell their shares. A direct rally would have just made them hold on even tighter.

At 2:47 PM, the time for picking up passengers was over.

Fang Hong threw out a 3,000-lot buy order to reseal the limit-up, and it was filled quickly. The moment it hit the board, limit-up chasers also jumped in, and another 3,000 or so lots were traded.

At 2:48 PM, just as the limit-up orders were about to dry up, Fang Hong went all-in with his remaining 25 million yuan to take the lead in sealing the limit-up.

Bang! A buy order for 26,000 lots slammed onto the book. Immediately after, another major fund that had entered earlier than Fang Hong followed up with over 20 million yuan in buy orders. The volume of limit-up orders quickly surpassed 50,000 lots.

The large funds had officially formed a synergistic force.

The turnover rate dropped sharply. Over the next few minutes, only about three to five hundred thousand yuan worth of shares changed hands each minute.

After Double Coin Holdings resealed its limit-up, the board never broke again. It closed at its limit-up for the day, with trading volume swelling to 168 million.

However, the situation outside was dire. As for the indices, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down a staggering -5.79% at 2870.62 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index plummeted -6.65% to 11668.80 points.

Nearly 1,400 stocks fell across both markets in a widespread decline. Among them, more than 270 hit their limit-down, while only a pitiful 44 stocks rose.

And there were only three stocks that hit their limit-up: Henan Energy, Qingdao Doublestar, and Double Coin Holdings.

…

Around 5:00 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released.

Investors were stunned when they saw the Dragon-Tiger List data for Double Coin Holdings. That familiar trading seat had appeared: Xinhong Securities’ Xinnan Road branch office!

The Dragon-Tiger List data showed that Xinhong Securities’ Xinnan Road branch office had a net purchase of over 30 million yuan, firmly occupying both the top buyer’s and top seller’s seats—the number one contributor on both sides. This was especially true on the buy side, where the next few seats were only around two or three million yuan each, and the fifth-ranked buyer made the list with just over one million.

Investors quickly took screenshots and shared them in their various chat groups and stock forums for discussion. The popularity of Double Coin Holdings skyrocketed after hours.

[66666… Double Coin Holdings is one of only three limit-up stocks in the market today, and K-God powerfully sealed its first limit-up board!]

[K-God is here, it’s taking off tomorrow!]

[Anyone holding this is about to make a huge profit!]

[K-God is truly righteous and kind! He backed up the market to pick people up in late trading. That 3,000-lot large order that broke the board was released by K-God, and then he powerfully resealed it. Only K-God has the power to place single orders of over 2,000 lots all day. It was definitely K-God picking people up!]

[Haha, I risked it all and jumped in when the board broke in late trading. I never thought it was K-God picking people up! Damn it, I’ve boarded a luxury car for sure. If I had known, I would have gone all-in!]

[K-God actually had sell orders today? Doesn’t that mean he got in a long time ago?]

[Of course he did. Otherwise, where would he have gotten the shares to sell today?]

[Ahhh… I’m kicking myself so hard my leg is bruised and swollen! I sold at a 7-point gain this morning. F*ck my life, I could cry. Can I still get back in tomorrow?]

[What? K-God bought the first limit-up of Double Coin Holdings?]

[What’s the logic here? There’s been a lot of news about the “special safeguard case” recently. Isn’t that negative news?]

[I don’t know, but I believe K-God must have his reasons for getting involved.]

[Double Coin Holdings… the name has the character for “money” (钱) in it. That alone is a reason to buy. It’s auspicious!]

[Uh…]

[So, does K-God’s return signal that the market has bottomed out?]

[It’s possible. K-God hasn’t posted on Weibo.]

[Probably not yet. We can basically confirm the market has bottomed out when K-God’s institutional positions start to move in.]

[Makes sense.]

…

With the release of the Dragon-Tiger List data, K-God’s trading seat reappeared, sparking heated discussions in various chat groups. The popularity of Double Coin Holdings soared. The latest comments in the stock’s forum were all about making huge profits, with everyone spreading the news that K-God had entered the fray.

Those holding the stock were ecstatic, those who missed out were green with envy, and those who had sold at a loss were beating their chests in regret.

Beyond that, the most discussed topic among investors this evening was whether the return of K-God, who had stayed in cash for half a month, signaled that the market had bottomed out. The A-share market had crashed through both the 3000-point and 2900-point marks today, returning to an era below 3000 points. The broader market index had already fallen 500 points.

…

Around 5:30 PM, Fang Hong was in the first-floor living room, logging into his Weibo account on his laptop.

“Wow~, sixteen million followers? That’s amazing” Yifulei, the maid who was giving Bro Hong a massage, glanced at the computer screen and exclaimed in surprise. Then she complained, “My Weibo account only has a few hundred followers…”

Hearing this, Fang Hong chuckled. “With your figure and looks, isn’t getting more followers a piece of cake? Just post some photos of your daily life on Weibo, and I guarantee your follower count will see a primary rally.”

Yifulei smiled sweetly and said, “Huh? Forget it, I really don’t like posting pictures of myself on Weibo. Besides, Sister Yu told us we’re not allowed to post photos on Weibo, especially not photos with Tranquil Heart Residence in the background that could be spread online.”

It was worth mentioning that He Xuan was not included in this rule, as she had already posted photos with Tranquil Heart Residence as the background long ago. It was precisely because of this that Yu Qiu forbade Yifulei and the others from doing the same, to prevent the privacy of Fang Hong’s residence from being exposed on the internet.

On this point, the beautiful house manager was very competent. Although she had seemed a bit clueless during her brief encounter with Tian Jiayi the other day, she was extremely diligent in her duties as house manager.

Fang Hong said calmly, “Suit yourself.”

He then casually found a landscape photo online and composed a short text:

[I’ll hold the line with my long-term view and let you guys leave first. I might leave next week, or maybe in mid-to-late September, but the earliest I’ll leave is next week.]

The text said nothing, containing no information related to stocks, yet it also said everything. It was a clear signal to the market, and investors knew exactly what he meant the moment they saw it.

Making money from Double Coin Holdings was secondary; earning a good reputation was the main goal.

Fang Hong wasn’t afraid of someone deliberately trying to crash his stock. Even if it got slashed in half, it would only be a loss of over 30 million. But the retail investors would surely flame the funds that smashed the market, and they would retaliate by smashing back if they ever ended up in the same stock again.

For Fang Hong, if someone deliberately targeted him with a sell-off, the worst-case scenario was that he’d stop playing with small-cap stocks, or just not post his specific positions and avoid getting his trading seat on the Dragon-Tiger List.

He could just post about his profits after he sold. It wouldn’t affect his standing in the A-share market, where he was known by the nickname “K-God.”

…

Chapter 265: The K-God Effect Has That Stock God Buffett Feel to It

After posting this Weibo update, Fang Hong refreshed the page a moment later and saw a large number of comments and replies flooding in.

At this moment, Fang Hong was enjoying a massage from the maid while leisurely browsing the comments.

He had nothing much to do today and planned to interact with his fans.

[Front row, basking in the glory of the god!]

[Telling everyone to leave first… K-God’s perspective is on another level. In one word: Respect!]

[One word? Did your P.E. teacher teach you math?]

[My math teacher died young, don’t mind me, haha!]

[This really shows his broader perspective. A thirty-thousand-fold gain in one year, a god is a god!]

[K-God deserves to make money!]

[K-God, isn’t the turnover for Double Coin Holdings a bit low? Today’s turnover was only 2.88%, and the trading volume also seems a bit lacking, not even reaching two hundred million. Next door, Qingdao Doublestar’s turnover reached 29.43%, with a trading volume of 973 million. I feel like Qingdao Doublestar has more of a leader’s aura.]

When Fang Hong saw this comment, he immediately started typing a reply.

[K3478 replied//: A stock becomes a leader not based on feelings, but by being tested by market funds. First, you predict, then you follow. I basically don’t look at turnover. What difference does a little more or less make? As for trading volume, I personally do prefer stocks with ample volume, because high volume first and foremost indicates high popularity, more participants, and deep capital involvement, especially for a sector.]

After replying, Fang Hong continued editing his next response to that same comment.

[K3478 replied//: Short-term trading is actually very simple. In two words: atmosphere. When the atmosphere is good, you can make money no matter what. The key to ultra-short-term trading is judging the market atmosphere. You use your experience, market sense, and judgment of the market’s state to determine if the atmosphere is good or bad. Master this, and everything else is secondary.]

[K3478 replied//: Getting into the most popular stock when the atmosphere is at its peak is a high-probability way to make a big profit. This is the essence of ultra-short-term trading. The so-called ‘leader’ just happens to be the most watched stock that you get into when the atmosphere is best; it just so happens that it’s the leader.]

This reply thread was quickly liked and pushed to the top by a large number of fans.

[Is this K-God’s thinking process for ultra-short-term trading?]

[Mouth: Mastered it, mastered it. Brain: Fried, fried.]

[Okay, I recognize all the words, but I only understood two things: I don’t get this, and I don’t get that.]

[Hahaha, me too!]

[‘Atmosphere,’ ‘market sense’—these words give me a headache. They all sound like metaphysics, but some people in the market can actually grasp it. Looks like I’m destined to be a chump… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Why bother with all that? Just chase the rise and panic sell, that’s it. Let’s go, let’s go, I’m going to lose all my money! Fired up.JPG]

[According to K-God’s logic, the atmosphere for Double Coin Holdings isn’t there yet, so why did he get in? I don’t get it! K-God said to predict first, then follow, but this first limit-up looks like he just predicted and went all in. Yikes…]

[K3478 replied//: Small capital, just playing around. Profits and losses don’t matter. I was optimistic, so I got in first.]

When this reply came out, the fans were stunned for a moment.

[Uhh…]

[Small capital (referring to tens of millions). That’s ridiculous!]

[See? I told you guys to talk less. He successfully flexed on us again! [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[I opened my trading app, looked at my twenty-thousand-yuan account balance, then logged off muttering curses.]

[No problem there. For K-God, this is small capital… (smirking face)]

[Everyone’s saying the atmosphere isn’t there. Is it possible that because K-God got in, the atmosphere is now there? Look at the stock’s popularity now. Is the atmosphere good enough?]

[Is there still a chance to get on board tomorrow?]

[To be honest, K-God’s influence and popularity are truly terrifying right now. I’ve been browsing a few forums and some of the trading groups I’m in, and everyone is talking about Double Coin Holdings. I now feel like whatever stock K-God gets into, that becomes its strongest logic.]

[The K-God Effect is getting that Stock God Buffett feel to it. Whichever stock he gets into skyrockets.]

…

Fang Hong interacted with his fans for a while, replied to a few comments, and then closed Weibo.

It had to be said that his popularity and influence were indeed as one of the fans had described. Take Double Coin Holdings for example: the hype around the Tire Special Safeguard Case had not yet fully developed.

But because K-God appeared on the stock’s Dragon-Tiger List, its popularity index soared exponentially.

And the Weibo post he had just updated undoubtedly fanned the flames further. K-God had directly revealed his hand, telling them to exit first.

According to what he said on Weibo, they definitely didn’t have to worry about selling pressure from K-God’s position, because he said he would leave next week at the earliest, and he might not even leave then. The latest he might hold it was until mid-to-late September.

…

The next day, Tuesday, August 18th.

The market today was extremely volatile, jumping up and down. The Shanghai Composite Index opened significantly lower, down -0.88%, setting another recent low. After the open, it quickly rallied and turned positive, then dived below its opening price, followed by a V-shaped rebound into positive territory to surge higher. However, an hour after opening, it surged higher then fell back again, before rallying in the afternoon to close higher.

Looking at the intraday chart, it was clear that the bulls and bears were fiercely divided today. To some extent, K-God’s return to the market made some funds think the market had bottomed out, and they began to test the waters with small long positions.

It had to be said that it wasn’t just numerous retail investors whose views on the market were influenced by K-God; even some institutions were secretly lurking and watching, and were more or less affected by him as well.

It couldn’t be helped. His god-tier record of ten thousand-fold in a month and thirty thousand-fold in a year was right there for all to see. His net worth had already soared to over two billion, a capital size that was even larger than many so-called institutions.

Meanwhile, during trading hours, Double Coin Holdings experienced a cumulative price deviation of 20% over three consecutive trading days, which constituted abnormal trading volatility. As a result, its trading was suspended for an hour at the open today, resuming at 10:30 AM.

The stock gapped up significantly by +7.06% in the pre-market auction. After trading resumed at 10:30 AM, its price surged towards the limit-up price but did not seal it, as this coincided with the broader market taking another dive.

Double Coin Holdings pulled back to the +4.76% level, but then immediately reclaimed its ground above the opening price.

Around 10:40 AM, new hot money entered the market and ignited the stock. K-God’s stocks were considered safe, so the hot money traders weren’t afraid of him smashing the market. He had already said he wouldn’t. Even if he went back on his word and suddenly sold off, no one could do anything about it, but everyone believed K-God to be a gentleman who kept his word.

Firstly, with a net worth of over two billion, he had no need to ruin his market reputation over such a small amount of money. Secondly, he had never broken his word before. With these two reasons, they could trust that he would not resort to the actions of a petty person.

The odds of profiting from this stock were greater than the odds of taking a loss, so there was hot money in the market willing to pump up the price for him.

Ultra-short-term trading was all about playing the probabilities. If the probability of making a big profit was greater than taking a loss, you go for it.

At 10:41 AM, the price of Double Coin Holdings rallied to 10.43 yuan, up +10.02%, sealing the limit-up board with a trading volume of 130 million.

At this moment, Fang Hong watched the stock hit its second consecutive limit-up. This stock had now deviated from its original historical trajectory. According to its original historical path, it was supposed to close down by more than six percent today on shrinking volume.

But with the atmosphere hyped to this extent, Double Coin Holdings was, barring any surprises, set for a run of consecutive limit-ups. It hadn’t even hit its third board, but its monstrous aura was already soaring to the sky.

Today, the A-share market experienced a rebound on shrinking volume after being oversold. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +1.40% at 2910.87 points. Although it opened lower, it ultimately reclaimed the 2900-point mark by the close.

…

Wednesday, August 19th.

After yesterday’s rebound put a stop to the decline, investors thought that even if the rebound didn’t continue today, any pullback shouldn’t break the new low. Besides, K-God, who had accurately predicted the 3478-point peak, had returned.

To everyone’s surprise, not only did the rebound fail to continue today, and not only did the market fail to stabilize, but it was slaughtered again!

What investors found most disgusting was that the index had traded in a narrow range around the zero-axis line all morning, giving a false signal of stabilization that lured many people in.

In the afternoon, it became a one-sided slaughter. The Shanghai Composite Index’s drop once exceeded five percent.

Not only was the 2900-point mark lost, but the 2800-point mark was also decisively broken.

The entire market was filled with curses and howls of despair.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had plummeted -4.30% to 2785.58 points. From its high of 3478 points down to today’s low, the broader market’s cumulative decline had once exceeded -20%. This level of decline is considered the line between a bull and bear market, meaning a drop of over -20% puts the market in a so-called technical bear market, while a rise of over +20% signifies a technical bull market.

The late-day slaughter prompted many investors to tearfully sell at a loss and exit the market.

In stark contrast were the investors in Double Coin Holdings. The stock gapped up by +5.29% today. After a pullback of about two minutes at the open, it shot straight up, hitting the limit-up board around 9:35 AM.

Double Coin Holdings achieved three consecutive limit-ups, with its price surging to 11.47 yuan per share, a gain of +9.97%. The market’s true leader had now been clearly revealed.

This was because the neighboring Qingdao Doublestar had pulled back yesterday after its first limit-up, failing to hit its second. Today, it had become a follower. That was a useless leader; the real leader had to be Double Coin Holdings.

…

Chapter 266: Shifting to a Trend Trading Strategy

Thursday, August 20th.

For those who had sold at a loss the day before, the A-share market’s performance today was simply cruel.

After yesterday’s plunge, the market staged a retaliatory rebound, with the broader market index soaring +4.52% by the close. It reclaimed both the 2800 and 2900 point marks during the day, closing at 2911.58 points.

Many investors saw the stocks they had sold off yesterday skyrocket, and their faces turned green with rage.

Over the next two trading days, the A-shares market continued its rally. On Friday, it rose another +1.69%, with the market index climbing to 2960.77 points.

The following Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index gained another +1.10%, closing at 2993.42 points, even briefly surpassing the 3000-point mark during intra-day trading.

Meanwhile, the overall sentiment leader, Double Coin Holdings, achieved its sixth consecutive limit-up. After its second trading suspension due to abnormal trading, it was pushed to the limit-up again by investors upon resuming trading, marking six straight days of hitting the limit. Its stock price reached 15.27 yuan.

Over the next few trading days of the week, Double Coin Holdings continued its run of consecutive limit-ups, exceeding all expectations.

On Tuesday, it hit its seventh limit-up, with the price surging to 16.80 yuan.

On Wednesday, it hit its eighth limit-up, with the price climbing to 18.48 yuan.

With its eighth limit-up, Double Coin Holdings had officially doubled in price since its first, achieving a gain of +114.39%.

…

Thursday, August 27th, Stellaris Capital headquarters.

Tian Jiayi had just returned to her office from the morning meeting. At around 9:26 AM, just as she sat down at her desk, her phone rang.

A glance at the caller ID showed it was Fang Hong. She answered, and his voice immediately came through: “Sell Double Coin Holdings. Place the order at the limit-up price.”

Tian Jiayi looked at her computer, opened the trading software on her desktop, and replied, “Okay. After selling this stock, should I move everything into Dongfang Yuhong?”

With two minutes until the market opened, Tian Jiayi calmly switched to the intraday chart for Double Coin Holdings, glanced at it, and then placed a sell order for all her shares at the limit-up price. The order was submitted, just waiting for the market to open at 9:30 AM to be executed.

Fang Hong’s voice came through again: “Don’t rush with Dongfang Yuhong. Wait a couple of days, buy it at the beginning of September. The boss is backing up to pick you up, giving you a golden opportunity to get in at a low price. How’s that? Am I spoiling you enough? How are you planning to repay your boss?”

Hearing him switch from serious business talk to improper teasing, Tian Jiayi retorted with a huff of playful annoyance, “You’re never serious. Annoying~.”

The words escaped her lips almost involuntarily. When she realized what she’d said, she was momentarily stunned. It was a subconscious response, straight from the heart, her tone full of coquettish charm.

On the other end of the line, Fang Hong chuckled. “The boss is giving you such a big reward. What about my reward? And just acting cute doesn’t count, especially when it’s not in person. I’m not falling for that.”

Tian Jiayi quickly feigned composure and replied, “I’m not bickering with you. I have a lot of work to do today. I’m hanging up.”

Without waiting for Fang Hong’s response, she hung up and tossed her phone onto the desk. She blinked her beautiful eyes and let out a gentle sigh, quickly composing herself. Once she had calmed down, she had to admit that Fang Hong did spoil her quite a bit, and an unconscious smile graced her lips.

As the clock hit 9:30 AM and the market opened, her attention shifted to the intraday market data for Double Coin Holdings.

Today, the stock’s call auction set its opening at 20.33 yuan, an opens-at-the-limit-up price, marking its ninth consecutive limit-up. The cumulative gain had now reached +135.85%.

Seeing that her sell order had been fully executed and the shares had changed hands, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but exclaim with delight, “It all sold at the limit-up!”

Just then, less than fifteen seconds after the market opened, Double Coin Holdings, which had opened at the limit-up price, saw its board break and went into a ninety-degree nosedive. The beautiful assistant couldn’t help but gasp, “Thank goodness I sold. That guy’s stock trading skills are incredible.”

Within two minutes of the open, Double Coin Holdings had plummeted to a gain of only +2.18%. But before Tian Jiayi, who was watching the spectacle, could even process it, the intraday line slammed on the brakes and began a vertical rally. In another two minutes, it was back near the limit-up price.

By 9:39 AM, Double Coin Holdings hit the limit-up again. However, the sealed board held for less than three minutes before breaking once more, kicking off another waterfall-like decline.

Around 9:47 AM, the stock price touched the zero-axis line and briefly turned negative for the day, but it was followed by another violent rebound. Around 10:07 AM, it rallied to an 8% gain, then dived again, at one point plummeting deep underwater to -6%, only to be violently pulled back up to a gain of over 3%, followed by another dive…

The entire day’s chart could be described in one word: wild!

Anyone with a weak heart might have had a medical emergency watching this. Today’s trading volume was also massive.

On the stock forums, many investors speculated that K-God must have gotten out today. In reality, Fang Hong hadn’t. Apart from telling his beautiful assistant to sell, he hadn’t touched a single one of his 80,000 lots.

Selling today would have landed him on the Dragon-Tiger List. Besides, he believed this stock still had a second wave in it, so he could sell then. The key was to avoid appearing on the Dragon-Tiger List when he did.

The major players who were getting out today were another group, one that had been selling all the way up through the consecutive limit-ups.

Tian Jiayi didn’t continue to watch Double Coin Holdings’ chart. After about ten minutes, she closed the trading software and turned her attention to her work for the day.

Following Fang Hong’s instructions, she had bought one million yuan worth of Double Coin Holdings on August 13th at the limit-down price of 7.54 yuan. Selling at the limit-up price today, her cumulative return exceeded +169%. In just eleven days, her profit was 1.7 times her initial investment, bringing her account balance to approximately 2.7 million yuan.

Having received her first “wealth code” from Fang Hong, Tian Jiayi finally understood on a much deeper level how Stellaris Capital had managed to expand its assets to the absurd scale of two to three hundred billion in just one short year.

They say the most profitable businesses are the ones written into the criminal code, but at this moment, the beautiful assistant felt that the business found within the securities law was even more lucrative—insanely so. Getting involved in businesses from the criminal code would land you in prison, but with the business inside the securities law, as long as you complied with regulations, you wouldn’t have to worry about reporting to the prison workshop.

…

Meanwhile, in the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

After calling Tian Jiayi a few minutes before the market opened, Fang Hong began directing Lin Yan, Yifulei, and the others. After the broader market fell below 2800 points last week, their Institutional account funds had started building positions.

This time, as they began opening new positions, Fang Hong changed his previous style of all-in, fast-in-fast-out ultra-short-term trading. The account’s main positions would now be focused on medium-to-long-term trend trading.

With his capital exceeding two billion, going full-in on ultra-short-term trades was becoming increasingly difficult. Even with large-cap “big-ass” stocks, there weren’t enough targets for full-position profit-taking. The A-share market didn’t produce the kind of massive trading volume seen on the day China State Construction went public every single day.

As the size of his capital grew, a change in trading style was inevitable. Moreover, with such a large scale, it was highly unlikely he could continue doubling or even multiplying his funds within a single month as he had before.

After adjusting his trading strategy, Fang Hong would use his large positions for medium-to-long-term trend trading, while using small positions for short-term trades when opportunities arose.

At the moment, the girls were following Fang Hong’s instructions, continuously accumulating shares in a series of trend trading targets, including fifteen stocks like Dongfang Yuhong, Chengde Lulu, Gujing Gongjiu, and JINZHONGZI JIU.

The daily trading volume of these stocks was in a sort of middle ground—not too high, not too low. While they weren’t dead stocks, sometimes their volume was in the tens of millions, occasionally breaking a hundred million, which was naturally much better than stocks with only a few million in daily volume.

But compared to stocks with truly massive volume, which could easily reach a billion or even tens of billions, they seemed insignificant.

That wasn’t a major issue, though. Since this was trend trading, there was no need to build the entire target position in a single day. They could just take a few more days to do it.

Fang Hong glanced at Dongfang Yuhong. The stock had once panic-sold down to 19.30 yuan along with the market’s plunge, but it had rebounded strongly over the past five days, hitting two consecutive limit-ups and was now back at the 25 yuan level.

This listed company belonged to the “building materials and renovation materials” sector, meaning it was linked to the real estate industry. It was a small-cap stock with a market capitalization of about 1.978 billion.

They had successfully completed building their position today. The current market value of their holding was 90 million yuan, which was the maximum they could buy. They were infinitely close to the +5% equity stake threshold that would trigger the stake disclosure mechanism.

This company had the potential to surpass a hundred billion in market capitalization in the future. Even buying at the current price, holding it for ten years could yield a return of forty to fifty times the investment. It was an excellent value investing target.

However, Fang Hong had no intention of being a value investor and holding it as a long-term shareholder. Value investing was a job for Stellaris Capital. For himself, he would at most play the trend, holding during the primary rally and cashing out to flee once the trend ended. Therefore, his shareholding definitely couldn’t exceed 5%, otherwise, he would have to announce his plan to reduce his holdings fifteen days in advance before selling.

…

Chapter 267: Be Cruel to Your Enemies, Be Kind to Your Own

Afternoon.

Tian Jiayi returned to Tranquil Heart Residence. She and Fang Hong were sitting on a sofa in the first-floor lounge area.

“The Hengtong Pharmaceuticals M&A project has made significant progress. Zhongtai Capital has successfully and completely divested. The asset swap agreement for Hengtong’s subsidiaries has also been signed, and they are now under Ruihe’s name. Hengtong is now just a shell company.”

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and reported to him in an orderly manner. After a moment, she continued, “Wang Qingxiong officially holds 9% of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s shares, Stellaris Capital holds 88%, and the former executives of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group and other minority shareholders collectively hold the remaining 3%.”

Fang Hong leaned back against the sofa, his hand resting on the armrest, listening to Tian Jiayi’s report in silence. He nodded.

After a while, Tian Jiayi looked down and flipped through the documents in her hand before looking up at Fang Hong. “According to the plan, Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group will formally submit a letter to the bank on Wednesday, September 2nd, to announce its debt default.”

In layman’s terms, it was like officially telling the bank, “I’m not paying back the money I owe you. You figure out what to do!”

Currently, 100% of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s shares were pledged to the bank. If they didn’t repay the debt, the bank could only initiate judicial auction proceedings. Once the auction was complete, it meant Wang Qingxiong would be kicked out. He’ll take the money and walk away, severing all ties with Ruihe.

As for how much money his 9% stake would ultimately fetch, that would depend on Ruihe’s final sale price at the auction.

And that sale price had, in fact, already been determined: four point eight billion yuan. In theory, Wang Qingxiong should end up with four hundred thirty-two million yuan.

Right now, Wang Qingxiong had no idea he was about to be kicked out, nor did he realize the even more miserable fate that awaited him afterward. Did he think he could take that four hundred thirty-two million yuan and live out the rest of his life as a carefree multi-millionaire?

The answer was: impossible!

The four hundred thirty-two million he got would be used to pay fines. Fang Hong had Hua Yu get Stellaris Capital’s legal team to calculate everything down to the last penny. After kicking Wang Qingxiong out of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, there was one final step: send him to report to the sewing machine team.

The process wasn’t complicated. They had already found their breakthrough: a former executive from Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. After some “reasonable guidance,” and with the assurance that his family would be financially secure after he spent a few years working the sewing machines inside, he finally had a “sudden awakening” and decided to turn himself in.

Furthermore, he would file a real-name report, exposing all of Wang Qingxiong’s dirty deeds.

This would be considered a meritorious act, which could lead to a reduced sentence.

After finishing her report on Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s progress, Tian Jiayi hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fang Hong and couldn’t help but ask, “Regarding this matter… aren’t we being a little too ruthless with Wang Qingxiong?”

A month ago, she definitely wouldn’t have said this. But now, the relationship between her and Fang Hong was just one thin layer of paper away from being broken through. As their bond rapidly deepened and evolved, her reservations naturally diminished, and she was less inclined to hide the questions on her mind.

Fang Hong glanced at her before looking away again, saying nonchalantly, “Your training is still shallow. If this were Yue Qing, she wouldn’t have said such a thing.”

Tian Jiayi froze for a second, a hesitant look on her pretty face, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

Fang Hong met her gaze and said calmly, “In principle, I don’t want to be this ruthless either, but this is the result of a rational decision. If we don’t nail Wang Qingxiong to the pillar of shame, he’ll play the victim and become an object of sympathy. At the same time, Stellaris Capital will become the ‘barbarians’ in the public eye.”

The term “barbarians” here doesn’t mean uncivilized brutes in the literal sense. It’s a Wall Street financial term referring to outsiders who carry out a hostile or malicious takeover of a company. In the Wall Street financial system, such acquirers are known as “barbarians.”

Fang Hong watched his thoughtful beautiful assistant without moving and continued, “Not only must Wang Qingxiong go to prison in disgrace, scorned by all, but the more than four hundred million he gets from the Ruihe auction must also be taken away. He is indeed a very capable entrepreneur, a trailblazer. If he gets out with over four hundred million in his pocket, we can’t rule out the possibility of him making a comeback. Taking that money away is like pulling out his last few teeth and breaking his legs.”

Listening to him speak these words, one by one, Tian Jiayi only felt a cold, emotionless chill. She fell silent for a moment before meeting his eyes again and saying softly, “Sometimes, I find you terrifying. In a movie, you’d be the ultimate villain. Anyone who offends you probably wouldn’t have a good end.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong broke into a brilliant smile. “Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to yourself. Be cruel to your enemies, be kind to your own people. You’re one of my people, so there’s plenty of kindness to go around. See how well I treat you?”

Seeing his demeanor suddenly change, in stark contrast to moments before, as he put on a harmless expression and acted cheeky, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but chuckle.

After a moment, the beautiful assistant thought for a bit and couldn’t help asking, “Once Wang Qingxiong is in prison, his family should be innocent, right? Should we offer them some help or support?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately rejected the idea without a second thought. “After crushing a man like that, don’t do something so hypocritical. They’ll just think you’re shedding crocodile tears. Wang Qingxiong is a significant figure in Xincheng. I’m sure he’s savvy enough to have set up some risk isolation for his family. Even if his wife and children fall on hard times after he’s gone, the financial safety net Wang Qingxiong left them, however meager, is still something ordinary people can only dream of their entire lives. There’s no need to worry about them.”

Tian Jiayi thought about it and felt he had a point, so she didn’t dwell on the issue any longer.

…

Over the next two trading days, the market continued its downward trend. On Friday, the last trading day of the week, the A-share market plummeted. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 2.91%, closing at 2860.69 points.

Negative news broke over the weekend. On Monday, August 31st, the last trading day of the month, the A-share market experienced another gap-down plunge. The market index broke through the 2800 and 2700 point levels, plummeting by 6.74% to close at 2667.75 points. Hundreds of stocks across both exchanges hit their limit down.

However, just as the market was panic selling, Stellaris Capital had already begun building a new position in late trading, buying the dip.

Fang Hong’s own institutional account was doing the same, taking advantage of the market panic to add to his trend trading positions in stocks he was reluctant to sell, such as Gujing Gongjiu, Chende Lulu, and JINZHONGZI JIU.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Yuhong also fell sharply over these two days, dropping by 8.04% and 7.38% respectively. Its stock price had fallen back to the 23.85 yuan level.

Currently, Fang Hong’s position in this stock had turned from a floating profit into a floating loss. But it wasn’t a major issue; he was trend trading this stock and wasn’t concerned with short-term fluctuations.

…

Tuesday, September 2nd, around 1:30 PM.

Stellaris Capital headquarters.

Tian Jiayi was in her office, organizing the documents for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s default notice. Her primary role was Fang Hong’s assistant, but she also held the position of Vice President at Stellaris Capital, a role with real authority.

Hua Yongming was personally in charge of the Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group project, and Tian Jiayi was one of the members assisting him.

Just then, her phone rang.

Tian Jiayi glanced at the caller ID; it was Fang Hong. She answered, and his voice came through: “The boss is backing up the car to pick you up. Get online. Place a bid at 22 yuan.”

“Mm, hold on.” While still on the phone, Tian Jiayi opened the stock market software on her computer and typed in the code for Dongfang Yuhong. At that moment, the stock was down 2.73%, trading near the intraday average price line at 23.20 yuan.

Tian Jiayi went all in, placing a buy order for 1227 lots, approximately two point seven million yuan, with a bid price of 22.00 yuan.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong, who was watching the market, saw a buy order for over 1200 lots appear at the 22 yuan price level, waiting to be filled. Tian Jiayi’s voice came over the phone, “I’ve placed the buy order as you said.”

“Mm, I see it. You can get back to work.” Fang Hong hung up, then turned to Yifulei, who was sitting on the far left. “Xiao Yi, sell off one million of Dongfang Yuhong and see what happens.”

Yifulei immediately followed his instructions, selling one million yuan worth of the stock. She placed the sell order at the limit-down price. The stock price quickly dropped below the intraday average line, dipping to -3.77%. After waiting a minute and seeing that the price wasn’t falling further, Fang Hong said, “Smash it with another three million!”

Quickly, Yifulei sold off another three million yuan worth of shares as instructed.

With this sell-off, Dongfang Yuhong’s stock price couldn’t hold up and went into a nosedive.

At the same time, back at her company, Tian Jiayi didn’t close the trading software immediately after ending the call with Fang Hong. She continued to watch the market. Just then, at around 1:43 PM, Dongfang Yuhong’s stock plunged, dropping 7.76% to hit the 22.00 yuan mark. In that single minute, about three point five-two million yuan worth of shares were traded.

Seeing that the diving stock price had reached her target buying price, Tian Jiayi quickly refreshed the software interface. A glance at her account information brought a happy exclamation: “It went through!”

…

Chapter 268: Ruihe Declares Default, the Showdown Is Here!

Tian Jiayi’s account now held 122,700 shares. The entire 2.7 million yuan order had been filled. After glancing at her account information, she switched back to the intraday chart for Dongfang Yuhong and was slightly taken aback.

In just one minute, the stock had shot up to 23.00 yuan, narrowing its decline to -3.56%. The intraday line had formed a “golden needle hitting the bottom” pattern.

Tian Jiayi’s holding cost was 22 yuan, meaning her newly acquired position already had a floating profit of 4.5 percent. The beautiful assistant couldn’t help but murmur, “That guy really did back up just to pick me up…”

This intraday pattern was definitely his doing. At that moment, Tian Jiayi felt an inexplicable joy, a pleasant feeling of being specially favored. She watched for a moment longer before closing the trading software to get back to work.

Fang Hong’s maneuver of backing up to pick up more passengers hadn’t added any extra shares to his own position, but it had scared some people out—about a few hundred thousand yuan worth of capital.

He didn’t absorb these shares, however. The retail investors who sold them had their shares snatched up by another group of retail investors who got on board. Fang Hong then bought back the shares he had previously dumped at a low price for a higher price. In order to go back and pick up his beautiful assistant, this operation had actually cost him money, and some of his lower-priced shares were snapped up by other retail investors.

Profit and loss share the same source. For every group of retail investors who sold at a loss, there was another group who followed the car, picked up the shares, and ate meat. The ones who profited were lucky, and as for those who sold at a loss, it was purely collateral damage.

That’s how the game in the capital market works. For someone to make money, someone else has to lose it.

Around 4:00 PM, Stellaris Capital, acting in the name of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, formally submitted a letter of debt default to the bank.

Upon receiving the letter, the bank reacted at light speed. In just half an hour, they publicly announced the notice and, following procedure, immediately declared a freeze on the 100% pledged equity of Ruihe Group.

The news sent shockwaves through the capital circle. Stellaris Capital’s acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had already been a topic of great interest in the industry, and the vast majority believed the matter was settled.

No one had expected such a major twist at this critical juncture, stirring up new waves.

The many people who had seen Stellaris Capital as Wang Qingxiong’s “White Knight” were left completely dumbfounded. After Ruihe declared a debt default and the bank swiftly froze its 100% pledged equity, anyone who still didn’t understand Stellaris Capital’s true intentions had no business being in the industry.

This wasn’t a goddamn “White Knight”—it was a fucking “Black Assassin”!

One’s true intentions were revealed!

“Tsk, tsk… What Hua Yu did was ruthless, absolutely vicious.” In the president’s office at Zhongtai Capital, Liu Qizheng turned to a colleague at the Vice President level and added, “He’s a ruthless one!”

The Vice President sighed deeply and said, “To run into a character like that, Wang Qingxiong is completely done for this time. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’s been cleaned out!”

Liu Qizheng nodded in agreement.

Wang Qingxiong had just stepped out of the dragon’s lair only to fall into the tiger’s den.

The two couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for Wang Qingxiong’s tragic fate, though not much.

Evidently, Liu Qizheng and his team had learned of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s default almost instantly, and they knew even more details. Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s default was purely technical.

In plain terms, they were blatantly refusing to pay.

And now, they finally understood Stellaris Capital’s true intentions.

Just then, Liu Qizheng’s secretary knocked and entered the office, handing him a file.

The file contained compiled data on Stellaris Capital’s acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. After a quick look, Liu Qizheng stared at the document and couldn’t help but marvel, “No exaggeration, this operation by Stellaris Capital is one of the most brilliant examples of capital maneuvering I’ve seen in the last decade. A textbook-level case. Can you guess how much Stellaris Capital actually paid to acquire Hengtong Pharmaceuticals?”

The Vice President’s interest was piqued. “How much?”

Liu Qizheng exclaimed with awe, “Less than two billion. They actually spent so little to leverage a major pharmaceutical group with assets of nearly twenty billion.”

Hearing this, the Vice President took the file and looked it over, his eyes also filled with amazement. He couldn’t help but say, “I see. First, they established Ruihe, pledged 100% of its equity to the bank for five times the leveraged funds. Then they used the ‘Swapping the bird in the cage’ technique to buy only the assets, not the equity. And finally, a technical default to have 100% of Ruihe’s equity sent to a judicial auction…”

Liu Qizheng then sighed, “Wang Qingxiong was completely checkmated by Stellaris Capital from the very beginning. The technical default forces Ruihe into a judicial auction, leaving Wang Qingxiong with zero negotiating power. He can only be humiliatingly swept out the door by Stellaris Capital.”

Initially, Liu Qizheng had thought that after Stellaris Capital completed the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceuticals and restructured Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, they would buy back the 9% stake in Wang Qingxiong’s hands. He never imagined Stellaris Capital would play the judicial auction card.

If it were a normal buyback, Wang Qingxiong would certainly have negotiating power. He could hold on to that 9% stake and raise the price on the spot, asking for an exorbitant sum. If they didn’t accept, he wouldn’t sell.

But now, with the technical default leading to a judicial auction, Wang Qingxiong didn’t even have a chance to object, let alone raise the price. It was simply impossible.

At this moment, besides amazement, there was another meaning in Liu Qizheng’s eyes: What a lesson learned!

Meanwhile, at home, Wang Qingxiong was preparing documents for the upcoming temporary shareholders’ meeting of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group. The purpose of this meeting was to reorganize the Board of Directors and elect a new head to lead the company.

Wang Qingxiong had received a promise from Hua Yu for a seat on the board.

He also planned to compete for the top position at Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group and then figure out his next move. Although he was extremely unhappy with Stellaris Capital, he could only bide his time and endure the humiliation for now.

However, becoming the head of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group required Stellaris Capital’s approval. So, no matter how upset he was, he had to maintain a good relationship on the surface and appear extremely diligent and willing to work.

A short while later, he received a call from his secretary. “President Wang, we just received news that Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group has declared a debt default. The bank has already announced that it’s freezing 100% of Ruihe’s equity and its assets…”

Wang Qingxiong shot up from his seat, stunned. He cried out in disbelief, “What? What did you say? Say that again…”

After listening to his secretary report the contents of the bank’s announcement about Ruihe’s default, Wang Qingxiong was completely dumbfounded, petrified on the spot as if struck by lightning.

After a long pause, the corner of his eye began to twitch uncontrollably, followed by his entire body trembling with rage.

Smash—!

Unable to contain himself any longer, Wang Qingxiong erupted in fury. He slammed his phone onto the floor, shattering it to pieces. He swept everything off his desk, sending it all crashing to the ground. Like a man possessed, he began smashing anything he could see.

He had completely lost control of his emotions.

If he still didn’t understand what was happening at this point, he would never have been able to build a pharmaceutical group that ranked among the top five hundred in the Mainland.

He felt as though Hua Yu had been looking at him like a clown, playing him for a fool from start to finish. And the most laughable part was that he had been thinking about biding his time and enduring humiliation.

It turned out that Stellaris Capital had planned to kick him out completely from the very beginning. All their previous promises were a sham.

They didn’t even grant him a dignified exit, instead kicking him out in such a humiliating fashion. No matter how composed someone was, they wouldn’t be able to take it.

At this moment, Wang Qingxiong was filled with nothing but regret, beating his chest and stamping his feet. If only he hadn’t signed that financing agreement with Zhongtai Capital all those years ago, none of this would have happened.

“No! I can’t just accept defeat like this!”

Having lost control of his emotions, Wang Qingxiong surprisingly calmed down with astonishing speed. He forcefully suppressed all his regret and anger, composed himself, changed into a formal suit, and left his house, heading straight for the headquarters of Stellaris Capital.

Stellaris Capital headquarters, CEO’s office.

Hua Yu’s assistant, Yue Qing, walked into his office and said, “Wang Qingxiong is here at the company. He’s demanding to see you immediately.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu looked surprised. “He’s here?”

Yue Qing nodded. “He’s waiting in the reception room.”

Leaning back in his boss’s chair, Hua Yu let out a small laugh. “I thought he’d be booking a flight abroad by now, not coming to see me.”

Yue Qing asked, “Do you want to see him?”

Hua Yu said calmly, “The die is cast. The matter is settled. What’s the point of meeting? What is there to see other than him screaming in impotent rage? No, I won’t see him!”

Hearing this, Yue Qing nodded. “Alright, I understand. I’ll go handle it.”

Just as she turned to leave, Hua Yu suddenly called out to her, “Wait. Go and stall him. Have that former Hengtong Vice President turn himself in immediately and implicate Wang Qingxiong. At the same time, get a group of reporters over here. I want to see a photo of Wang Qingxiong being taken away on the front-page headline of tomorrow’s newspapers.”

Chapter 269: Taken Away Right After Stepping Out

Hua Yu delegated the task, and Yue Qing immediately went to execute it.

Under normal circumstances, getting the relevant authorities to come and arrest someone on such short notice would have been rather difficult. The target, moreover, was no ordinary person, but the most influential figure in Xincheng’s business community.

Then again, the person matching wits with Wang Qingxiong was no ordinary member of the public either and naturally had the means and ability to make it happen.

At this moment, Wang Qingxiong was still waiting in a guest room at Stellaris Capital’s headquarters for Hua Yu to see him. Though he found it humiliating, he had already come this far.

So, he’d wait.

But he was completely unaware that what truly awaited him was a pair of silver handcuffs.

As time passed, several local media outlets in Xincheng received a tip that a super scoop was about to break at Stellaris Capital. They were told to get over there immediately or they would miss it. Dozens of reporters grabbed their equipment and rushed to Stellaris Capital at once.

…

Around 6:30 PM, in the guest room.

“I’m very sorry, President Wang. President Hua was met with a sudden emergency and is dealing with it now. He’s unable to get away for the moment, so I’m afraid a meeting won’t be possible today. How about we reschedule? You can decide the time and place,” Yue Qing said with an apologetic look after entering the room.

“What do you mean?” Wang Qingxiong’s face turned grim upon hearing her words. He was trying hard to suppress the rage simmering within him.

“I’m genuinely sorry…” Yue Qing replied, maintaining a polite and perfunctory tone.

Seeing this, Wang Qingxiong knew his trip today had been for nothing. In his heart, he knew that even if he had met Hua Yu, it was highly unlikely he could change the situation. He just couldn’t accept being forced out like this.

Wang Qingxiong let out a cold snort and did his best to control his emotions, leaving the guest room with a somber expression.

Outside the Stellaris Capital building, Wang Qingxiong noticed many media reporters staking out the entrance. The moment they saw him, they swarmed forward. After all, Wang Qingxiong was the number one figure in Xincheng’s business circle and one of its billionaires; anyone in the media industry would recognize him.

The flock of reporters rushed over, thrusting their microphones forward and continuously asking all sorts of questions while their cameras flashed nonstop.

Upon seeing the media present, Wang Qingxiong adjusted his emotional state with extreme speed, immediately putting on an expression of sorrow and helplessness.

A moment later, he faced the crowd of reporters and said, “I would like to take this opportunity to offer a public word of caution to all entrepreneurs, especially those in the startup phase. When bringing in capital, you must, absolutely must, exercise extreme caution. Be doubly careful of certain investors who set traps for you with malicious intent from the very beginning. It is almost impossible for us to defend against them; we are powerless. After all, we entrepreneurs are masters of building businesses, not playing games of deceit…”

Hearing this, the reporters present felt a unanimous, clandestine excitement. Running into Wang Qingxiong at Stellaris Capital was a surprise, but hearing him say these words was a surprise within a surprise.

It really was a super scoop!

Every word of Wang Qingxiong’s speech, just like the expression on his face, was filled with a sense of sorrow and helplessness.

Most importantly, judging by the situation, the “certain investors” he had just mentioned sounded very much like an implicit reference to Stellaris Capital. This was interesting. Weren’t they rumored to be Wang Qingxiong’s “White Knight”?

It seemed a major conflict had broken out between the two parties.

Many reporters immediately thought of the recent news that Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had announced a debt default. The media was a bit slower on the uptake than people like Liu Qizheng. Some other big shots in the capital circle had immediately recognized it as a technical default and seen through Stellaris Capital’s true intentions the moment Ruihe announced it.

Even if people figured it out now, Stellaris Capital didn’t care, because what’s done is done; the outcome was already set in stone.

Just as the reporters were about to continue interviewing Wang Qingxiong, two official government cars suddenly drove up and stopped nearby. Many of the reporters noticed several uniformed public officials getting out of the cars and walking towards them.

They quickly made their way through the crowd of reporters and stood before Wang Qingxiong. With a stern and impartial expression, one of them said, “Wang Qingxiong, you have been reported for suspicion of multiple criminal offenses, including massive fraudulent issuance of value-added tax invoices, financial fraud, and manufacturing counterfeit drugs…”

A hush fell over the crowd.

The reporters were silent for a few seconds before the scene erupted into an uproar. They frantically pressed their camera shutters, snapping pictures without pause.

Wang Qingxiong stood rooted to the spot, silent and motionless. No one knew what was going through his mind. After a few seconds, his legs suddenly gave out, and his whole body started to slump to the ground. However, the two public officials in front of him were quick-handed and managed to hold him up.

The reporters’ professional instincts kicked in, and they furiously captured that exact moment.

The two officials each supported one of Wang Qingxiong’s arms and led him away right in front of the assembled media. Watching the cars drive off into the distance, all the reporters present realized an explosive story was about to break.

…

Meanwhile, inside the Stellaris Capital headquarters building.

Hua Yu stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, overlooking the scene below. The window offered a clear view of everything happening downstairs. He held a file in one hand and a phone to his ear with the other.

“He’s been taken away?” The voice on the other end of the line was clearly Fang Hong’s.

“Yes, I saw him being taken away with my own eyes,” Hua Yu responded with absolute certainty.

“Good, I understand. You can handle the rest as you see fit,” Fang Hong said concisely.

“Understood.” Hua Yu hung up and looked down at the file in his hand.

This was all the dirt on Wang Qingxiong, some of which had even been provided by Zhongtai Capital. Putting aside the moral scandals, such as the claims that “the medicine works, but problems arise as soon as you stop taking it,” the issues of fraudulent VAT invoices, counterfeit drugs, and financial fraud were more than enough to have him do hard time for over a decade.

The financial fraud and fraudulent invoices had all occurred within the last ten months. To put it bluntly, he had been secretly transferring company assets. Wang Qingxiong had evidently anticipated last year that the IPO would fail and the company would face a change in ownership.

So he was making preparations on two fronts. He just never imagined that he was digging his own grave, condemning himself to an abyss from which there is no return.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence, around 6:55 PM.

In the first-floor living room, Fang Hong was seated on the sofa. Tian Jiayi, who was home from work, sat with him. Both were staring at the television screen, which was currently tuned to the Xincheng local channel, broadcasting the local news.

[…We have just received a news flash from our station. According to our reporters on the scene, Wang Qingxiong, founder and Chairman of the Board of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, is now under investigation by relevant authorities for suspicion of multiple serious criminal offenses, including massive fraudulent issuance of value-added tax invoices, financial fraud, and manufacturing counterfeit drugs…]

After watching the news report, Fang Hong casually picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Hua Yu had already informed him about the matter over the phone; watching the news was merely for confirmation.

Sitting beside him, Tian Jiayi let out a soft sigh and looked at Fang Hong. “From a capital operations perspective, the scheme designed for the acquisition of Hengtong was ingenious and brilliant. But it has also set a terrible precedent. Now the entire capital circle knows you can play the game like this. I wonder how many entrepreneurs will become lambs to the slaughter for capital, ensnared and bled dry by similar schemes…”

Tian Jiayi’s words were not without reason. Stellaris Capital’s acquisition case had indeed opened the door to “new ways of thinking” for many in the capital world. The Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group acquisition would undoubtedly be studied and analyzed by various investors, who would then “learn and apply” it by imitation.

Hearing her lament, Fang Hong smiled serenely. “While what you say has merit, it can also be seen as a valuable lesson for all entrepreneurs. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; it all depends on the perspective from which you view the matter. It’s not just investors devouring entrepreneurs; there are just as many cases of entrepreneurs swindling investors and running off. The game between startups and venture capital is the result of this constant, mutual evolution.”

Tian Jiayi rested her chin on her hand and said slowly, “The Hengtong acquisition and Wang Qingxiong’s imprisonment will certainly earn Stellaris Capital a fearsome reputation in the industry. What entrepreneur will dare to see us as an angel investor in the future? They’ll probably turn and run at the mere mention of Stellaris’s name. Who would dare to accept an investment from our company?”

Fang Hong did not deny what she said.

From an entrepreneur’s perspective, Stellaris Capital was undoubtedly a bloodthirsty predator that would devour people whole. Was bringing in Stellaris Capital an infusion of capital or an invitation for a wolf into one’s home?

Looking at the fate of Hengtong and Wang Qingxiong, one had to ask any entrepreneur: are you scared? Do you dare take the money Stellaris Capital is offering?

…

Chapter 270: Utterly Disgraced

Regarding Tian Jiayi’s thoughts on entrepreneurs being terrified of Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and smiled. “You see entrepreneurs turning pale at the mention of Stellaris Capital, but I see a significant increase in Stellaris Capital’s investment efficiency and success rate.”

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong, her face filled with confusion. She knew this man’s way of thinking was truly unconventional.

Fang Hong added nonchalantly, “An entrepreneur who is afraid of Stellaris Capital proves he won’t amount to much. I might not even invest in him. If I did, the returns would be limited, and the likelihood of the investment going down the drain would be much higher. Would you say that’s a bad thing for Stellaris Capital?”

Now that he put it that way, Tian Jiayi found herself unable to refute him.

Fang Hong’s smile remained as he continued, “In this world, there is no alliance between the strong and the weak. The weak either depend on the strong or are devoured by them. An alliance with the weak drains one’s own strength, while an alliance with the strong ensures lasting power. Capital is a double-edged sword, and as an entrepreneur, one must have a clear understanding of this. Just because it’s a double-edged sword, does that mean it can’t be used? Do you know what kind of entrepreneur I like to invest in the most?”

Tian Jiayi shook her head and asked with curiosity, “For example…?”

Fang Hong smiled and said, “It can be summed up in three words: ‘awareness of control.’ To elaborate, the entrepreneur must have a profound understanding of the importance of control during the top-level design of their company. The more flawlessly a company and its founder design their control structure, making it impossible for capital to interfere, the more likely such a company and entrepreneur are to achieve great things.”

Fang Hong continued, “The more difficult it is for capital to seize control of a company, the more I like to invest in it, because such companies and entrepreneurs have a higher chance of success. If they can’t even maintain full control over their own company, a majority of their energy will inevitably be wasted on infighting and internal disputes over interests. What energy would they have left to grow the pie? And how big a pie can you expect them to make?”

Fang Hong added, “As long as an entrepreneur does a good job with the company’s top-level design and prevents capital from threatening their control, what is there to fear about Stellaris Capital? Whether the money comes from Zhongtai Capital or Stellaris Capital, can’t it all be used for their own purposes?”

Tian Jiayi looked thoughtful, as if she understood, but not completely.

Clearly, Fang Hong preferred to invest in strong entrepreneurs, especially those who made it impossible for investors to meddle with the company’s control.

At the same time, if a company had a vulnerability in its control structure, Fang Hong would either not touch it at all or seize the loophole without hesitation and take full control himself. Because if you don’t take it, the loophole will still be there for some other capital to exploit, and then you’ll be in a very passive position.

…

The next day, Thursday, September 3rd.

Today’s Xincheng Morning Post front-page headline was a striking report about Wang Qingxiong being taken away for suspected involvement in a series of major illegal and criminal activities. The front-page photo showed the pathetic sight of him being escorted away by two public officials at the entrance of Stellaris Capital’s headquarters.

It wasn’t just the local media in Xincheng; the Wang Qingxiong case was also cited and reported by major media outlets across the country. By around ten in the morning, the latest news broke.

Several directors, supervisors, and senior managers of the former Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had been taken away, and one had been intercepted at the Xincheng airport.

For a time, news flew everywhere, causing a national sensation.

The fermentation of the Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group incident even dragged down the pharmaceutical sector in today’s market.

The local onlookers in Xincheng were a bit stunned. They woke up to find that a famous local billionaire like Wang Qingxiong had also “happily received” a pair of “silver handcuffs.”

He was just going to be sent to prison like that?

Although he hadn’t been sentenced yet, this was definitely a public prosecution case, not something where “no complaint means no investigation.”

A public prosecution case could not be settled privately.

The news of Wang Qingxiong reporting to the “sewing machine team” also sent shockwaves through the capital circle. Even Liu Qizheng of Zhongtai Capital had a single thought when he heard the news: He had thought Stellaris Capital’s judicial auction of Ruihe was ruthless enough, but he never imagined he was still being small-minded. This was an attempt to completely crush Wang Qingxiong!

Ruthless!

Far too ruthless!

Liu Qizheng immediately felt that he had better be more careful when dealing with Stellaris Capital in the future, lest he suffer a setback at the hands of such a ruthless player.

As time went on, all sorts of rumors flew about, and various versions of the story circulated wildly.

Some rumored that this was the result of Wang Qingxiong’s disastrous defeat in a game against capital, dubbing him the most tragic entrepreneur in history.

Some marveled at how these bloodless capital power struggles were as perilous as a battlefield, where the loser ends up with nothing, or even thrown in jail.

Others claimed Stellaris Capital was a “Black Assassin” disguised as an “angel in white,” and so on…

In short, all kinds of bizarre urban legends spread across the internet.

But the overall public sentiment was developing around the core narrative of “Wang Qingxiong’s tragic defeat in a battle with capital,” which was not the outcome Fang Hong or Stellaris Capital wanted to see.

At around three thirty in the afternoon, scandalous material about Wang Qingxiong suddenly began to spread widely online.

The public’s attention started to focus on Wang Qingxiong’s scandals. As more and more dirt was exposed, including online revelations from some victims who had used the problematic drugs, even the restructured Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, formerly Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, was implicated.

Its reputation took a major hit.

The vast majority of netizens slapped extremely negative labels on them, such as “black-hearted hospital,” “murder for profit,” and “profiting from the suffering of others.”

…

Tranquil Heart Residence.

Fang Hong stared at his computer screen, searching for keywords related to Wang Qingxiong and browsing the relevant news. Then, he made a call to Xu Jingren, the head of Quantum Beat.

“Leader!”

“You’ve heard about the Wang Qingxiong incident, haven’t you?” Fang Hong inquired. On the other end of the line, Xu Jingren replied, “I’ve heard, Leader… Uh, I’ve also heard some rumors. Could they be true?”

The most popular of the so-called rumors was that Wang Qingxiong’s current fate was the result of a disastrous defeat in a battle against capital—in other words, the handiwork of Stellaris Capital.

And Stellaris Capital was now the largest shareholder of Quantum Beat!

Xu Jingren was a little nervous.

“Since they’re rumors, they’re just rumors,” Fang Hong said with a chuckle, then added, “This is a trending social issue right now. Have the Weibo platform give it another push and amplify it. It’ll be good for the platform!”

“Understood,” Xu Jingren replied.

Although he was a bit nervous, he figured there shouldn’t be a problem, considering his leader’s relationship with his girlfriend, He Xuan.

The brief conversation ended. Fang Hong didn’t reveal too much to Xu Jingren. Firstly, out of caution, it was unwise to be too direct over the phone. Secondly, there was no need to tell him the truth.

If he could figure it out on his own, it would show he had grown. If he couldn’t, it wasn’t a bad thing either.

Next, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform gave the story another push. Wang Qingxiong was pushed into the eye of the storm with a completely and utterly negative image, his reputation ruined overnight.

The user base of Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform had now exceeded eighty-five million, and breaking one hundred million users within the year was a sure thing. Its influence on the internet was growing daily, especially its leading position in the new media landscape.

With this push, Wang Qingxiong was reviled by hundreds of millions of netizens overnight, becoming like a rat scurrying across the street, hated by all.

The uninformed onlookers just followed the rhythm of public opinion, but some insiders, like Zhongtai Capital’s Liu Qizheng, were well aware that Wang Qingxiong’s current disgrace was more or less due to Stellaris Capital fanning the flames behind the scenes.

In an instant, the few insiders in the circle couldn’t help but label Stellaris Capital as a “ruthless player.”

They were far more ruthless than the rest of them.

Liu Qizheng and other insiders became even more convinced that they had to be extremely cautious when dealing with a “ruthless player” like Stellaris Capital in the future.

As the saying goes, you can never be too careful.

It was worth mentioning that, to this day, insiders still overlooked Fang Hong, the actual hidden big boss. No one paid attention to this figure, treating him merely as a risk isolation mechanism for the Huayang-affiliated entities.

The fearsome reputation Stellaris Capital had gained from this affair all fell upon Hua Yu, or rather, his father, Hua Yongming, as everyone was convinced that Hua Yongming was the true big boss behind the scenes.

Fang Hong was happy to see this result. Letting the Hua father and son act as his shield up front didn’t prevent him from acquiring Reputation Value and Achievement Points.

…

Chapter 271: Charge! K-God Has Dropped a New Wealth Code!

As Wang Qingxiong was universally condemned by public opinion and his reputation was utterly disgraced, Fang Hong, after giving Xu Jingren a heads-up, stopped paying attention to the matter.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, while the entire internet was feasting on the gossip surrounding Wang Qingxiong, the A-share market experienced an incredibly strong recovery. Apart from the pharmaceutical sector, which was dragged down by the unexpected incident at Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, the overall market saw a broad rally.

Even the pharmaceutical sector, despite being weighed down by the Wang Qingxiong affair, was pulled up by the market’s strong profit potential in the afternoon.

Today, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges closed with long positive candles on high volume. The Shanghai Composite Index surged by +4.79% to close at 2845.02 points, reclaiming the 2800-point mark in one fell swoop and filling the regulatory gap created by Monday’s massive sell-off. The Shenzhen Component Index soared by +6.19% to 11404.05 points. The combined trading volume of both markets reached 211.7 billion yuan.

The reason for today’s major rally was revealed after the market closed: it was driven by the anticipation of new funds entering from outside the market.

According to sources, on September 1st, the first batch of “one-to-many” special account products for funds had completed their registration and were approved to begin fundraising today.

This meant that off-market capital was about to enter the market. With this expectation, the market rallied first, planning to distribute shares to the incoming funds later. That was the reason for today’s surge.

One of Fang Hong’s trend trading targets, the stock he had bought for his beautiful assistant when it dipped yesterday—Dongfang Yuhong—hit its limit-up today. Its stock price closed at 25.47 yuan, turning Fang Hong’s position in the stock from a floating loss to a floating profit.

Tian Jiayi’s cost basis for Dongfang Yuhong was 22.00 yuan. She was now sitting on a floating profit of +15.77%, approximately 420,000 yuan. The total market value of her holding had reached 3.12 million yuan.

Under a normal salary package at Stellaris Capital, Tian Jiayi’s annual after-tax income would be less than a million yuan.

Now, working for a symbolic annual salary of 1 yuan and “withdrawing” money from the stock market was far more rewarding than receiving a company paycheck, wasn’t it?

That evening.

Around 8:40 PM, Fang Hong logged into his personal Weibo account, preparing to post an update.

[It’s the back-to-school season again. I’m about to graduate from university, so my studies are the priority.]

[During this period of staying in cash, I’ve decided to adjust my investment strategy. My core position will follow a medium-to-long-term strategy. I’ve also selected some assets that I’m personally optimistic about for holding, probably for at least a year.]

[I am holding a total of fifteen assets: Gold Mantis, Dehua TB, Dongfang Yuhong, Chende Lulu, Gujing Gongjiu, JINZHONGZI JIU, Yongxin Co., Sanhua Intelligent Controls, Jingxin Pharmaceutical, NARI Technology, Desay Battery, Weifu High-Technology, Hanbell Precise Machinery, Goertek, and Dahua Technology.]

[These fifteen targets account for over 80% of my personal position. The remaining funds will be adjusted as needed, and I’ll do some short-term trading when I have time.]

[Investing is risky; enter the market with caution. The above is only a sharing of personal views and does not constitute any investment advice.]

Fang Hong glanced over the edited content, confirmed there were no issues, and clicked publish. He openly displayed his positions and holdings, unafraid of being targeted.

First, his persona in the A-share market was that of a gentleman. K-God never smashed the market and flipped the table after making a profit; he even let everyone else leave first.

Second, his positions were diversified, essentially resembling the holding strategy of a public fund.

Third, if anyone actually dared to smash the prices of these stocks into the ground, Fang Hong wouldn’t mind initiating a stake disclosure!

Of course, it wouldn’t be Fang Hong himself making the disclosure, but Stellaris Capital entering the secondary market, sweeping up shares until a disclosure, or even multiple disclosures, were triggered.

The company was currently swimming in liquidity, so rich it had nothing but money.

However, it was highly unlikely that these fifteen stocks would be hammered into the ground by the market. Especially a stock like Dongfang Yuhong; with the real estate market taking off, the performance expectations for the building and decoration sector were clear. This also applied to companies like Dahua Technology, which would see a surge in demand for surveillance cameras amidst the country’s large-scale infrastructure projects and booming property market.

After all, the driving forces of the market were powerful. The industry was in an upswing, and the entire national economy was in a phase of rapid growth. The related companies were perfectly positioned on the fast track of national development, and their performance couldn’t be suppressed.

Similarly, the desire of various investors to hold these stocks couldn’t be suppressed either. This could be called the power of the trend.

In a house in a third-tier city in China.

“Spicy A-shares,” a guy who had closed his account and quit the market two months ago, was sitting in front of his computer, lurking in a group chat. It was a stock trading group with over 470 members, most of whom had been navigating the A-share market for several years.

Of course, newbies would occasionally join the group. Right now, the chat was buzzing with activity.

[Brothers, K-God posted on Weibo! He’s already going all-in! The god has entered the field, the market has bottomed out! Let’s charge!]

[Charge, charge, charge!]

[K-God has released the new wealth code! Help yourselves… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Understood. Selling my house and car tomorrow and going all-in… [Silly emoji]]

[Huh? His style has changed so much!]

[It really is a big change. He’s suddenly switched from a god-tier ultra-short-term trader to a medium-to-long-term investor. And they’re not even big blue-chip stocks.]

[They all seem to be small-cap growth stocks…]

[I’m totally bewildered looking at the 15 stocks K-God is holding. There are only about thirty Shenwan industry sectors, and his fifteen stocks cover almost one stock per sector.]

[It’s insane. I took a look. There’s beverage manufacturing, architectural decoration, building materials, white liquor, packaging and printing, home appliance parts, chemical pharmaceuticals, power grid equipment, battery equipment, auto parts, general equipment, consumer electronics, computer equipment…]

[Could it be that K-God has researched all these industries? That’s too incredible. Even the top investors are at most familiar with one or two industries and bet on a few companies within them after deep understanding. That’s already amazing.]

[It feels like he picked them randomly, but since it’s K-God who picked these 15 stocks, we have to take it seriously…]

[When I start to doubt K-God, I have to remind myself: the man achieved a ten-thousand-fold return in a month and a thirty-thousand-fold return in a year. Last year, he accurately predicted the 3478 peak with an error of only 0.1 points. His recent masterpiece was Double Coin Holdings with nine consecutive limit-ups. It’s fine to question K-God, but before you do, what’s your own track record?]

[I’m so torn! Should I follow or not? Should I follow all of them or just pick a few?]

[Following is a must, but I’m also conflicted. My account only has a few tens of thousands. Spreading it across 15 stocks is… difficult. If I go all-in on one, I’m afraid my bad luck will kick in…]

[Just do it. I’m going all-in at the market open tomorrow. I doubled my money following K-God on Shanqi Coking Coal before.]

[Awesome, old bro! Which one are you going for this time?]

[I’ll just pick one and go for it. I’ll take NARI Technology. I have braindead faith in K-God anyway. With those last eight stocks, even though the gains varied, as long as you got on board when K-God gave the signal and didn’t make any moves, you would have made money no matter which one you picked, provided you pulled out decisively after his warning. The smallest profit was still thirty to forty percent.]

[That makes sense. Let’s just do it. As the saying goes, ‘A man cannot get rich without a windfall, nor a horse fat without night fodder.’ Fortune favors the bold!]

[Everyone knows ‘fortune favors the bold,’ but few know the full saying: ‘Fortune is sought in danger, and also lost in danger. The chance of finding it is one in ten; the chance of losing it is nine in ten. A true man must act without relying on luck, hardened like steel, accumulating merit second by second to achieve astounding success.’ So, I choose to go all-in on Gujing Gongjiu and JINZHONGZI JIU, because liquor gives a coward courage!]

[Uh… Damn, you’re a riot!]

[Hahaha! Damn it, I think I pulled a muscle laughing! I need to buy some medicine now—I’ll just go all-in on Jingxin Pharmaceutical!]

[Um, do you guys always buy stocks so casually? I’m stunned…]

The group chat was on fire, with almost everyone shouting about going all-in, taking heavy positions, and going hard.

In reality, more than half of them were just hyping it up but would still follow with a small position. Only a small fraction would follow with large positions. Among the several hundred people in the group, about thirty were daredevils who would actually go full position on a single stock.

This was especially true for a few who had already made money following him before. They saw Fang Hong’s latest Weibo post and, without much thought, just closed their eyes and randomly picked one of the stocks.

Then, they went all-in.

At this moment, “Spicy A-shares,” lurking in the group and reading the chat, felt an increasing turmoil within him. The atmosphere infected him, and his blood began to boil.

He had already closed his account and left the market for over two months.

But now, the thought of re-entering the market began to sprout again, and he was struggling with it. A fierce mental battle was raging in his mind.

The two ideas, to enter or not to enter, were locked in a fierce struggle.

Chapter 272: Once You’re in the A-Share Market, It’s as Deep as the Sea

Spicy A-shares couldn’t help but open the Weibo website and look up the blogger K3478.

He had actually been following this account for some time now. The account’s Weibo followers had already surpassed sixteen million, and it had a Diamond Big V certification.

This number of followers was significant on the Weibo platform, rivaled only by a few top celebrities in the entertainment industry. In the finance sector, it was unequivocally the number one Big V and top blogger, with no one coming close.

Spicy A-shares clicked on K3478’s Weibo homepage. He first glanced at the latest post, which already had over four thousand comments.

It was clear that K-God’s fans were incredibly active. Every post he made received thousands of comments at a minimum, often breaking ten thousand.

These were genuine comment numbers, completely authentic data with no inflation.

After reading the latest post, Spicy A-shares began scrolling through the older ones. An hour passed without him realizing it; he had read nearly every post Fang Hong had ever made on Weibo.

“Last July, his account had less than seventy thousand yuan. I had three hundred thousand at the time. In about a year, he’s grown it to over two billion, while I got slashed in half by Shandong Juli…” Spicy A-shares sat stunned in front of his computer for a long while before letting out a heavy sigh.

There was no comparison. K-God’s mythical return curve was something he didn’t even dare to envy—a ten-thousand-fold increase in a month, over thirty-thousand-fold in a year. It was simply unthinkable.

After a long time, Spicy A-shares scrolled back to the top.

He clicked on the latest post again, staring at the fifteen stocks clearly listed. Then, he opened his trading software and looked at the recent trends of each of the fifteen stocks one by one.

These stocks had all risen from their bottoms. They had recently pulled back after the broader market peaked at 3478 points. The corrections were mostly in the range of 20% to 35%—a significant drop, but not excessively so.

Even after the correction, they were still up significantly from their lows, with most having more than doubled.

“K-God must have just started building a position recently. If I follow the car, my cost basis won’t be that different from his…” Spicy A-shares muttered to himself, still hesitating.

Time ticked by. Another five minutes passed…

Spicy A-shares suddenly hardened his resolve and cursed under his breath, “Damn it, let’s do it!”

He had finally made a decision. After struggling for hours, the urge to re-enter the market had won. As he made the decision, he slumped back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the trading software as he murmured, “Once you enter the A-share market, it’s as deep as the sea; escaping is harder than reaching the heavens…”

Slumped in his chair, Spicy A-shares suddenly shot up and started to surface in the group chat, typing out a message: [Brothers, I, Hu Sanhan, have returned!]

Soon after he sent the message, people started chatting.

[Hahaha… you only lasted a little over two months!]

[Told you he’d be back sooner or later. What’s so surprising?]

[The A-share market—once you fall into this pit, you can never climb out.]

[I guess this is the magic of the capital market!]

[There’s only one thing that will make me quit: the A-share market shutting down in my lifetime!]

[Help me up, I can still get slashed in half!]

…

The next day, Friday, September 4th.

Early in the morning, Spicy A-shares went to the securities branch office to open a new account. The process was smooth, and he successfully opened it by the morning.

However, he couldn’t trade today. He would have to wait until the next trading day, which would be next Monday.

Back home, Spicy A-shares opened his trading software for a look. Last night, he had already added the 15 stocks Fang Hong revealed to his watchlist and created a separate list named “K-God’s Wealth Code.”

At this moment, all 15 stocks were in the green, rising to varying degrees, none with a gain of less than three percent.

“Crap, wait a bit before you surge! Holy shit, I’m not on board yet!” Spicy A-shares was getting anxious. He watched as Dongfang Yuhong, after hitting its limit-up yesterday, was now rocketing to 27.79 yuan, a gain of +9.11%, looking like it would hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day.

He was genuinely worried, because this was one of the stocks he had chosen to buy.

Re-entering the A-share market this time, he had prepared 300,000 yuan in capital. He only had a little over 100,000 left after selling Shandong Juli at a loss, which meant he had added another 160,000 yuan to his A-share account—money he originally planned to use to buy a car.

As for now? The hell he was buying a car. He was going all-in on the A-share market!

He had selected three of Fang Hong’s 15 stocks: Dongfang Yuhong, Gujing Gongjiu, and Goertek, planning to invest one hundred thousand yuan in each.

His account wasn’t active for trading today, so he could only wait until the market opened on Monday to build his position.

…

The next day, Saturday morning.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, He Xuan was alone in the living room, staring at her laptop and chatting with a few of her best friends in a QQ group. The new semester had already been underway for a few days.

[Xuan, you should invite Fang Hong to the get-together tomorrow. You know him better, go ask him.]

[Yeah, Xuan, ask him.]

[Xuan, you should have his QQ or phone number, right?]

He Xuan was chatting with Su Dongyan, Zhong Xue, and Yun Xiaoli, but this group only had the four of them, excluding Lin Ruoshui. Interestingly enough, this wasn’t their only group chat; they had several. For instance, there was one that excluded He Xuan, consisting of Lin Ruoshui and the other three.

There were four-person groups, three-person groups, and a five-person group. The least active among them was the only five-person group.

When He Xuan read their messages, she immediately became wary. Her sixth sense told her that Su Dongyan and the others had impure motives.

She wanted to refuse, but after some thought, she felt it would be inappropriate. She hadn’t told them she was dating Fang Hong, so refusing might risk exposing her secret.

He Xuan was still completely unaware that the others had known for a long time, and they were all pretending not to know, leaving He Xuan in an information blind spot.

She wanted to say no but couldn’t find a good excuse.

After agonizing for a while, He Xuan finally made a decision, murmuring to herself, [Since none of them know about my relationship with him, I can use this as an opportunity to observe them. I’d like to see which of the three has ulterior motives…]

At this thought, He Xuan couldn’t help but nod to herself, quite pleased with her brilliant strategy. No longer hesitating, she typed a message and sent it to the group: [Alright, I’ll contact him later. But I can’t guarantee he’ll come.]

Su Dongyan: [Why did you take so long to reply…]

He Xuan: [I just went to the bathroom!]

Yun Xiaoli: [We’ll be waiting for your news then!]

…

Meanwhile, Su Dongyan, Zhong Xue, and Yun Xiaoli, who were together, exchanged smiles. Yun Xiaoli said gleefully, “It worked! That girl He Xuan is acting so calm, as if we don’t know she’s dating Fang Hong.”

Su Dongyan added, “I just thought of something fun. Why don_t_ we all deliberately show interest in Fang Hong? What do you think He Xuan’s reaction will be? Will she lose her cool on the spot?”

Zhong Xue’s eyes lit up. “Fun, that sounds fun! I’m in, totally in!”

Yun Xiaoli also agreed, and they quickly reached a consensus.

In truth, each had her own little scheme. This way, none of them would expose her true feelings.

…

A short while later, the three of them privately contacted Lin Ruoshui.

Su Dongyan: [Ruoshui, He Xuan and Fang Hong are both going to the get-together tomorrow. Xiaoxue, Xiaoli, and I will be there too. Are you coming?]

Just as Lin Ruoshui saw Su Dongyan’s message, Zhong Xue and Yun Xiaoli also, with uncanny timing, sent her private messages one after another, all about the same thing.

“A bunch of fake friends, all scheming vixens,” Lin Ruoshui muttered. She was now absolutely certain that all of them had fallen for Fang Hong and were ready to backstab each other. Each one was more cunning than the last.

Ruoshui was furious. She had clearly gotten him first, only to lose him, poached by He Xuan.

And that wasn’t all. Now even Yun Xiaoli and the others were harboring their own little schemes.

A moment later, Lin Ruoshui typed a reply to Su Dongyan, playing along: [Since you’re all going, I can’t miss it. The Five Beauties of Xincheng University can’t be missing one, can we?]

Then she replied to Yun Xiaoli and Zhong Xue, but didn’t mention that the other girls were also privately messaging her about the same topic.

Similarly, Yun Xiaoli and the others did not admit to each other that they were privately chatting with Lin Ruoshui.

Yun Xiaoli sent another message to Lin Ruoshui: [Ruoshui, although I’m good friends with both you and He Xuan, on this matter with Fang Hong, I’m on your side. I really think He Xuan went too far. She could have dated anyone, but she chose your ex-boyfriend? And she’s hiding it from us, thinking we don’t know.]

Lin Ruoshui was chatting with all three of them simultaneously. All three were seemingly fighting for her, expressing their indignation. Though their words weren’t identical, the meaning was the same.

“Heh…”

Reading their replies, Lin Ruoshui let out a soft laugh. But she didn’t expose them. Instead, she chose to continue playing along, replying to each of them: [You can’t force matters of the heart. I don’t blame her.]

Su Dongyan’s reply came: [You’re such a fool. I can’t stand it. Don’t worry, I’ll help you vent your anger. Since He Xuan is hiding it from everyone, I’ll pretend I don’t know and deliberately hit on Fang Hong. Let’s see if she gets anxious.]

Looking at the replies from all three, Lin Ruoshui chuckled to herself again, “Sure enough, these conniving girls are finally showing their true colors. Do they think I’m that easy to fool?”

She quickly replied to Su Dongyan: [Is that really necessary?]

She sent similar replies to Yun Xiaoli and Zhong Xue. A moment later, all three replied again, each righteously insisting it was absolutely necessary.

They were all going to stand up for her.

Lin Ruoshui told them it wasn’t necessary, but deep down, she was delighted to see them do it. Let those scheming girls fight and tear each other apart. Then she could find an opportunity to reap the rewards and win back what she had lost.

Each of the girls believed she knew more than the others, and based on this, they began forming alliances and maneuvering. They were all convinced that the others were oblivious to their plans, and that their own petty tricks were well-hidden.

…

On the other side, He Xuan had just finished her group chat when she saw Fang Hong enter the living room. She put her laptop aside, sat down next to him, and wrapped her arms around his. “There’s a school get-together tomorrow. We’re all invited. Let’s go together”

A get-together?

Fang Hong thought about his schedule. There wasn’t anything too important coming up. He glanced at He Xuan and saw her expectant look, pouting and trying to look cute. He nodded with a smile, “Alright, I’ll go. But we can’t go together, to avoid exposing our relationship.”

He Xuan smiled and nodded. “I know, I know.”

His preference for staying low-key was something she was delighted to see. It would save her a lot of worry.

…

Weekend.

The get-together was in the afternoon. Fang Hong had already promised He Xuan he would attend, and she had already left for the venue. This event was held indoors.

The venue was quite large.

As it was a mixer for university students, the main purpose wasn’t to play games but to foster relationships or meet new people. To put it bluntly, it was for finding a partner to date, or perhaps to secure sponsorships.

The activities included talent shows and tabletop games.

Xu Jingren and the others were diligently working for the company. They had also received invitations—they were big names at school now—but they had all declined. A get-together was purely straying from one’s proper business.

The company hadn’t broken through yet. It hadn’t gone public. Their dreams were not yet realized.

Keep striving!

Get to work!

The leader was very pleased with Xu Jingren and his team’s work ethic. And so, he silently made his way to the get-together.

…

Chapter 273: You Can’t Even Imagine His Happiness

This mixer was extremely popular. A huge number of male students scrambled to sign up, and in the end, they had to cap the number of attendees. Some were even willing to pay a high price to buy a spot from other students.

The biggest reason was that all of the “Five Beauties of Xincheng University” were attending. Everyone hoped for a chance to speak with one of the goddesses at the mixer, and maybe even get their contact information.

It was worth noting that everyone knew Lin Ruoshui had shed her single status long ago, and many knew her boyfriend was Fang Hong. What they didn’t know was that the two had already broken up. They also knew that He Xuan was spoken for, but they didn’t know her boyfriend was also Fang Hong.

The rumor on campus was that He Xuan’s boyfriend was a super-rich heir who had given her a top-tier Lamborghini supercar. The keys to the only Lamborghini in Xincheng were in her hands. After all, she had shared it on her Weibo account, and some students had even seen her driving the red supercar with their own eyes.

The identity of He Xuan’s mysterious boyfriend was a hot topic of gossip on campus.

Two of the Five Beauties were already taken, but the other three—Su Dongyan, Zhong Xue, and Yun Xiaoli—were still single. Thus, many male students at this mixer hoped to win the favor of one of these three goddesses.

However, when they actually arrived at the event, no one dared to approach the goddesses.

They were all giants in thought but dwarves in action.

Because today, each of the “Five Beauties” was exquisitely dressed and dazzlingly beautiful. Looking at their expensive designer outfits—the clothes and accessories they wore were worth tens of thousands of yuan—was enough to crush the courage of their many admirers on the spot.

After all, this was 2009, and the general attitude was very different from ten years later. Ninety-nine percent of the male students at the mixer had the same thought: There’s no way a goddess would be interested in me, and even if she was, I couldn’t afford to support her.

This resulted in a situation where, despite having been at the mixer for some time, no guys dared to approach them.

By now, two-thirds of the attendees had arrived in the indoor hall. He Xuan, Su Dongyan, and the other girls were already there, forming the center of attention.

The girls sat at the same table, a deck of “Legends of the Three Kingdoms” cards laid out before them.

This type of multiplayer tabletop card game was quite popular at university mixers. “Legends of the Three Kingdoms” in particular was a huge hit; even the Penguin next door was planning to copy it for a similar online game called Hero Kill.

In a corner of the hall, two guys were whispering to each other. One nudged his buddy, teasing him in a low voice, “Hey, you weren’t like this on the way here. Why are you so timid now?”

His buddy sighed in response, “How could a poor guy like me dare to pursue such a beautiful woman? I can’t afford her. My food expenses for an entire semester wouldn’t be enough to buy the dress she’s wearing. Better not make a fool of myself.”

No guys dared to approach the table where Yun Xiaoli and the other girls were sitting. In truth, they weren’t interested in other guys either. Today, they had only one target.

A short while later, Lin Ruoshui also arrived.

When Su Dongyan saw her, she immediately smiled and waved. Lin Ruoshui saw her friends and gracefully walked over. Seeing their outfits, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “As expected, everyone came prepared…”

Putting the thought aside, Lin Ruoshui smiled and sat down at their table.

He Xuan was also stunned for a moment when she saw Lin Ruoshui. She hadn’t expected Lin Ruoshui to attend this mixer. But she quickly recovered. Now all Five Beauties were gathered, chatting and laughing warmly.

On the surface, the atmosphere was great, but each of them was harboring their own little schemes.

To outsiders, it looked like the “Five Beauties of Xincheng University” were truly the best of friends.

Yun Xiaoli looked at Lin Ruoshui in amazement and said, “Ruoshui, you must have spent at least two hours getting ready. It’s just a mixer, there’s no need to be so extra, is there? I almost didn’t recognize you in this style…”

Su Dongyan and the other girls nodded in agreement. It was indeed rare to see her so elaborately dressed. Her previous style had always been pure and innocent, with simple outfits.

But today, Lin Ruoshui had clearly put a lot of thought into her appearance, with subtle tricks woven into every aspect of her attire.

At that moment, Lin Ruoshui said with a faint smile, “Same to you.”

It wasn’t just Lin Ruoshui; in fact, all five girls had their own little schemes. Each wanted to outshine the others at this mixer.

In the words of a decade later: the arms race had begun!

The other male students at the mixer exclaimed that it was a feast for the eyes. Each of the Five Beauties was dressed to the nines, competing in splendor. It was hard to say who was number one; they each had their own unique charm.

In comparison, the other girls at the mixer seemed plain. When they saw that almost all the guys were focused on the Five Beauties, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy and jealousy.

A little bit of anxiety over their looks was inevitable.

Lin Ruoshui’s style today was gentle and elegant. Her facial features had no sharp angles, with gentle eyes and a quiet, refined temperament. Her outfit gave off a soft, ethereal feeling, exuding a mild aura.

He Xuan had compact and lively features, giving her a high-class look. Her attire was trendy, emphasizing a unique and chic style that radiated personal charm. She was practically on the cutting edge of fashion, and she was the tallest of the five.

Su Dongyan’s style could be described as romantic. She had a curvy figure, full where it should be and slender where it should be. Her gaze was enchanting, giving her a mature, feminine charm that was grand, gorgeous, and full of flair.

Yun Xiaoli had delicate features, looking small and cute. Today, she was rocking a sweet but sassy American style. As the shortest of the five, the cute and sweet style suited her best. To be precise, it was a style that only a petite girl could pull off perfectly, inspiring a protective instinct in guys.

Zhong Xue had an artsy, retro style. She was slightly taller than Yun Xiaoli, and her outfit today was that of a quintessential artsy girl.

The Five Beauties each had a different style today, but they all perfectly mastered their respective looks, having clearly gone to great lengths.

About six or seven minutes later, Fang Hong arrived at the mixer.

“Fang Hong’s here!”

Yun Xiaoli looked up, and He Xuan and Lin Ruoshui followed her gaze.

He Xuan immediately waved at Fang Hong. He noticed them and saw not only his ex-girlfriend Lin Ruoshui but all Five Beauties sitting together, smiling and waving at him.

Among the dozens of students at the mixer, Fang Hong only knew these five. Xu Jingren and his roommates were busy with their own struggles, and he didn’t know the other students.

Fang Hong walked toward the table where the five girls were sitting. The twenty-some guys present grew restless, their eyes all fixed on him as many began to whisper among themselves.

“Who’s that dude?”

“I know him. I think he’s Lin Ruoshui’s boyfriend. Of course, he doesn’t know me.”

“So that’s Lin Ruoshui’s boyfriend?”

“Envy, jealousy, and hate! I finally believe that being handsome really does give you priority in the dating pool.”

“Damn it, all the goddesses are waving at him.”

“Comparisons are odious!”

…

Fang Hong could feel the many gazes on him, and they seemed full of animosity. In a situation like this, it would be strange if he didn’t attract hostility.

Stay calm, this is nothing.

As he reached the table, Yun Xiaoli, who was sitting between He Xuan and Lin Ruoshui, suddenly stood up. She smiled at Fang Hong and said, “You can sit here.”

With that, she moved to sit next to Su Dongyan.

Hearing this, Lin Ruoshui pursed her lips and secretly ground her teeth. Yun Xiaoli, that schemer, she definitely did this on purpose!

His current girlfriend, He Xuan, on the left, and his ex-girlfriend, Lin Ruoshui, on the right, with Fang Hong sandwiched in the middle. Su Dongyan and Zhong Xue couldn’t help but give Yun Xiaoli a secret thumbs-up. She was truly a master at fanning the flames.

He Xuan didn’t want Fang Hong to sit there either, but she couldn’t show it.

At this moment, Fang Hong had no idea that the five of them were secretly matching wits. He was just a little surprised to see Lin Ruoshui here.

Without overthinking it, he sat down in the offered seat.

Now, Fang Hong was flanked by beauties.

This was enough to make the other guys in the room explode with envy.

Yun Xiaoli looked at Fang Hong with a smile and said, “Fang Hong, we’ve all been waiting for you. You’re late~”

Fang Hong was taken aback. “Huh? Waiting for me?”

Su Dongyan chimed in with a smile, “We’re one short for Legends of the Three Kingdoms. We’ve been waiting for you for ages.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “My apologies, my apologies. Keeping the Five Beauties of Xincheng University waiting is both a crime and an honor.”

Yun Xiaoli covered her mouth and giggled delicately. “Such a sweet talker. Where did you get that honeyed tongue? No wonder you managed to win Ruoshui over.”

As soon as she said this, the other girls also beamed, but they all glanced, intentionally or not, at Lin Ruoshui. They all knew the two had broken up, yet she still said something like that. Though it was a joke, it was like rubbing salt in the wound.

Lin Ruoshui kept a smile on her face, but inside she was seething with anger at Yun Xiaoli. If it weren’t for the public setting and the need to maintain her ladylike image, she would have lunged forward, grabbed her by the hair, and given her a good shake.

Miss Ruoshui chanted silently in her heart: [Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Lin Ruoshui, you have to be calm. She’s just trying to provoke you and make you lose your cool. You absolutely cannot fall for her trap.]

At this point, Fang Hong pretty much understood. He hadn’t thought much of it when he first walked over.

But after Yun Xiaoli’s comment, how could a veteran like Fang Hong not tell that she was using a joke to secretly stir the pot?

Although he hadn’t directly told Su Dongyan and the others about the breakup, Fang Hong believed that among five close friends like them, if one knew, they all knew.

This is getting interesting.

Trying to play mind games with a veteran like Fang Hong was a fool’s errand. Even with all five of them combined and multiplied by ten, they would be no match for him.

The slightest slip from Yun Xiaoli had allowed Fang Hong to deduce a wealth of information. Coupled with the fact that the girls were all dressed to the nines, competing with one another, a little analysis and reasoning was all it took to figure things out.

As the saying goes, three women make a drama. What kind of drama would these five women put on?

Fang Hong remained impassive. He glanced at Yun Xiaoli and, in response to her comment, smiled faintly at everyone and said, “If my words are sweet as honey, it’s only because you ladies gave it to me.”

The girls’ faces lit up with delight, all of them breaking into cheerful smiles at his words.

At an adjacent table, six or seven people—four guys and three girls—were seated. One of the guys had been eavesdropping and was now secretly impressed. He sighed to himself, “This bro really knows how to talk. If I were half as smooth as him, would I still have trouble picking up girls?”

Fang Hong chatted with the five campus belles. The atmosphere was light, and from time to time, he would make the girls cover their mouths and giggle.

The other guys watched as Fang Hong made their goddesses laugh so heartily, their usual reserve vanishing, replaced by a radiant happiness.

To be honest, the scene was incredibly aggravating.

It was truly a case of “it never rains but it pours.”

While the other guys felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and hate toward Fang Hong, they also had a sliver of admiration. After all, he was achieving something they could only dream of.

Just then, a guy with glasses saw his buddy’s envious expression and whispered in his ear, “This is what they call a winner at life. I admit, I’m full of envy, jealousy, and hate!”

The glasses-wearing guy adjusted his glasses tactically and whispered back to his buddy, “Hey, I don’t get it. What’s there to be envious of? How can that be more fun than running a dungeon in World of Warcraft with the bros? I bet that guy’s just pretending to be happy. All those women chirping around him must be so noisy.”

Hearing this, his buddy turned to look at him, shook his head with a soft sigh, and whispered back, “Bro, let me tell you something, you can’t even imagine his happiness. Forget it, you wouldn’t get it even if I told you…”

The mixer continued. Fang Hong and the five campus belles sat at the same table and started playing “Legends of the Three Kingdoms.” A six-player game consisted of one Lord, one Loyalist, one Traitor, and three Rebels.

They drew their role cards randomly. He Xuan looked at her card, then at the others. “Who got the Lord? Reveal your identity!”

In “Legends of the Three Kingdoms,” the Lord has to reveal their role card, while the Loyalist, Rebel, and Traitor keep their identities hidden.

Fang Hong looked at his role card; he had drawn Lord. He revealed it.

He chose the character Cao Cao.

Fang Hong glanced at the general cards of Lin Ruoshui, He Xuan, and the others. Seeing the characters they revealed, he couldn’t help but be stunned. “Huh? No way! Why did you all pick female characters?”

Lin Ruoshui’s character was Da Qiao, He Xuan’s was Xiao Qiao, Yun Xiaoli’s was Zhen Ji, Zhong Xue’s was Sun Shangxiang, and Su Dongyan’s was Diao Chan.

These were pretty much all the female characters in “Legends of the Three Kingdoms,” and they had all appeared in this one game.

He Xuan also looked at everyone’s characters. When she saw that Lin Ruoshui was Da Qiao and she herself was Xiao Qiao, she felt inexplicably one-upped.

It felt as if she was the younger sister and Lin Ruoshui was the elder. If it had been Yun Xiaoli or one of the others who had picked that character, it would have been fine, but the fact that it was Lin Ruoshui made He Xuan a little unhappy.

I’ll take you out first later! He Xuan thought to herself, glancing at Lin Ruoshui on the sly. Her role card was the Traitor.

“Created from Nothing,” Fang Hong played first. It was a Tactic Card. He used it on himself to draw two cards. Before drawing, Fang Hong looked at the girls and said, “Does anyone have an Unassailable? If not, I’m drawing.”

The girls all shook their heads, signaling for him to continue his turn.

“Bountiful Harvest.” Fang Hong played another Tactic Card. In turn, everyone chose one card from the pile.

“Kirin Bow, Eight Trigrams Formation.” Fang Hong then played two more cards, placing two equipment cards—a weapon and an armor—on the table in front of him. He had an Attack card in his hand, but he decided not to play it yet. He looked around at the girls and smiled. “Alright, pass. Don’t you all come after me, now. I won’t attack unless provoked, but if provoked, I will retaliate.”

Yun Xiaoli immediately looked at Lin Ruoshui. “Ruoshui, it’s your turn!”

…

Chapter 274: One by One, None of You Will Escape

At the social mixer, everyone formed small groups of three or five, playing their own little games. At another table, some people were playing Legends of the Three Kingdoms.

The purpose of the event was to increase mutual understanding and friendship among classmates, to help and love one another, grow together, enrich extracurricular life, and relieve academic pressure and whatnot.

Sigh…

In truth, everyone was here to find a partner. Making new friends meant finding a boyfriend or girlfriend.

A guy at another table glanced over at Fang Hong’s spot, roaring with envy and jealousy in his heart, “I want to play Legends of the Three Kingdoms with the goddesses too! That bastard is monopolizing all five Beauties of Xinda University. It’s seriously too much!”

All the guys were mad with envy and jealousy, except for that glasses-wearing guy who loved World of Warcraft…

Just then, it was Lin Ruoshui’s turn. She immediately played her first tactic card. “Borrow a Knife to Kill Someone!”

Lin Ruoshui designated Fang Hong to use it on He Xuan. Fang Hong had to use an “Attack” card on He Xuan, or the Qilin Bow in his equipment area would belong to Lin Ruoshui.

Seeing this, Yun Xiaoli, Zhong Xue, and Su Dongyan were all, with uncanny unanimity, secretly delighted.

They could almost smell the gunpowder. It looked like a fight was about to break out.

The girls’ inner monologues were in full swing. Though it was a game, it seemed to be more than just a game. They felt that Lin Ruoshui’s first move against He Xuan carried a hint of personal grudge.

Caught in the middle, Fang Hong glanced to his left at He Xuan, then sank into thought. The two exchanged a look, and He Xuan quickly said in a sweet voice, “Don’t, I’m a Loyalist. We’re on the same team. Don’t attack.”

Lin Ruoshui glanced at her own Rebel identity card and immediately said, “Keep pretending. You’re clearly the Turncoat. I’m the Loyalist.”

He Xuan retorted, her voice full of unearned confidence, “Just listen to you spin your lies. You’re either the Turncoat or a Rebel. Otherwise, why would you try to take his equipment? He obviously doesn’t have an ‘Attack’ card, yet you still used ‘Borrow a Knife to Kill Someone.’ You’re either a traitor or a Rebel.”

At that moment, Su Dongyan silently glanced at her own identity card. In this round, she was the real Loyalist.

Su Dongyan chuckled to herself, delighted to watch He Xuan and Lin Ruoshui talk nonsense with such straight faces.

He Xuan scooted closer to Fang Hong and wrapped a hand around his arm. “I’m the real Loyalist. Don’t you dare believe her lies. She’s deceiving you.”

Seeing this, Lin Ruoshui also moved closer to Fang Hong, wrapping a hand around his other arm. “She’s the one who’s deceiving you. She’s the most conniving one. I’m the Loyalist. Don’t believe a word she says.”

At that moment, the other guys at the mixer saw the scene of He Xuan and Lin Ruoshui each grabbing one of Fang Hong’s arms and arguing, and they all took a sharp breath.

Pain!

So much pain!

They cursed the heavens for being so unfair!

The crowd’s envy, jealousy, and hate for Fang Hong, their aggro towards him, had already soared to two hundred percent, hadn’t it?

Some people, seeing He Xuan’s intimate gesture toward Fang Hong, broke into a cold sweat for her boyfriend. Everyone knew He Xuan was also in a relationship. It was fine for Lin Ruoshui, who was Fang Hong’s girlfriend, to act this way, but for He Xuan to do the same was a bit…

Obviously, they didn’t know that He Xuan’s boyfriend was the man in question.

But that didn’t stop them from being driven mad with envy for Fang Hong. They suddenly felt this mixer was completely pointless. He had monopolized all five Beauties of Xinda University, not even giving anyone else a chance to strike up a conversation with the goddesses. What kind of mixer was this?

Caught between them, Fang Hong glanced from one to the other and said helplessly, “Could you two stop shaking me? You’re making my head spin. I’m about to drop my cards.”

The other guys cursed in their hearts: Fuck!!!

At this, the two women let go of his arms. Fang Hong pondered for a moment, then played a card. “Attack.”

Seeing him play the card, He Xuan stared at him anxiously, her voice a mix of coquettishness and complaint. “Aiya~ I told you I was the Loyalist and you still attacked me. Ruoshui’s motives are clearly impure. You fell for her reverse psychology trick so easily. You’re so stupid.”

Impure motives?

Hearing this, Fang Hong thought to himself, It’s not just her motives that are impure. Not a single one of you five has pure motives.

He hadn’t quite grasped the situation when he first arrived, but now he had deduced a great deal of information. All five girls were secretly matching wits against each other because of him. Had the Five Beauties of Xinda University become fair-weather friends for his sake?

His interest was suddenly piqued. He was rather curious to see what kind of schemes the girls could come up with.

Meanwhile, the other guys, upon seeing He Xuan’s slightly coquettish display, had the sudden urge to just leave.

It was too much!

Their only regret was that they weren’t the one sitting in the middle!

Fang Hong looked at He Xuan suspiciously. “Uh… you don’t have any Hearts in your hand? No Spades either?”

The character Xiao Qiao’s “Heavenly Scent” skill allowed her to discard a Hearts card to transfer damage to any other player, and her “Beauty” skill made all her Spades cards count as Hearts.

He Xuan said peevishly, “I just don’t have any.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “Well, I can’t help it. If I don’t attack, Ruoshui takes my equipment. Since you’re a Loyalist, shouldn’t you take a hit for your Lord?”

He Xuan was rendered speechless by his words. She secretly ground her teeth and shot a look at Lin Ruoshui, thinking, This is so infuriating! Lin Ruoshui, you just wait.

She could only direct her frustration at Lin Ruoshui.

At this, Lin Ruoshui caught He Xuan’s glance and returned it with a slightly triumphant look of her own. She then continued her turn, equipping the Qinggang Sword before tossing out a card toward He Xuan with a beaming smile. “Attack.”

He Xuan didn’t have a “Dodge” card, so she lost another point of Health, leaving her with only one.

Lin Ruoshui ended her turn, then glanced at He Xuan with a grin. “Turncoat Xuan, you’d better step it up. Don’t get eliminated before you even get through one round of turns, okay?”

Fang Hong was the first to play, and He Xuan was to his left, making her the last to play in a round.

He Xuan said calmly, “Don’t get cocky too soon. Just wait and see how I get my revenge. And you’re the Turncoat, stop denying it.”

Stuck in the middle, Fang Hong remained silent. One woman was his ex-girlfriend, the other his current girlfriend. They were using a game to vent their jealousy, and he was delighted to see it. Watching from the sidelines was simply wonderful.

It was Su Dongyan’s turn. She smiled and said, “Volley of Arrows!”

Zhong Xue played a card. “Dodge.”

Yun Xiaoli played her card. “I’ll dodge too. Your turn, Xuan.”

When it was He Xuan’s turn, she didn’t have a “Dodge.” She immediately looked at Su Dongyan and said irritably, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You knew I didn’t have a ‘Dodge’ and still played ‘Volley of Arrows’…”

Su Dongyan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said with a charming smile, “That’s because I’m the real Loyalist.”

Fang Hong was taken aback. It was unexpected, yet it somehow made sense.

Lin Ruoshui leaned forward, craning her neck to look at He Xuan with a grin. “Turncoat Xuan, are you about to get knocked out already?”

He Xuan shot her a glare, then threw down a card. “In your dreams. Unassailable.”

Next, it was Fang Hong’s turn. He had a “Dodge” card but chose not to use it. Instead, he activated his Lord’s skill, “Protect the Lord,” and announced in a formal tone, “Come, protect me!”

Lin Ruoshui said, “Sorry, I don’t have a ‘Dodge’.”

Su Dongyan immediately chimed in, “Ruoshui, you’re such an actress. And He Xuan too. I’m the real Loyalist, okay?”

Fang Hong said, “So, where’s the ‘Dodge’?”

Su Dongyan smiled. “Sorry, I don’t have a ‘Dodge’ in my hand either.”

Zhong Xue said, “I only had one ‘Dodge,’ and I just used it.”

Then it was Yun Xiaoli’s turn. She suddenly tossed a card from her hand. “Dodge.”

Everyone looked at Yun Xiaoli. She grinned and said, “My Lord~ I’m actually the real Loyalist. They’re either Turncoats or Rebels. My Lord, you must see clearly~”

All five girls claimed to be Loyalists. Even a financial master like Fang Hong was completely baffled, unable to make sense of the situation. Based on the game’s progress so far, it was impossible to tell who was the Loyalist, who were the Rebels, and who was the Turncoat.

Because no one had revealed themselves as a Rebel!

Lin Ruoshui had just targeted He Xuan, which seemed like a Loyalist move, but it carried a hint of personal grudge. Her jealous behavior during the game undoubtedly clouded Fang Hong’s judgment of her motives. Perhaps she was a Rebel, but what if she didn’t care about winning and just wanted to target He Xuan?

That was also a possibility.

Fang Hong suddenly slapped his forehead with his palm and said, half-laughing, half-exasperated, “Alright, alright, all my dear subjects are loyal. All of you. We are most gratified.”

Hearing this, the girls all burst into laughter, quickly raising their hands to cover their mouths demurely.

The guys at the next table heard Fang Hong’s words and couldn’t help but roar in their hearts, “‘Dear subjects?’ Damn it, that’s too much! Bro, have you even considered our feelings?”

Seeing the goddesses beaming with joy, the other guys’ envy and jealousy index for Fang Hong shot past three hundred percent.

Su Dongyan threw out a card toward Lin Ruoshui. “Attack.”

Lin Ruoshui immediately said, “Let’s get rid of Turncoat Xuan first. Let’s knock her out of the game. Turncoats are the worst.”

Everyone felt there was a hidden meaning in Lin Ruoshui’s words; perhaps she was using the game to speak her true feelings. He Xuan looked at Su Dongyan and quickly said, “You’ve already played a card against Ruoshui. No take-backs.”

Su Dongyan smiled radiantly. “What are you afraid of? Even if I wanted to take it back, my range isn’t long enough, and I don’t have a weapon. Besides, I am the true Loyalist. It doesn’t matter who I attack. My Lord, you can’t let them deceive you~”

“Uh…” Fang Hong froze for a second, then smiled. “In any case, as long as others don’t attack me, I won’t attack them.”

Su Dongyan’s identity card was indeed Loyalist, but the situation was a mess, with everyone claiming to be a Loyalist. When Su Dongyan insisted she was one, no one believed her.

Next, it was Zhong Xue’s turn. She threw down a card from her hand. “Barbarian Invasion!”

Yun Xiaoli played a card. “Attack.”

He Xuan pouted and complained, “Why are all the cards area-of-effect skills? It’s so annoying!”

One “Barbarian Invasion” was enough to wipe out He Xuan’s last point of Health. However, she immediately threw down a card. “I’ll eat a Peach to recover.”

Zhong Xue passed her turn after playing “Barbarian Invasion.” When it was Yun Xiaoli’s turn, she looked at He Xuan with a grin. “Attack.”

He Xuan was furious. It felt like they were all targeting her. She couldn’t help but complain peevishly, “This is too much. You’re all ganging up on me.”

All the girls just grinned, thinking in perfect unison, That’s right, we’re targeting you.

Yun Xiaoli looked at He Xuan and said with a smile, “Didn’t you say you were the Loyalist?”

Lin Ruoshui also smiled. “Looks like Turncoat Xuan really is going to be eliminated before she even gets to play a card.”

He Xuan immediately threw down a card. “I don’t have a ‘Dodge,’ but I still have a Peach.”

At this moment, Yun Xiaoli equipped a card. “Zhuge Repeating Crossbow. Another attack.”

With that, she played a second “Attack” card. After equipping the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, she could play an unlimited number of “Attack” cards as long as she had them in her hand. He Xuan’s beautiful eyes widened. “No way! This is my last Peach.”

“Xuan, are you running a Peach wholesale store?” Yun Xiaoli looked at He Xuan play her last card, which was yet another Peach. But then she grinned mischievously. “One more hit. You should be out of the game now.”

Lin Ruoshui clapped happily. “Well done, Xiaoli! Xuan is definitely the Turncoat.”

At this, He Xuan looked at Fang Hong, who was sitting next to her, and once again grabbed his arm, shaking it while whining coquettishly, “My Lord~ Do you have any Peaches in your hand? Please save me”

Lin Ruoshui quickly followed suit, grabbing Fang Hong’s right arm and pleading sweetly, “My Lord~ You mustn’t save her! She’s the Turncoat. Don’t fall for her tricks.”

The other guys’ envy and jealousy skyrocketed to five hundred percent…

Caught between them, Fang Hong tilted his head to the right to look at Lin Ruoshui. “You’re so sure He Xuan is the Turncoat?”

Lin Ruoshui said, “There’s no way she’s a Loyalist.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong pretended to nod. “Makes sense.”

He Xuan immediately grew anxious. But just then, Fang Hong casually threw out a Peach. “Here’s one.”

Did it matter whether He Xuan was a Turncoat, a Loyalist, or a Rebel?

Not at all. What mattered was that keeping He Xuan in the game made it more interesting. Fang Hong was now almost certain of one thing: none of the five would attack the Lord. In this game, their actual roles didn’t matter anymore.

The Rebel wouldn’t reveal herself, and all the girls were vying to be the Loyalist. Hmm…

He Xuan was suddenly overjoyed. “My Lord is wise! Don’t worry, I will repay this favor with a gushing spring.”

Fang Hong: “…”

Seeing her knowing smile, Fang Hong understood the deeper meaning of her words. Lin Ruoshui and the others wouldn’t understand the hidden message, but Fang Hong got it instantly…

Lin Ruoshui had thought He Xuan was done for, so she was shocked when Fang Hong actually saved her. Feeling that he was favoring He Xuan, she was overcome with jealousy, her pretty face etched with resentment and complaint. “I told you she was the Turncoat, and you still saved her. He Xuan was right, you really are stupid. I’ve never seen such a dumb Lord.”

He Xuan leaned forward, glanced at Lin Ruoshui, her face glowing with triumph, and huffed, “The Lord isn’t stupid. He was just bewitched by you earlier. You’re the Rebel. You didn’t reveal yourself before, and now you’ve lost your chance. Watch how I deal with you.”

Caught in the middle, Fang Hong was having a great time. This wasn’t his first time playing Legends of the Three Kingdoms; he’d even played it online for a while. But no game had ever been as interesting as this one.

Finally, it was He Xuan’s turn. Her luck seemed to have turned. She drew a “Created from Nothing,” then another, and then a third.

He Xuan equipped a Sky Piercer Halberd, then an Eight Trigrams Formation for defense, and ate another Peach to recover one point of Health. Then, she smiled cheerfully at Lin Ruoshui. “Attack.”

Lin Ruoshui’s character was Da Qiao. She had no “Dodge,” so she decisively used her passive skill, “Displacement,” discarding a card to transfer the damage to Su Dongyan.

He Xuan played another card. “Duel!”

Lin Ruoshui, who had no “Attack” cards, lost a point of Health. He Xuan then played another card on Lin Ruoshui. “Contented and Forgetful.”

He Xuan said with satisfaction, “Alright, your turn, my Lord.”

Fang Hong drew two cards, equipped a defensive horse, then threw out a card. “Oath of the Peach Garden.”

This caused everyone to recover one point of Health. Fang Hong then ended his turn. When it was Lin Ruoshui’s turn, the “Contented and Forgetful” card took effect, and she had to skip her turn, passing directly to Su Dongyan.

As time passed, Fang Hong became even more certain of his theory. No matter whether they got a Loyalist, a Rebel, or a Turncoat card, none of them would attack the Lord. And while Lin Ruoshui and the other girls occasionally targeted each other, their main target was He Xuan. They all wanted her out first.

Fang Hong began to hoard Peaches in his hand. Everyone was ganging up on He Xuan, so he pretended to be convinced she was the Loyalist. No matter how Lin Ruoshui or the real Loyalist, Su Dongyan, tried to persuade him, he just kept saving her.

He Xuan was delighted, especially when she flaunted it in front of Lin Ruoshui, as if to say: See? He dotes on me more!

This infuriated Lin Ruoshui. So, the more Fang Hong saved He Xuan, the more He Xuan was targeted.

Fang Hong saved He Xuan throughout the whole game while sitting back and enjoying the show, watching the girls’ jealous rivalries and subtle power struggles play out. For the first time, he found this tabletop game, Legends of the Three Kingdoms, to be incredibly fun.

This single game lasted for over half an hour. The deck had been shuffled several times, yet not a single person had been eliminated.

After forty-five minutes, the first person to be eliminated was Su Dongyan. She revealed her Loyalist identity card. When Lin Ruoshui saw that she was a Loyalist, she immediately said, “See? I told you He Xuan was the Turncoat. You didn’t believe me and kept saving her.”

He Xuan was not pleased. She retorted, “You’re not a Loyalist either, yet you pretended to be one. You have the nerve to criticize me.”

When it was Fang Hong’s turn again, He Xuan looked at him and said, “Alright, I confess. I am the Turncoat. But right now, the three Rebels are all still here. Only I can help you. Let’s eliminate the three of them, and then I’ll concede. How about it”

By this point, besides Fang Hong, who was in the best condition, Lin Ruoshui and the others were all in bad shape, either with few cards in hand or low on Health.

Yun Xiaoli immediately said, “Xuan, you can’t just collude and concede like that! That’s against the rules!”

Lin Ruoshui nodded in agreement and looked at Fang Hong. “Don’t fall for this schemer’s tricks again!”

Just then, Fang Hong suddenly launched a fierce assault on He Xuan. “Attack—!”

He Xuan huffed angrily, “Aiya, you really are an idiot!”

With only one point of Health left, He Xuan became the second person to be eliminated. After being saved by Fang Hong countless times, she was ultimately taken out by him personally. Lin Ruoshui was instantly delighted. “The Lord is wise!”

He Xuan said peevishly, “One against three. Let’s see how you win this.”

Fang Hong remained calm. Then, he whipped out a Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and looked at the only three players left on the board—Lin Ruoshui, Yun Xiaoli, and Zhong Xue. He said with a chuckle, “Don’t worry. One by one, none of you will escape. We are going to take you all down. Attack!”

Yun Xiaoli: “Dodge!”

Fang Hong: “Attack again.”

Yun Xiaoli: “Dodge again.”

Fang Hong: “One more hit!”

Yun Xiaoli was the third to be eliminated. Killing a Rebel allows you to draw three cards. Fang Hong drew two “Attack” cards and one “Created from Nothing.” He then turned to Zhong Xue. “Have a taste of this!”

Zhong Xue was also eliminated. Fang Hong drew three more cards. Now, only the last Rebel, Lin Ruoshui, remained. Just as Fang Hong was about to play a card, Lin Ruoshui said with a smile, “I concede. You have so many cards and a Zhuge Repeating Crossbow. I only have one ‘Dodge’ and one point of Health. No need to waste time.”

After a long battle among the girls, Fang Hong ended up being the fisherman who profited from their conflict, taking them all out one by one to become the final winner.

Lin Ruoshui was rather happy now. Although she had lost, she also felt like she had won, because He Xuan was not only eliminated before her but was also taken out by Fang Hong himself.

He Xuan had been happy at first, but now, seeing the smug look on Lin Ruoshui’s face, she secretly ground her teeth.

But on second thought, she didn’t feel like she had lost to her either. Fang Hong had saved her the entire game, a treatment Lin Ruoshui had never received. And although she was eliminated by Fang Hong himself, at least she wasn’t defeated by Lin Ruoshui.

So, even if it wasn’t a gain, it wasn’t a loss either.

No problem with that logic.

…

Chapter 275: [Spicy A-shares: All In. Drawing the Prize at Year-End. Bless Me, K-God.]

As the social mixer continued, the next event was the karaoke session. To the surprise of He Xuan and the other girls, Lin Ruoshui volunteered to sing first.

Fang Hong was still sitting at the same table with He Xuan and the girls. He turned around, staying in his seat, and leaned back against the table with his hands, watching with great interest.

After a round of enthusiastic applause died down, the instrumental music began. Accompanied by a piano solo, Lin Ruoshui started to sing:

【Puzzle pieces fall away, like the cold indifference of maple leaves】

【The clock on the wall silently counts the loneliness】

【The coffee’s aroma has faded, leaving only bitterness to keep me company】

【A heart full of longing buries me in the fragility of midnight】

…

The song Lin Ruoshui was singing was “Hourglass of Memory,” a popular hit released in October of the previous year. The original artist was a new female singer who had just debuted in July.

The students present were all stunned by Lin Ruoshui’s voice.

Unlike the explosive power of the original singer’s voice, which straddled the line between Rhythm and Blues and a Rock Ballad, Lin Ruoshui’s was independent and clear, delicate and gentle. Paired with the song’s simple piano melody, it created a serene atmosphere, conveying a sense of sadness tinged with strength, as if there were many stories buried in her heart, now being expressed through her song.

Lin Ruoshui’s voice was also highly recognizable. It wasn’t a sound she was forcing out; it was more like a God-given talent.

Fang Hong was quite surprised as well. He couldn’t help but search his predecessor’s memories, but found no information about his ex-girlfriend ever singing. He never expected her to have such a gift.

…

【Like a falling star, its brilliance erases all outlines】

【After this moment, the world is just an hourglass of memories】

【A falling star】

【Brilliantly lighting up the entire starry sky】

【Like your story, leaving in my life…】

【…an unfading wound】

The performance of “Hourglass of Memory” came to an end. Lin Ruoshui set the microphone aside and, with a radiant smile, gave a slight bow to everyone.

Everyone erupted in an even more fervent round of applause.

“Classmate Ruoshui, I had no idea your singing was so incredible!”

“You’re beautiful and your voice is just as beautiful! I feel like you could debut as a singer.”

“Yes, yes! If you really debuted, you’d definitely become a star.”

“Is that a professionally trained voice?”

Lin Ruoshui’s rendition of “Hourglass of Memory” had captivated the entire audience, making her the center of attention. Seeing her in the spotlight, He Xuan, who was sitting next to Fang Hong, felt a little unhappy.

Just then, Su Dongyan suddenly looked at Fang Hong and asked with a smile, “Do you know how to sing ‘Little Dimples’? Can I invite you to sing a duet with me?”

This song had also been released in mid-to-late October of last year and was another popular hit. It had to be said that in the first decade of the new millennium, the Chinese music scene was truly star-studded. The period from the year 2000 to the present could be described as an annual battle of the gods.

Hearing this, He Xuan, who was sitting beside them, instantly grew anxious. But at that moment, Fang Hong shook his head and waved his hands, smiling. “Whoa, have mercy, senior. My voice is terrible. It wouldn’t be a performance, it’d be a public embarrassment. I’m fine with just listening to you all sing.”

He Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yun Xiaoli couldn’t help but say, “How could that be? Your voice is actually very nice. Just listening to you speak, it’s very recognizable and has a strong presence.”

He Xuan felt she couldn’t just sit by idly. These sisters of hers were all secretly making moves on her boyfriend.

Where would this lead if it continued?

“Why don’t the few of us go up and sing a couple of songs together…” He Xuan suggested to Su Dongyan and the others with a beaming smile, trying to get them away from her boyfriend. In the end, at He Xuan’s strong suggestion, the Five Beauties of Xincheng University decided to perform together.

Of course, He Xuan also dragged Lin Ruoshui, who had just returned, along with them. She definitely couldn’t let her and Fang Hong sit together alone. He Xuan knew that Lin Ruoshui was trying to get back together with Fang Hong and hadn’t accepted the advice she’d given her when they last met.

She didn’t know what Lin Ruoshui was really thinking; perhaps she was aiming to have him all to herself, something He Xuan would naturally not allow.

Meanwhile, a lighthearted atmosphere filled the mixer. The Five Beauties of Xincheng University sang “Love Ya, Love Ya” together. This was another song from July of the previous year, a hybrid-style track that blended electronic music, soft rock, and electric guitar rock. Its bright style and distinct rhythm had made it a very popular song.

The atmosphere of the event was now exceptionally lively, but Fang Hong remained quite calm. As he enjoyed the five girls’ performance, his mind was busy mulling something over.

He was increasingly convinced that these girls were well-suited for a career as celebrity entertainers. Back during the card game, when the five of them were secretly matching wits, their acting was actually quite good. For people without professional training from a performance arts department, it was truly impressive.

Moreover, their voices were all decent. Despite the lack of professional training, their singing skills were far above average, especially Lin Ruoshui’s, whose voice was a God-given talent.

They were all stunningly beautiful, and most importantly, their faces were all-natural, untouched by modern cosmetic procedures. Each had her own distinct features and recognizability.

With these qualities, if they were given the resources and a stage, the probability of making them famous was quite high.

Fang Hong’s thoughts turned to the “star-making” component of his strategic plan. He nodded to himself, thinking, If they’re interested in debuting as artists, it might be worth spending some resources to promote them.

Star-making was star-making; it didn’t matter who he promoted. Besides, these girls certainly had the foundation for it.

However, Fang Hong was in no hurry. He would wait until he had consolidated his resources to a certain degree and his various plans were in their initial stages before asking if they were willing to debut. If they were, he would sign them then.

He would strive to make them famous, whether they debuted as a group or solo, in film or music. He would handle the specifics as they arose.

Of course, Fang Hong wouldn’t approach them personally. He would have the company send someone to negotiate with them.

In Fang Hong’s grand blueprint, the main purpose of star-making, or even entering the entertainment industry, was to gain control over public discourse. This was a battleground he had to contest. To put it bluntly, it was a fight for traffic.

And celebrities and entertainment were crucial for generating that traffic. He could foresee that once he clashed with foreign or other capital, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform would be the first target.

If a conflict arose with other capital firms, the agencies or organizations that had signed those celebrities would surely make a move. The artists might collectively withdraw from Weibo, even if it meant paying breach of contract fees, as their backers would provide a safety net.

If he didn’t fight for control over the narrative, then his opponents could say whatever they wanted.

Fang Hong knew that in such a scenario, both his and Stellaris Capital’s reputations would be dragged through the mud in the public eye, and he would have no way to make his own voice heard.

Celebrities were not just important for Weibo’s platform now; more importantly, celebrities, especially popular ones, had an enormous ability to guide the values of their fan bases.

Young people chased stars, especially teenagers, an age group where values were still being formed. In the process of following their idols, they would naturally be influenced, to a greater or lesser extent.

To vie for control over public discourse, he needed a systematic operation. Venturing into the entertainment industry was one of the key links in this system. Furthermore, he needed an entire entertainment industry chain that Stellaris Capital could call its own, one that wouldn’t be banned or put in a chokehold by competitors.

That meant he had to build an entertainment industry system belonging to Stellaris Capital, with star-making capabilities, production capabilities, distribution capabilities, and even cinema chains in the major fields of film, television, and music.

Only by controlling the entire upstream and downstream industry chain and having the final say could he be qualified to compete for control over public discourse.

That way, he wouldn’t need anyone else’s resources; he would have his own. He could pick a promising newcomer and make them a star, controlling every stage from content creation to promotion and release through his own resources and channels.

…

Monday, September 7th.

Today marked the first trading day of a new week for the A-share market. After falling below the 2700 mark, the broader market index had already seen a four-day rebound. Today, the rebound in both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets continued, opening higher right from the start.

As the call auction concluded, Spicy A-shares glanced at his securities account holdings. His orders to buy Dongfang Yuhong, Goertek, and Gujing Gongjiu had all been successfully filled during the auction.

“Time to lock the position and check back at the end of December.” Seeing the successful purchases, Spicy A-shares looked relieved and very satisfied, especially since Dongfang Yuhong had surged higher then fallen back the day before instead of continuing to hit its limit-up.

As for the opening prices of the three stocks today, Dongfang Yuhong opened lower at 26.50 yuan per share (-0.04%), Goertek opened lower at 18.56 yuan per share (-0.22%), and Gujing Gongjiu opened higher at 22.92 yuan per share (+0.13%). None of them had a major gap up at the open, and he was very pleased with the prices he got in the auction.

Before the market officially opened at 9:30 AM, Spicy A-shares locked his position, logged out of his securities account, and then uninstalled the trading software from his computer to avoid letting market volatility affect his mentality. After getting all that done, he muttered to himself, “Time to draw the prize at year-end. Bless me, K-God, bless me, K-God…”

Buying in, locking the position, and deleting the software without looking—all he had to do was wait three months for the results. This time, Spicy A-shares’s eyes were full of anticipation. They were shining with light, and, of course, with faith in K-God…

…

Chapter 276: Bringing in the Xincheng State-owned Assets Office

That same morning, Hua Yu paid a personal visit and was currently meeting with the leader of the Xincheng Local State-owned Assets Office, discussing matters concerning Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group.

In the meeting room, the leader of the Xincheng State-owned Assets Office looked at Hua Yu and spoke unhurriedly, “The former Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, which I suppose should now be called Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, is a major enterprise, one of the top five hundred in the Mainland. It is also a leading private pharmaceutical company and one of the largest enterprises in our city of Xincheng. It wasn’t easy for it to grow to this scale.”

The leader paused, sighing with emotion. A moment later, he turned back to Hua Yu, his expression firm. “We cannot let this company collapse. We should, and we must, separate Wang Qingxiong from Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group. Wang Qingxiong will naturally be judged by the law, but as for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, we should provide all possible help and support to help it overcome its current predicament as soon as possible.”

Hua Yu nodded repeatedly. “Sir, you’ve hit the nail on the head and grasped the heart of the matter. This crisis is a disaster for Ruihe Group, but I believe that with your guidance and the concern of the relevant authorities, it will surely be reborn from the ashes. We are determined to wash away the lingering stain of the Wang Qingxiong incident, allow Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group to be reborn, and have it once again shoulder its due social responsibilities.”

After another ten minutes of discussion, Hua Yu took his leave.

The trip had been quite successful. Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had smoothly arranged for the Xincheng local state-owned assets to become a shareholder. Stellaris Capital agreed to discount Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s overall valuation to four point five billion yuan and transfer a 19.98% stake to the Xincheng local state-owned assets. This 19.98% stake was priced at eight hundred ninety-nine point one million yuan.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s current reasonable valuation should have been around thirteen point five billion yuan. This meant that Stellaris Capital was transferring shares worth two point seven billion yuan for less than nine hundred million, resulting in an apparent loss of one point eight billion yuan. Conversely, the Xincheng local state-owned assets would earn one point eight billion yuan effortlessly just by taking over the shares.

But did Stellaris Capital really lose money? On the surface, it seemed so, but in reality, it certainly did not.

Bringing in the Xincheng local state-owned assets was a crucial step for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group to overcome its difficulties and regain public trust. This was equivalent to receiving a government endorsement. At the same time, it would be of immense help for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s future listing on the ChiNext board.

Otherwise, it would be very difficult to quickly mobilize these funds and escape the predicament on their own. Even investing one point eight billion yuan might not have been enough to get them out, and the money could have ended up being a total loss.

When it came to equity, holding more was not always better. It takes wisdom to make the pie bigger, but it takes even more wisdom to divide it.

Wang Qingxiong had the ability to make the pie bigger, but he stumbled when it came to dividing it. It was a fall from which he would never have the chance to get back up.

However, the process of bringing in state-owned assets was not as simple as directly transferring a 19.98% stake, especially at such a low price, as that would inevitably invite gossip.

Fang Hong would naturally not be so straightforward.

The actual operation involved Stellaris Capital setting up another project company—a new shell company. This project company would be a joint venture with the State-owned Assets Office, which would invest its eight hundred ninety-nine point one million yuan as its stake.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was already in technical default and about to enter the judicial auction process. Stellaris Capital would then use another shell company to acquire it at the auction.

After the acquisition, they would perform a debt stripping, removing the twenty billion yuan of debt or non-performing assets that had been previously stuffed into Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group. Then, they would conduct an asset swap with the joint venture project company formed with the State-owned Assets Office.

Besides, did the State-owned Assets Office really have to fork out eight hundred ninety-nine point one million yuan?

Hua Yu made it clear that they would not even have to spend that money in practice. The funds would first be transferred to the joint venture’s account. After the asset swap with Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was complete, Ruihe would make an investment in a project, likely requiring an investment of around two billion yuan.

As luck would have it, the investment in that project would not go smoothly. Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, needing to undergo a strategic refocusing due to its own development issues, would then unilaterally withdraw from the project. The State-owned Assets Office would agree to Ruihe’s withdrawal and buy back its stake or assets in the project.

After investing two billion yuan, Ruihe would only get back about one point one billion yuan upon exiting, incurring a loss of eight hundred ninety-nine point one million yuan.

What a coincidence, isn’t it?

Some things in this world really are just that coincidental.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence.

“The matter of bringing in the Xincheng local state-owned assets has been settled. In addition, President Hua has already contacted Zhang Qi, the vice president of Xinhong Securities. The listing plan for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group has also been initiated…” Tian Jiayi, having returned from work, gave her daily report to Fang Hong.

Currently, one hundred percent of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s equity was still frozen by the banks, and its negative issues were far from resolved. Although nearly a week had passed since Wang Qingxiong was taken away, public sentiment had not completely cooled down.

To the outside world, Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, or rather the former Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, was mired in trouble. Some so-called industry insiders even predicted that Stellaris Capital might have outsmarted itself. After so much effort, they might end up with a failed investment on their hands, their only achievement being the destruction of a pharmaceutical group that had been developing very well.

However, Stellaris Capital paid no mind to any of this, because everything was under control.

They had long anticipated the impact on Ruihe Group after sending Wang Qingxiong off to join the sewing machine team. They had corresponding strategies and plans for how to respond and handle the aftermath.

So far, the progress of events had not deviated from the expected trajectory, so all they needed to do was proceed according to plan.

Fang Hong glanced over the documents for a moment before closing them and setting them aside. He nodded in satisfaction. “Hua Yu did a good job. Just proceed with the original plan.”

The matters related to Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s listing would, of course, be handed over to Xinhong Securities to handle the underwriting and sponsorship.

According to the plan, the company would list on the ChiNext board with a valuation of thirteen billion yuan and a total share capital of 795.1 million shares. The issue price was tentatively set at 16.35 yuan per share. The IPO would offer 183.43 million shares, accounting for 23.07% of the company’s total share capital, and was expected to raise three billion yuan.

It was worth noting that the dilution from the 23.07% stake offered in the IPO would be borne entirely by Stellaris Capital. In other words, the 19.98% stake held by the Xincheng Local State-owned Assets Office would not be diluted.

It looked like a raw deal for Stellaris Capital, but Fang Hong’s vision was not so shortsighted. All the arrangements and preparations he was making for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group were to build the company’s market capitalization to the hundred-billion-yuan level in the future.

After the IPO, Stellaris Capital’s controlling stake in Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group would decrease to 56.95% of the total share capital. This equity ratio would only achieve relative control, falling short of the 67% needed for absolute control.

However, the issue of corporate control was resolved by signing a voting agreement with the Xincheng Local State-owned Assets Office, which stipulated that they would vote with Stellaris Capital. This would bring their combined voting power to 76.93%, giving them absolute control over the company.

The Xincheng local state-owned assets had never intended to seek control; their stake being just under 20% was telling enough. Moreover, in a sense, they had acquired their 19.98% stake at almost no cost.

Of course, strictly speaking, they did not get it for free. The contribution from the Xincheng local state-owned assets was in its intangible value—in a nutshell, the government endorsement. That alone was worth the price.

Without it, getting the company listed might have taken another two years.

After all, Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was currently plagued by negative issues. It was already September, with only three months left until 2010. This meant Ruihe Group was planned to be listed on the ChiNext board within the next fifteen months.

In the A-share market, this was an incredibly fast timeline. If things went exceptionally well and exceeded expectations, the listing might even happen within ten months.

All of this was a manifestation of that intangible value.

…

Chapter 277: Is Wanke a Fat Piece of Meat?

Over the next stretch of September, Fang Hong started spending most of his time attending classes. Back at Stellaris Capital, everything was progressing steadily according to plan.

He would listen to his beautiful assistant’s daily work reports, keeping himself updated on all the major projects.

The institutional account he personally managed was currently positioned for medium-to-long-term trend trading. With his positions built, all he had to do was sit back and wait. He rarely made any moves, and if he did, it was only some weekly-level day trades.

He hadn’t been doing much short-term trading lately, holding only Double Coin Holdings. The stock’s nine-day limit-up streak had been broken, followed by about a week of correction, dropping approximately 26 percentage points from its high.

But now, a second wave rally had begun. By September 10th, Double Coin Holdings had once again hit four consecutive limit-ups in its second rally, with its stock price soaring to 25.41 yuan.

Since its first limit-up on August 17th, the stock had accumulated a gain of +194.78%.

If calculated from its lowest point of 2.67 yuan when the broader market bottomed out at around 1,600 points, the stock’s gain had reached a terrifying +851.68%, putting it on track to become a ten-bagger.

Today, the stock’s trading volume exploded to over one billion yuan. Fang Hong also sold all of the 80,000 lots he held, cashing out 195 million yuan, principal and profit included.

This trade yielded a return of about +175%, with an absolute profit of nearly 124 million yuan.

…

“The company has been operating smoothly and in an orderly manner lately. The judicial auction process for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group is proceeding. Another thing is that the company is sending people to attend the Wanke Group’s shareholders’ meeting resolution on September 15th,” reported Tian Jiayi, who had just returned to Tranquil Heart Residence from the office.

As Fang Hong’s “projection” at Stellaris Capital, Tian Jiayi was more than competent, growing more adept at her role by the day.

“Wanke? Oh? What are they voting on at this shareholders’ meeting?” Fang Hong’s interest was immediately piqued. He simultaneously searched his brain for any memories from his past life related to the company.

But before he could recall anything, Tian Jiayi had already explained, “According to the refinancing plan Wanke announced on August 27th, they plan to publicly issue additional A-shares, not exceeding 8% of the total share capital as of the prospectus announcement date. The net proceeds after deducting issuance costs are not to exceed 11.2 billion yuan.”

The shareholders’ meeting was on September 15th, just five days away. Wanke was a leading domestic real estate giant with a market capitalization in the hundreds of billions, currently valued at over 120 billion yuan.

Stellaris Capital was also a shareholder in Wanke, currently holding 3.2% of the company’s total share capital, making it one of the top ten shareholders—a result of buying the dip recently.

Previously, during the primary rally phase in the A-share market, Stellaris Capital had held about +4.7% of Wanke’s total equity. In the first half of the year, up until the broader market peaked at 3,478 points, Wanke A’s stock price had risen from a low of 4.8 yuan to 14.94 yuan, more than tripling in value.

The shares Stellaris Capital currently held were the result of getting out at the high point and then buying the dip again around the beginning of this month.

This real estate giant was very interesting—a behemoth with a market cap in the hundreds of billions, yet it had no actual controller.

This meant that Wanke Group’s largest shareholder did not hold more than 30% of the shares. According to the regulations for A-share listed companies, a shareholder is considered the actual controller only if they hold more than 30% of a company’s shares.

But this real estate giant’s current largest shareholder was Huarun Group, with a stake of less than 15%.

In other words, Wanke had no actual controller.

The company had no true leader, and its equity was extremely dispersed. In a sense, it was a leaderless group. Even with a stake of around 3.2%, Stellaris Capital was definitely one of Wanke Group’s top major shareholders.

“Heh heh… Interesting,” Fang Hong suddenly smiled to himself. Many things about Wanke had come to mind. Seeing him smile as if he was thinking about something, the beautiful assistant sitting beside him couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What do you mean by ‘interesting’? You…! Don’t tell me you’re thinking of stirring up trouble again?”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and said with a chuckle, “I just thought of something. Wanke is such a fat piece of meat, it’s hard not to be tempted.”

At these words, Tian Jiayi’s pretty face went blank for a moment. When she recovered, she stared at him in shock. “The Hengtong affair has just settled down, and you’re already eyeing Wanke? Don’t tell me you’re planning to make a move on Wanke, to replicate the Hengtong acquisition on this company?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she was stunned by the thought. This real estate giant was completely different. First, it wasn’t a private enterprise. Second, its scale was enormous. Hengtong was already large, but Wanke was more than ten times the size of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group; even Hengtong’s overall scale was an order of magnitude smaller.

“Replicating the Hengtong swallow-whole operation is unlikely, but I’ll definitely make a move. Since I know it’s a big piece of meat, it would be unreasonable not to take a bite. It just wouldn’t make sense,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

Tian Jiayi looked at him quizzically. “How did Wanke become a fat piece of meat in your eyes? There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the company, does there?”

Fang Hong smiled without replying, not intending to reveal the reason to her.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with Wanke now, but there would be in about five years. And the problems that would arise five years later were, in fact, seeded in recent years.

According to the original historical trajectory, by around 2015, Wanke’s stock price would be suppressed to an extremely low level, making the company severely undervalued and attracting the attention of the “barbarian” President Yao.

President Yao would use multiple fronts in the secondary market to build up a position through successive stake disclosures, attempting to stage a drama of a snake swallowing an elephant, using a little over ten billion yuan to leverage a behemoth with several hundred billion in assets.

As for why Wanke’s stock price would be suppressed so low, it was actually the result of intentional suppression by the company’s own management. The root cause was the trouble stirred up by a “performance bet.”

Currently, Wanke’s ROE index, its return on equity, was very low.

According to Wanke’s 2008 financial report, its return on equity was only 12.7%, meaning that for every 1,000 yuan invested in the company, it generated only 127 yuan in profit per year.

This figure was far below the current average return on equity in society. Moreover, the national property market had been on the rise ever since the state launched the “four trillion stimulus” plan last year.

And Fang Hong knew that the current investors in Wanke’s stock were quite frustrated, even anxious.

How could such a good company have such a lousy return on equity? It would be a lie to say they harbored no grumbling toward Wanke’s management.

In other words, Wanke’s shareholders, big and small, were not too happy with the company’s management. If things went as expected, Wanke’s shareholders and management would sign a Performance Bet Agreement.

After a moment, Fang Hong made a decision on the spot. Rather than waiting for history to unfold on its own, it was safer to take control and give it a push himself. This way, he could avoid any deviations from the original historical trajectory, which would make the situation harder to control.

Fang Hong immediately looked at his beautiful assistant and instructed, “Take this down. Relay my instructions to Hua Yu later and have him make the arrangements.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiayi nodded, opened her notepad to take a memo, and then looked at Fang Hong, awaiting his decision.

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said methodically, “Wanke is holding a shareholders’ meeting on the 15th. Perfect. We’ll use this opportunity to connect with other shareholders, discuss things, and complain that Wanke’s management is seriously underperforming, that such an excellent company can’t even get its ROE index to 15%.”

Fang Hong continued, “The goal is to unite a group of shareholders to reach a consensus and then put pressure on the company’s management, demanding that they sign a ‘Performance Bet’ agreement with the shareholders. The general terms of the agreement would be that if the management can raise the company’s ROE index over the next three years, the executive team gets a bonus. But if they can’t, the amount will be deducted directly from their salaries and commissions.”

Sitting beside him, Tian Jiayi began to take notes.

If all went as expected, Wanke’s management would definitely sign this “betting agreement.” They had signed it in the original history. And after signing it, Wanke’s management had gone full throttle to boost performance. As a result, the team really did manage to raise the ROE index. By around 2013, Wanke’s ROE index had risen to 19.66%, and according to the betting agreement, the management had to be paid handsome bonuses each year.

But Fang Hong also knew what Wanke’s management did next. Regarding the bonuses, although the funds were distributed to the management team, the company’s leader demanded that none of the executives take the money. Instead, the bonuses were put into a pool to accumulate.

Fang Hong reckoned President Wang did this for two main reasons.

One was the fear that once the executives received large bonuses, got rich, bought luxury cars and mansions, and achieved financial freedom, they would lose their drive.

The other reason was precisely what planted a huge hidden danger for Wanke’s crisis five years later. As the money in the bonus pool grew, President Wang did something: he implemented a mechanism called the “Business Partner” scheme. He felt that just giving bonuses to the company executives wasn’t enough to foster a sense of belonging.

So how could they be made to feel a sense of belonging to the company?

The answer was this so-called “Business Partner” mechanism. The bonuses issued under the “Performance Bet Agreement” were used to, in turn, buy Wanke’s stock.

Previously, the management were all professional managers, but after implementing this “Business Partner” mechanism, the bonus pool formed from the executives’ bonuses was used to buy Wanke’s stock, turning the executives into Wanke’s shareholders.

In this world, working for others is a job; working for yourself is a career. And only when you’re working for yourself do you become more and more motivated.

Therefore, President Wang’s move was actually an indirect means of equity incentive. He established a fund called “Yin’an Partnership” with the money from the rolling bonus pool to buy Wanke’s stock.

In reality, there was nothing wrong with the “Business Partner” mechanism that President Wang had created; in fact, it was quite excellent.

But the problem lay in one word: “greed.” The money in the bonus pool was ultimately finite, but the company’s executive team wanted to buy more shares. So, how could they use the limited funds in the bonus pool to acquire more of Wanke’s stock?

The answer, of course, was for Wanke’s stock to be as cheap as possible. If the bonus pool had 100 million yuan and Wanke’s stock price was 1 yuan, they could buy 100 million shares. If the price rose to 5 yuan, they could only buy 20 million shares.

Therefore, the cheaper Wanke’s stock was, the more shares they could buy with the same amount of money. Consequently, for the next few years, the company’s management had no desire for their own stock to rise. This allowed them to buy more shares, but it also resulted in Wanke’s stock price being pinned to the floor for the next five years.

Fang Hong remembered that during the epic leveraged bull market in the A-shares around 2015, Wanke’s stock had only about doubled by the time the market index peaked, while the broader market index itself had risen by more than 1.6 times, from just over 1,970 points to 5,178 points.

In the frenzied bull market environment of the time, where even trash stocks could easily multiply several times over, a good company like Wanke actually underperformed the broader market by fifty to sixty percentage points, let alone individual stocks.

This was all because the company’s management had no desire for their own stock to surge, the result of continuous suppression.

The key point was that during these years when Wanke’s stock price was pinned to the floor, the company’s performance growth was incredibly strong, with real, tangible growth. Thus, the deviation between the company’s actual value and its stock price widened over time. The stock became severely undervalued and was finally targeted by the “barbarian” President Yao.

President Yao didn’t play by the rules; he quietly set up an ambush and launched a sneak attack.

But in the final analysis, the problem lay with the management. If they hadn’t suppressed the stock price, President Yao wouldn’t have had an opening to strike, no matter how dirty he played.

…

Chapter 278: Plant the Seed and Wait for it to Sprout

After taking notes, Tian Jiayi reviewed them once more to ensure she hadn’t missed any of Fang Hong’s instructions. Then, she looked up at him and asked, “Should our company participate in Wanke’s additional stock issuance and financing plan?”

Seeing Fang Hong’s strategy to unite with other Wanke shareholders and make the company’s management sign a “performance bet” agreement, Tian Jiayi naturally assumed that Fang Hong intended to make a strategic investment in the company, which would surely involve increasing their stake.

But Fang Hong shook his head and immediately denied it. “We’re not investing. We’ll just maintain our current shareholding ratio. As soon as we successfully push through the signing of the ‘performance bet’ agreement, the company will immediately cash out and exit. We need to try and get this betting agreement settled before the first ten days of December are over.”

At these words, the beautiful assistant froze slightly and stared at Fang Hong, her pretty face a picture of pure bewilderment and confusion.

After going through all that trouble to get the betting agreement signed, not only were they not increasing their stake, but they were cashing out and leaving?

The more she thought about his decision, the more confused Tian Jiayi became. With a puzzled expression, she asked, “Why cash out and exit? Wouldn’t all our efforts be for nothing?”

Fang Hong smiled. “Of course it won’t be for nothing. Do I look like some naive fool who would take a loss?”

“True. You…! You have more than eight hundred schemes in that head of yours. How could you possibly make a losing deal?” Tian Jiayi met his gaze and said with a charming laugh. After a moment, she added with a hint of curiosity, “But I don’t quite understand.”

Fang Hong said calmly, “It’s simple. After the agreement is signed, Wanke’s stock price will head towards being slashed in half. Of course we have to cash out and exit.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was utterly perplexed. “Wanke’s stock price will be slashed in half?”

His words only made the beautiful assistant more confused. Logically, shouldn’t it rise? Why would it fall instead, and by as much as half?

She truly couldn’t figure it out.

As for why the stock price would fall and even get slashed in half instead of rising, it was, of course, due to a series of events that would gradually unfold after the “betting agreement” was signed, including factors like the bonus pool and the Business Partner Mechanism that Wanke’s management would later implement.

Fang Hong didn’t plan to explain all this to Tian Jiayi right now. The first step was to facilitate the signing of the “performance bet” agreement. That was the beginning of everything.

This wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight. First, they had to plant the seed and let it slowly take root and sprout…

…

In the period that followed, the reorganized Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group continued to move forward according to plan. Wang Qingxiong had been taken away, but it would certainly be difficult to convict him in a short period, and the court date had not yet been announced.

But it didn’t matter. He was no longer important.

The current Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group no longer had anything to do with Wang Qingxiong, having completely severed ties with both him and Hengtong Pharmaceuticals.

In the coming days, Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group would hold its first judicial auction in November. Barring any surprises, it would fail to sell, and then a second auction would be held two months later in January of next year, at which point it would be sold.

Next would be the introduction of Xincheng local state-owned assets. After settling this, the next major task was to plan for a listing on the ChiNext board.

For the time being, although Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had declared debt default, the company continued to operate normally. Apart from the group of executives who were taken away, the other ten-thousand-plus employees were unaffected. Salaries were paid as usual, and the company’s operations continued.

However, for some, this was also an opportunity for advancement. With a batch of senior executives taken away, quite a few positions had opened up. To ensure the company could navigate the current turmoil smoothly, many people were promoted on the spot or appointed to acting positions.

With the executive management in upheaval, the main task was to restore the decision-making body. This meant convening a shareholders’ meeting, reorganizing the Board of Directors, and electing a new head to take charge of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group.

It was worth mentioning that although one hundred percent of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s shares were currently frozen, this measure was primarily to restrict shareholders from obtaining profits from the company and disposing of their shares, preventing the loss of equity income for the purpose of asset preservation.

The freezing of shares did not negate shareholder status, nor did it restrict shareholders from exercising their common interest rights.

Rights such as calling an extraordinary or regular shareholders’ meeting, voting rights, the right to attend shareholders’ meetings, the right to elect and be elected, the right to information, and the right to file shareholder derivative suits could still be exercised even with the shares frozen.

To put it plainly, Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group could still hold shareholders’ meetings, reorganize its Board of Directors, and elect a new management team as usual.

This definitely needed to be handled as soon as possible. If the decision-making level of such a massive company were paralyzed, the entire company would descend into chaos. The priority was to stabilize the situation and get through the current period of turmoil.

Hua Yu was in full charge of handling this series of matters. Fang Hong rarely asked about the specific progress, nor did he pay much attention to Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s affairs. Whether it was handled well or botched, time would tell.

…

September 15th.

Around 2:00 PM, Wanke’s first extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of 2009 officially began at its headquarters to deliberate on the company’s previously disclosed refinancing plan.

Shareholders had been arriving at the venue to sign in since around 1:00 PM. Due to the unexpected impact of a typhoon early this morning, the number of shareholders attending the meeting in person was slightly lower than usual, and some who had pre-registered were unable to attend.

However, although there might be fewer shareholders present, the shareholders’ meeting had enabled an online voting platform, allowing shareholders to vote on all proposals via the internet. Thus, the financing proposal would not be affected.

Currently, Wanke’s A-shares were also under a trading suspension and would only resume trading tomorrow.

At this very moment, Fang Hong was also participating in Wanke’s shareholders’ meeting through online channels. Having bought some of the company’s stock earlier, he was also a shareholder and could participate in the vote, even though he had only symbolically bought about a million yuan worth of stock.

“When we proposed the financing plan, we gave full consideration to the interests of our shareholders. Wanke’s decline in net profit in 2008 was just a pause, not a turning point. We are absolutely certain that the company is back on the track of growth…”

In the study on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong sat silently in front of his computer. The screen showed a live broadcast of the Wanke shareholders’ meeting. The company’s President was currently answering questions from shareholders.

In the video, the President of Wanke continued, “…Merely pursuing scale may not be the best way to create shareholder value. Wanke will shift from its previous pursuit of scale and speed to a greater focus on quality and efficiency. We hope that through this transformation towards quality and efficiency, the future growth in profitability will exceed the growth in the company’s scale.”

As time went on, Wanke’s Executive Vice President began to introduce the financing plan: “Considering fairness and the interests of existing shareholders, a private placement can only be offered to a maximum of ten institutions. A public offering, on the other hand, allows more investors to participate and is fairer to shareholders. Since Wanke has both A-shares and B-shares, a rights issue is not operationally feasible. Issuing convertible bonds would increase the company’s debt-to-asset ratio in the short term, putting pressure on the company’s debt financing…”

At this moment, Fang Hong recalled what Tian Jiayi had reported about Wanke yesterday. Stellaris Capital had successfully brokered a meeting between a group of major shareholders and the company’s management before the start of this shareholders’ meeting.

That is, they had pressured Wanke’s management before the meeting convened, with the crux of the issue being Wanke’s currently pathetic ROE index.

If the company’s ROE index remained so lousy, they directly threatened to vote down this refinancing proposal and even reorganize Wanke’s Board of Directors. This refinancing proposal was a major issue requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.

The total voting rights of the group of shareholders united by Stellaris Capital were around 29%, not quite 30%. However, voting power was calculated based on the shareholders in attendance. For the proposal to pass at this meeting, if the Stellaris Capital-led group of shareholders voted against it, it really might not get through.

The pressure on the management was actually immense, and the threat of reorganizing the Board of Directors, in particular, was a huge weight on their shoulders.

As the shareholders’ meeting continued, Fang Hong, lurking and observing, judged that the pressure was most likely effective. As for the specifics and other details, he would have to wait for Tian Jiayi’s report when she returned.

…

Chapter 279: Unleashing the Power of Cash

The shareholders’ meeting was still in progress. The company’s Executive Vice President stated that Wanke would have some contractual expenditures in the second half of the year.

For example, construction fees and land payments. It was expected that the government’s land supply would increase significantly in the latter half of the year, bringing more high-quality plots into the market. Wanke’s current land reserves were insufficient for three years of development, so they would be acquiring more land.

As time went on, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting moved to a vote on the proposal to raise no more than 11.2 billion yuan through a public additional stock issuance. The vote was conducted both in-person and online.

Fang Hong also cast a “yes” vote online.

There were actually six proposals at this extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, but the most important was, of course, the 11.2 billion yuan refinancing proposal.

After the voting concluded, according to the data announced at the meeting, all six proposals passed with an approval rate of over 99.8 percent. Naturally, the ten-billion-yuan refinancing proposal was also approved.

From the approval rates of the various proposals, Fang Hong could basically deduce that the negotiations between Wanke’s management and its shareholders regarding the “performance bet” on the ROE index had gone quite smoothly.

Two hours later, Tian Jiayi returned to Tranquil Heart Residence from the office.

“What’s the situation with Wanke?” Fang Hong asked directly. Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “There’s news, and it’s good news. Barring any surprises, Wanke’s management will sign the ‘performance bet’ agreement with the shareholders in the middle of next month.”

The contents of this betting agreement could be summarized in a single sentence: Wanke’s management had to boost the company’s ROE index within the next three years. If they succeeded, the management team would receive a hefty bonus. If they failed, the amount would be deducted from their salaries and commissions.

It was that simple.

And because it was simple, the negotiations had gone rather smoothly.

President Wang also felt there was no issue. He genuinely wanted to grow the company, and the worst-case scenario for the management team under this agreement was merely working for nothing, losing bonuses and salary. It wasn’t as if the agreement stipulated that the management would be fired if they failed to raise the ROE index.

However, while it seemed simple, it laid the groundwork for a series of future problems.

After hearing Tian Jiayi’s report, Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. The seed had been sown. The next step was to monitor the situation and wait.

A moment later, Fang Hong gave a crisp order, “In that case, after the middle of next month, start to liquidate our position in Wanke stock on October twentieth.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t for the life of her understand the reasoning behind this move, but she trusted that he had his reasons. She immediately made a note of his decision, which she would deliver to Hua Yu’s office the next day.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to work out,” Tian Jiayi said as she gathered her materials, rose gracefully, and glided toward the second-floor bedroom.

Fang Hong turned his head to watch her receding figure, his admiring gaze lingering for a few extra seconds on her peach-like buttocks. He had to admit, his beautiful assistant’s stunning figure was a testament to her incredibly self-disciplined lifestyle.

Averting his gaze, Fang Hong opened his laptop. He typed “Yixing Video” into the search engine and hit enter. The first result was the link to the Yixing Video website.

He clicked the link and browsed the video site. It had been online for some time now, and the current version offered a much-improved viewing experience compared to his last visit to the Art Star Media Group.

Fang Hong clicked into the content library for a quick look. The massive library of films, TV series, variety shows, and more was currently free to watch.

As for Yixing Video’s positioning, with a wealthy backer like Stellaris Capital, Hou Junda, the head of Yixing Video, wasn’t agonizing over whether to focus on a PGC or UGC model.

Only children make choices. Adults want it all!

The PGC model refers to professionally generated content, where the platform produces its own video content. The most successful company in this field internationally was Netflix, which Chinese netizens often called “Wangfei” or “Naifei.”

The UGC model refers to user-generated content, meaning videos created by the platform’s users, or UP creators. The best in this field was the international website YouTube, which Chinese netizens colloquially referred to as “Youguan.”

But whether PGC or UGC, both fell under the umbrella of content operations and primarily dealt with the source of the website’s content. PGC and UGC each had their pros and cons; the key was to combine them effectively.

The typical development trajectory for a website was to start with PGC and gradually expand into UGC. As long as users could provide content, there would never be a shortage of viewers, and the website would gradually get on the right track.

Although Hou Junda was young, he had an ambitious plan for Yixing Video’s development. Since his financial sponsor had promised that money was no object, he was determined to pursue both avenues, and with equal vigor.

On the PGC front, Yixing Video was backed by the Art Star Media Group, a professional content production company. The online streaming rights for the movies, TV series, and variety shows it produced would inevitably be given to Yixing Video. PGC resources were sourced directly from the parent company, Yixing Media.

On the UGC front, the key was to attract a group of UP creators who could produce content, especially high-quality content, whether it be comedy videos, educational videos, vlogs, video edits, or any other series of self-made content.

To attract these video creators to the Yixing Video platform and enrich the site’s content, Hou Junda’s strategy was to splash cash by offering incentives for creators.

But to get the money, creators had to sign a contract with Yixing Video, agreeing to publish their content exclusively on its platform.

Just then, Fang Hong noticed a scrolling advertisement in the top-right corner of the Yixing Video homepage:

——[Million-Yuan Incentive Plan]——

Fang Hong clicked on the page for a look. The gist was that starting in 2010, Yixing Video would select the “Top 100 Video Creators of the Year.” Each of the one hundred finalists would receive a reward of one million yuan.

At the same time, these one hundred UP creators would also get to share a “traffic support package,” with the higher-ranked creators receiving more traffic support from this “traffic pool.”

“This kid, Hou Junda, sure doesn’t feel the sting of spending grandpa’s money…” Fang Hong muttered to himself with a laugh. Still, he had vision and audacity, qualities the big boss greatly appreciated.

It was indeed a bit of a splurge. Just rewarding one hundred UP creators with one million yuan each meant one hundred million yuan was gone just like that.

But it didn’t matter. Stellaris Capital could afford to burn that kind of cash.

Since he had put Hou Junda in charge of Yixing Video, Fang Hong wouldn’t interfere too much. He gave him full authority to make his moves. How much money he burned wasn’t the issue, as long as it produced tangible results to match.

Whether it would produce results was still uncertain; they would only know after trying. This was an inherent risk, and Fang Hong was willing to take it. He had seen and approved of Hou Junda’s proposal for Yixing Video’s development.

So, he would let him do it. If he failed, he would deal with him then.

Yixing Video’s “Million-Yuan Incentive Plan” sent massive waves through the industry. Competitors in the video streaming space were privately cursing up a storm. The plan wasn’t some incredible, groundbreaking idea; it was just burning through cash.

But it was this simple, unadorned tactic that left competitors speechless, because the other video sites couldn’t afford to keep up. An incentive plan that cost one hundred million yuan was simply bullying for other startup teams.

How could they compete?

And if they didn’t? Then Yixing Video would become the benchmark, and high-quality UGC creators would vote with their feet and flock to its platform. For UGC content creators, the current era was one where they worked on passion projects, a labor of love that rarely paid the bills.

Now, the Yixing Video platform was showing these enthusiasts that not only could they make money, but they could make it at a million-yuan level. That was enough to buy a house in a second-tier city. And that was just for one year.

One could imagine how exciting this news was for the vast community of UGC content creators.

Hou Junda’s move was a blatant open gambit, attacking his competitors’ weaknesses with his own strength. He was unleashing the power of cash, betting that other contenders either couldn’t keep up or would struggle immensely if they tried.

So, to follow or not to follow?

For the other video websites, they definitely had to follow, at least to some extent. But the reality was that they didn’t have that kind of money. Their only option was to go to their VC backers for more financing to secure development funds.

But more financing meant giving up more equity, which was why the startup teams were cursing. Their VCs were also in an awkward position. The startups were coming to them for more money, and their reasons were sound.

If they didn’t follow up with more investment, the website could quickly decline as Yixing Video conquered the market, and their previous investments would go down the drain.

But to keep up, they would have to keep pouring in money, which would undoubtedly amplify the risk.

The VCs who had already invested were reluctant to commit more capital, but they didn’t want their initial investments to come to nothing.

So…

There was only one truly safe solution: persuade other investors to enter the fray to transfer and share the potential risk.

Chapter 280: Recruit Them to Build Recyclable Rockets?

Fang Hong watched the “Million-Yuan Incentive Plan” video for a while before closing the page and registering an account on Yixing Video.

After successfully creating his account, he soon saw several promotional events, like inviting friends to join for cash rewards. Fang Hong glanced at the event details and made a rough estimate: the average cost of acquiring a new user through this event was between 1.2 and 1.5 yuan.

This meant that, in theory, acquiring one hundred million users would cost about one hundred fifty million yuan. For other video streaming sites, such a high cost would be unacceptable, as their operating expenses involved much more than just user acquisition. Furthermore, there was no telling how many of these new users would become long-term, active members.

But for Fang Hong, it was completely acceptable. The cost of acquiring users wasn’t high at all.

After all, the one thing Stellaris Capital didn’t lack right now was money.

As Fang Hong had predicted, the main force driving the viral spread of the new user invitation event was the student demographic. More and more students were starting to cash in on Yixing Video’s promotions, recommending it to their friends in group chats, praising the viewing experience, and having their friends link their accounts through the referral program when they registered.

Some students who spent a little more time promoting it could earn a hundred yuan or so, which was a considerable amount of pocket money for students of this era.

It was enough to cover several all-nighters at an internet cafe…

Yixing Video’s marketing strategy was also lambasted by its competitors for not playing by the rules. Of course, the meme “to not play by the rules” didn’t exist yet, but the sentiment was much the same.

So you can do whatever you want just because you’re rich?

They knew Yixing Video’s methods weren’t fancy or particularly brilliant, yet they couldn’t counter them. How infuriating was that?

Fang Hong browsed the video site for a while and then did a quick search for news related to Yixing Video. He came across one particular article.

According to a news release from a few days ago, the Yixing Video team had announced that the site’s user base had surpassed 4.5 million within a month of its launch.

By now, it had likely surpassed five million. Fang Hong was quite satisfied with this result; the growth rate was excellent.

This was an achievement bought with hard cash. If the user count had barely broken one million by now, he would have definitely had to have a word with Hou Junda.

Just as Fang Hong was about to close the Yixing Video webpage, a video in the “user-created” recommendations section caught his eye with its thumbnail and title. He immediately clicked on it.

The video was a user-created visualized music video titled: “Real-life ‘Pipe Dream’ finally done after half a year of work!”

“Pipe Dream” was a computer-simulated performance by a band of various instruments, using high-quality graphics to create virtual 3D musical scenes. It was produced by Animusic, an American company specializing in 3D visualizations for MIDI music. The company was a professional and highly creative studio that produced a wide variety of animated music scenes.

Animusic could be called a pioneer in computer music visualization.

The company released a special edition of “Animusic 1” in 2004, a video about thirty-three minutes long, of which the fifth segment, “Pipe Dream,” was the most popular.

Fang Hong hadn’t expected someone to bring the five-year-old 3D virtual scene into reality. This required exceptional talent in computer programming, incredible hands-on skills, and a precise ability to design physical objects.

This was because “Pipe Dream” involved a massive number of steel balls being launched from pipes to strike various instruments with perfect accuracy, then land flawlessly in designated collection pipes. It was an artistic interpretation of mechanics and physics, and a gospel for those with ultimate OCD.

Fang Hong clicked play. The instruments in the video included:

A three-instrument set of a steel-string guitar, a nylon-string guitar, and bongo drums; another three-instrument set of a banjo, a nylon-string guitar, and bongo drums; a percussion set including one bass drum, one snare drum, six tom-toms, and two cymbals; a rotating instrument stand with four arms, holding a hi-hat, a cowbell, two woodblocks, and a güiro; and a marimba with a sliding percussion section.

As the video played, a steel ball shot out from a pipe in a parabolic arc, landing precisely on the corresponding guitar string. It then bounced off with the force of the impact onto an opposing string, its momentum decreasing, before bouncing onto a small drum below, and finally landing perfectly in a collection pipe.

Soon, more and more steel balls were launched from the pipes, combining to form a piece of music. About forty seconds in, the percussion set joined. A volley of steel balls shot out, accurately striking the various parts of the drum kit, then using the reactive force to bounce perfectly into the designated collection pipes.

It was a perfect fusion of music and physics, providing a marvelous audiovisual experience that left one in awe of its creativity. For those with severe OCD, watching the fountain-like torrent of steel balls land unerringly in the collection pipes was incredibly satisfying.

After watching the real-life recreation of “Pipe Dream,” Fang Hong scrolled down to the comments section.

[Holy crap, they made a real one? This was my favorite video as a kid!]

[Is this a real-life Pipe Dream? Holy crap, that’s awesome! I used to watch the 3D virtual version with my dad as a kid, I loved it!]

[This is the kind of treasure UP creator that I want everyone to see, but also selfishly want to keep to myself… [Facepalm emoji]]

[I was already blown away by Animusic’s Pipe Dream back in the day. I can’t believe a Master actually built a real one. Awesome, truly awesome!]

[Master, please accept this humble one’s worship!]

[Such simple creative techniques, yet so satisfying…]

[Building such a complex setup… I wonder if it can play other songs. It would be a huge luxury if it can only play one.]

[It should be able to play multiple songs, but it would definitely need reprogramming.]

[The “Mom-asked-why-I’m-watching-videos-on-my-knees” series.]

[As someone with OCD, I find this super satisfying!]

[This is the romance of a STEM guy…]

…

The video had just been released less than two hours ago. Fang Hong glanced at the comments section. The one to two hundred comments were almost uniformly filled with worship and amazement.

The video’s creativity was truly astounding, a perfect blend of musical art and physical mechanics. An entire piece was performed without a single human participant, accomplished entirely automatically through steel balls.

Fang Hong also saw the creative team’s potential and was instantly filled with a desire to recruit them.

If Animusic’s “Pipe Dream” was extraordinarily creative, then this video surpassed it. Building a physical, working version was, without exaggeration, an order of magnitude more difficult, as the variables in reality were far more numerous and complex.

Judging by the equipment in the video, the team seemed to be on a tight budget. But that didn’t detract from the video’s excellence; in fact, it only highlighted the team’s capabilities.

Just then, his beautiful assistant, dressed in form-fitting workout gear, happened to walk through the living room. Having finished her workout, she was about to head upstairs to change. Fang Hong quickly called out to her.

Tian Jiayi walked over gracefully, a curious look on her face. “What is it? Do you need something?”

Leaning back on the sofa, Fang Hong gestured at the replaying music video on his laptop screen. “Contact this creative team as quickly as possible. And I mean fast. I’m worried someone else will beat us to it. This is a genius team. It’s a total waste of their talent to have them playing with bouncing balls here. I’m going to recruit them to build recyclable rockets.”

The recyclable rocket project had been on Fang Hong’s mind for a while. Stellaris Capital had money now, and the second half of the year would be focused on spending it, mainly by investing in high-end physical manufacturing. The rocket-recycling project was one of them. This genius team could be absorbed right into it. Even if they couldn’t carry the entire project, they could certainly handle a major part of it.

“Huh—?”

Hearing this, his beautiful assistant looked completely bewildered. After a moment of stunned silence, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “Recruit them to build rockets? Are… are you sure you’re not joking?”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant standing beside him and said calmly, “Do I look like I’m joking? Get it arranged. Find them and snatch them up!”

As he spoke, Fang Hong gave her peachy, shapely derriere a light pat.

Man, that single pat sent a ripple through it. It was incredibly bouncy. Fang Hong’s attention was instantly diverted from the genius team to her rear.

Just as he couldn’t resist raising his hand to experience it one more time, his beautiful assistant took a graceful step away, putting some distance between them. She shot him an exasperated look, her cheeks blushing as she chided him coquettishly, “You scoundrel!”

Fang Hong relaxed his raised hand and shrugged, pulling it back. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future to play however he wanted. He then grinned. “Alright, I want this team. Have our people recruit them as soon as possible!”

…

Chapter 281: The Eight Major Strategic Investment Directions

To succeed in high-tech, besides having vast capital to cover enormous sunk costs, talent is even more critical. Money without talent, especially without a leading figure, is still a losing game.

Breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology aren’t achieved through sheer numbers; they require a true leading figure, a genius who can hold their own against thousands.

In the private aerospace sector, Elon Musk’s SpaceX was founded back in 2002, but even now, the company only has around five or six hundred employees.

Currently, there are no private aerospace startups in the country, nor is anyone working on recyclable rockets. Capitalists are even less interested.

Fang Hong remembered that if history followed its original course, the first such project in China wouldn’t appear until September 2011, started by a team of university students as an independent sounding rocket R&D project.

He decided to recruit that team now and formally establish the rocket recycling project.

Although they were already many years behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX, it was never too late to start.

…

Tian Jiayi went to her bedroom on the second floor. Some time later, after showering, she came back downstairs, now dressed in a casual autumn outfit. She walked into the living room and sat on the sofa opposite Fang Hong.

“I’ve already made the calls. I’ll report back to you with the specifics once I have news,” Tian Jiayi said, looking at him. After a brief pause, she asked, seeking confirmation, “Are you really planning to… establish a rocket research project team?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong met her gaze and smiled. “Didn’t you say before that if everyone just plays with capital and real estate, who will be left to run the real industries? The rocket recycling project is one of them. For Stellaris Capital, investing in real industries doesn’t mean funding something like a clothing factory; it means investing in high-end, high value-added industries.”

Tian Jiayi immediately asked, “Have you decided on the company’s main investment directions in the primary market for the second half of the year?”

The company was currently sitting on a huge pile of cash.

Fang Hong replied, “Broadly speaking, Stellaris Capital will have eight core investment directions for the future: Electronic Information, Biology and New Medicine, Aerospace, New Materials, High-tech Services, New Energy and Energy Conservation, Resources and Environment, and Advanced Manufacturing and Automation.”

He then added, “These eight directions aren’t just for the latter half of this year; they are the company’s long-term focus. Over eighty percent of our money will be poured into these eight areas.”

Eight investment directions might not sound like many, but when broken down into specific industries, the scope was staggering.

For example, Electronic Information alone could be subdivided into software, microelectronics technology, computer products and their network applications, communication technology, broadcasting and film technology, new electronic components, information security technology, intelligent transportation, and rail transit technology, among others.

Software could be further subdivided into basic software, embedded software, computer-aided design and engineering management software, Chinese and multilingual processing software, graphics and image processing software, geographic information system software, e-commerce software, e-government software, enterprise management software, Internet of Things application software, cloud computing and mobile internet software, web services, and integration software, and so on.

Each of the eight major investment directions could be broken down into over a dozen major categories, each of which could be further divided into more than a dozen subcategories, which could then be split into numerous smaller classes, each corresponding to a specific startup project.

The ambition of Stellaris Capital was beyond what the outside world could imagine. If they truly covered all eight directions, they would inevitably become an unprecedented super commercial and technological empire.

It was no exaggeration to say that although Stellaris Capital’s current funds were immense, they were still not enough to fully cover all eight investment directions.

But Fang Hong wasn’t in a hurry. The company was constantly earning money from the capital markets. The overseas markets had been performing exceptionally well recently. Stellaris Capital had repatriated twenty billion in funds, and their current unrealized profits had reached nearly fifty billion. Including their own capital without leverage, they had already surpassed the one hundred billion RMB mark.

There wasn’t much profit to be made in the domestic capital market over the next few years, but the overseas markets, especially the US stock market, had already begun a decade-long bull market. Reaping profits from foreigners to nurture high-tech industries was Fang Hong’s core grand strategy.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “What about the investment scale?”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and said concisely, “There is no upper limit. The specific investment scale will depend on Stellaris Capital’s earning power, speed, and scale.”

Tian Jiayi was at a loss for words.

Fang Hong casually crossed his legs and smiled. “For these eight directions, our investment strategy will be to cast a wide net and let them grow. In principle, for a specific project in its initial stage, we’ll invest a few million, no more than five million at most, and then monitor its progress. If it dies, we won’t invest any further. We’ll just write it off as money gone down the drain.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong continued, “If it survives and shows good growth momentum, it will be promoted to the ten-million-yuan level, and we’ll continue to invest and monitor it. If it dies then, we’ll stop investing and move it into the company’s non-performing assets portfolio to be handled as a bad debt.”

For a project that had received a second investment in the tens of millions, they couldn’t just discard it. They would have to find someone to take it off their hands. A profitable exit would be best, though unlikely. A break-even exit would be a victory, and even exiting at a fifty percent loss would be acceptable. After all, you couldn’t expect too much from a failed project.

Fang Hong then said, “If a project successfully passes the second round, the company will increase its investment to the hundred-million-yuan level and add it to our list of key internal investment projects.”

Successfully surviving the first two rounds to enter the third stage usually meant the project’s survival was no longer in question; it wouldn’t have to worry about bankruptcy. The next step would be to grow bigger and stronger.

Executing a wide-net strategy for the eight major directions meant they had to use this round-by-round promotion system. Each promotion meant receiving more financing support from Stellaris Capital.

This tiered promotion was the only way to manage it, as there were simply too many projects to oversee individually. So they played the odds: scatter a handful of seeds and let them grow. The ones that grew well would get more nourishment, while the ones that didn’t would have to starve.

After all, resources were limited.

“By the way, there’s one more thing I need you to arrange as soon as possible,” Fang Hong said, changing the subject. “I’ve discovered a few people who are quite talented in music or acting. They happen to be my fellow students. I need you to arrange for someone to talk to them and invite them to join Yixing Media Group as artists.”

Tian Jiayi looked at him with curiosity. Fang Hong continued in an orderly manner, “You might have heard of the ‘Five Beauties of Xinda University.’ He Xuan is one of them, but you don’t need to worry about her. The other four girls, however—Su Dongyan, Zhong Xue, Yun Xiaoli, and Lin Ruoshui. Lin Ruoshui is actually my ex-girlfriend. She has a very talented voice.”

Hearing this, the beautiful assistant was slightly stunned and subconsciously repeated, “Your ex-girlfriend?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

Coming to her senses, Tian Jiayi quickly replied, “Uh… no!”

The beautiful assistant became thoughtful, seeming to understand why he had deliberately mentioned Lin Ruoshui’s status as his ex-girlfriend.

This was a form of protection for Lin Ruoshui, Su Dongyan, and the others. Fang Hong was bringing these girls into this circle, and he couldn’t let them be ruined. After all, the entertainment industry was quite messy; perhaps only the finance circle could rival it in terms of chaos.

With the protective status of being Fang Hong’s ex-girlfriend, things like the “casting couch” wouldn’t happen to them. No one at Yixing Media Group would dare to touch Lin Ruoshui and her friends, not in a million years. On the contrary, they would be given preferential treatment and more resources.

The lower-level employees at Yixing Media Group might not understand the stakes, but Cao Chenghui was now the one parachuted in to run the company. When Tian Jiayi gave him a call and told him that Lin Ruoshui was Fang Hong’s ex-girlfriend, he would understand immediately.

A woman connected to the big boss, even an ex, was not someone ordinary people could compare to. And since the big boss had made this arrangement, they had to be treated with importance, receiving extra resources and care when necessary.

Connections really were so important!

Chapter 282: Connecting with the Six Major Film Companies

“If they’re interested in debuting, we can spend more resources promoting them after they sign with Art Star Media Group. If they’re not willing and have no such intentions, then just let it be. There’s no need to force them; respect their choice,” Fang Hong added.

His relationship with these campus belles was decent. One of them, Lin Ruoshui, was even his ex-girlfriend. It was perfectly reasonable to give them some extra care now that they were joining a business group under the Stellaris Capital umbrella.

At that moment, Tian Jiayi smiled like a gossipmonger. “You’re taking such good care of your ex-girlfriend. Aren’t you worried He Xuan will get jealous when she finds out?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong chuckled. “Jealous? If she were that petty, would she have let you, Yu Qiu, and all the female household staff work at Tranquil Heart Residence? And let you live in this villa for free? Don’t forget, these were all her arrangements.”

Tian Jiayi: “Er…”

The beautiful assistant thought it over and found herself unable to refute his words.

It was truly hard to believe. Tian Jiayi even suspected that He Xuan might have some strange, unknown hobby.

Otherwise, her magnanimity was just too much. Besides, Tian Jiayi already knew about the secret tryst between Fang Hong and the house manager, Yu Qiu, and she herself could be next at any moment…

In short, the beautiful assistant couldn’t quite comprehend He Xuan’s seemingly unnatural behavior.

In the latter half of September that followed, Fang Hong’s days were quite pleasant. There were no major events at Stellaris Capital; the main work involved managing existing projects. The most pressing matters under the company were Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, followed by Art Star Media Group.

As for the other projects, Quantum Beat, the company he had invested in, required little oversight. Xu Jingren was at the helm, so all Fang Hong needed to do was track its development. The same went for Stellar Universe Technology, managed by Qin Feng.

In terms of stock market plays, his bottom fishing in the A-share market was complete, and his investments in overseas capital markets were in a state of winning by doing nothing.

Then there was the development of the High-Tech Industrial Park and the related collaborations with Huayang Group.

In mid-September, the A-share market once again surpassed the 3000-point mark, but it only lasted a few days. By the latter half of the month, a panic sell-off and correction began again. Fang Hong day traded the 15 medium-term stocks he held to avoid the market downturn and control the retraction of his profits.

After all, his holding in any single stock didn’t exceed the 5% disclosure threshold, so it was easy to get in and out.

Holding for the medium-to-long-term didn’t mean carrying the entire position through a market decline. He would still sell off a large portion, with the exact amount determined by each stock’s liquidity.

While daily day trading was difficult due to liquidity constraints, weekly day trading was perfectly feasible. Not only could he significantly outperform the broader market during the same period, but he could also beat the gains of the stocks he held, continuously lowering his cost basis.

Monday, September 21st.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, He Xuan, having returned from school in the afternoon, was chatting with her girlfriends. This time, the Five Beauties of Xinda University were all in their five-person group chat.

[You guys got invited too?]

[Yeah, the guy said we had the aura of a star and would definitely get famous if we debuted!]

[Is that person a legendary talent scout? I don’t know if he’s a scammer. He said he was an employee of Yixing Media.]

[I looked it up. The company really exists, and it’s right here in Xincheng. I just don’t know if that person really is from Yixing Media.]

[Xuan, you were invited too, right?]

He Xuan, who was part of the chat, froze for a moment when she saw Su Dongyan’s question. This was the first she was hearing of it, and she hadn’t received any invitation. But she quickly typed a reply: [Of course, I was definitely invited.]

She absolutely couldn’t let them know she hadn’t been invited. They would surely laugh at her behind her back, and it would be so embarrassing.

A short while later, Fang Hong came downstairs. Seeing him, He Xuan asked, “You arranged for Ruoshui, Dongyan, and the others to be invited by Yixing Media to become stars, didn’t you?”

Fang Hong came and sat beside her, nodding. “I did. Speaking of which, all of you are quite suited for a career in entertainment. What’s wrong? Why do you ask?”

He wasn’t surprised by her question. He Xuan knew much more than outsiders, even more than Xu Jingren and the others. After all, Tian Jiayi was the Vice President of Stellaris Capital, yet she lived at Tranquil Heart Residence and frequently reported to Fang Hong on the company’s work. It was obvious her boyfriend had a major connection to Stellaris Capital, and Art Star Media Group was a subsidiary of Stellaris Capital.

It was only natural for He Xuan to deduce that Fang Hong was behind this. However, she feigned a displeased look and said, “Why did you only invite them and not me? You deliberately left me out, didn’t you?”

Fang Hong shook his head with a laugh. “Aren’t you going to be a fashion blogger?”

He Xuan immediately hugged his arm and whined playfully, “Like you said, only children choose. Adults want it all. Anyway, if Ruoshui and the others are debuting as stars, I want to as well!”

Hearing this, Fang Hong looked at his young girlfriend thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, “It’s not impossible, but if you decide to debut, you have to treat it as a serious career. For the company to promote you, it will have to spend significant resources—tens of millions at least, possibly over a hundred million.”

He Xuan nodded repeatedly. “Mhm, mhm”

Fang Hong said seriously, “Are you sure? Think it over before you answer me.”

After a moment, He Xuan nodded again. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Hearing that, Fang Hong made a swift decision. “Alright, then you can debut.”

Art Star Media Group’s advantage was its vast capital; backed by its parent, Stellaris Capital, money was no object. Its disadvantage, however, was its lack of foundation. Having been established for less than a year, it didn’t have many notable artists under its banner.

In terms of artists, the company’s strategy was to walk on two legs: rapidly acquire and restructure some talent agencies to bring in a roster of artists, while also discovering and cultivating new talent.

The main focus was on the path of nurturing their own newcomers. As for the artists that came with the acquisitions, their primary purpose was to be a facade for now, as some of them held values that did not align with Yixing Media.

The new talent they cultivated themselves, however, would be carefully selected to meet all of Stellaris Capital’s requirements.

Once their homegrown talent could stand on their own and had achieved a certain scale with the ability to self-sustain, those artists with conflicting values would be shelved.

In the battle for control over the narrative, the values projected by artists were critical because they directly faced the public. Their values would influence their fan bases. For artists under Yixing Media, for instance, they had to be citizens of their own country and were not allowed to emigrate.

Yixing Media would never promote artists who talked about patriotism and national ideals but held Canadian or American citizenship. It certainly wouldn’t pour massive resources into them, no matter how professionally skilled they were.

Just then, Tian Jiayi returned to Tranquil Heart Residence from the company. Seeing Fang Hong in the living room, she walked straight over.

“You two talk.” He Xuan saw that Tian Jiayi clearly had business to discuss with Fang Hong, so she didn’t want to disturb them. She stood up and left the living room. Seeing the maid Lin Yun passing by, He Xuan called her over, and the two went to the villa’s spa room for Lin Yun to give her a spa treatment.

Back in the living room, Tian Jiayi, dressed in her office attire, sat down on the sofa, placed her briefcase on the table, and looked at Fang Hong. “According to Cao Chenghui’s report, the negotiations for Yixing Media’s connection with China Film Group have been settled. The draft agreement has been signed, and the formal agreement will be finalized by the end of the month.”

Connecting with China Film Group was the first major task Cao Chenghui had undertaken since being parachuted into the company. Fang Hong took the file from Tian Jiayi, opened it, and nodded in satisfaction. “After China Film, complete the connections with Shanghai Film, Xiaoxiang Film, Changchun Film, August First Film, and Pearl River Film as soon as possible.”

Although Art Star Media Group had the powerful financial backing of Stellaris Capital, it was nearly impossible to achieve Fang Hong’s strategic goals by going it alone.

Therefore, he had to make as many friends as possible.

Fang Hong’s strategy was to bring in these six major domestic film companies and let them hold a stake in Art Star Media Group. These six companies had one thing in common: they were all state-owned enterprises, not private corporations.

The benefits of bringing these companies in as shareholders of Yixing Media were self-evident.

Growing the pie and distributing the pie are actually highly related. The ability to grow the pie often depends heavily on one’s willingness to share it.

The current consensus reached with China Film Group was a strategic partnership through methods including, but not limited to, cross-shareholding. China Film Group would receive a 10% stake in Art Star Media Group, while Yixing Media would receive a 4.5% stake in China Film Group, with other resources factored in to complete the deal.

According to the agreement, China Film Group would hold 10% of Yixing Media’s shares and sign a voting agreement with them. The agreement would terminate only when China Film Group sold its stake. In other words, as long as China Film Group held shares in Yixing Media, it was a concert party and had to vote in line with Yixing Media.

The same approach would be taken with the other five major film companies to be brought on board. Each would hold a 10% stake in Yixing Media and would also have to sign a voting agreement.

As long as the six major film companies held shares, they had to vote in unison with Yixing Media. This meant distributing equity without distributing power. Likewise, Yixing Media’s cross-held shares in the six film companies would also be subject to a voting agreement.

By connecting with the six major film companies, 60% of the equity would be distributed, but Stellaris Capital would remain the largest shareholder with a 40% stake and would still hold absolute control.

When industry insiders eventually looked at Yixing Media’s shareholder structure, they would see the six major state-owned studios listed among the top ten shareholders. People in the industry would know exactly what kind of power that star-studded lineup represented.

With this, Yixing Media would gain access to resources in numerous key areas of the industry, laying a solid foundation for its future growth and clearing many obstacles in its path.

Chapter 283: So You’re Always Right, Huh?

“The deal with China Film Group is settled, but it might not go so smoothly with the other five major film companies,” Tian Jiayi said as she sat in the living room.

“No, no. As long as we can win over any one of the six major film companies, the job is half done.” Fang Hong looked up from his documents, turning to his beautiful assistant with a smile and adding, “Because once one agrees, the other five will basically follow.”

The reasoning was actually quite simple. As long as they successfully negotiated with any one of them, they could use that as a talking point.

When they went to negotiate with the others, they could say: “Look, China Film Group is already on board, and about a dozen other companies are interested in joining. The spots are limited, you know. If you don’t get in quick, there won’t be any room left. But I think cooperating with you would be a better fit, which is why I came to talk to you personally. If you don’t want in, I’ll just offer the spot to someone else.”

This would create the impression that Yixing Media was highly sought-after. When the major film companies did their due diligence, they would discover that although Yixing Media was a new company, it had enormous potential and substantial capital. Getting on board now was a wise choice. After all, even China Film Group had joined, ensuring they wouldn’t be mere spectators when Yixing Media grew stronger in the future.

Once on board, they could at least get a piece of the pie and share in the dividends of Yixing Media’s growth. If they weren’t on board, all they could do later was watch with envy.

Recently, Art Star Media Group had also launched a major initiative: a proposed massive investment of one billion yuan into more than fifty film or television drama projects. Priority would be given to projects produced by the six major film companies, on the condition, of course, that they partnered with Yixing Media. This was part of the deal.

Typically, when a film company wanted to produce a movie, it was almost impossible for them to fund the entire project themselves. They would bring in a group of investors to mitigate the risks, because the probability of a film’s success was actually very low. The number of films and TV shows produced each year was staggering, and countless more were stuck in the review process. Very few ever made it to the screen.

Even fewer became blockbusters upon release. The risk for a film company to go all-in on a single project was extraordinarily high. If it flopped, their entire investment would be lost.

It’s a little-known fact that the developer of the famous game Final Fantasy once tried to adapt the IP into a 3D animated film. The movie project was a catastrophic failure that brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. If Sony hadn’t stepped in to bail them out, the company would have been done for.

Similarly, when 20th Century Fox produced Titanic, they were practically betting the entire company. Fortunately, the film became a massive hit and they made a killing. If it had flopped, the company would have faced bankruptcy and collapse.

In short, going all-in on a single film’s entire investment was a risk of explosive proportions.

And even if a movie was a huge success, the act of hogging all the profit would still invite sabotage from others. For instance, they might withhold their channel resources and refuse to promote it. Why would they give you resources if they weren’t on board? They wouldn’t get a cut of the profits, so not actively trying to undermine you was already a show of mercy.

This could result in a film that could have grossed one billion at the box office only making three hundred million. But if you brought a group of people in, they would be motivated to provide resources and help with promotion. With everyone lending a hand, the box office results could potentially reach one and a half billion.

That was the logic.

Therefore, Yixing Media’s plan to spend one billion on a major initiative was exciting news for many film and television producers. It meant that some projects that had been forced to halt or be shelved due to a lack of funding could now be started.

In this day and age, while money can’t solve every problem, it can solve more than ninety percent of them.

The “power of cash” was always formidable.

Another important project for Yixing Media’s future development was building the “Yixing Carnival” brand, which would be held annually from now on. The carnival would feature awards for the year’s best works across the three major fields of film, television, and music.

The goal was to create their own awards system that they controlled, one that would directly benchmark against, and even surpass, the Golden Rooster Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards, and others.

None of this could be achieved overnight, but it had to be done, and it had to succeed.

That’s why it was even more impossible for Yixing Media to go it alone. Bringing in the six major state-owned film companies was a must. Before they had made a name for themselves, they absolutely could not afford to be surrounded by rivals; they had to make as many friends as possible.

Finally, Fang Hong closed the document and looked at his beautiful assistant with a smile. “By the way, He Xuan was just clamoring about wanting to debut. Go give Cao Chenghui a heads-up.”

Tian Jiayi was slightly taken aback. “He Xuan… debuting? Is she just fooling around, or is she serious about it?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong said casually, “It doesn’t matter, just let her do what she wants. As long as her activities don’t interfere with the company’s normal development, it’s fine. Draw up a budget internally, and spend the money on her with the full expectation that it’ll go down the drain. Of course, if she actually becomes famous and the projects she participates in turn a profit, then continue. If the budget runs out and she’s still not famous, then stop and have her quit.”

“Alright, I understand.” Tian Jiayi nodded, but then asked, “Right, what’s the budget?”

“Cao Chenghui was parachuted in to manage Yixing Media. Just give him a heads-up and let him handle the rest,” Fang Hong replied calmly.

His beautiful assistant was momentarily stunned by his answer, then said in exasperation, “You really have to leave yourself an out in everything you do. You want a budget drawn up, but you won’t give a specific number. Later, if the budget is too high, you can just say, ‘Who told you to spend so much? The company has money, but it doesn’t grow on trees!’ And if the budget is too low, you can say, ‘Couldn’t you have gotten more funding? Is the company really short on that little an amount?’ In the end, you’re always right, huh?”

Tian Jiayi now spoke her mind freely around him when no one else was present, a result of their relationship gradually moving beyond a purely professional one.

Fang Hong smiled. “You’re a quick study.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain, “I’ve noticed that you bosses always like to speak in riddles, making your subordinates guess and figure things out. Can’t you just give clear and direct orders?”

Fang Hong said slowly, “That’s why I said you’re a quick study, but only that. In the power play between a superior and a subordinate, if you, the boss, speak too plainly, you become passive. Your subordinates can then shift the blame, and you’ll naturally be in their grasp.”

Tian Jiayi was also a core executive in the company, holding the title of Executive Vice President. Fang Hong was taking this opportunity to coach her, so she could become more qualified for the position.

After a brief pause, Fang Hong added, “If I gave Cao Chenghui a clear number, say, two hundred million, then he’d just have to follow the rules. He would bear no responsibility for success or failure. If it succeeded, fine, but what if it failed? I’d have to just hold my nose and accept the two-hundred-million loss. The fact that he’d be free of responsibility would increase the probability of that two hundred million going down the drain. It’s true that I don’t care about two hundred million, but it’s also true that I don’t want to see it go down the drain.”

Fang Hong continued, “Don’t think I’m shifting blame or passing the buck, because that’s something everyone does. Do you think subordinates don’t shift blame or pass the buck? If so, how would anything get done? So, my job is to make it impossible for my subordinates to shift blame or pass the buck, forcing them to get things done. Telling him to handle it himself is placing the responsibility squarely on his shoulders. How could he not take it seriously? And if he takes it seriously, doesn’t that increase the probability of success?”

Tian Jiayi seemed lost in thought, then said, “But with this kind of vague, riddle-like communication, what if the subordinate guesses wrong and messes things up? Wouldn’t the losses be even greater?”

Fang Hong answered, concise and to the point, “Then you reap what you sow.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

Fang Hong smiled again. “Speaking in riddles also depends on the person, the occasion, and the specific matter. With a simple-minded person, you have to be direct. Speaking in riddles to them is just being stupid yourself. With someone who has a thousand schemes in their head, being direct with them would only confuse them and make things worse. That kid Cao Chenghui doesn’t look like a simple-minded fellow. The fact that he could be parachuted in and stabilize the personnel situation at Art Star Media Group so quickly, without Yang Guang causing trouble for him, shows he’s got something.”

When Cao Chenghui received the message that the big boss wanted him to handle it himself, he would understand immediately. It meant he had full authority to make decisions, but he also had to succeed. This wasn’t a demand from the big boss, but a strict requirement Cao Chenghui had to place on himself. He needed that kind of awareness and determination to be worthy of the big boss’s trust.

This was a kind of tacit understanding. In the internet slang of a decade later, “Those who know, know.”

If the big boss explicitly stated that the requirements weren’t that high, and you, like a fool, naively took him at his word, then you were unfit for a key position. You would probably lead a whole group of people astray. You’d be better off being a team leader in some unimportant department. That way, even if you led people astray, it would only be a few, and the impact would be negligible.

Tian Jiayi remained silent, her arms crossed as she pondered his words. After some thought, she gradually found that what he said made a lot of sense.

Whether it was speaking in riddles or being direct, the method wasn’t the point. The point was to serve the goal of getting something done smoothly. If it gets done, you’re right no matter what. If it doesn’t, even your breathing is wrong.

…

Chapter 284: Backed by a Big Shot

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Just as Fang Hong was coaching his beautiful assistant on how to properly embody the role of a superior, his phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, Fang Hong was slightly surprised. It was a call from his ex-girlfriend, Lin Ruoshui.

“I’ll head upstairs then.”

Tian Jiayi gathered her materials and left the living room, leaving Fang Hong alone. He answered the call.

Lin Ruoshui’s voice soon came through: “What are you doing?”

Fang Hong replied with a smile, “I’m at home. What’s up?”

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before her voice came again: “Have you ever heard of a company called Yixing Media?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong feigned ignorance. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know much. Why do you ask?”

Lin Ruoshui answered, “A few days ago, someone claiming to be from Yixing Media contacted me. I think he was a talent scout or something. He said… he said I have the aura of a star, that my voice is very talented, and that I’m very suitable to debut as a celebrity artist. He invited me to sign with Yixing Media. I looked into it myself, and he even took me to visit the Yixing Media company. It doesn’t seem like a scam, but I’m still a little worried. Do you have any advice?”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile to himself. The moment Lin Ruoshui said this, he immediately understood her hidden intentions.

She might have wanted to ask for his advice, but that was definitely secondary. She actually wanted to call and share the news with him.

And even sharing wasn’t the main point.

Lin Ruoshui’s real intention was to make Fang Hong see her in a new light and get his attention. The message she wanted to convey was: See, I, Lin Ruoshui, am no worse than that scheming woman, He Xuan. In fact, I’m definitely better than her!

Obviously, Classmate Lin Ruoshui had no idea that the so-called talent scout had contacted her only because Fang Hong had played a decisive role behind the scenes.

After a moment, Fang Hong said with a faint smile, “To be honest, if it weren’t for the mixer that day, I never would have realized how beautifully you sing. A voice like yours is a God-given talent. It’s surprising that a talent scout found you, yet it also makes perfect sense.”

Lin Ruoshui couldn’t help but feel a secret joy upon hearing this. She immediately replied, “So you also think I’m suited for a debut?”

Fang Hong smiled. “If you’re interested yourself, I don’t see why you shouldn’t give it a try. This could be an opportunity for you to jump up the social ladder.”

Once a celebrity artist established a foothold in the industry, their income would certainly be much higher than that of the average person. If they became popular, they could basically achieve financial freedom for life. Compared to the general public, this was indeed a leap in social class. For ordinary people, the words “financial freedom” were something they dreamed of but was far beyond their reach.

After a moment, Lin Ruoshui’s charming, laughing voice came through the phone: “Mhm~, I’ll listen to you then. I’ll call that person back in a bit.”

Her voice had suddenly become endearingly obedient, which left Fang Hong at a loss for words.

Lin Ruoshui’s voice came again: “Thank you!”

Fang Hong laughed. “What are you thanking me for?”

Lin Ruoshui said with a sweet smile, “I’ve been agonizing over whether to accept Yixing Media’s offer for the past few days. It was your advice that gave me the courage to make a decision.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but laugh again. The reason was a bit of a stretch, but it didn’t matter.

Still smiling, Fang Hong replied, “Go for it! I’ll be waiting for your debut album!”

The other end of the line let out a light giggle. “It’s not even certain if I can sign successfully. I’m actually quite nervous.”

Fang Hong said with absolute certainty, “You’ll definitely be able to sign. I have a super strong feeling that Yixing Media will not only sign you but will also invest heavily in developing you. You’re bound to become a star!”

Lin Ruoshui giggled. “It’s not that easy. You make it sound like you’re the boss of Yixing Media.”

Fang Hong smiled without replying.

The two continued chatting on the phone. Having finally found an opportunity to contact him, Lin Ruoshui had no intention of ending the conversation. Fang Hong was very cooperative and showed no signs of impatience. Lin Ruoshui would occasionally bring up things from when they were together. The ex-girlfriend’s desire to rekindle their relationship was so obvious that she was just one step away from asking to get back together.

Fang Hong played dumb, pretending not to understand, which left Classmate Lin Ruoshui both anxious and helpless. They talked for nearly an hour, but in the end, she never made her intentions clear.

…

The next day, Wednesday.

In a girls’ dormitory at Xincheng University, Lin Ruoshui, He Xuan, and the other three girls were all gathered in their room.

They were a discussing some basic knowledge about artists signing with management agencies, mainly getting their information from the internet. After confirming that Yixing Media really wanted to sign them, Su Dongyan, Yun Xiaoli, and Zhong Xue were all extremely excited and chose to debut without hesitation.

Lin Ruoshui had also made her decision after calling Fang Hong yesterday. As for He Xuan, she didn’t have strong feelings either way, but since Lin Ruoshui and the others were joining, she decided to go along with them. Besides, Yixing Media was connected to her boyfriend. She definitely wouldn’t tell Lin Ruoshui and the others about this, as Fang Hong had told her to keep it a secret from them.

“Whether you’re an actor or a singer, the relationship with a management company and an agent is a partnership, not an employment relationship. The contract you sign is a cooperation or service-based contract, not a labor contract. If a management company says they are recruiting artists, either their wording is unprofessional, or that company is actually hiring you…” Su Dongyan read aloud from the page displayed on her Apple computer.

The other girls were all huddled around, staring at the computer as they learned some basic knowledge and common sense about signing with a management agency.

They had heard rumors in the industry about artists being trapped or cheated by their contracts. Aside from He Xuan, Su Dongyan and the other girls felt both anticipation and some trepidation about their impending careers as celebrity artists.

They planned to skip class in the afternoon and go to the Yixing Media company together. Since it was in Xincheng, it was very convenient—just a taxi ride away.

…

At the same time, at the wholly-owned talent agency subsidiary of Art Star Media Group.

Cao Chenghui’s private car arrived at the building where the talent agency was located. The corporate headquarters of Art Star Media Group and its subsidiaries were in separate locations, not in the same building.

When the head of the talent agency, Li Nian, learned that the boss of the parent company, Art Star Media Group, had come in person, he immediately put aside his work to receive him. Cao Chenghui was his immediate boss.

In one of the company’s reception rooms, Cao Chenghui, his secretary, and the head of the talent agency were among the three or five people present. It had to be said that Mr. Cao now had quite a presence, the air of a big shot.

Who would have thought that the Mr. Cao before them had been a small-time sole proprietor just over a year ago?

At this moment, Mr. Cao sat in a chair with his legs crossed. With the ultimate big boss, Fang Hong, absent, he was now the biggest boss-level figure here.

A moment later, his personal secretary took a file out of her bag. Cao Chenghui took it and handed it to Li Nian, the head of the talent agency, saying, “I didn’t come for anything else today, just for one thing. The five girls in this file will most likely be coming for an interview this afternoon.”

Li Nian opened the file and saw the resumes of Lin Ruoshui, He Xuan, Su Dongyan, Zhong Xue, and Yun Xiaoli. He was extremely surprised. The boss of the parent company had actually made a personal trip for five girls who wanted to debut?

He immediately took the matter seriously, realizing that these five girls must have an extraordinary background. They were most likely people of great importance!

In Li Nian’s view, even a special phone call from Cao Chenghui would have been a sign of great importance. The fact that he came in person showed that he valued this matter even more.

Just then, Cao Chenghui added, “About these five girls, let me put it in one sentence: they are all venerable figures. Even I have to be exceedingly polite to them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

As soon as he said this, Li Nian and the other employees of the talent agency were stunned on the spot. They knew the girls must have a significant background, but wasn’t this a bit too significant?

Even the head of the parent company had to be exceedingly polite to them?

Cao Chenghui continued with a very serious expression, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I don’t care about the messy business that goes on in this industry, but whatever you do, don’t let it affect these girls. Otherwise, I don’t know how severe the consequences will be. Do you understand what I mean?”

Li Nian snapped back to reality and nodded repeatedly. “I… I understand! Mr. Cao, rest assured, I will absolutely not let them be tainted by any dirty business. I guarantee it. I will take direct responsibility for this matter!”

Receiving Li Nian’s assurance, Cao Chenghui nodded in satisfaction.

The words of the head of Art Star Media Group carried immense weight. This statement was a powerful endorsement. Li Nian thought to himself that he would later instruct his subordinates that these girls were absolutely not to be offended. Anyone who dared to have improper thoughts about them would face a ruined career as the lightest possible price to pay.

Cao Chenghui nodded in satisfaction and added, “Let me put it this way. The situation is that these girls are being looked after by a big shot, but they themselves are basically unaware of it. So, don’t cause them any unnecessary confusion or discomfort.”

Li Nian nodded again and again. “Understood!”

The implication of the parent company’s boss was clear: don’t be too obvious with your flattery and fawning.

Cao Chenghui continued with his instructions, “The rest is up to you. Find a way to make them famous. You can decide on the specific operations.”

Li Nian nodded in acknowledgment again. “Understood!”

…

Chapter 285: Employment Contract

Mr. Cao finished giving his instructions and promptly stood up to leave. He was extremely busy these days, serving as the General Manager of Stellaris Capital and the head of Art Star Media Group.

Just for the Art Star Media Group, several projects were moving forward simultaneously, including the expansion of their cinema chain, the establishment of distribution channels, and business negotiations with several other major film companies.

As Li Nian walked him out, he couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Mr. Cao, what’s the background of these young women? The big shot you mentioned is…?”

Cao Chenghui turned his head to glance at Li Nian and said flatly, “Don’t ask. You’re not high enough level.”

Li Nian: “Uh…”

It was quite embarrassing. He wasn’t even qualified to ask for the big shot’s name. He had no choice but to tactfully drop the subject.

Just then, Cao Chenghui stopped and looked at Li Nian, adding in a volume only the two of them could hear, “Those girls will definitely get to know that big shot in the future.”

Having said that, Cao Chenghui said no more.

Li Nian froze for a moment upon hearing this. When it registered, he quickly said, “Thank you for the guidance, Mr. Cao.”

Li Nian understood instantly!

Taking good care of those young women—no, those young madams—was an incredibly valuable networking opportunity. If they put in a good word for him with that mysterious big shot in the future, earning his favor, it would be worth more than three years of hard work, and that was a conservative estimate.

Taking a step back, the fact that Mr. Cao had personally come to arrange this meant that handling it perfectly would be a flawless way to report back to him. This was perhaps even more important, as he was his immediate boss.

As for the mysterious big shot, he was still a distant figure, but it was something exciting to look forward to.

Once the head of the parent company left, Li Nian returned to his office and summoned his assistant, giving him serious instructions. “Inform the Human Resources department to make special arrangements for these girls’ interviews. Just go through the motions and pass them directly. Also, have the artist management department assign senior agents to them, along with stylists, makeup artists, and so on. The company’s best resources are to be made available to them.”

At this point, Li Nian added with particular emphasis, “Tell the person in charge that nobody in this company, from top to bottom, can afford to offend these girls. Tell them they’ve been warned.”

Li Nian then provided further supplementary details, and his assistant promptly left to make the arrangements.

In the afternoon.

He Xuan and the four other girls, including Lin Ruoshui, arrived at the talent agency subsidiary under Art Star Media Group managed by Li Nian. They had all dressed up carefully for the interview.

When they reached the company’s front desk, Lin Ruoshui said politely to the staff member, “Hello, we have an appointment for an artist interview.”

After a moment, the staff member confirmed their appointment and gestured in a certain direction. “Artist interviews are that way, please.”

Lin Ruoshui: “Thank you.”

The five girls headed in the direction the staff member had indicated. This talent agency was responsible for all the artists under the Art Star Media Group, whether they were singers or actors.

Soon, they arrived at the interview area. Su Dongyan saw that the seats in the hallway were nearly all taken and whispered in surprise, “Wow, there are so many people!”

There were over thirty people waiting to be interviewed, all of them young. The majority were girls, all with dreams of stardom. Many had experience as extras and were here to try their luck.

This was one of the paths into the entertainment industry. Of course, there were others, like participating in talent shows.

The competition in the entertainment industry was incredibly fierce. The number of people who could climb from the very bottom to become household names was not zero, but you could count them on one hand.

Furthermore, the industry was characterized by a concentration of resources. Often, people with talent and skill but no resources would find it nearly impossible to make a name for themselves. This was why some people tried to take shortcuts, leading to the “casting couch.” There were even rumors of actresses who had slept their way through an entire production crew, from the lighting technician to the director, to secure a role.

All the people waiting for an interview, men and women alike, were quite attractive. The women were almost all beautiful, but good looks didn’t give them much of an advantage; it was considered a basic requirement to even enter this industry. The alternative was a very unique appearance, suitable for specific character roles, but it was almost impossible to land a leading part that way.

At that moment, Yun Xiaoli, He Xuan, and the others were also queuing for their turn. It had to be said that even here, their figures, looks, and auras stood out remarkably among the many girls waiting for an interview.

Su Dongyan muttered under her breath, “I wonder if we’ll pass. I’m a little nervous…”

The five of them discussed quietly among themselves as they waited. Yun Xiaoli said, “Ruoshui is probably the most suited to be a singer. I’d actually prefer to be an actress and make movies, but being a singer is fine too. What about you guys?”

Zhong Xue couldn’t help but suggest, “A singer? Why don’t we debut as a girl group? What do you think of that idea?”

The girls chatted with excitement, their discussion growing quite lively.

Just then, a young man waiting in line next to them overheard their conversation. He turned to look, and his eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected the five girls behind him to be so stunningly beautiful; among all the girls here to interview, they were in a league of their own.

“Hey! Are you ladies planning to debut as a girl group?” After his initial surprise, the dude came over to strike up a conversation, since there were still so many people ahead of them in line anyway.

He Xuan and the others immediately stopped their discussion and exchanged a few polite words with him, though they had no intention of engaging in a lengthy conversation.

But the dude persisted, forcing the topic and speaking with the air of an industry insider who knew everything. “This must be your first time interviewing, right? This industry is like a million troops trying to cross a single-plank bridge. To debut successfully, you have to beat out a ton of people. And even debuting doesn’t mean you’ll become famous, so…”

Just then, a female staff member from the company walked out of a room. She scanned the crowd of people waiting in line, and her eyes finally locked onto He Xuan and her friends. After comparing their faces to the photos on the document in her hand and confirming their identities, she walked over.

The dude, who had been about to continue his monologue, had no choice but to stop when he saw the company staff member approaching.

“Are you Lin Ruoshui, He Xuan, Yun Xiaoli, Zhong Xue, and Su Dongyan?” the female staffer asked the five girls simply. The other interviewees couldn’t help but cast curious glances their way.

“Yes, we are,” He Xuan nodded.

“You don’t need to wait in line. Please, come with me,” the staff member said with a smile. Her words stunned the other interviewees, and all eyes focused on the five girls.

“Uh…” The dude was at a loss for words. It seemed these five beauties were getting special treatment?

Lin Ruoshui and her friends were also a bit taken aback. They exchanged glances and followed the female employee, leaving behind the other men and women in line, many of whom, especially the other girls, were filled with envy and jealousy.

Everyone else was queuing, but those five didn’t have to. No matter how you looked at it, they clearly had connections and were receiving special treatment.

Meanwhile, in the company’s Human Resources department.

“What? These five girls… sign employment contracts with them directly?” The head of HR was shocked to hear the message relayed by Li Nian’s assistant. Under normal circumstances, an agency and an artist had a cooperative relationship; they didn’t sign employment contracts.

But an employment contract with the talent agency under Art Star Media Group was what every artist dreamed of. One could even say it was second only to the treatment received by a “National First-Class Actor.” For a National First-Class Actor, the honor was what mattered most, followed by the stipend. Any artist who achieved that title was, without exception, already successful, so a stipend and salary were secondary.

However, signing an employment contract with Art Star Media meant the company would pay the artist a salary.

The reason artists coveted this employment contract was the salary. It was equivalent to a permanent position outside the state system. Without an employment contract, if a celebrity couldn’t land a role or an advertising deal, they had no income.

But with an employment contract, things were completely different. Regardless of whether they had a role, released a new song, or signed an endorsement deal, they would have an income. Their salary would be paid on time.

This might not be necessary for A-list celebrities; the pay for a single role could be more than what an ordinary person earns in a lifetime. Some singers could even make a hundred million from a single hit song.

But for third-tier, fourth-tier, or even eighteenth-tier artists, this employment contract was crucial.

Finally, Li Nian’s assistant said, “These girls are very special. This was personally decided and ordered by Mr. Li.”

“An order from Mr. Li himself? I understand!” The head of HR was stunned for a moment. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of background the girls on the document had. They definitely had powerful connections.

Chapter 286: Jiuzhou Blue Arrow

About an hour later.

He Xuan and the other four girls left the management agency. As they stepped out of the company building, they were bubbling with excitement. Su Dongyan said in disbelief, “I never thought our path to stardom would be so smooth. We actually passed just like that.”

Yun Xiaoli nodded repeatedly. “Yeah, yeah! And Yixing Media even offered to sign employment contracts with us.”

The girls had been quite nervous during the interview, but to their surprise, it went smoother than they could have imagined. Only He Xuan seemed much calmer. She knew Fang Hong must have put in a good word with Yixing Media behind the scenes. How else could it have been so easy?

However, He Xuan didn’t say anything, pretending to be just as thrilled as everyone else.

Successfully signing as artists under Yixing Media, and on employment contracts no less, meant that the girls would have a stable monthly income. And the salary wasn’t low either—over 20,000 yuan a month, with full social insurance and housing fund benefits included.

For university students like Su Dongyan and the others who hadn’t even graduated yet, this salary already placed them in the high-income bracket. If they became famous in the future, a single project could be enough to launch their careers into the stratosphere.

Yun Xiaoli said, “Let’s move out of the school dorms tomorrow.”

After signing with Yixing Media, they received another special perk: the company provided them with a villa to live in, rent-free. The property management and maintenance fees would all be covered by the company. Of course, this villa couldn’t compare to Tranquil Heart Residence at Huayang Mountain Villa.

Still, it was undeniably a luxury home in the eyes of the public—a privilege usually reserved for A-list artists, completely unheard of for newcomers.

But they were special cases, not ordinary rookies. Li Nian had personally arranged it.

Zhong Xue immediately asked, “Xuan, are you coming to live with us?”

He Xuan shook her head. “I’ll stay where I am. I can just come over when something’s up.”

Su Dongyan said with a grin, “I knew you wouldn’t come. A mansion like Tranquil Heart Residence is probably the best house in Xincheng, or even in the whole country.”

No one was surprised by her decision, but He Xuan immediately added, “Who said I’m not going? I want a room too. I’ll still come over occasionally.”

The girls chatted as they headed back to Xincheng University, full of anticipation for the future. After signing the contracts, the company quickly prepared a dedicated team for them, including a senior agent, stylist, makeup artist, and dance instructor, providing them with a wealth of premium resources.

Before their official debut, they still needed to undergo professional training to master relevant skills, such as vocal training, learning to play certain instruments, acting lessons, and so on.

The plan was for them to pursue both film and music simultaneously, becoming movie stars as well as singers.

This would clearly require a significant investment of resources. It had to be said that, under normal circumstances, a newcomer would never receive such treatment.

At that moment, while Su Dongyan and the others were chattering away, Lin Ruoshui took out her phone and sent a message to Fang Hong: [Sharing some good news with you, I successfully signed my contract!]

A minute or two later, she received a reply from Fang Hong: [See? I knew you’d get it. My premonitions are always accurate. If you hadn’t passed, it would have meant Yixing Media doesn’t know a treasure when they see one.]

Reading Fang Hong’s reply, Lin Ruoshui couldn’t help but break into a smile. She quickly typed back: [I’m so happy but also nervous right now. I wonder what life as a celebrity will be like…]

Just then, He Xuan glanced at Lin Ruoshui and asked curiously, “Ruoshui, who are you texting? You look so happy.”

Su Dongyan and the others couldn’t help but look over as well.

Lin Ruoshui instinctively pressed her phone screen against her chest and forced a calm smile. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just chatting with my family, telling them the good news about signing the contract.”

Hearing this, He Xuan and the others nodded in understanding, not thinking much of it.

Tranquil Heart Residence.

Tian Jiayi returned to the villa and went to the second-floor study to look for Fang Hong.

Fang Hong was in his study, which also served as his home office. One of the walls was covered by a large planning map of the high-tech industrial park in the northern suburbs of Xincheng.

Construction at the site had already begun with great fervor.

Tian Jiayi reached the study door, which was ajar. She saw Fang Hong standing in front of the map on the wall, marking something. He had drawn a circle around one of the plots and written four characters with a pen: Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

This was a brand-new project company founded by Stellaris Capital, designed to benchmark against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.

The plot he had circled on the industrial park’s planning map was where Fang Hong intended to locate the headquarters of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

Knock, knock—!

Hearing the knock, Fang Hong turned his head and saw his beautiful assistant standing at the door. Their eyes met, and upon seeing him look over, Tian Jiayi entered the room. “The team of geniuses you wanted to recruit,” she said, “we’ve successfully secured them.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong walked over to his desk, tossed the pen down, and pulled a chair over to sit. Looking at his beautiful assistant, he said, “Tell me more.”

Tian Jiayi opened the file she had brought back. “It’s a team of students from Huanan University of Technology, seventeen people in total. The team leader is Luo Liang. This is their due diligence report.”

With that, Tian Jiayi handed the file to Fang Hong.

After a moment, Fang Hong closed the file and nodded in satisfaction. He glanced at his beautiful assistant, and after a brief thought, he gave his instructions. “Once the team graduates, have them report directly to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. Assign them to the rocket R&D department according to their respective specializations.”

When the company sent people to recruit them, they had accepted an offer of a 500,000 yuan annual salary. They would receive a salary while still in school and start work immediately after graduation, having already signed the contracts in advance.

It went so smoothly mainly because the offer was excellent, and others had apparently been a bit slow to react, allowing Stellaris Capital to make the first move. Of course, selling them a grand vision and appealing to their dreams also played a part.

“Jiuzhou Blue Arrow?” The beautiful assistant looked puzzled upon hearing the name.

“Oh, that’s the name I’ve decided on for the private aerospace company we’re setting up for the rocket project,” Fang Hong said with a smile. Tian Jiayi’s expression cleared. After a moment, Fang Hong added, “This project will be incubated directly by Stellaris Capital. You can arrange to register the company tomorrow. Its address will be in the industrial park—there, the area I circled.”

As he spoke, Fang Hong pointed to the planning blueprint on the wall. Tian Jiayi followed his gaze and then asked, “What about the registered capital? And the project budget?”

Fang Hong replied, concise and to the point, “Let’s set the registered capital at 150 million. For the initial phase of R&D funding, we’ll start with a budget of two billion. This is a strategic-level key project for the company. Have Qiu Guangcheng oversee it personally.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Understood.”

Qiu Guangcheng was a member of Stellaris Capital’s Board of Directors, serving as an executive director.

As the country’s first private space exploration technology company, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had very clear advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantage was the urgent need for technical talent in all areas, especially for a leading figure. The advantage, of course, was being backed by Stellaris Capital and its “power of cash.” There would certainly be no shortage of R&D funding.

To play in the field of cutting-edge technology, money alone wasn’t enough; talent was needed to achieve technological breakthroughs. But for applied technology, money was equally indispensable.

Fang Hong’s decision to pour two billion yuan into Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s initial R&D phase was significant, and a simple comparison made that clear. The total investment for the first phase of the national “Chang’e” Program was about 1.4 billion yuan.

This infusion of cash was bound to cause a massive stir in the domestic aerospace industry.

Compared to other private startups, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s edge was its capital. High-tech is a real cash-burning enterprise; without money, you couldn’t even build a-laboratory or two. Among the domestic capitalists, only Fang Hong would venture into such fields.

Other investors wouldn’t even give it a second glance, or they would just be bluffing.

Finally, Fang Hong gave a further instruction. “For Jiuzhou Blue Arrow to get off to a quick start, we need to bring in the two major state-owned aerospace giants: the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Have each of these two groups take a 20% stake in Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and sign a voting agreement.”

It would be naive to think that Elon Musk’s SpaceX succeeded solely on its own capabilities. NASA was standing right behind it, providing support.

By bringing these two aerospace giants into Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, some major engineering tasks could be outsourced to the new company. This was especially true for collaborations on technology R&D. Jiuzhou Blue Arrow could provide the funding, while the aerospace corporations had the talent.

For joint R&D, some projects could be delegated to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, and since the company could cover the vast majority of the R&D costs while sharing the technology, the two giants would surely have to send their top talent over.

Most importantly, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had a “pure pedigree,” as did its parent company, Stellaris Capital.

Since money was no object for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, some projects that the two giants had shelved due to funding issues could now be revived. They could collaborate with Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, especially since they would be major shareholders, jointly holding 40% of the equity.

This would give Jiuzhou Blue Arrow a completely different start. It might even be able to participate in many national-level engineering projects in the future, such as the “Chang’e Program,” the “Tiangong Program,” and even major future projects like a manned lunar landing or a Mars landing.

…

Chapter 287: Massive Investment in Cutting-Edge Tech? Successfully Grabs America’s Attention

Saturday, September 26th.

This morning, Stellaris Capital released a statement announcing the establishment of the country’s first private commercial aerospace company—Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s core business would focus on the research, development, and application of reusable rocket technology, as well as the R&D and application of crewed spacecraft.

According to the announcement, Stellaris Capital’s initial Phase One investment in Jiuzhou Blue Arrow would be two billion RMB.

The news caused an immediate uproar in both the investment and technology sectors.

People in the investment circle claimed they couldn’t make sense of Stellaris Capital’s move. Did they have so much money they didn’t know where to spend it?

Then again, few in the industry had ever been able to understand Stellaris Capital’s strategies. They hadn’t understood their earlier “cash splashing” on film and television copyrights either. What was most frustrating was that Stellaris Capital somehow always managed to make a killing.

It wasn’t just outsiders who were baffled; even insiders at Stellaris Capital like Hua Yu didn’t understand. However, not understanding the big boss’s decisions never stopped him from executing them flawlessly.

The tech world was stunned, especially professionals in the aerospace industry, who at first thought it was fake news.

The news even alerted the leaders of the National Space Agency.

After confirming the news was true, they were astonished. Private capital suddenly entering this field on such a massive scale was completely unprecedented.

The key was the sheer scale—a staggering two billion right off the bat.

And that was just the Phase One investment, which meant there would be a Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four…

The prospect of future investments was the most important part.

The relevant authorities were also studying the matter. After all, this involved a cutting-edge industry. Aerospace was often closely tied to national defense; rockets could launch spacecraft and satellites, but they could also deliver bombs, even nuclear ones.

At this point in time, military-civilian integration wasn’t being heavily promoted, and no private entity had ever attempted to enter this field. However, there was also no explicit law prohibiting private enterprises from engaging in aerospace.

So, when Jiuzhou Blue Arrow appeared, the relevant authorities began their discussions.

Aerospace enthusiasts and onlooking netizens were overwhelmingly supportive, because domestic investment in the field was far too low. In fact, the mainstream view was generally supportive of any investment in scientific research.

…

“Regarding Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, what are everyone’s thoughts?” The presiding Leader opened the floor. It was the weekend, but leaders in charge of aerospace-related departments had convened a meeting to discuss the large-scale entry of private capital into the industry.

A Leader sitting beside the head of the meeting spoke in a measured tone, “On December 23rd of last year, an American aerospace company called SpaceX announced it had received a 1.6 billion dollar Commercial Resupply Services contract from NASA to ensure the International Space Station remains supplied after the Space Shuttle’s retirement next year. Some say this marks the beginning of the private aerospace era.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “The rise of private rocket companies in the United States is because the Americans were being squeezed by the exorbitant, monopolistic prices of the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. In response, they began nurturing companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX.”

This Leader then turned to the others present and added, “I believe the emergence of companies like SpaceX is accelerating America’s occupation of low-Earth orbit with their satellites. In the future, there will be hundreds, even thousands, of their satellites overhead, watching us—whether for imaging, detection, or eavesdropping. From a national perspective, space resources are first-come, first-served. As it stands, relying solely on our ‘national team’—the few central state-owned enterprises like CASIC and CASC—puts our pace significantly behind the Americans.”

In conclusion, the Leader added, “Ultimately, the emergence of the commercial rocket industry is a contest of great power strategy.”

Another Leader agreed wholeheartedly. “Exactly. The old guard in aerospace generally hopes that capable private enterprises will enter the field and bring positive change to the rocket industry. Besides, there’s enormous international demand for launches that our national team can’t meet. Foreign commercial aerospace is developing rapidly while we’re still stuck in the old model. How are we supposed to face global competition in commercial aerospace? It’s a real problem.”

After a moment, another participant said with a smile, “I’ve read Stellaris’s announcement about Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. Their approach is quite interesting—using rapid iteration to develop rocket products and leveraging mature manufacturing capabilities for final assembly. They aim to reduce costs through assembly and reusability, with rocket recovery and reuse being their core objective.”

Just then, another participant chimed in, “If we open the door for technology to be commercialized, talent from within the state system will start flowing to private rocket companies. How do we prevent intellectual property disputes over technologies developed in private enterprises by engineers and technicians who came from state institutions? That’s another problem.”

As time went on, the participants continued to discuss and exchange views.

Finally, the presiding Leader smiled. “It seems the overall consensus is one of support. The new global competition in commercial aerospace is a challenge we cannot avoid. That observation was spot on: behind the commercial rocket industry, it all comes down to the contest of great power strategy.”

The leaders were clearly positive about private capital entering the aerospace sector. After all, it indirectly increased the nation’s total investment in the field. Such difficult, high-precision, cutting-edge technology was usually an area private capital shied away from.

The sudden appearance of Stellaris Capital, making such a massive play right from the start without fear of total loss, was quite a surprise to the relevant leaders.

Another important factor was that the Americans were already deep in the commercial aerospace industry. Blue Origin was founded in 2000, and SpaceX in 2002.

The first domestic private aerospace company was only announced yesterday. It was, arguably, starting almost a decade late.

…

Fang Hong didn’t know that leaders from the relevant departments had already taken notice of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and had even held a special meeting to discuss it.

But for now, the leaders’ attitude toward Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s establishment was to have no attitude.

And having no attitude was, in itself, an attitude.

So, he would just go ahead and do it. After all, no one said he couldn’t, and there was no explicit law forbidding private companies from entering the aerospace sector.

But precisely because there was no clear guiding policy, the relevant leaders couldn’t take an official stance yet. It all depended on Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s, or rather, Fang Hong’s, insight and decisiveness.

Clearly, Fang Hong had no problem in either of those departments.

Most importantly, he knew the state would eventually open up the sector. The State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense would create a pathway for military technology to be commercialized, and the relevant policy documents would be released around 2016.

Following the historical trajectory, barring any unforeseen events, around May 2016, the relevant state authorities would issue a policy document titled “Guidance on the Implementation of Major Engineering Packages for Manufacturing Upgrades and Transformation,” which would list the “Commercial Aerospace Products Development Project” as a key project, encompassing the R&D and production lines for commercial remote sensing satellites, communication satellites, and carrier rockets.

Then, by the end of December 2016, the same State Administration would release the “2016 Special Action Plan for Military-Civilian Integration,” a guiding document that would include: promoting the transfer of military technology to the civilian sector, demonstrating support for a batch of military technology industrialization projects… and actively promoting the establishment of an industrial investment fund for military-civilian integration in national defense technology.

Fang Hong was certain these two documents would be released, as it was a major trend.

That was why he was getting started right now. If he waited for the official documents, the opportunity would be long gone.

In truth, Fang Hong wasn’t worried that his efforts would be in vain. His plan for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was to bring in the two “national team” aerospace groups as quickly as possible—that is, to make these two state-owned aerospace giants shareholders in his company.

He would get started first, so that by the time the documents were released, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow would have already accumulated a sufficient technological foundation.

If he really waited for the documents, not only would the opportunity have passed, but catching up to foreign companies would be even more difficult. Right now, the gap with American companies like SpaceX existed, but it wasn’t insurmountable.

It was worth mentioning that with the public announcement of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s founding, Stellaris Capital finally appeared on the radar of certain special departments in “America.” The reason was that the Americans had discovered Stellaris Capital was plowing massive amounts of capital into cutting-edge, high-precision fields.

This wasn’t just financial capital at play; they were genuinely using hard cash to support high-tech. You should just stick to making clothes and doing contract manufacturing. What makes you think you can play in the high-tech sandbox? It’s one thing if you fail, but if you actually figure it out, what the hell is America supposed to do?

These moves by Stellaris Capital were starting to make the Americans uncomfortable, and their level of scrutiny on the company was gradually rising.

…

Chapter 288: Time to Speculate on the M&A Concept

Fang Hong was unaware that the Americans were keeping an eye on him, but he had long anticipated it, so he wouldn’t have been too surprised even if he had known.

His investment in the high-tech sector would certainly not be cut off or scaled back; it would only be intensified.

Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had just announced the formal establishment of its project. The basic framework had yet to be built and would have to be done step by step, but the goal was clear, and the determination was unwavering.

…

Meanwhile, in the A-share market.

As the end of the month approached, the A-share market, after peaking at 3,000 points in mid-September, had been in a downward adjustment for the latter half of the month.

On Monday, September 28th, the market plummeted again. Today, the Shanghai Composite Index fell -2.65%, closing at 2763.53 points, hitting a recent low. It was not far from the previous low of 2639.76 points.

This decline indeed seemed poised to break the previous low.

However, Fang Hong began to operate on some of his medium-to-long-term stock holdings today, starting to buy back the positions he had sold off in the middle of the month.

As for the retail investors who had followed K-God and bought those 15 stocks at the beginning of the month, some had left with a small profit. Others couldn’t withstand the market’s correction and chose to run in the last few days when their profits were about to dip into their principal. It was all for nothing.

Only a very small number chose to hold on firmly. “Spicy A-shares,” who held Dongfang Yuhong, Goertek, and JINZHONGZI JIU, was among those who held firm.

After buying, he had uninstalled the app and muted the group chats to avoid seeing any news. He had no idea how his few stocks had been performing recently.

He was actually dying to see what was happening, but the dude restrained himself, determined to wait until the end of the year to check.

It would either be a pleasant surprise or a nasty shock!

…

The next day, Tuesday.

The market fell again. Around 1:30 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index once dipped to 2712 points, a drop of over 1.8 percent, leaving the 2700-point mark in jeopardy.

But just as investors were panicking that the broader market might break its previous low, Fang Hong had already re-entered the market, trading those 15 medium-to-long-term stocks again. He added back the positions he had sold in the middle of the month. In two days, he had basically re-established his positions, with only a few stocks left to wait for, as there were still lower prices to come.

Today, as the market index plunged to around 2712 points, Fang Hong confirmed that the second bottom test was complete. Judging from the daily K-line pattern, the market had formed a somewhat non-standard “head and shoulders bottom” or “W bottom” formation.

After dropping to 2712 points, the Shanghai Composite Index quickly rebounded, and within about 15 minutes, the decline narrowed to less than one percentage point.

“Hmm?”

In the trading room, Fang Hong, who was watching the market, saw a piece of news that had just been released—an important speech from the regulators. The headline was: “Support Enterprises in Using Capital Markets for Mergers and Acquisitions.”

Fang Hong clicked on the news. The content was a speech by the “village chief” at the founding ceremony of the new M&A review committee for listed companies. He stated that effectively leveraging the capital market’s function to support and promote M&A for qualified enterprises was a crucial part of the capital market’s service to the nation’s macroeconomic policy goals.

A moment later, Fang Hong closed the news page, scanned the market, and a target stock quickly came to mind—Dongbai Supermarket!

If one were to list the most significant positive news for a stock in the A-share market, M&A would undoubtedly be a super catalyst. Any company that successfully completed an M&A would see consecutive limit-ups, practically printing money for its shareholders.

“Hu Tao, buy Dongbai Supermarket. Place an order for 30 million at the +5% level!” Fang Hong immediately gave the decisive order. Hu Tao executed it at once. At that moment, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price was down -7%, with a total daily trading volume of just over 37 million.

As this 30 million buy order entered the market, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price shot up. In just a few seconds, it went from being down seven percentage points to turning positive, eventually halting at +2.37%.

Hu Tao turned to Fang Hong and said, “The entire order has been filled.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Very good. Wait five minutes and buy another 30 million!”

This stock had been a monster stock back in June of last year. Its Shenwan industry sector was General Retail. In the eyes of investors, it was a standard junk stock, even at risk of being designated ST or delisted.

In June last year, it hit five consecutive limit-ups. After a short pull-back, it rose for another three days, with its stock price doubling in a short period.

The reason for the surge was a rumor that Dongbai Supermarket was very likely to merge with Yonghui Supermarket. Good grief, upon hearing this, investors were pumped up, buying frantically and pushing Dongbai’s stock price up by 100 percent.

But then, another rumor spread that a merger was unlikely. When investors saw this news, they were shocked.

The frenzy of buying turned into a frantic sell-off at a loss.

When Dongbai Supermarket’s half-year report was released this year, the financial statements showed it had taken a massive beating. The stock price, which had previously doubled, had already been hammered back down. Not only did it break its previous low, but it also fell another 20-plus percentage points. Today, it even hit a new five-year low.

At this moment, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price had fallen back to +3.53%. Earlier, when Hu Tao bought another 30 million, the price had briefly surged to the +7.12% level.

“Hu Tao, buy another 40 million!” Fang Hong said very decisively.

Following his order, Hu Tao continued to buy. This 40 million in funds wasn’t used to directly ignite the price, but for a stock with a market cap of just over 3.2 billion, this sum instantly pushed the price up to around 8 percent.

By now, the stock’s total daily trading volume had reached 179 million. Most of the trapped investors were eagerly dumping their shares, especially those approaching their break-even point who were desperate to get out.

Fang Hong was certain that whether it was lurking investors or the market maker inside, they wouldn’t dare to smash the market and suppress the price. The regulators had just released good news, so wouldn’t they want to seize this window of opportunity to make a big move?

Even if they were annoyed with him, they had no choice but to join forces with Fang Hong and push the price up. Of course, if they knew the person getting on board was K-God, they would welcome him with open arms. K-God’s influence was quite powerful.

By around 2:37 PM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price was trading sideways at the +8.50% level, and the trading volume had dwindled. Hu Tao had already bought the entire 40 million, bringing their total position to nearly 100 million.

A new idea suddenly occurred to Fang Hong: to use his personal securities account to take the lead in sealing the first limit-up board. But after a moment’s thought, he abandoned the idea.

This stock’s trajectory wasn’t like Double Coin Holdings, where even those who caught the last leg wouldn’t get completely slaughtered. After Dongbai entered its final frenzy, it would most likely experience a direct A-shaped sell-off and eventually be designated ST. Whoever caught the last leg wouldn’t just be losing a few or a dozen percentage points; they’d be getting their fill of consecutive limit-downs opening at the limit.

Fang Hong decided not to leverage his influence because he didn’t want to be the scapegoat. The retail investors who got trapped at the top would surely curse K-God for leading them into a trap.

Using an institutional account would save him a lot of unnecessary trouble. Besides, this stock didn’t need K-God’s influence; it would take off anyway.

A moment later, Fang Hong decisively issued another trading order: “Hu Tao, buy another 30 million. Ignite it directly.”

Hu Tao immediately executed his instruction. As the 30 million was placed as a buy order at the limit-up price, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price instantly hit the limit. Fang Hong then had Hu Tao add another 20 million in limit orders on the limit-up board.

This amount for the limit orders was calculated. The institutional account had invested 130 million, but the maximum they could put into this stock was 150 million. Any more would cross the 5% threshold and trigger the stake disclosure mechanism.

Fang Hong had no intention of becoming a long-term shareholder of this company.

By the market close, Dongbai Supermarket closed at its limit-up of +10.03%, with a total daily trading volume of 292 million yuan.

A portion of that was traded through Fang Hong’s personal securities account, totaling around 141 million yuan, which accounted for almost half of the day’s entire trading volume.

Around 4:00 PM, today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Dongbai Supermarket made the list due to its daily price swing of 15%.

The stock had gone from over seven percent down to limit-up today, nearly pulling off an earth-to-sky board, which attracted the attention of many investors. When the Dragon-Tiger List data came out, everyone was stunned by the top buyer’s seat: “For institutional use only.” It had bought a staggering 141 million plus.

The other four buy seats combined didn’t even add up to 30 million. The retail investors who sold today had a nagging feeling that they had sold too early and missed out on a huge profit, especially those who sold at a loss while the stock was underwater. They were fuming.

Profit and loss share the same source. Those who bought into Dongbai Supermarket today were thrilled by the Dragon-Tiger List data. An institution buying so aggressively, powerfully pulling the stock from over seven percent down to the limit-up board—tomorrow’s premium held a lot of potential.

Around 8:30 PM, Dongbai Supermarket released an evening announcement that sent the investors who had bought or sold the stock today into a frenzy.

…

Chapter 289: Spinning Off Weibo for a Backdoor Listing

That evening, Dongbai Supermarket released a “Progress Announcement on Trading Suspension for Planned Restructuring, Listing, and Related-Party Transactions.” The company would officially suspend trading the next day and resume on Monday, October 19th.

Man!

Is it really going to merge with Yonghui this time?

The shareholders of Dongbai Supermarket were ecstatic, while those who had sold were slapping their thighs in regret, heartbroken to have fallen at the final hurdle.

Meanwhile, the fact that institutional investors had frantically bought over 140 million yuan worth of shares that day led many retail investors to suspect “insider funds.” The timing of their entry was just too perfect, making it difficult to avoid accusations of insider trading.

But more prevalent was the feeling of regret from those who had sold too early. Retail investors had never imagined that Dongbai would actually go through with the restructuring. When the market opened on Monday, October 19th, this stock would undoubtedly hit a one-word limit-up, on track to at least double in price.

…

The next day, Wednesday, September 30th.

On the last trading day before the holiday, the A-share market did not continue its decline but instead staged a rebound. During trading hours, it once rose by over +1.77%, reclaiming the 2800-point mark, but it fell back again within minutes. Ultimately, it closed at 2779.43 points, up +0.90%, ending September’s trading session in the green.

Fang Hong had already increased his position to ninety percent, holding a heavy stake over the holiday.

Time entered the short public holiday of October. On October 5th, Quantum Beat issued an announcement: its Weibo platform had surpassed the 100 million user mark.

…

Quantum Beat headquarters.

“We’ve finally broken the 100 million user threshold. Looking back, it feels incredible. Weibo surpassed 100 million users within a year of its launch!” Xu Jingren said with deep emotion in his office.

Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform had been launched around October of last year.

At this moment, Fang Hong had also come to the Quantum Beat headquarters. As the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, he was basically hands-off and rarely even came to the office. Xu Jingren and the others didn’t mind their boss taking a hands-off approach; the company ran smoothly even when Fang Hong wasn’t around.

“Oh, right. The company recently reached a deep cooperation agreement with 3G Portal to integrate news and information, Weibo products, client applications, and mobile search. At the same time, Quantum Beat Weibo will deeply integrate with 3G Portal’s SNS products, and the two parties will officially co-operate 3G Portal Weibo,” Xu Jingren promptly added.

The 3G Portal Website was founded in 2004 and boasted over seventy content channels, including books, sports, news, entertainment, and finance. It was currently the largest mobile internet portal website in the country.

Evidently, Xu Jingren’s team had already begun to focus their efforts on the mobile internet, a step that was on their planned agenda.

Fang Hong was quite satisfied with Quantum Beat’s development. Although he hadn’t visited the company in weeks, Stellaris Capital continuously tracked its data, and his assistant, Tian Jiayi, provided him with daily reports.

Not being physically present at Quantum Beat didn’t mean he was uninformed about the company’s operational status.

After a moment, Xu Jingren said, “Additionally, the Weibo platform will launch an internal beta for a Q-version of Weibo by the end of the year. The main goal is to attract the younger ‘post-90s generation’ user base with a more cartoonish interface and user experience.”

Fang Hong nodded and then said, “The company can proceed according to the established plan. The client application side needs to be done well. Another important matter is Quantum Beat’s backdoor listing on the A-share market.”

Hearing this, Xu Jingren was stunned. “What? So soon? We just finished our A-round financing. The company has plenty of cash on its books right now.”

In the last A-round, Quantum Beat had received 500 million yuan from Stellaris Capital and had only spent a little over 100 million so far. In Xu Jingren’s view, the company had no need for financing in the next six months.

Fang Hong said methodically, “A backdoor listing isn’t that simple. It would be great if we could successfully complete it and list on the A-share market before the beginning of 2011, so we need to prepare in advance. Listing in the A-share market is much more troublesome than listing in the US.”

It was almost impossible for a domestic internet company to list on the A-share market. This was because internet companies were extremely cash-strapped in their early stages but couldn’t be profitable. If they turned a profit too soon, they would quickly die. During the expansion phase, before they had secured a dominant position, choosing to monetize meant a sharp decline in competitiveness.

Because of this, for domestic internet companies seeking development funds, just queuing for an A-share IPO could take a year or two with no guarantee of success. In the internet industry, one or two years was enough to decide a company’s fate. By the time they secured funding from the A-share market, the opportunity would be long gone. Thus, they could only go public in the US.

Quantum Beat wasn’t actually short on cash, as it had the backing of its parent, Stellaris Capital. From that perspective, whether it listed or not didn’t matter.

However, Stellaris Capital needed its subsidiaries to go public to enhance its own credibility. The listing was not for Quantum Beat’s own development but a necessity for the parent company.

At this point, Xu Jingren voiced his concern, “But leader, the company uses an AB share structure. Listing on the domestic stock market means we’d have to restructure the company. Stellaris Capital is currently the largest shareholder. If we restructure, we’ll lose control. We need to be wary of Stellaris Capital.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled to himself. It seemed the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group had left a significant impact on Xu Jingren, but he didn’t point it out.

Fang Hong then smiled and said, “Who said I was going to list Quantum Beat?”

Xu Jingren couldn’t help but be taken aback. “Then…?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Quantum Beat won’t be listed. Instead, we’ll spin off Weibo and restructure it as a subsidiary controlled by Quantum Beat. We can just list that subsidiary, can’t we?”

As soon as he said this, it dawned on Xu Jingren. He nodded in sudden realization, “I see. Then that’s fine.”

Quantum Beat would become the parent company, spinning off Weibo for a backdoor listing in the A-share market. This was Fang Hong’s strategy. List Quantum Beat now? He wasn’t that foolish, because the real heavyweight product, “WeChat,” hadn’t been released yet.

Listing at this time would be equivalent to selling off equity at a cabbage price.

Fang Hong still intended for Quantum Beat to develop the WeChat product. Once WeChat took off, it would become a social media behemoth with a future valuation starting at 500 billion yuan. If he listed Quantum Beat now, given its current valuation, the equity he would be giving up would be a massive loss.

Fang Hong would naturally not make such a deal. If he were to list Quantum Beat, he wouldn’t include WeChat in it. But spinning off Weibo to list it separately was perfectly fine.

When the time came, the other capital partners following the deal would receive shares of the Weibo subsidiary. WeChat would have absolutely nothing to do with them, unless they directly invested in the parent company, Quantum Beat.

However, at present, the most valuable thing in all of Quantum Beat was the Weibo platform. Spinning it off was equivalent to stripping out Quantum Beat’s most valuable asset, leaving the parent company with little value. It would be perfectly reasonable for capital wanting to get in on the action to finance the Weibo subsidiary directly.

Finally, Xu Jingren asked, “When will we do the spin-off?”

Fang Hong thought for a moment and replied, “You can handle the specifics as you see fit. Just complete the spin-off and restructuring before the year concludes. At that time, I’ll bring in a group of investors for another round of financing. After these investors come in, we’ll need to sign a voting agreement with them.”

Xu Jingren couldn’t help but nod. “No problem. I’ll leave the capital market side of things to you.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong added, “But before the spin-off and restructuring, Stellaris Capital will need to take another share of Quantum Beat’s equity.”

Hearing this, Xu Jingren didn’t quite understand. “Stellaris wants to invest more? But the company doesn’t lack money right now. We haven’t even finished spending the money from the A-round.”

Fang Hong said calmly, “That’s because Stellaris Capital has designated Quantum Beat as one of its strategic key projects, so they are requesting to increase their shareholding in the company. This is a good thing. It’s nice and cool in the shade of a big tree. This effectively forges the closest possible alliance with Stellaris Capital, tying both of us to the same chariot. Our interests are common and aligned.”

Xu Jingren couldn’t help but ask, “Could there be a catch in this?”

Fang Hong said with a smile, “Don’t panic. Quantum Beat is not Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group. The AB share structure has no loopholes in terms of control. Stellaris Capital is seeking more equity because they want to make Quantum Beat bigger and stronger. By making it bigger and stronger, Stellaris, having invested so much money and borne the greatest risk, taking the largest slice of the cake is also very fair.”

Xu Jingren thought it over carefully and indeed found no issues. Besides, after investing, Stellaris Capital had been mostly hands-off, rarely even asking questions. Aside from checking the company’s finances to understand the specific flow of every fund, they had never interfered with the company’s actual operations, at least not so far.

Such an investor was indeed the most comfortable to work with as an entrepreneur.

Moreover, his boss’s girlfriend and her family had a profound connection with Stellaris Capital. Thinking of this relationship, Xu Jingren felt much more at ease. Furthermore, the founding team held veto power and operated under a dual-class share structure with different rights for the same class of shares. There was no need to worry about Stellaris Capital seizing control of Quantum Beat.

Finally, Xu Jingren turned to Fang Hong and asked, “So how much equity does Stellaris Capital plan to take this time? And how much money will they be investing?”

…

Chapter 290: Equity Transfer

In the office, after Xu Jingren asked about the financing amount, Fang Hong said bluntly, “This time, Stellaris Capital isn’t providing financing. Instead, they’re buying the shares we hold directly—that is, the founding team is transferring its equity to Stellaris Capital.”

A capital increase and share expansion are different from an equity resale. The former involves company assets, while the latter is a private equity transaction.

Xu Jingren was very surprised. He hadn’t expected Stellaris Capital to want to buy their shares instead of financing the company. He immediately asked, “So how much is Qunxing planning to buy?”

Fang Hong replied, “I currently hold 7.245% of Quantum Beat’s shares, while you, Lou Gaoyuan, and the other three each hold 6.279%. This time, Stellaris Capital is requesting to acquire 4.029% from each of you five, and I will transfer 4.995% of my shares. They will acquire these shares at a premium based on a company valuation of around five billion.”

As Xu Jingren began to calculate, Fang Hong spoke directly, “In other words, a sale of 4.029% of your shares will net each of you five two hundred million in cash flow. I’ll get two hundred fifty million. This money we receive won’t belong to the company; it’ll be our own personal funds. Of course, the corresponding taxes will have to be settled.”

After the transfer, the five of them would each receive a staggering two hundred million in cash, and their individual shareholding would drop to 2.25%. They would have truly achieved financial freedom.

Fang Hong was by no means short-changing them; this was a reasonable reward for their efforts.

Without Fang Hong, it was uncertain whether they would have ever reached a net worth of over one hundred million.

Allowing them to cash out two hundred million while still retaining 2.25% of Quantum Beat’s shares was intended to motivate them to continue working hard.

Calculating, Xu Jingren muttered to himself, “In that case, each of us co-founders will hold 2.25%, for a combined total of 13.5%. The option pool will retain 9.66%, and Stellaris Capital’s stake will rise to 76.84%…”

He did the math. The shares held by Stellaris Capital were all Class A shares, with one vote per share, whereas the founding team held Class B shares, with twenty votes per share.

In other words, the founding team, by holding a combined 13.5% of Class B shares, would possess 75.73% of the voting rights, far exceeding the two-thirds majority of 67%. Even with only 13.5% equity, the founding team still had absolute control over the company.

Xu Jingren hadn’t forgotten that within their founding team, Fang Hong held a trump card: veto power. The team had given him this power so that his decision would be final in the event of a disagreement.

Finally, Xu Jingren collected his thoughts and said decisively, “Stellaris Capital is being quite generous. I have no problem with it. Cashing out two hundred million means I can finally get a mansion and a luxury car. I’m sure Gaoyuan and the others won’t have any objections either.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled and said, “See? Stellaris Capital anticipated you’d think this way.”

Xu Jingren was taken aback. “Huh?”

Fang Hong explained methodically, “There’s a precondition for cashing out the two hundred million. Stellaris Capital is concerned that after cashing out hundreds of millions and achieving financial freedom, we might become lazy and lose our drive. So, they’ve proposed two solutions.”

At this, Xu Jingren immediately said, “There are still conditions? What are the solutions?”

Fang Hong nodded. “The first solution is this: after we cash out, we can take five million each to improve our lives. The rest of the money will be entrusted to Stellaris Capital for principal- and interest-guaranteed wealth management. They’re offering an annual interest of 7.58 percent, locked in for a ten-year term. After ten years, the principal and interest will be paid out to us.”

Xu Jingren couldn’t help but complain, “Stellaris Capital really knows how to play the game. They have so many schemes.”

Fang Hong said with a smile, “They have to protect their interests, after all. They’re worried we’ll lose our motivation once we’re financially free. However, a wealth management plan with guaranteed principal and interest at over seven percent annually is very generous. After ten years, the payout will be double the original amount.”

Cashing out two hundred million from a personal equity transfer would be subject to a 20% tax, leaving one hundred sixty million. After taking out five million to improve one’s life, the remaining one hundred fifty-five million would be entrusted to Stellaris Capital for wealth management. Ten years later, the total payout of principal and interest would be 321.84 million RMB, a return that doubled the investment.

Most importantly, it was a risk-free wealth management plan with a guaranteed principal and an interest rate of 7.58 percent. Any investment offering over six percent with such guarantees was either a scam or a product that simply didn’t exist.

Xu Jingren immediately asked, “What’s the second solution?”

Fang Hong replied, “The second option is simple. After cashing out, we retire immediately and hand over the company’s operations to Stellaris Capital. We can choose to sell the remaining 2.25% of our shares or keep them.”

Clearly, Fang Hong was presenting them with two options and leaving the choice to stay or leave up to them.

There was no problem with staying on to work, but they would have to continue to strive and couldn’t just enjoy their wealth. If they wanted to enjoy life, fine, they could take their two hundred million and do whatever they wanted—no one would care how they spent it—but they would have to hand over management of Quantum Beat.

After hearing the second option, Xu Jingren said without hesitation, “There’s no need to consider the second option. I’ve never thought about handing over the company. I’m still thinking about growing it to a five-hundred-billion or even trillion-dollar enterprise. Leader, you can tell that Mr. Cao or any other decision-maker at Stellaris Capital that without its founding team, they might not be able to run Quantum Beat well. The founding team knows Quantum Beat best. Our vision has expanded, and our ambitions now go far beyond two hundred million.”

If the company grew to a five-hundred-billion valuation in the future, even with just 2.25% of the shares, his net worth could soar into the tens of billions.

As the actual big boss of Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong was quite satisfied with Xu Jingren’s firm stance.

He wasn’t afraid of ambition; he was afraid of a lack of it.

A short while later, Xu Jingren called Sun Xin, Lou Gaoyuan, and the others over to discuss the matter together.

In the end, everyone unanimously agreed to transfer their shares and chose the first solution. The process went much more smoothly than Fang Hong had anticipated.

With this, Stellaris Capital’s stake in Quantum Beat rose to 76.84%. Fang Hong, Xu Jingren, and the other five co-founders each held 2.25%, with the remainder reserved in the option pool. Stellaris Capital would neither increase nor decrease its holdings, and the six co-founders would not sell any more shares. The only change would come from the 9.66% of shares reserved in the option pool, which was set aside for stock incentives for other company employees.

After completing this new round of shareholding changes, Quantum Beat’s next step was a spin-off and restructuring. The Weibo product would be spun off into a subsidiary, with Quantum Beat as the parent company.

Once spun off, the Weibo subsidiary would raise funds from external capital and then pursue a backdoor listing.

Quantum Beat currently had over three hundred million in liquid funds on its books. After the spin-off and restructuring, this money would not be transferred to the Weibo subsidiary but would remain with the parent company, Quantum Beat.

Fang Hong planned to use this money to launch the WeChat project. This project would also be spun off, with Quantum Beat establishing a new project company to develop the WeChat product, which would eventually be listed separately on the A-share market.

As for the development funds that Weibo now needed, it would simply raise more financing. Stellaris Capital would not lead or participate in any subsequent funding rounds.

From now on, Stellaris Capital would not provide any more financing to Quantum Beat. The money for the company’s development would come from the parent company, Quantum Beat, selling a portion of its Weibo stock on the secondary market after Weibo’s successful listing and during the super bull market of 2015.

Over the next few days, Xu Jingren’s team maintained the company’s operations while also beginning preparations for the spin-off and restructuring, separating the Weibo project into an independent subsidiary.

On Wednesday, October 7th, Quantum Beat officially announced the company’s spin-off and restructuring. The Weibo Business Group would be spun off as an independent entity, with absolute control held by the parent company, Quantum Beat.

At the same time, a new financing plan was publicly announced. It was noteworthy, however, that this financing was for the Weibo subsidiary, not the parent company, Quantum Beat.

As soon as the news broke, various venture capital firms turned their attention to it, and on that same day, they thoroughly reviewed all of Quantum Beat’s announcements.

Zhongtai Capital was the first player to jump in, clamoring to get on board. But Liu Qizheng didn’t approach Xu Jingren. Instead, he went straight to Stellaris Capital’s public-facing helmsman, Hua Yu, calling him directly to express Zhongtai Capital’s intention to invest.

There was nothing wrong with Liu Qizheng’s approach. In his view, as long as Hua Yu was on board, there would be no obstacles to investing in Quantum Beat’s Weibo subsidiary.

Chapter 291: Rejecting Foreign Investment

With the news out, other investors in the VC circle saw that Stellaris Capital was finally opening its doors and planning to let other VCs on board. It wasn’t just Zhongtai Capital clamoring to get in; a large number of domestic investment firms were also interested.

These investment firms included domestic ones like Pengrui Capital, as well as many internationally renowned VC firms, such as IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital, Matrix Partners, and SoftBank.

The reason so many VC firms were so enthusiastic was, of course, their optimism about Quantum Beat’s Weibo. Its user base had already surpassed one hundred million, and the investment community was extremely bullish on it.

Most importantly, Xu Jingren’s team had managed the Weibo platform’s operations over the past year in a way that had made investors see them in a new light. Every step of its development and the continuous stream of innovative ideas showed investors the team’s formidable competitiveness.

Weibo had just completed its A-round financing, so it wasn’t too late to get on board. Investors were particularly optimistic that the Weibo platform, under the operation of Xu Jingren’s team, was the most likely to break away from the pack. At least, that’s what its current momentum indicated.

At the same time, getting on board now meant the risk was further reduced. Although Stellaris Capital had been hogging all the profit in the early stages, it had also shouldered nearly all the risk. It wasn’t too late to invest now.

…

Friday, October 9th.

This morning, over a dozen domestic and international VC firms gathered at the Quantum Beat headquarters.

In a conference room, Xu Jingren had gathered all the VCs to talk at once, rather than meeting them one by one. Before meeting these investors, he had already discussed things with Fang Hong and had a clear idea of how to proceed.

The Xu Jingren of today had grown significantly compared to a year ago. It was no exaggeration to describe his growth as rapid; his horizons had broadened immensely.

“I’m very sorry, everyone…” In the conference room, Xu Jingren looked at the representatives from foreign investment firms like SoftBank and Sequoia and said, “The Weibo subsidiary cannot accept your investment.”

“What? You can’t accept it? Why?” the head of GGV Capital immediately demanded. All the foreign firms present were caught off guard.

“Because we plan to list the Weibo subsidiary on the A-share market,” Xu Jingren said calmly. “Bringing in foreign investment will create obstacles for our future listing plans. So, I apologize.”

As soon as he said this, the seven or eight foreign firms present practically exploded, all voicing their dissatisfaction.

The representative from SoftBank immediately asked, “Why choose to list on the A-share market? Isn’t listing in the US a good option?”

The other foreign firms quickly chimed in with agreement. They truly couldn’t understand the Quantum Beat team’s thought process. Which internet company in the Greater China region didn’t seek to list in the United States?

Xu Jingren replied calmly, “This is to allow the company to better establish itself and grow domestically. It is a unanimous strategic decision by the company’s leadership and will not be changed. Our plan is to list on the A-share market within the next two years.”

Among those present were Liu Qizheng, the helmsman of Zhongtai Capital, and Xiao Quan, the helmsman of Pengrui Capital. They, along with the other few domestic investment firms, were first startled by Xu Jingren’s words, and then secretly delighted.

This was especially true for Zhongtai Capital. At this moment, Liu Qizheng remained silent, but his mind was already racing with calculations.

With foreign investors shut out by the Quantum Beat team, Zhongtai Capital was the natural choice to step up. Among all the domestic VC firms present, it had the most substantial capital strength.

Therefore, it was highly likely they would lead this financing round. Originally, Liu Qizheng had planned to be a follow-on investor, assuming a foreign firm would certainly lead.

But now the situation had changed. Since Xu Jingren was not accepting foreign investment, Zhongtai Capital was the domestic firm with the most power to lead the round.

At this very moment, the various foreign firms that had come were trying to earnestly persuade Xu Jingren not to overcomplicate things. Just honestly accept foreign investment, ring the bell on the Nasdaq in North America, and be done with it. Why bother with the A-share market?

Some foreign firms even claimed that if they listed in the US, they could ring the bell on the Nasdaq in as little as ten months, and they could make it happen.

It couldn’t be helped; the foreign investors were getting anxious.

If Weibo listed on the A-share market, foreign investors would have zero chance. The A-share market was not yet open to foreign capital, and the concept of Northbound funds didn’t exist yet; that was still five or six years away.

“I am truly sorry, but this is a strategic decision by the company’s Board of Directors. It cannot be changed,” Xu Jingren reiterated, still composed and without a hint of hesitation.

Seeing his stubborn stance, the heads of the several foreign firms present cursed him out in their minds.

There was nothing they could do!

So, the people from GGV Capital stormed out first. The other foreign firms followed suit, leaving reluctantly one after another. They also left behind a rather threatening message, the gist of which was: “You won’t let us on board? Fine, we’ll just throw our money at your competitors. You just wait and see if you regret it!”

The people from SoftBank also left. The only VC firms remaining in the conference room were all domestic.

At this point, Liu Qizheng, the helmsman of Zhongtai Capital, sat up straight. He glanced left and right at the representatives from the other firms, thinking to himself that with the foreign firms gone, “I’m the top dog here now.”

Liu Qizheng then turned to Xu Jingren with a smile and said, “Mr. Xu, now can we discuss the new financing round for the Weibo subsidiary?”

Xu Jingren returned the smile and nodded. “Of course. But before that, I’d like to say something. Quantum Beat is where it is today thanks to the unwavering support of Stellaris Capital. To be frank with you all, the company isn’t actually short on funds. Even if we were, Stellaris Capital would provide more than enough…”

These were words that Fang Hong had instructed him to convey.

Hearing this, Liu Qizheng, Xiao Quan, and the other domestic firms present understood immediately. This opportunity to get on board wasn’t because Quantum Beat or its Weibo subsidiary needed money; it was to give everyone a chance to invest and share a piece of the pie.

If they were truly raising funds because they were short on cash, Stellaris Capital had more resources than any of them, and was more generous, too.

The underlying message was clear: You have no room to negotiate. I’ll name a price. If you accept it, get on board. If you don’t, then forget it. All forms of bargaining are off the table!

Finally, Xiao Quan, the helmsman of Pengrui Capital, said, “Mr. Xu, just get straight to the point.”

Xu Jingren nodded and said bluntly, “For this round of financing, we are giving the Weibo subsidiary a valuation of 7 billion yuan. We plan to sell a 15% stake to raise 1.05 billion yuan!”

“What?”

As soon as he said this, the investors present all looked stunned.

Liu Qizheng couldn’t help but say, “A valuation at the unicorn level right away? That’s a bit high for the Weibo subsidiary.”

A valuation of 7 billion yuan is a little over 1 billion US dollars. A startup company with a valuation reaching the 1 billion US dollar level is what industry insiders call a unicorn.

The other investors also chimed in, agreeing that it was overvalued.

The last round’s valuation was only 2 billion yuan. This was a 2.5-fold increase from the previous financing round. How much more room for a premium could there be later on?

Moreover, everyone present knew that of the 500 million yuan from the previous financing round for the soon-to-be-split-off Weibo subsidiary, 300 million remained with the parent company. They were now financing the subsidiary, not the parent company Quantum Beat.

Xu Jingren recalled his earlier conversation with Fang Hong, then looked at the crowd and said with a calm smile, “Gentlemen, I don’t want to elaborate too much on Weibo’s prospects. Since you want to invest in my company, you should trust that our team can crush all competitors.”

After a brief pause, Xu Jingren continued, “In the internet industry, there is only first place, no second. If you’re investing with the mentality that second place is acceptable if you can’t be first, you might as well not invest at all. Since we can become number one, do you still think 7 billion is an overvaluation?”

Liu Qizheng and the others were taken aback. They exchanged glances, a little surprised.

This young man, his aura, his confidence… you had to admit, he had something.

Thinking it over, the internet industry was indeed a classic example of the Matthew effect, where the strong get stronger. The industry leader typically captures over 70% of the market share, the runner-up only gets ten-something percent, and the rest is left to the other small players.

The most typical examples were the Penguin’s QQ, or the search engine Baidu.

Quantum Beat was determined to be number one in the industry, and its current momentum already placed it at the top. Although competitors were chasing them fiercely, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform had always maintained its lead. Crucially, it could always introduce innovative elements, which proved that the company had great vitality under this team’s leadership.

Liu Qizheng and the others quickly thought of another point: there was a master guiding this team from behind the scenes. This was evident in their previous arrangements, especially how Fanfou was shut down while Quantum Beat Weibo remained unharmed, and how they handled the earlier traffic attack incident.

If there was no master guiding them, that would only prove this team was even more extraordinary and had immense potential.

The investors present were all mulling it over in their minds. No one committed on the spot, but they had all more or less made their decisions.

…

Chapter 292: Once You’re On Board, You Have to Do Your Part

While Xu Jingren was discussing financing with several major domestic VC firms, Fang Hong was in the trading room on the second floor of the villa.

Today was Friday, the first trading day for A-shares after the holiday.

Stimulated by positive news released over the holiday period, the A-share market recovered the 2800 point mark with a strong, massive gap up at the open. It opened at 2840.13 points, an increase of 2.18%, and continued to climb after the opening bell in a one-sided rise.

Both markets saw widespread gains, with over 1470 of the more than 1500 stocks rising.

This caused investors who held cash over the holiday to completely miss out on the rally. The strong upward gap basically confirmed that the previous low of 2712 points was the bottom of the second bottom test. Those who had sold at a loss at that point were all beating their chests and stamping their feet in regret.

“Bro Hong, Baogang Rare Earth has been completely sold,” Hu Tao said after seeing all the trades go through. The stock’s increase for the day was nearing the limit-up, and Fang Hong’s entire position was sold off at around a nine percent gain.

This was his short-term capital, which he used whenever an opportunity arose. He had invested tens of millions into Baogang Rare Earth before the holiday.

It was worth mentioning that this stock would later be renamed “Northern Rare Earth.” Renaming listed companies was a common practice in the A-share market; even just a name change could be used to hype a stock.

Fang Hong continued to issue trading orders: “Alright, Lin Yan, sell Western Mining. Lin Yun, sell Zhongguo Ocean Shipping. Xiao Yi, clear Shanqi Coking Coal.”

These three stocks were also bought with borrowed funds in advance, each with an investment of around fifty to sixty million. At this moment, the three stocks were up +10.02%, +10.04%, and +10.00% respectively, hitting their limit-up.

Just as the girls were simultaneously executing the sell orders, Fang Hong’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Xu Jingren. He immediately knew that there was likely new progress with the financing.

Fang Hong answered the call.

Xu Jingren’s voice came through quickly. “Boss, the financing for the Weibo subsidiary has been settled. Zhongtai Capital is leading with a five-hundred-million-yuan investment, and seven other institutions, including Pengrui Capital, are joining as follow-on investors. However, we didn’t reach the expected 1.05 billion yuan in financing. The actual amount raised is 785 million yuan, for 11.21% of the subsidiary’s equity.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded. “Almost eight hundred million isn’t bad. The future valuation can be pushed even higher, and holding more equity will be more valuable.”

The expectation had been to raise 1.05 billion yuan by selling 15% of the equity. However, aside from Zhongtai Capital’s generous investment, the other follow-on investors didn’t have that much capital ready, so only 785 million was raised. Still, it was based on a seven billion yuan valuation. With less capital raised, less equity was sold; otherwise, it would have been a discounted sale.

In this round of financing, those VC firms had absolutely no bargaining power because Quantum Beat was backed by Stellaris Capital. To put it bluntly, letting them get on board was doing them a favor—giving them an opportunity to make money.

Of course, Fang Hong wasn’t letting them on for a free ride. Once you were on board, you had to do your part.

The Weibo subsidiary would later pursue a backdoor listing on the A-share market. After going public, they would be responsible for managing the market capitalization. To be more direct, they had to push the company’s stock price up, maintain its liquidity in the market, and indirectly act as market makers. The profits they made as middlemen would be theirs to keep.

This way, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t need to spend its own money on market cap management. When the listed company’s market cap was pushed up, Stellaris Capital’s asset scale would naturally increase, especially the rise in net assets. An increased asset scale would naturally improve its creditworthiness.

“…Alright, let’s leave it at that,” Fang Hong said after chatting for a bit before hanging up. He turned his attention back to the market trends and directed the girls’ trading.

The market soon closed. After the holiday, the A-share market experienced a short-squeeze rally. The broader market recovered both the 2800 and 2900 point marks in one fell swoop during the day.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index soared +4.76% to 2911.72 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index surged +5.30% to 11801.23 points. The total turnover for both markets was 147.7 billion yuan, a significant increase in volume compared to the last trading day before the holiday.

As soon as the market closed, the girls all left the trading room. Fang Hong didn’t linger either and walked out with them. Seeing Lin Yun walking ahead of him, he said languidly, “Oh, right, Xiao Yun. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced your skills. Let’s have a SPA.”

Lin Yun looked back at Fang Hong, smiled, and nodded. “Mhm~, then Bro Hong, you go take a shower first. I’ll go get things ready.”

Everyone left the trading room. Fang Hong went straight to take a shower, while Lin Yun headed to the SPA therapy room. Among the several maids, Lin Yun was the one who had professionally studied SPA techniques.

She now arrived at the villa’s dedicated SPA therapy room. Before starting the SPA, she needed to prepare some props and other items, all of which were stored in the room. Lin Yun took out all the necessary items.

First was a bottle of shimmering, smooth essential oil from one of the top brands in the industry.

Then there was an eye mask. Lin Yun prepared everything one by one. After that, she gently heated the bottle of essential oil she had taken out.

And music!

While letting the oil heat up, Lin Yun also turned on the room’s sound system, selecting some soft piano music to enhance the atmosphere. She adjusted the volume to the perfect level and then dimmed the indoor lights to a warm, soft glow.

All the preparations were complete. All that was left was to wait for Fang Hong to arrive.

After a while, Fang Hong entered the room. Lin Yun smiled and said in a gentle voice, “Let’s begin, Bro Hong. Just like before, please relax and lie down.”

But Fang Hong suddenly shook his head, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. “I just had a very interesting idea. Would you like to experience a SPA?”

“Huh—?” Lin Yun was caught completely off guard.

She never expected him to have such a novel whim and had no idea what he was up to.

Fang Hong looked at Lin Yun with great interest, a calm smile on his face. “I’ve had my fair share of SPAs, so I’m quite familiar with the procedure. Consider this a special reward just for you from the boss. This kind of treatment is a one-of-a-kind deal, you know.”

Hearing this, Lin Yun, who had been looking at him, couldn’t help but turn her head away and stammer, “But I…”

Fang Hong directly handed her a white bath towel he had brought with him. “Hurry up. Change into this and lie down.”

Seeing his insistence, Lin Yun knew that refusing would probably disappoint him. After a moment of internal struggle and hesitation, she finally made her decision. She nodded and took the towel from his hand.

“Um… you… you turn around first,” Lin Yun said weakly, glancing at Fang Hong.

Fang Hong smiled and turned around. A moment later, Lin Yun, now wrapped in the bath towel, looked at his back and said in a voice as fine as silk, “Bro Hong~, I’m ready…”

Hearing her voice from behind, Fang Hong turned back. Lin Yun met his gaze for two seconds before looking away, her cheeks flushing a light crimson.

“Okay, lie down. Turn over so your back is facing me, head towards the head of the bed,” Fang Hong said with a smile, gesturing to Lin Yun. She remained silent, simply nodding and doing as he said.

It wasn’t her first time in this therapy room with him. When she gave him SPAs before, she hadn’t thought much of it, but now Lin Yun felt an inexplicable nervousness, because she didn’t know what he was really planning to do.

Their roles were now reversed. Fang Hong recalled the procedures Lin Yun used when giving him SPAs, mentally running through them. Of course, he wouldn’t stick to them rigidly; he was naturally going to make some “optimizations” and adjustments to make it more interesting and more fun.

Fang Hong casually picked up the warm essential oil and placed it nearby. He looked down at the prone Lin Yun, her beautiful, curvy figure wrapped in the white bath towel.

Without a word, Fang Hong began to gently knead and press her calves with both hands, then moved up to her thighs, relaxing the muscles on the back of her legs.

But as he touched her skin, he could clearly feel her soft body tremble slightly. Lin Yun was obviously nervous and would likely have trouble relaxing for a while.

Fang Hong smiled but said nothing.

After a moment, he shifted the obstructing white bath towel, then picked up the warm essential oil, poured it into his palm, and rubbed his hands together to warm it further.

When the temperature felt about right, Fang Hong placed his hands on her left leg, massaging upwards from the calf in slow, alternating strokes.

He controlled the pressure carefully. After repeating this cycle several times, he switched to her right leg and followed the same procedure, again being mindful of the pressure.

At this moment, neither of them spoke. The room, filled with a warm, soft light, was silent save for the gentle sound of piano music.

Lin Yun lay motionless. She hadn’t expected his technique to be so good; he was quite skilled for a first-timer. Gradually, her body and mind began to relax involuntarily, and her eyes slowly closed.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong applied more warm essential oil and continued massaging up her legs.

The focus was on her thighs.

Fang Hong gently used his curled fingers to stroke and massage the skin on her inner thighs, alternating between light and heavy pressure, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

“Mhm~”

The physical and mental comfort made Lin Yun involuntarily part her lips and let out a soft, delicate moan. The next second, her beautiful eyes flew open, and she quickly pressed her lips tightly together.

Fang Hong glanced at Lin Yun, who was facing the head of the bed with her back to him. He smiled silently and continued the massage.

As the minutes ticked by, after about ten minutes of massage, he saw the eye mask on the side. He casually picked it up, leaned over, and put it on her, whispering a command in her ear, “You’re not allowed to take it off without my permission, okay?”

With the eye mask on, Lin Yun’s vision was completely blocked. A sense of tension and strangeness arose within her, and her heart pounded. She bit her lower lip slightly, nodded gently, and replied softly, “Mhm”

This scene was truly perfect!

Fang Hong turned and sat on the side of the massage table by her legs.

Then he picked up the warm essential oil. This time, Fang Hong dripped the oil directly onto her perky derriere and began a gluteal-care massage. It was said to be beneficial for sculpting a shapely derriere.

After the gluteal massage had continued for a while, Fang Hong picked up the warm oil again and dripped it onto her slender waist. Then he quickened the pace of his hands, rubbing and massaging to rapidly warm her entire waist area.

A while later, Fang Hong poured oil onto her beautiful, snow-white back. He then began to massage again, progressively working on her back, shoulders, and neck…

As time went on, only one last area remained untouched.

Fang Hong glanced at it. He was in no hurry at all. He continued to knead her shoulders and back down to her buttocks with his curled fingers. Under the lubrication of the warm essential oil, the movement was so smooth he felt almost no resistance.

At this moment, Lin Yun was enjoying his massage, feeling as if every cell in her body had been awakened.

The soft melody of the piano piece echoed in the room.

Fang Hong could feel her body urgently urging for something, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He calmly picked up the reheated oil and dripped it onto her shapely derriere again.

A moment later, Fang Hong picked up the oil bottle again, which was now about half-empty. He poured the oil into his palms once more and quickly rubbed them together until they were hot. At this moment, he finally broke the silence, saying with a smile, “Turn over and lie on your back. Time to work on the front.”

Lin Yun’s mind hesitated, but her body couldn’t help but turn over and lie on its back.

As she turned onto her back, Fang Hong resumed the massage, starting from her calves and moving upwards, following the same steps as before…

Lin Yun was still wearing the eye mask, her vision completely obscured. She couldn’t see anything, but she was aware of her current situation. The thought made her turn her head to the side, her face already scarlet and burning hot.

Lin Yun suddenly reached out her hand. Though she was wearing the mask and couldn’t see, she managed to accurately grab Fang Hong’s wrist.

Gripping his hand, Lin Yun said, “There’s one more spot you missed.”

Fang Hong asked back with feigned confusion, “What spot?”

Hearing this, Lin Yun couldn’t help but purse her lips and grind her teeth silently. After a moment, she chided him in a petulant yet flirtatious tone, “You’re playing dumb!”

Hearing her words, Fang Hong broke into a smile.

…

Chapter 293: “The Power of Cash” is Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s Greatest Advantage Right Now

Sometime later…

Fang Hong was the first to leave the therapy room. He stood at the door, stretching his back, before heading to the bathroom for another shower.

As for Lin Yun, she was still resting in the therapy room, feeling as if she didn’t have a speck of strength left in her body, unable to even prop herself up against the wall. She had no desire to move at all.

In the days that followed, Lin Yun became even more attentive to her employer than before, even proactively offering to give him spa massages to help him relax.

Some things have a distinction of only zero times or countless times. Once you’ve tried it, it’s impossible to forget.

It was worth mentioning that He Xuan, who had decided to debut as a celebrity artist, had become much busier during this period. Outside of her classes, she spent her time receiving professional acting guidance from tutors arranged by her agent.

She didn’t want to be outdone by Lin Ruoshui; her competitive spirit drove her to surpass Fang Hong’s ex-girlfriend.

This included practicing singing, acting, analyzing scripts, and more. The instruction started from the most fundamental professional knowledge. Su Dongyan and Lin Ruoshui were receiving similar training, with all expenses covered by Yixing Media.

It was no exaggeration to say that the company was investing heavily in training them as complete newcomers. The resources they enjoyed even surpassed the standard configuration for A-list artists, and the company was already preparing new projects for them.

Li Nian had personally greenlit projects tailor-made for the girls’ debut, including a film and an album. There were teams dedicated to crafting a movie script just for them, as well as teams writing and composing songs specifically for them.

Even A-list artists would be envious of such resources. It was incredibly rare and almost unheard of in the industry for newcomers to receive such treatment.

Li Nian was exceptionally dedicated to their development. He had no choice but to be; he hadn’t forgotten Mr. Cao’s words.

…

Time passed, and it was Monday, October 19th.

On the first trading day after the holiday, the A-share market had gapped up and soared, closing with a long positive candle. However, investors who had sold at a loss or missed out on the pre-holiday rally didn’t re-enter the market, opting to wait and see, especially since the Chinese A-share market has a habit of filling every gap.

Not many people were chasing the rise; most wanted to wait for the gap to be filled before buying in.

As a result, the market had spent the past week adjusting and trending upward with volatility. The investors who had missed out or sold at a loss were even more reluctant to chase the high, leading to a market that rose on lower volume.

It was infuriating!

It rose right after they sold at a loss. They stubbornly held on only to see it break new lows. The moment they sold, it took off.

The market’s performance during this period left many investors feeling: When others bought the dip, I just watched. When others chased the rise, I scoffed. When others’ stocks accelerated, I got anxious. When others took profits, I bought in. When others liquidated their positions, I added to mine. When others doubled their money, I got a margin call.

Today, Monday, the two markets opened. After a slight dip and retracement at the open, the broader market began a one-sided rally, reclaiming the 3000-point mark in one fell swoop.

Just two weeks ago, the market had plummeted to 2700 points, and investors were all clamoring that it would break its previous low, waiting to get in at 2500 points.

Now, it was back at 3000 points, soaring high for those who had missed out.

Not only did today’s market reclaim the 3000-point mark, but it also rose on higher volume, closing with a strong bullish candlestick. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3038.27 points, up +2.07%, with its closing price being the highest of the day.

Notably, Dongbai Supermarket, whose trading had been suspended last month due to a corporate restructuring announcement, resumed trading today. As expected, it opened at its limit-up price and stayed there for the day. Bolstered by the restructuring concept, it was now a matter of counting the limit-up boards.

…

The next day, Tuesday.

The A-share market continued its upward trend, gapping up at the open and rallying higher. The broader market closed with another strong bullish candlestick, as the Shanghai Composite Index rose +1.52% on high volume, closing at 3084.45 points and breaking through the mid-September high.

Dongbai Supermarket hit its second consecutive limit-up board today, with its stock price rising to 8.22 yuan. This was its third consecutive limit-up, with the first occurring just before the trading suspension, led by Fang Hong himself, who had pushed it from a near limit-down to a limit-up in a quasi earth-to-sky board fashion.

Calculated from its lowest price of 5.72 yuan per share on the day of the first limit-up—a drop of more than 7%—the cumulative gain after three consecutive limit-ups was over 43.70%. However, Fang Hong’s return on the stock was +30.68%, as his average cost per share was 6.29 yuan, given that he was the one who had pulled it all the way up from a 7% loss to seal the limit-up on that first day.

…

“Following your strategy, we’ve begun selling our Wanke shares. By late trading yesterday afternoon, we had already cashed out nearly four hundred million. We are continuing the orderly sell-off today,” said Tian Jiayi, who was giving Fang Hong a daily report on the company’s activities after returning from work.

The beautiful assistant paused for a moment, took a sip of water, and continued, “The remaining funds will be fully liquidated within this week.”

The objective had been achieved. Wanke’s management had signed a “performance bet” agreement with the company’s shareholders, and Stellaris Capital promptly turned around and began to withdraw.

Amid the recent market rally, Wanke’s stock had also rebounded by more than twenty percent, with its price rising from just over 10 yuan to over 12 yuan today. After Stellaris Capital withdraws the funds it had used to buy the dip earlier in the month, it was expected to exit with a profit of about twenty-five percent.

This twenty-five percent might not seem like much compared to the doubling returns Fang Hong often achieved in his personal account, but this was Stellaris Capital’s operation, involving funds on the scale of ten digits. Even at twenty-five percent, the absolute profit reached about one billion yuan.

After a complete withdrawal from Wanke, they wouldn’t need to look at this stock for a long time. Barring any surprises, Wanke’s stock price would plummet to just over 6 yuan in the next seven to eight months, nearly getting slashed in half.

“There’s also new progress on the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow front. The company has been registered, and our people met with representatives from CASIC for the first time today for preliminary talks on our cooperation. Here are the minutes from the discussion…” Tian Jiayi continued her report, handing a document she had brought back to Fang Hong.

Compared to the Wanke affair, Fang Hong was undoubtedly more concerned about Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. Wanke was, at best, a quick arbitrage play, a way to make some fast cash. But Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was different; it was a strategic project in Stellaris Capital’s long-term layout in the tech sector.

Fang Hong took the document and began reading through the minutes. Sitting beside him, his beautiful assistant spoke in a measured tone, “The initial meeting went quite smoothly and cordially. They were particularly surprised by our proposal for CASIC to contribute assets to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow in exchange for a 20% equity stake.”

Clearly, Tian Jiayi had also participated in the meeting and knew many of the details.

The people from CASIC were indeed very surprised, especially when they learned that Jiuzhou Blue Arrow not only intended to bring in CASIC but also planned to do the same with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, also for a 20% stake.

If they truly became shareholders in Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, both parties would certainly enter into a deep strategic partnership.

“When negotiating with the two aerospace giants, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow has essentially only one advantage to offer: the ‘power of cash’,” Fang Hong said, closing the document and looking at Tian Jiayi.

“Superpower?” The beautiful assistant looked at him, completely baffled.

“‘Cash’ as in money,” Fang Hong clarified. Tian Jiayi blinked in surprise for a moment before she understood and couldn’t help but smile. Fang Hong continued calmly, “So, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow is truly lacking in everything, except money.”

At this, Fang Hong reopened the minutes, glanced at the contents, and added, “You were too conservative in your talks. At the next meeting, get straight to the point. Tell them the initial two billion investment is just an appetizer. My Jiuzhou Blue Arrow will receive ten billion yuan in funding from Stellaris Capital every year starting from 2010 for the next ten years. Over ninety percent of that will be allocated to R&D.”

Good grief! Forget how the outside world would react; right now, his beautiful assistant’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing his decision. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavens, an investment of ten billion a year? That’s a one-hundred-billion-scale investment over ten years!”

Both domestically and internationally, the national budget for aerospace engineering was almost always the same: about two billion US dollars a year, with little to no increase. This figure was equivalent to just over 13.7 billion yuan.

Fang Hong’s decision to pump ten billion yuan into Jiuzhou Blue Arrow anually was equivalent to a staggering 72.72% of the country’s yearly aerospace budget. It would single-handedly cause the nation’s total aerospace investment to surge by over 72% year-on-year.

Keep in mind that the national budget of over thirteen billion yuan had to be allocated among various departments and sub-fields. The entire Chang’e program had only cost a little over one billion yuan to date.

Broken down to individual aerospace departments, the funding was not much at all; one could even say it was stretched thin.

It was easy to imagine the sensational impact that Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s annual investment of tens of billions would have on the domestic aerospace industry, especially at this time. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it would dramatically accelerate the progress of the nation’s space endeavors. Perhaps the Tiangong space station could even be launched sooner, and the manned lunar landing project’s timeline could be shortened.

…

Chapter 294: Dongbai’s Ten Consecutive Limit-Ups

Although engineering projects in high-tech fields like this couldn’t be mastered just by throwing money at them, an abundant supply of cash would undoubtedly and significantly boost the efficiency of technological research and breakthroughs.

For example, when developing a new model of rocket, sufficient funding would allow for several experimental launches. Even if a launch failed, a vast amount of valuable data could be collected. Flaws could be discovered and fixed early, and launches could continue until success was achieved.

If funds were tight, the cost of failure would be immense and unbearable. To ensure absolute success, the project’s progress would inevitably be slowed down.

Sometimes, a failure could even lead to a project being shelved long-term. Even if there was a desire to restart it, you can’t make bricks without straw.

When it comes to conquering cutting-edge applied technologies, the difference between having enough funding and not is stark. With money in place, several labs could be built, allowing multiple modules of a project to advance simultaneously. What might have originally taken five years to complete could be shortened to two and a half.

This was a tangible increase in efficiency. Hard cash could genuinely and greatly improve efficiency. Once efficiency was up, being one step ahead meant staying ahead for good.

At this moment, Fang Hong saw the look of utter astonishment on Tian Jiayi’s face after she learned he planned to pour over ten billion yuan into the project every year. He casually crossed his legs, gestured with the document in his hand, and said with a lighthearted smile, “A mere ten billion has you this shocked? Frankly, I’d like to be low-key, but my strength won’t allow it. Who told us our only advantage is having money? If we had any other advantage, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

His beautiful assistant, having snapped back to her senses, shook her head in exasperation. A moment later, she looked at Fang Hong again and asked, “Are you serious?”

Fang Hong nodded affirmatively. “Of course, I’m serious. The only thing we have to offer is the ‘power of cash.’ Other than that, we have no talent, no equipment, and no connections. Why would the two major aerospace groups cooperate with you?”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong added, “I’m not kidding. This is my decision. Go and prepare to announce this plan with high-profile.”

Seeing that he truly wasn’t joking, Tian Jiayi, though not understanding his extremely aggressive approach, knew he was the ultimate big boss of Stellaris Capital. She immediately made a note of his series of decisions to bring to the company the next day.

“Oh, right, come up with a slogan for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow while you’re at it…” Fang Hong lowered his head in thought for a moment, then immediately looked at his beautiful assistant. “The slogan for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow will be a quote from the science fiction novel Legend of the Galactic Heroes: ‘Our journey is the sea of stars!’”

This phrase was not yet as popular as it would be ten years later, a fact greatly related to the country’s comprehensive national strength. At present, the country’s GDP was still third in the world, though it was on the verge of surpassing Japan—something that would happen after this year.

It hadn’t become trendy yet. To some extent, the general public’s confidence was still a bit lacking. Furthermore, the country as a whole was maintaining a low profile, still adhering to the strategy of hiding one’s capabilities and biding one’s time.

With such a general environment, it was perfectly normal that the phrase hadn’t caught on.

…

In the following days, Tian Jiayi brought his decisions to the company. Hua Yu and the others began to execute them, actively preparing for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s next steps, especially the high-profile announcement of the ten-billion-yuan annual investment. They also prepared for the next round of negotiations with the two major aerospace groups.

Although the first meeting had been quite cordial and smooth, no substantive cooperation consensus had been reached. It was more like an initial introduction and an exchange of pleasantries.

As the big boss behind the scenes, Fang Hong was quite relaxed and at ease, controlling everything from the shadows. He had an elite team at his disposal, and he let them showcase their talents. All Fang Hong had to do was manage this elite group well.

During the same period in the A-share market, after the broader market index once again climbed above 3000 points, it corrected for two days without breaking below the 3000 mark. This Friday, it surged again by +1.85%. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3107.85 points, breaking the 3100 mark and setting a new recent high.

Meanwhile, Dongbai Supermarket continued its streak of limit-ups. Today was another limit-up at the opening bell, marking five consecutive days of opening at the limit-up price and a six-day limit-up streak in total. The stock price had climbed to 10.93 yuan.

Neither large funds nor retail investors were selling. As long as the limit-up board didn’t break, they wouldn’t sell. They wouldn’t sell until it doubled.

It was a feast for those holding the stock and a source of envy for those who missed out. Some investors who had sold just before the dawn broke were now beside themselves with regret, beating their chests and stamping their feet.

…

After the market index surpassed 3100 points, it entered a correction phase during the following week in late October and began to fall again.

The reason for the decline was the impending launch of the ChiNext board Index at the end of the month, on October 30th. A batch of listed companies with stock codes starting with 300 was about to debut on the A-share market. A massive amount of capital rushed to subscribe to these new IPOs, inevitably creating a liquidity drain effect on the entire market.

As a result, funds began to avert risk. This was reflected in the market as some people, based on this logic, sold their stocks to hold cash and watch from the sidelines, while also trying their luck subscribing to ChiNext board IPOs. Others sold their stocks directly to free up capital for the IPO subscriptions.

The main force in the market was short-selling. Unable to withstand the concentrated selling pressure, the market naturally fell.

By Thursday, October 29th, the last trading day before the ChiNext board launched, the market plunged again. The Shanghai Composite Index fell sharply, once more losing the 3000-point mark, closing down -2.34% at 2960.46 points.

At the same time, Dongbai Supermarket hit its limit up at the opening bell once again, with its price reaching 15.99 yuan. This was its ninth consecutive day of opening at the limit-up price and its tenth consecutive limit-up since the first board. The cumulative gain since the first limit-up had reached +159.16%, and if calculated from the lowest point of the first limit-up day, the cumulative gain was +179.54%.

It was worth noting that today’s limit-up day saw a huge trading volume. During trading hours, there were three instances of massive sell-offs right at the limit-up price. This scared the retail investors holding the stock, causing them to follow suit and dump their shares to get out.

With over 100% in unrealized profits on the table, the fleeing retail investors sold directly at the limit-down price to front-run the others.

A massive volume of over eight hundred million yuan was traded during the day. But to the astonishment of the retail investors, despite over eight hundred million yuan changing hands, the limit-up board never broke. The stock remained firmly sealed at its limit-up price for the entire day.

By the market close, Dongbai Supermarket ended the day at its limit-up price. By then, the investors who had sold were kicking themselves, realizing they had sold too early.

But they could only console themselves with the fact that they had already doubled their money and gotten out, which was good enough.

However, many of the retail investors who sold today were from the group who had been trapped at the peak during last year’s speculative frenzy and hadn’t gotten out. Today’s limit-up brought the price close to breaking the previous high. The trapped retail investors who had held on finally managed to break even and exit, figuring a small loss of five or six percent was far better than being slashed in half repeatedly.

Fang Hong still held all his shares in the stock, not having sold a single one. His average cost was 6.29 yuan, and his current floating profit had exceeded 154 percent, with an absolute profit of over two hundred million yuan.

…

After the market closed in the afternoon.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, in the private therapy room, Fang Hong was lying back on the therapy bed, enjoying the SPA skills of Lin Yun.

Lin Yun massaged him and asked with a smile, “Bro Hong~, is the pressure okay?”

Fang Hong casually replied, “Mm, perfect!”

After his perfunctory response, he continued to focus on the tablet in his hand. The screen was playing a video clip from a financial news channel, which turned out to be a report on the launch of the ChiNext board.

[…We continue with the latest news on the ChiNext board. The listing ceremony for the first batch of companies will be held on the morning of the 30th. Twenty-eight companies, including TGOOD and EVE Energy, will make their debut on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board. The ChiNext, anticipated by the market for ten years, will finally ring its opening bell…]

[The first batch of 28 companies fully embodies the “innovation” and “growth” characteristics of a startup board. They are all leaders in their respective niche industries, with high-growth performance, clear innovation in business models and technology, and well-defined development trends. They have received high recognition from the market, with actual funds raised totaling 15.478 billion yuan…]

Just then, Lin Yun suddenly reached a slender hand toward the tablet Fang Hong was holding. He saw a delicate little hand, glistening with warm essential oil, grab the tablet and quickly snatch it away.

Lin Yun took the tablet and tossed it aside, then leaned forward to gaze at Fang Hong. “No more multitasking and getting distracted. It ruins the experience!”

A moment later, a smiling Lin Yun looked down at Fang Hong and added, “Today, you’re going to experience a new SPA technique. I came up with this one myself.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile with great interest. “Oh? So SPAs can have innovative techniques too? What is it?”

Lin Yun gave a mysterious smile, leaned close to his ear, and whispered as soft as silk, “The Glute Press!”

Fang Hong immediately said, “Hmm, just from the name, I can tell it’s a high-end core technique.”

Lin Yun smiled and said, “Here I come!”

…

Chapter 295: The ChiNext Board Commences Trading

The next day.

Friday, October 30.

Today in the A-share market, the broader market gapped up +1.58% during the call auction to open at 3007.25 points, a gesture to welcome the launch of the ChiNext board.

However, after the market opened, the index plummeted, losing the 3000-point mark. It only began to rally back up around 10:00 AM.

Without a doubt, today was a historic moment for the A-shares. After the global financial crisis last year caused the A-share market to collapse, the market began a new exploration, giving rise to the Shenzhen stock market’s ChiNext board.

Today, the opening gong was struck for the ChiNext board, and the first batch of twenty-eight stocks became the star of the show in both markets, overshadowing even Dongbai Supermarket, which had gone wild with consecutive limit-ups recently.

In the second-floor trading room of Tranquil Heart Residence.

Fang Hong was also watching the twenty-eight new stocks listed on the ChiNext board. Today, almost the entire market’s attention was focused on these twenty-eight new listings. Upon opening, they shot straight up, triggering the trading suspension mechanism.

Those who won the IPO lottery were ecstatic, seeing their investment double or even triple in a single day.

For example, Anke Biotechnology surged intraday by as much as +279.41%. According to the first-day trading rules for new ChiNext stocks, in addition to the temporary suspension thresholds at ±20% and ±50% of the opening price, a new ±80% threshold was added, which would halt trading directly until resumption at 2:57 PM in late trading.

Every single one of the twenty-eight newly listed stocks hit the ±20% and ±50% suspension thresholds during trading hours. After a thirty-minute halt, trading would resume, and they would immediately surge again, triggering another thirty-minute suspension.

However, no stock triggered the third-tier ±80% suspension threshold. Triggering it would mean a halt not for thirty minutes, but until the final three minutes of late trading, leaving no time to sell off their positions.

Furthermore, the village chief had already sent out a warning two days prior, announcing four measures to curb excessive speculation on the first day of ChiNext board listings. These included implementing key supervision, closely monitoring first-day trading on the ChiNext board, carrying out precise crackdowns on violating accounts, taking timely measures to restrict trading intra-day, strengthening subsequent trading supervision, enhancing information disclosure, implementing special trading suspension systems to curb persistent speculation, and further increasing penalties.

It was worth noting that there was a difference between the commencement of trading and the launch of the board index. Today, the ChiNext board commenced trading, with twenty-eight listed companies making their debut on the A-share market.

But the ChiNext board index itself had not yet been launched. In other words, the A-share market still only had two major indices, the Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index. The ChiNext board Index would have to wait until next year.

With his foreknowledge, Fang Hong knew the historical trajectory. If nothing unexpected happened, the ChiNext board Index would be launched on June 1 of next year, at which point the A-shares would have three major indices.

At this moment, among the twenty-eight newly listed ChiNext stocks, Fang Hong was primarily focused on three: EVE Energy, Huace Detection, and Aier Eye Hospital. These three were Stellaris Capital’s value investing targets.

Stellaris Capital had participated in the subscription when the new shares were issued. After the market opened, it continued to increase its holdings, but it was still far from the 19.98% target Fang Hong had set.

Stellaris Capital would continuously increase its holdings in these three stocks until its stake approached 20% of each company’s total share capital.

Staying below the 20% line signified that Stellaris Capital was not seeking control of the companies. At the same time, a stake under 20% offered tax advantages; exceeding this proportion would incur additional taxes when cashing out and exiting the position later on.

For an investment firm like Stellaris Capital, a 20% stake in a listed company was a key benchmark. If control wasn’t the goal, the investment was purely financial, and the stake would not exceed this ratio. Only when seeking corporate control would this line be crossed.

As a transmigrator reborn from the future, Fang Hong was well aware of the ultimate fates of the twenty-eight companies listed today. Ten years from now, apart from the broader market’s eternally stuck 3000 points, the A-share landscape would have changed beyond recognition.

And the performance of these first twenty-eight ChiNext companies a decade later would be a tale of two extremes. Shenzhou Taiyue, which had the highest IPO issue price, would later face a major crisis and nearly delist. Huayi Brothers, once in the limelight for its roster of entertainment stars, would struggle to operate—not to mention that in this timeline, it now faced competition from the Art Star Media Group, which existed because of Fang Hong.

As for Baode Shares and Jinya Technology, they would eventually face delisting.

Among the first batch of ChiNext companies, the top three performers after ten years would be the very ones Stellaris Capital was investing in: EVE Energy, Aier Eye Hospital, and Huace Detection. All three would become what were known as “sector stocks,” riding the wave of a popular sector a decade later.

Among them, EVE Energy would grow into a domestic lithium battery giant, Aier Eye Hospital would become the largest ophthalmology hospital group in the world, and Huace Detection would thrive during the pandemic a decade later, catching the boom in medical testing services.

“Hm?”

Just then, Fang Hong, who was watching the market, saw an intra-day breaking news flash pop up in a small window:

[Restructuring concept stocks rally in the afternoon. Dongbai Supermarket’s share price reaches 17.59 yuan, securing its 11th consecutive limit-up since its first board. Current trading volume at 1.3 billion yuan.]

Fang Hong instinctively switched to the order book for Dongbai Supermarket. The stock had ended its streak of opening at the limit-up price today. It gapped up 6.61% during the call auction, spiked briefly after the open, then quickly plummeted, even turning negative for the day around 9:45 AM.

But then it was pulled back up and spent the entire morning in a volatile consolidation around the 7% gain mark. Just moments ago, it had successfully hit the limit-up again, achieving an incredible run of eleven boards. The cumulative gain over these eleven boards was +185.09%, and from its lowest point, the total increase had reached 207.51%. The floating profit on Fang Hong’s position had also reached +179.65%.

Dongbai Supermarket sealing its limit-up in late afternoon trading was a textbook case of divergence logic. The stock had seen increased volume yesterday, and today the shares changed hands thoroughly. When a stock that’s supposed to be weak proves strong, it’s a sign of true power. Logically, it should have seen a sharp plunge in the morning, but by 2:00 PM, it still refused to fall. In late trading, it was driven straight to the limit-up.

Of course, it also benefited from the broader market’s trend. The Shanghai Composite Index had surged as high as +2.22% in the afternoon before starting to seesaw back down. More accurately, the first twenty-eight newly listed ChiNext stocks fell sharply in the afternoon, releasing a large amount of capital from cashed-out profits.

This allowed Dongbai Supermarket to attract investor interest. In the afternoon, large funds saw this high-sentiment target and jumped in to continue the rally.

The higher it rose, the more retail investors feared to buy; and the more they feared to buy, the higher it rose.

Dongbai Supermarket’s 11th limit-up board was a classic leading stock play. The twenty-eight newly listed ChiNext companies were superstars for today only. After today, they would be has-beens. The reason, naturally, was that they had pulled forward too much of their future potential. A collective doubling, or even nearly tripling, of their value on the first day had exhausted most of their upside. What heights could one expect from them going forward?

The capital wasn’t stupid. Besides, investors with unrealized profits had started to flee in the afternoon. No fund was a charity, and no one was going to bail out those who bought at the peak.

In comparison, the aura of Dongbai Supermarket, backed by its restructuring concept, was far more distinguished. Today’s divergence board had been tested and validated by the market’s capital.

It was, without a doubt, the overall leader.

…

Monday, November 2.

On the first trading day of November, the A-shares opened down a steep -2.07%. But right after the open, the market began a one-sided rise, staging an impressive open-low-and-trend-high rally. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up a strong +2.70%, closing at 3076.65 points.

The slaughter during the call auction was because the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges had released new detailed rules over the weekend for handling trading irregularities. As it turned out, the rules weren’t as bad as expected, and the market rallied all the way up.

As for the current overall sentiment leader, Dongbai Supermarket, it had a deep-water open but also trended high from its low open, ultimately closing with a gain of +3.95% at a new high of 18.28 yuan, on a trading volume of 1.286 billion yuan.

Fang Hong hadn’t sold a single share of his holdings. He was sticking with his long-term view!

Over the next few days, the stock continued to push higher, following a pattern of opening low, trending high, and then surging higher before falling back in the afternoon.

On Tuesday, it closed up +2.63% on 1.17 billion yuan in volume; on Wednesday, up +2.44% on 1.233 billion yuan; on Thursday, up +4.59% on 1.249 billion yuan.

By this Friday, Dongbai Supermarket again opened low and then trended higher. The traders speculating on the stock followed their usual routine, selling high and buying low throughout the day.

But today, Dongbai Supermarket didn’t follow the script. The traders all sold off heavily when the stock was up 6%, planning to buy back in during late trading. But at 2:27 PM, just as the price pulled back to a +3.46% gain, it suddenly shot up on a massive surge in volume.

Dongbai Supermarket’s price rallied to 22.12 yuan, a +10.02% gain, and sealed the limit-up board. The total trading volume for the day was 1.452 billion yuan.

The traders who sold too early were kicking themselves.

…

Monday, November 9.

Dongbai Supermarket gapped up sharply by nearly 5%. Retail investors were hesitant to chase the high, fearing a high open followed by a dive. If they bought in today and it plummeted, they would be left holding the bag at the peak.

After the open, Dongbai Supermarket did pull back from its high open. The traders who had held off breathed a sigh of relief. Not chasing it was the right call!

But they were proven wrong in an instant!

After pulling back for just one minute, Dongbai Supermarket rocketed up on a surge of volume. In less than twenty minutes after the market opened, the price was pushed straight to 24.33 yuan, a +9.99% gain, sealing the limit-up board.

Today, it hit the limit-up on shrinking volume, with the total daily turnover around 790 million yuan.

The retail investors were all stunned.

This insane rally was beyond the comprehension of any short-term trader.

…

Chapter 296: The Unexpected Power of Market Consensus

The strength of Dongbai Supermarket’s trend was truly outrageous. In the four days since its consecutive limit-ups were broken, it had barely corrected at all.

It wasn’t that there was no correction—after all, the streak had ended after eleven consecutive limit-ups. It had been adjusting for four days, but it was an adjustment that occurred amidst a continued rise. The four days of opening low, trending high, surging higher then falling back allowed the shares to change hands sufficiently before it continued its upward charge.

The investors who had sold out never expected Dongbai Supermarket to have a second wave, and they certainly never imagined that the second wave would start directly in the middle of a rally. It was arguably the strongest monster stock of the year, and the power of the market’s consensus was far beyond expectations.

…

Tuesday, November 10th.

Dongbai Supermarket accelerated its rally with a limit-up on shrinking volume, opening at its upper limit and staying there. The total trading volume for the day was 129 million.

Wednesday, November 11th.

Dongbai Supermarket once again opened at its limit-up price, pushing the stock to 29.44 yuan. Investors were floored; this was the Universe’s Overall Leader.

However, in the afternoon, the limit-up board broke.

But it took only two minutes for it to strongly hit the limit-up again. Investors lined up eagerly to buy, and many who had sold earlier in the day, along with those who had missed out on the rally, claimed that the board would definitely break again in late trading.

In the end, it remained sealed at its limit-up until the close, forming a T-shaped candlestick. The day’s total trading volume was 871 million.

The bears, who had been proven wrong, finally shut their mouths. Don’t predict the top during a rally; no one dared to guess where it would peak.

…

Thursday, November 12th.

Today, Dongbai Supermarket opened 6.73% higher, with its price already above 31 yuan. It plummeted shortly after the market opened but was quickly pulled back up.

“Hu Tao, sell Dongbai Supermarket. Split the orders, don’t smash the market,” Fang Hong instructed from the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence. After holding the stock for twenty trading days, he was finally starting to sell off.

Since Fang Hong had taken the lead in sealing the stock’s first limit-up, it had gone on an epic run of twenty consecutive green days over twenty trading days. His floating profit had already exceeded 400%, more than a four-fold increase.

As the day went on, Hu Tao continuously sold off their shares of Dongbai Supermarket, from the morning into the afternoon. She managed to sell off 65% of their position today, cashing out 458 million.

Around 2:27 PM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price surged again, rising to 32.38 yuan and sealing the limit-up board with a 9.99% gain.

“Bro Hong, we still have 250 million. Should I keep selling?” Hu Tao asked.

“Not today. We’ll sell tomorrow,” Fang Hong replied. If they continued selling, the market wouldn’t be able to absorb the selling pressure. The sentiment would rapidly reverse, possibly leading to a “heaven and earth board”—a drop from limit-up to limit-down.

More importantly, continued heavy selling would push the turnover rate over 20%, which meant they would appear on the Dragon-Tiger List. Although Fang Hong was using an institutional account, if he made the list, investors would see the top seller’s seat unloading 700 million in a frenzy. That would guarantee an opening at limit-down the next day.

Even seeing a sale of over 400 million would severely impact the bulls’ sentiment for tomorrow.

By the market close, Dongbai Supermarket’s trading volume had reached a staggering 2.14 billion, with a turnover rate of 16.82%. Its market capitalization had soared from just over 3 billion to its current 15.8 billion. In the twenty trading days since its rise from the bottom, its cumulative gain had reached an astonishing 466%.

In the afternoon, the Dragon-Tiger List data was released.

Investors eagerly looked for Dongbai Supermarket’s data but were surprised to find it wasn’t on the list.

Because it had already been on the list multiple times, the condition to make it again today was a turnover rate exceeding 20%.

…

Friday, November 13th.

As soon as the market opened this morning, Fang Hong was watching Dongbai Supermarket.

The stock opened deep in the red at 30.55 yuan, down 5.65%. However, it began to surge immediately after opening, turning green within just five minutes.

Fang Hong: “…”

Even K-God was left speechless by the investors’ frenzy. “Don’t predict the top during a rally” didn’t mean there was no top.

Around 10:00 AM, as Dongbai Supermarket continued its rally, Fang Hong suddenly said, “Hu Tao, keep an eye on Dongbai Supermarket. Place a large sell order of 35 million at the 33.33 yuan price point!”

He could only create a double top.

It was an indirect way of warning people to be rational. If this didn’t deter them, there was nothing more K-God could do to help.

At that moment, Dongbai Supermarket’s price surged to 33.33 yuan, up 2.93%. Fang Hong saw that the large sell order he had Hu Tao place at 33.33 yuan had already been consumed by over 10 million. There were actually people trading shares at this price.

At this rate, it looked like investors were about to break right through the 33.33 yuan double top.

With the double top pattern now formed, Fang Hong decisively issued a new order: “Hu Tao, liquidate the rest of the position!”

The girls in the trading room now all knew what Fang Hong meant by “liquidate”—it meant placing a sell order at the limit-down price. Hu Tao immediately executed the command, dumping their remaining two hundred million-plus worth of shares with a single click at the limit-down price.

Nearly 80,000 lots hit the market at the limit-down price, causing Dongbai Supermarket’s stock to instantly nosedive. In just one minute, it fluctuated by more than ten percentage points. The intraday line plunged straight through the morning’s opening price and continued to fall.

It finally stopped its descent when it hit 29.56 yuan, a drop of 8.70%.

Hu Tao turned to look at Fang Hong. “It’s all sold, Bro Hong!”

Just as Dongbai Supermarket’s price fell to the -8.70% level, it immediately shot up in a V-shape. Investors buying the dip were howling and rushing in; there were practically more new chumps than could be harvested.

Fang Hong: “…”

He was once again rendered speechless by the stock’s movement.

He was out of shares now, having sold everything. Whatever happened next was out of his hands.

For this Dongbai Supermarket play, he had entered with 141 million and exited with 710 million, principal and profit included. That was a return of 403%, for an absolute profit of 569 million.

By the end of the day, Dongbai Supermarket closed up 0.19% at 32.44 yuan. The day’s trading volume was 1.712 billion, a decrease from yesterday’s 2.14 billion. The daily K-line closed in the green, marking 21 consecutive green days.

Having completely exited today, Fang Hong unhesitatingly removed the stock from his watchlist. From now on, he would just be one of the onlooking crowd. What followed would be an endless series of openings at limit-down. For those holding the bag, he could only hope they weren’t heavily invested. They were bound to eat one limit-down after another.

Profit and loss share the same source. Money in the stock market doesn’t disappear; it just moves from one person’s pocket to another’s.

After the market closed, Fang Hong glanced at his account. The total assets in his institutional account now stood at 3.956 billion, a return of 465% since he started using it. Reaching a scale of 5 billion by the end of the year didn’t seem to be a problem.

In addition, he had transferred 100 million to his personal securities account, which had also tripled in value to over 300 million.

Yu Qiu knew the password to his personal account. She no longer asked him for money; the beautiful house manager simply withdrew whatever was needed for all the expenses at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa without even needing to ask him. She took as much as she needed to spend.

…

Over the weekend, a piece of news sent a chill down the spines of Dongbai Supermarket shareholders, especially those who had just bought in on Friday.

[Yonghui Supermarket Terminates Restructuring and Listing with Dongbai Supermarket: The Latter Failed to Deliver the 300 Million Solvency Security Deposit]

Good grief!

On a weekend, shareholders of Dongbai Supermarket were petrified upon seeing this news. Those who had jumped in on Friday practically suffered cardiac arrest.

Yonghui’s stance was clear: if Dongbai couldn’t even produce a 300 million solvency deposit, a restructuring was absolutely out of the question.

…

Monday, November 16th.

The A-share market opened, and Dongbai Supermarket was slammed with an immediate opening at its limit-down. Everyone was buried alive, with no chance to get out.

That day, the stock plummeted 9.99% to its limit-down, closing at 29.20 yuan. The total trading volume was a mere 22.78 million, yet some brave souls still bought over twenty million worth of shares.

The next day, Tuesday, Dongbai Supermarket’s call auction pushed the price down to 26.28 yuan, once again opening at its limit-down.

The atmosphere in the stock’s forum changed drastically. Last Friday, it was all about “don’t predict the top,” “Universe’s Overall Leader,” and “it’s going up five-fold.” Now, the screen was filled with wails of despair.

“Fellow investors, run! Dongbai is bullshitting us!”

“We’re all f*cking trapped! How the hell are we supposed to run?”

“Damn you, just break the board and let me out! I’ll take a two-board loss, I admit my mistake, just let me sell at a loss!”

“Market Makers: Dear retail investor friends, do you see this scythe? Isn’t it sharp? Tell me, doesn’t it feel great cutting you chumps?”

“Give me my money back! I’m never playing with monster stocks again…”

“The 33.33 double top… f*ck!”

“I saw him build a grand mansion, I saw him feast his guests, I saw his mansion collapse.”

“I’m the one holding the bag. Eating noodles in the dark, damn it!”

“The coffin has been nailed shut! No one is getting out!”

“The tide has gone out!”

“Thank god I ran fast yesterday. That was intense, damn that was scary.”

“Take him away! See you at the next monster stock!”

…

Chapter 297: It’s Still Alive? This is the Universe’s Overall Leader?

Dongbai Supermarket was currently at its limit-down with over eight hundred million yuan worth of sell orders queued up, sealing it tight.

During the midday break, around 12:20 PM, Dongbai Supermarket’s company secretary made an announcement, telling shareholders not to panic. It was just a three hundred million yuan security deposit; with the company’s market cap at over ten billion yuan, raising three hundred million was easy and would be handled quickly. The reorganization was still on the table.

The retail investors saw this and thought, Holy crap, the damned major players are engineering a shakeout.

When the market opened at 1:00 PM, trading volume for Dongbai Supermarket surged. Twenty million yuan worth of shares were traded in the first minute. In the next minute, large funds began forcefully prying open the board, and the volume quickly exploded to over two hundred million yuan and continued to climb.

In reality, this wasn’t a shakeout at all, but rather large funds attempting a self-rescue.

Sell orders on the limit-down board began to be withdrawn. It looked like the limit-down was about to be broken. If they were going to sell, they might as well sell after a price surge. Besides, the midday news confirmed that the reorganization wasn’t done for—there was still a chance!

At 1:03 PM, Dongbai Supermarket’s limit-down board was pried open!

The stock price shot up vertically, and the loss quickly narrowed to -5.43%. Seeing the large funds enter the market, retail investors scrambled to snap up shares.

In a supplies room in some city, a retail investor stared at Dongbai Supermarket’s chart on his computer screen and roared excitedly, “Your old man is adding another twenty percent to help the cause! Push! Push! Push! Push it up for me! It’s in the green! Holy crap! Awesome, awesome! Damn it! Truly the Universe’s Overall Leader! If it won’t die from this, then keep pushing! Push it up for your old man!”

At this moment, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price continued to rally amidst volatility. Less than ten minutes after the afternoon session began, the stock had gone from limit-down to a 7 percent gain, and its daily K-line had once again climbed above the 5-day moving average.

Seeing the daily line cross the 5-day moving average, the retail investor jumped out of his seat and bellowed, “Push it! Keep pushing for your old man! Hit the limit! Hit the limit! Quick, hit the limit! Give me an earth-to-sky board!”

At 1:13:22 PM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price surged to 32.13 yuan, a +10.03% increase, hitting the limit-up. After sealing the board, 160,000 lots of limit orders appeared, representing over five hundred million yuan in capital.

“Dongbai is incredible—! Incredible—!” The retail investor’s voice cracked as he screamed the moment he saw Dongbai Supermarket hit its limit-up. It was clear he had gone in with a heavy position.

Two minutes later, various stock market apps sent out a push notification:

[Dongbai Supermarket Pulls Off an Earth-to-Sky Board in the Afternoon; Current Turnover at 2.012 Billion Yuan]

As Dongbai Supermarket broke its limit-down and continued to rally, its popularity shot up as rapidly as its rallying intraday line. And with the stock sealing the earth-to-sky board, its sentiment across both markets was pushed to new heights, its prominence second to none.

At this time, the tone on Dongbai Supermarket’s stock forum did a complete 180-degree flip, with the page filled with worship for the overall leader.

“Dongbai is awesome—!”

“You buy, I buy, Dongbai’s price will break a hundred!”

“Dongbai’s company secretary knows his stocks… (smirking face)”

“It’s still alive? Is this the Universe’s Overall Leader?”

“This is insane!”

“Go, go, go! I’m gonna lose all my money! I’m all in.jpg”

“Grinning at the limit-up, cursing at the limit-down. So damn true!”

“I sold at the absolute bottom. I could seriously cry. The pain, it hurts so much!”

“Good thing it’s the overall leader. Any other junk stock would have been dead for sure.”

“Bought one lot, just to be part of it.”

“The second wave of correction is over. Today’s earth-to-sky board officially confirms the consolidation is complete. The third main uptrend wave is starting, target price 50 yuan!”

“The number one stock for mergers and reorganizations, the overall sentiment leader of both markets. Just fucking do it and be done with it!”

“Freakish, this is too damn freakish!”

“Already added to my position!”

…

At the close, Dongbai Supermarket was up +10.03%, closing at 32.14 yuan, with a full-day turnover of 2.069 billion yuan.

It had to be said, Dongbai Supermarket’s company secretary knew his stocks.

With this earth-to-sky board, it was a classic case of ending up in the ICU in the morning and partying at the KTV in the afternoon. The sentiment between bulls and bears had flipped in an instant.

Fang Hong was now just an onlooker enjoying the show. From the perspective of ultra-short-term sentiment, today was indeed an entry point for Dongbai Supermarket. Aggressive traders could have gotten on board when it passed a 7 percent gain, but the safest bet was buying it at its limit-up price.

Calling it an entry point was, of course, a bet on tomorrow’s market action. By securing a first move today—and in ultra-short-term trading, first movers always prey on latecomers—one would have options tomorrow. If the stock performed stronger than expected, one could maintain a long-term view and hold. If things went south, one could always front-run the exit.

If this had been last year when his capital was smaller, Fang Hong would have definitely participated in today’s game with Dongbai Supermarket. Even now with his larger capital, he could have easily bought a few tens of millions and sold them off tomorrow without issue. After all, its trading volume was now in the billions, often hitting two billion.

However, he had already made a crazy profit of 569 million yuan from this stock. There was no need to get involved again.

It was worth mentioning that Dongbai Supermarket’s ability to pull off an earth-to-sky board today was partly thanks to the broader market trend, which did not dampen the bulls’ sentiment.

The broader market was also very strong today. The two major indices gapped up at the open and continued to climb, resulting in a one-sided broad rally. They surged on high volume, continuing to set new highs as new capital entered the market.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +2.74% at 3,275.05 points, with a turnover of 231.6 billion yuan; the Shenzhen Component Index soared +3.28% to 13,699.68 points, with a turnover of 138.4 billion yuan. The combined turnover of both markets reached 370 billion yuan.

Of the two indices, the Shanghai Composite was only about 200 points away from its high of 3,478, which would be a new high for the year. The Shenzhen Component Index was even closer; it only needed to rise another 1.77 percent to surpass its previous high of 13,943.

…

Tuesday, November 17.

Today, the A-share market opened, and Dongbai Supermarket opened lower at 31.12 yuan, down more than 3 percent. In the first minute of trading, its price dipped to -5.32%. A low open was actually a good thing. If it had gapped up again today, the unrealized profits from yesterday would have been sold off relentlessly and concertedly, which would have surely crushed sentiment.

Many who had secured a first move, especially the warriors who had snapped up shares during the board-prying, were still profitable even with the lower open. When the price dipped 5 percent underwater, they felt an urgent need to take profits to prevent further erosion.

Of course, there were also people who had bought at the limit-up who couldn’t hold on and chose to sell at a loss.

The first half-hour of trading was the most active period. As sellers left and buyers entered, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price fluctuated at -5% underwater for fifteen minutes. Around 9:46 AM, the intraday line began to rise, soon breaking through today’s opening price.

The heaviest selling pressure was over.

Around 9:50 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price turned positive for the day, and more funds entered to continue the rally, pushing the price higher.

By around 9:57 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s gain had expanded to +3.64%, and then it began to fall back.

The intraday high had reached 33.30 yuan. The reason it pulled back was the 33.33 double top ahead. The stock’s popularity was currently unparalleled in both markets, and countless retail investors were watching to see if the 33.33 double top would be broken.

The first attempt to break through failed. The stock price surged higher then fell back. Around 10:14 AM, the intraday line touched the day’s average price line and then rebounded again.

Around 10:30 AM, the price surged to 33.29 yuan. All eyes following the stock were fixed on the intraday line, especially shareholders, who were all hoping for a breakout above the double top to a new high.

But this time, it hit 33.29 yuan and fell back again, marking the second-highest point of the day.

As time ticked by, around 10:47 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price touched the intraday average price line for a second time, and on this occasion, it broke through. A group of investors who could no longer hold their long-term view chose to sell.

This caused many remaining shareholders to curse in frustration. As the saying goes, the first charge rouses the spirit, the second weakens it, and the third exhausts it. If it didn’t push through soon, the sentiment would dissipate.

However, selling also meant shares were changing hands; someone was buying.

Around 10:50 AM, the stock price rebounded above the intraday average price line. By 11:00 AM, the intraday line continued to push upward, mounting a third assault on the 33.33 double top.

At 11:06 AM, Dongbai Supermarket was up +3.70%, with its price reaching 33.32 yuan. Just as it was about to touch 33.33 yuan, it was smashed down by a large sell order of five million yuan.

The retail investors watching for the breakout cursed at their computer screens.

Following that, more short positions were thrown out, and the price turned and was hammered down to 32.85 yuan, with the gain falling back to the +2.24% level.

But just then, a large order of 3,700 lots, worth over twelve million yuan, entered the market.

At 11:12:29 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price shot up to 33.42 yuan, with its gain expanding to +4.01%.

The 33.33 yuan double top was broken in one fell swoop!

The stock price hit a new all-time high!

…

Chapter 298: Instant Flash Crash

The moment Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price broke through, the stock’s popularity surged. Although popularity is something you can’t see or touch, you could feel it most directly from the trading volume on the chart. After the 33.33 yuan price level was breached, trading volume rapidly expanded, and the stock’s intraday chart began to show both volume and price rising in tandem.

Around 11:15 AM, various stock market apps sent out push notifications:

[Dongbai Supermarket rises over +5%, stock price continues to hit new all-time high]

By the time this pop-up notification appeared, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price had already rallied to 34.53 yuan, with its gains widening to 7.47%. It looked like it was charging for the limit-up board.

At 11:22 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price broke through 35 yuan, and its gains widened to +8.93%. Those who hadn’t gotten in early felt the squeeze and took the risky plunge to chase the rally. They figured it was only Tuesday, so it wasn’t a big deal. If it were Friday, they wouldn’t have dared, fearing some trouble over the weekend.

At 11:26 AM, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price rallied to 35.35 yuan, hitting the limit-up board with a gain of +10.02%. The limit orders on the board began to surge—thirty million, fifty million… soon breaking one hundred million yuan in funds to seal the board, and they were still increasing.

By around 11:28 AM, the funds sealing the limit-up board had surpassed 192 million yuan. At the same time, various stock market apps sent out another push notification:

[Dongbai Supermarket hits limit-up again, price rises to 35.35 yuan, setting another record high. The stock has accumulated a gain of +511.88% since its low point.]

At this moment, the comment section of the stock’s forum was in an uproar.

“Dongbai is awesome (voice cracking)——!”

“The invincible cosmic leader stock! I don’t care if you’re salty, the only question is whether you bow down or not?”

“I’m impressed, I’m impressed! Can I get in already?!”

“The limit-up price is 35.35, another double top. Be careful!”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Tomorrow it’ll gap up and break right through it. A 33.33 double top? Double tops are made to be broken!”

“It’s up more than five-fold in about a month. This is the Monster King of the year. Neither Shandong Juli nor Double Coin Holdings can compare to Dongbai Supermarket. The third main uptrend wave is confirmed!”

“Target price for the third wave is 50 yuan. I’m locking my position until it hits the target!”

“This stock’s market cap is already 16 billion. What’s supporting such a huge valuation? And you want it to hit 50? That’s over 24 billion. What’s it gonna use for support? Thin air?”

“It’s merging with Yonghui! The future prospects are huge!”

“When playing monster stocks, especially the leading one, don’t try to predict a target price. Just follow the trend.”

“I’m so jealous…JPG”

“The first main uptrend wave had eleven consecutive limit-ups, the second had five. This third wave will have at least three consecutive limit-ups!”

“I was always bullish but never dared to buy. Missed Double Coin Holdings, missed Dongbai. Looks like I have no fate with monster stocks.”

…

Just as the stock forum was celebrating, in the last minute before the morning session closed—to be precise, at around 11:29:53 AM—the funds sealing Dongbai Supermarket’s limit-up board were suddenly and frantically withdrawn, while a volume of over fifty million burst through.

In the second to last second before the morning session ended, Dongbai Supermarket’s board… broke!

At 11:30 AM, its stock price settled at 35.19 yuan, a gain of +9.52%. Most investors barely had time to react. They were still chatting, bragging, or reading the forum comments. When they looked back at the chart, they discovered the limit-up board had actually broken.

The vast majority of investors were completely bewildered. What the hell was that random break?

A few minutes later, a piece of breaking news began to go viral in various chat groups and stock forums, making the scalps of those who bought in today tingle with fear.

The news was that a vice president of Yonghui Supermarket had responded to media inquiries about the merger with Dongbai Supermarket. He stated that after conducting due diligence, they found Dongbai Supermarket’s situation to be far worse than anticipated. He even implied that not only could Dongbai not come up with three hundred million, but it couldn’t pay off its debts in three lifetimes. A merger with Yonghui was absolutely impossible.

The Yonghui VP further stated that the company’s senior management had already made a new plan: to apply directly for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board. If all went smoothly, they hoped to debut on the A-share market next year.

That was it. A Yonghui VP had spoken out personally. A merger and reorganization was now completely off the table, and Yonghui was planning to list directly.

As this news spread rapidly during the midday break, everyone who had bought Dongbai stock today collectively shattered on the spot. At that moment, the tone of the stock’s forum comment section took another sharp, 180-degree turn.

“Oh boy, limit-down this afternoon!”

“Fing moron released negative news intra-day! Son of a b! What the hell, f**!”

“My order at 35.35 filled. It’s over. I’m done for…”

“Everyone, don’t panic. Since the major players sealed the limit-up, there shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, the power of a trend doesn’t turn so easily. Even K-God said the leader stock has an extra life.”

“LMAO, you’re still fantasizing? ‘Power of the trend’? ‘Major players’? ‘An extra life’? Sorry, that extra life was used up yesterday. In this situation, even K-God would be buried alive. Dongbai has been abandoned by Yonghui. What’s going to support its 160 billion market cap now?”

“No way? Is my first time playing a monster stock going to be a sky-to-floor board?”

“Releasing negative news intra-day is truly disgusting.”

“We’re screwed. It’s gonna come down just as fast as it went up.”

“Feels like I caught the last leg of the relay. Speechless!”

“Give up your fantasies and put in a sell order at limit-down to get out. If you don’t flee now, you’ll be waiting for it to get slashed in half. Don’t count on the major players; they’ll trap you just the same. Besides, are there even any major players in this stock anymore? It’s completely driven by the market’s collective sentiment. When sentiment is high, there’s no ceiling; when sentiment retreats, there’s no floor.”

“Whatever. My cost basis is 20 yuan and I’ve held till now. Worst case is my profits retrace. With a cushion of over 70 points of profit, I don’t believe I can actually lose money on this!”

…

As the news spread, the investors who got in today silently prayed that the afternoon sell-off wouldn’t be too brutal, planning to sell at a loss tomorrow. If it could hit the limit-up again, that would be even better.

But in reality, those with a first-mover advantage were, without exception, front-running the moment they saw the news. They all quietly submitted their sell orders before the market opened, aiming to get out immediately at the limit-down price.

After placing their orders, these investors flocked to the stock forum to post comments telling everyone to “stay calm” and “don’t be scared by the negative news.”

For those holding the stock, the one-and-a-half-hour midday break felt agonizingly long.

Finally, the time came.

At 1:00 PM sharp, the A-share market’s afternoon session opened on time. All the market’s major players were staring at Dongbai Supermarket’s intraday chart.

The moment the afternoon session began, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock price instantly flash-crashed. In that first moment, a trading volume of over fifty million was generated as the price was hammered down from near the limit-up price to 28.93 yuan in seconds, creating a 20-point amplitude and sealing the stock at its limit-down.

Surprisingly, some brave retail warriors still threw over fifty million yuan in funds to catch the falling knife.

About two minutes later, various stock market apps sent out push notifications:

[Dongbai Supermarket stages a sky-to-floor board at the afternoon open, plummeting straight to its limit-down. Current turnover is 1.66 billion yuan.]

The entire sum of over 1.6 billion yuan traded today was buried alive. Whether they were retail investors or hot money, anyone who entered the market that day was trapped. This, too, was the market’s collective force—just on the short side.

The funds used to chase the limit-up were completely trapped, which was equivalent to taking two limit-downs in a single day.

After the stock hit its limit-down, the sell orders sealing the board reached a terrifying sum of over three billion yuan. When everyone who had bought in that day saw the sheer volume of sell orders, even those trapped with small positions found it hard to breathe. Those with large positions felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation.

At this time, Dongbai Supermarket’s stock forum was filled with wails of anguish.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Smashed to limit-down in an instant. I’m utterly dumbfounded.”

“Yesterday it was an earth-to-sky board, today a sky-to-floor board. So f***ing exciting. Is this what a leader stock is?”

“That’s right, this is a leader stock. Even its death is spectacular… [smirk]”

“It was clearly a sudden death! You call this spectacular?”

“Is it not?”

“Uh… can’t find a flaw in that logic!”

“I put in one million and lost 200,000 in an instant. How exciting!”

“The view from the rooftop is beautiful. It’s just a bit cold.”

“A bunch of old dogs! At noon, every single one of them was saying, ‘Don’t panic, it’s fine, it’ll be okay, definitely not selling.’ In the end, they all ran faster than rabbits. This world is a treacherous place. I was too naive, too young!”

“Society is simple; it’s the people who are complicated.”

“Eating noodles in the dark. Selling at a loss tomorrow!”

“Heh, you think you can sell at a loss tomorrow? How naive. First, prepare to eat five consecutive limit-downs opening at the limit. We’re starting with it getting slashed in half. You’ll be lucky if you can even get out after a 50% loss. Even if it gets slashed in half to 17 yuan, its market cap would still be 8 billion. The merger expectation is gone. Forgive me for being blunt, but this stock isn’t even worth 2 billion.”

“For those who caught this baton today, all I can say is may heaven help you!”

“Monster stocks aren’t something I can handle. Just watching is enough; my heart can’t take it. I’ll stick to buying some index funds. Making money isn’t easy.”

…

Chapter 299: It’s All Your Fault, You Let Him Flex Again

Dongbai Supermarket’s stock experienced a heaven-to-earth board in an instant, plunging 20 percentage points to be sealed at the limit-down. After over 50 million yuan was traded during the limit-down period, the trading volume practically vanished. Over two billion yuan in sell orders queued up, welding the limit-down board shut.

By the market close, Dongbai Supermarket’s total trading volume for the day was 1.664 billion yuan. Its stock price had plummeted from an intraday high—and historical high—of 35.35 yuan to close at 28.93 yuan. Investors who bought at the peak suffered an instant single-day loss of -18.16%.

When investors looked at Dongbai Supermarket’s data for the day, they noticed that the early investors’ shares had almost all been sold off. The stock’s flash crash also caused the seventy to eighty thousand investors trapped at the summit to have a mental breakdown.

Shortly after the market closed, the stock trading circle was filled with talk of a scandal surrounding Dongbai Supermarket. The stock’s performance over the last two trading days had been insane—first an earth-to-sky board, then a heaven-to-earth board.

The main reason investors cried foul was the 141 million yuan of institutional funds that entered on the first day the stock hit its limit-up, right before the rally began. The timing was too perfect; it had to be insider funds buying in advance.

Around 6:00 PM, Fang Hong saw the controversy over Dongbai Supermarket’s alleged shady trading.

Seeing the argument escalate, he realized it might actually attract the attention of the regulators. Although Fang Hong wasn’t worried about any issues with his own trades, if the regulators intervened, he would definitely be questioned. He would have to cooperate with any investigation, which would lead to his identity being revealed, especially in the public eye.

Fang Hong didn’t want his current life to be disrupted. After some thought, he made a decision. He immediately logged into his K3478 Weibo account, took a screenshot of his buy and sell records for Dongbai Supermarket, and posted a new update.

[I don’t know if there was insider trading in Dongbai, but the 140 million yuan from the first limit-up board is definitely not part of it, because that was my investment.]

Fang Hong finished editing the text and posted it directly to Weibo. Proactively disclosing this information could help him avoid potential inquiries and a lot of trouble down the line. If he were to be questioned and forced into the spotlight, he would be exposed to the public from then on.

If nothing else, his final year at Xincheng University would surely be affected. The entire university would know he was a billionaire worth several billion yuan.

After Fang Hong posted the update, the stock trading circle and investors went into an uproar that evening.

[I knew K-God was in Dongbai!]

[Exactly, I thought so too! Dongbai is this month’s super leading stock. As a trailblazer of the leading stock strategy, how could K-God not be involved!]

[I also suspected K-God was secretly in on it, but I never imagined he was the main force who sealed the first limit-up with 141 million!]

[Oh my god, he went in with over 141 million and came out with over 700 million. A huge win of 569 million in 21 trading days!]

[He’s making a killing! Like Qin Shi Huang eating peppercorns—absolutely winning big!]

[He rode the entire main uptrend wave from start to finish. Is this the work of a god?]

[Inside information, definitely inside information!]

[K-God must have had an inside tip. How else could he have captured the entire primary rally?]

[Yeah, he invested over a hundred million on that day, and that evening Dongbai announced a merger and a trading suspension. The timing is too perfect. It’s definitely insider trading.]

…

After Fang Hong’s Weibo update, the comment section under his latest post was flooded with messages of worship and shock. At the same time, however, he was still being accused of insider trading. Many were certain that K-God must have received an inside tip to have made such a large investment the day before the trading suspension.

Seeing the numerous comments alleging insider trading, Fang Hong didn’t reply. Instead, he posted another Weibo update:

[I didn’t want to explain anything. I actually prefer to keep a low profile and trade quietly, but my skills won’t allow it. If this were insider trading, would the operation be this stupid, making a high-profile entry the day before a trading suspension? Are you afraid people won’t know it’s an insider trade? This is an insult to people’s IQ.]

[Dongbai was insider trading? Was Double Coin Holdings insider trading? Was Shandong Juli insider trading? Was Da’an Gene insider trading too? Do you think I own the stock market? Or are the regulators just for show?]

When Fang Hong posted this, his follower base of investors was collectively stunned.

[This is a blatant flex, for sure!]

[K-God: I’m done pretending. I’m laying my cards on the table!]

[See, it’s all your fault. You let him flex again, and he’s so confident and justified about it.]

[Shandong Juli, Dongbai Supermarket, Double Coin Holdings… tsk tsk tsk, catching any one of these would make you rich, and K-God was in on all of them. It’s just outrageous!]

[That’s not even the most outrageous part. The most outrageous part is that he rode the entire main uptrend wave for each one. Most people can’t even hold on after one or two limit-ups before selling.]

[That’s why he created the legendary ten-thousand-fold return in a month and thirty-thousand-fold in a year!]

[Anyone questioning K-God for insider trading really isn’t thinking. With his god-tier trading skills, does he even need to engage in insider trading?]

[Indeed, and even if he were insider trading, the 140 million yuan move in Dongbai would be incredibly stupid. It’s like he was afraid of not being identified as insider funds. Who would be that dumb?]

[All I can say is K-God’s grasp of market sentiment and his keen eye for opportunities are unparalleled!]

…

With those two Weibo posts, Fang Hong easily resolved the potential trouble. At the very least, the case was closed on the accusations that the 141 million yuan investment was an insider trade.

It was K-God’s move? Oh, then it all makes sense!

After all, with masterpieces like Double Coin Holdings and Shandong Juli as precedent, not to mention earlier cases like Da’an Gene, it was perfectly reasonable that the 140-plus million that sealed Dongbai Supermarket’s first limit-up was K-God’s handiwork.

…

The next day, Wednesday, November 18th.

As soon as the market opened, Dongbai Supermarket was slammed to a limit-down during the opening auction. The price plummeted to 26.04 yuan, and the limit-down orders amounted to a staggering 3.4 billion yuan.

The investors trapped in the stock were filled with despair. With that many sealing orders, no one would dare to try and hold the bag. It was almost certain there would be more consecutive limit-downs to come.

After the market opened, Fang Hong, in his villa’s second-floor trading room, was directing the girls operating the institutional accounts while also logging into his personal securities account to trade himself.

Since he had high-profiledly laid his cards on the table about the Dongbai Supermarket trade on Weibo to counter the so-called insider trading accusations, he decided he might as well continue to be high-profile with another stock.

They talked about inside information, didn’t they?

Could it be inside information every single time?

The best response was to continue producing new achievements and put them on display.

As time passed, Fang Hong found a target while scanning the market: Changchun Gas (600333), a stock on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board.

Around 9:43 AM, Changchun Gas’s stock price was at 8.33 yuan, up +4.78%. Fang Hong decisively entered the stock, investing around ten million yuan in three separate transactions through his personal securities account.

Subsequently, the stock price was pushed up to 8.56 yuan, a gain of +7.67%. After Fang Hong stopped buying, the stock began to pull back.

He wasn’t in a rush to push it to the limit-up, and the stock price continued to decline.

Around 10:03 AM, the price pulled back to the intraday average price line, with its gain narrowing to +5.28%. Then at 10:14 AM, large orders began to flow into Changchun Gas, and the stock price rose to the +6.92% level.

A minute later, Fang Hong directly placed buy orders worth over 70 million yuan, taking the lead in a powerful, igniting push to seal the limit-up board.

Changchun Gas’s intraday line shot straight up in an instant, hitting the limit in seconds. In that minute, over 24 million yuan was traded. The next minute, over 22 million was traded, followed by nearly 10 million in the minute after that. In the subsequent minutes, trading volumes were five million, then two million, as the trading volume on the limit-up board continued to shrink.

After using 70 million to ignite Changchun Gas, Fang Hong stopped paying attention to it. He switched to the order book of another stock, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical (600332), also on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board.

This stock had been trading sideways for the past ten trading days, forming a converging pattern on its K-line chart, and had broken out with a limit-up yesterday.

It had touched the limit-up board shortly before at 9:43 AM but was now trading at a gain of around 6%.

Fang Hong waited for some time. Around 10:38 AM, he struck again, smashing in a 60 million yuan buy order to take the lead in sealing the limit-up. The stock hit the limit-up again. In that minute, over 40 million yuan was traded, and in the next, around 35 million.

However, at 10:40 AM, just two minutes after hitting the limit-up again, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical’s limit-up board broke. Fang Hong didn’t act immediately but waited a few minutes.

As time went on, at 10:46 AM, Fang Hong directly threw in another 20 million yuan or so to ignite it. After the limit-up board had broken, the stock once again hit the limit-up. Nearly 25 million was traded in that minute.

After sealing the limit-up for the third time, the stock’s trading volume shrank significantly. There were no more large sell orders smashing the market.

From then on, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical remained sealed at the limit-up until the market closed, completing its second consecutive limit-up. The stock’s total daily trading volume reached 544 million yuan.

Meanwhile, Changchun Gas remained firmly sealed after hitting its first limit-up. Although there were large sell-offs of over six million and eight million yuan respectively when the market opened in the afternoon at 1:00 PM and 1:52 PM, the limit-up board never broke. Its total daily trading volume was 268 million yuan.

After the A-share market closed, the afternoon’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Both Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Changchun Gas appeared on the list.

When investors saw the trading seat “Xinhong Securities Xinnan Road branch office” on the buy side for both stocks, they instantly grew excited, especially those holding the stocks, who cheered that it was a sure thing!

Because K-God’s trading seat had appeared on the list!

…

Chapter 300: Insane Profits, Crushing Losses

Investors looked at the data on the Dragon-Tiger List. Not only did K-God appear in the buyer seats for these two stocks, but he was also the number one buyer, having furiously bought over eighty million yuan worth of each stock and taking the lead in sealing their limit-ups.

The comment sections for both stocks were filled with exclamations that a one-word limit-up was a sure thing for the next day. Even after the market closed, their popularity was soaring, as investors spread the word in various stock forums and chat groups that K-God’s wealth code had arrived again.

They recalled how K-God had led the charge on Dongbai Supermarket’s first limit-up, and that stock had ended up multiplying fivefold.

As for its current state, it was a case of “a washed-up leader is worse than a dog.”

But K-God’s trades were never a trap. If you followed him in time, you were guaranteed a huge profit. Moreover, K-God never smashed the market; he never engaged in the disgusting practice of dumping his shares after taking his profits. Sometimes, he even reversed the market to pick up more passengers.

The investors who were already on board, whether in Guangzhou Pharmaceutical or Changchun Gas, were now ecstatic. Some retail investors holding the stocks even began to dream of them doubling. They felt that while they couldn’t ask for the crazy five-fold rally of Dongbai Supermarket, a simple double wasn’t too much to ask for, right?

The next day, Thursday, November 19th.

When the A-share market opened, Changchun Gas immediately hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day, opening at its ceiling. At the same time, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical successfully hit its third consecutive limit-up, also opening at its limit-up price.

The call auction results exceeded expectations, with K-God’s influence playing a significant role.

After all, a saying was currently circulating in the stock trading circle: K-God’s trades never trap people, and following him in time basically guarantees profits. At least until now, they had all been profitable rides, with no precedent for a losing one.

Whether it was a short-term trade or a medium-to-long-term one, there was meat to eat.

Needless to say for the short-term trades, stocks like Da’an Gene, Shandong Juli, Double Coin Holdings, and Dongbai Supermarket had all seen spectacular runs.

As for the medium-to-long-term plays, the eight blue-chip stocks from the beginning of the year had yielded at least fifty to sixty percent in huge profits. Many had doubled, and Shanqi Coking Coal had more than quadrupled. This included the recent fifteen medium-to-long-term growth stocks; their current prices had already resulted in floating profits for those who followed the trade from the day K-God posted on Weibo. For instance, Dongfang Yuhong’s stock price had already reached the thirty-eight yuan mark, an increase of over fifty percent.

It was a floating profit of over fifty percent.

However, for those who jumped onto the Dongbai Supermarket bandwagon at the end of its crazy run, today brought another day of opening at limit-down. The stock price crashed to 23.44 yuan. After its infamous limit-up-to-limit-down day, it had suffered two consecutive limit-downs at the open and was still sealed shut by three billion yuan in sell orders.

At 9:30 AM, as the A-share market opened, Fang Hong was directing the young women on his team to operate his institutional account funds while also trading on his personal securities account.

Around 9:32 AM, two minutes after the open, Fang Hong smashed thirty million yuan worth of his holdings in both Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Changchun Gas at their limit-up prices, effectively hitting the nuke button.

Both stocks quickly fell from the limit-up price. He disliked seeing stocks like these accelerate with one-word limit-ups.

Around 9:35 AM, the gains of the two stocks narrowed to +6.72% and +5.93% respectively. At this moment, Fang Hong bought back the shares he had just sold off. He didn’t ignite a rally, but the two stocks quickly began to rise again.

It was, without a doubt, another maneuver of the market backing up to pick up more passengers.

By 9:37 AM, both stocks had hit the limit-up again, forming a T-shaped candlestick on shrinking volume.

The next day, Friday.

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Changchun Gas hit their limit-ups again, but today they didn’t open at the limit. Instead, they opened high, pulled back for two minutes, and then surged straight to the board. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical successfully hit its fourth consecutive limit-up, with a daily turnover exceeding eight hundred million yuan. Changchun Gas hit its third consecutive limit-up, with a turnover of over one billion yuan.

After the market close yesterday, both stocks had appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List again. Investors saw K-God’s trading seat and realized it was another classic case of the market backing up to pick up passengers.

As the saying goes, “If there’s a third, there must be a fifth.” The bullish sentiment for both stocks completely crushed the bears.

While investors in these two stocks were making huge profits, those in Dongbai Supermarket were, in stark contrast, taking huge losses. The stock suffered its third consecutive limit-down at the open today, marking its fourth straight day of hitting the limit-down. The price plunged to 21.10 yuan, a forty percent drop from the 35.35 yuan double top.

The winners were making a killing, and the losers were getting crushed.

As for the index, it surged higher then fell back. Intra-day it hit a new high of 3332.53 points before ultimately closing down a slight -0.37% at 3308.35 points. The Shanghai Composite Index still managed to close above the 3300-point mark.

Meanwhile, a piece of blockbuster news went viral in the tech world this afternoon.

Around 4:30 PM, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow held a media press conference to formally disclose a strategic company plan: over the next ten years, the company would invest an average of ten billion yuan annually in commercial aerospace exploration and R&D.

Qiu Guangcheng, one of the members of Stellaris Capital’s Board of Directors, was responsible for the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project, so he naturally hosted the press conference.

When this news was announced, the investment, media, and technology worlds were all stunned.

An average of ten billion a year? And for a decade-long period? In other words, this was a one-hundred-billion-yuan-level strategic investment plan—an absolutely astronomical figure.

That day, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow made the front-page headline of every major media outlet, drawing onlookers from all walks of life. The photos published by many media outlets prominently featured the slogan on the backdrop at the press conference: Our journey is to the sea of stars!

An annual investment scale of over ten billion yuan made many who weren’t paying attention incredibly curious about what kind of powerhouse Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was to be so wealthy.

Most people who first saw the news assumed it was a state-funded initiative to vigorously support the aerospace industry. When they discovered it was a plan announced by a private commercial aerospace company, it seemed even more incredible.

Many people online questioned whether Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was just generating hype, refusing to believe that private capital could produce so much money. Forget a hundred-billion-yuan strategic plan; even coming up with ten billion was already mind-boggling.

Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had indeed made a huge move. Its previous announcement of a two billion yuan Phase One investment had already made the news, attracting attention from many industry insiders and investors.

Today’s news was nuclear-level.

People from all sides were trying to verify the reliability of the news. At the same time, investors across the capital circle were dumbfounded. Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s parent company was Stellaris Capital, so the money must be coming from them.

Their peers in the investment circle thought Stellaris Capital had gone mad. Only a madman could pull off such a move. But at the same time, they were shocked by the immense financial strength of Stellaris Capital.

To pour so much money into a single project, just how rich were they?

As the news fermented, aerospace enthusiasts in the country were incredibly excited, all discussing Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. Some compared it to SpaceX. Unquestionably, the enthusiasts were super supportive, and Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s slogan was being widely shared within their circles.

However, over the weekend, a large number of public intellectuals appeared online to ruthlessly criticize the commercial aerospace strategic plan disclosed by Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

On the weekend afternoon, Fang Hong was enjoying afternoon tea in the leisure area of his Tranquil Heart Residence villa. Hu Tao sat beside him, preparing the tea. He was browsing the news related to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow online; more accurately, he was reading the “heartbroken” statements from the so-called public intellectuals.

[Facing so many disasters, yet they use firecrackers to decorate the facade.]

[Children in the western regions don’t have decent classrooms. Don’t you feel heartbroken? For a big firecracker, millions of children are deprived of a good education. Is that really worth getting so excited about?]

[Is going to space a high-level achievement? Of course it is, you’re going all the way up to space. But how much money does it take to get there? Oh, ten billion a year.]

[Our people’s livelihood is so difficult and arduous. I cannot understand, nor can I fathom, why we would spend so much money to go to space. It represents neither justice, nor eternity, nor the interests of the people.]

Fang Hong read the public intellectuals’ arguments for a while. They were on all major online platforms, including Weibo. The aerospace industry had become a prime target for their collective fire.

As the big boss behind Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong was lurking online, observing the public sentiment. After reading the “profound” arguments from the public intellectuals slandering the aerospace industry, Fang Hong turned his attention to an interview video.

He casually clicked the link, and the webpage jumped to the Yixing Video website. The video was an exclusive interview with Qiu Guangcheng, the head of the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project. He was directly confronting the public intellectuals, and he wasn’t holding back at all.

Chapter 301: Facing Off Head-On

On the sofa in the villa’s leisure area, Fang Hong clicked play on a video.

In the video, Qiu Guangcheng, being interviewed by a reporter, spoke with calm conviction: “These so-called public intellectuals are always asking, ‘What’s the point of going to space? How much will it contribute to the GDP?’ Today, we blame our ancestors from five hundred years ago for abandoning their rights to the sea. Space is the new ocean, and we cannot let our descendants five hundred years from now blame us for abandoning the sea of stars.”

Leaning back on the sofa, Fang Hong watched the video playing on his computer screen without a word.

On screen, Qiu Guangcheng continued, “Their claims that the prolonged and costly endeavor of aerospace is not worthwhile are born of utter ignorance and audacity. They dare to criticize and make irresponsible remarks about such complex, high-end technology. To question and stigmatize the aerospace industry is either foolish or malicious.”

Qiu Guangcheng added, “Back in the Ming Dynasty, Liu Daxia burned all of Zheng He’s star charts, nautical maps, and shipbuilding documents, claiming they were a drain on national resources with no benefit to the state. This is exactly like the so-called public intellectuals today who slander the aerospace industry with arguments like ‘We’d be better off with free healthcare,’ or ‘Children in the western regions are eating grass,’ and so on.”

Watching this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but be surprised by Qiu Guangcheng. He was facing off directly against the public intellectuals, going all out, holding nothing back, and mincing no words.

As the big boss, Fang Hong’s respect for his subordinate Qiu Guangcheng immediately grew, and he found himself quite impressed.

It was important to remember that this was an era when public intellectuals were at their most rampant and influential. For Qiu Guangcheng to dare to stand up and confront them so directly and head-on, one could only imagine how viciously they would try to tarnish his name.

About a third of the way through the video, the reporter asked, “There’s a view that the greatest significance of the aerospace industry is as a vanity project. How do you respond to that?”

The camera focused on Qiu Guangcheng as he replied, “To think of the aerospace industry as a vanity project is a sign of ignorance. They simply don’t understand that many advanced aerospace technologies have already been or are about to be converted into civilian applications. For example, the blow molding technology in athletic shoes was originally used for making spacesuits.”

“Another example is energy resources, a global problem. Institutions and venture capitalists worldwide are searching for new energy sources. Controllable nuclear fusion, for instance, is a viable solution to humanity’s energy problems. Although the technology isn’t mature yet, it’s the future. The moon is rich in helium-3, the ideal fuel for controlled fusion.”

“Furthermore, medical drugs for many complex diseases can be developed through experiments in space, which is impossible in a terrestrial environment, and many such drugs have already been created. Jiuzhou Blue Arrow has done an internal assessment: for every one yuan our country invests in the aerospace industry, we get a conservative economic return of seven yuan, and likely much more. Can you still call this a vanity project?”

Watching the video, Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. It was clear that Qiu Guangcheng had done a lot of homework on the aerospace field. He wasn’t a scientist himself, so professional technical staff must have prepared the materials for this interview, but he had obviously studied them diligently.

In the video, the reporter said, “Some people also say we should solve more pressing problems first—like education, housing, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and food safety—before developing the aerospace industry.”

The camera cut back to Qiu Guangcheng, who immediately responded, “By then, it would be too late. Missing a decade of development opportunities would make it impossible to catch up. This is a common tactic used by those so-called public intellectuals: they deliberately pit unrelated things against each other to denigrate the aerospace industry. To use these issues to negate and obstruct the development of aerospace is either illogical or intentionally malicious.”

Qiu Guangcheng then retorted, “Would those problems disappear if we stopped our aerospace programs? Would they just vanish on the spot? Aerospace technology requires forward-thinking, long-term planning. If we wait until all domestic issues like education, poverty, and housing are solved before turning our attention to space, we’ll lose another decade or even several decades. This would only widen the gap that already exists between us and the major Western spacefaring nations. How would you ever catch up then?”

Qiu Guangcheng added, “Solving domestic issues and developing aerospace are not mutually exclusive; they can and should be pursued in parallel. They are separate endeavors, each requiring its own investment and solutions. As a private commercial aerospace company, it’s enough for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow to contribute to the nation’s aerospace industry.”

“Other organizations can help with poverty alleviation, food safety, and so on. There are many problems, and we can solve them together. We are a country of 1.3 billion people. No matter how many problems there are, if you divide them by 1.3 billion, they don’t seem so numerous. But if you take even a few problems and multiply them by 1.3 billion, they become countless. That’s the principle. When looking at a problem or an industry’s development, you can’t be a frog in a well, limited to your immediate surroundings. You must look to the future.”

At the end of the interview, Qiu Guangcheng concluded, “Since the Ming Dynasty, we lost our rights to the sea. Today, we absolutely cannot lose our rights to the sea of stars in space. If we don’t go, future generations will blame us. If others go and claim it, we won’t be able to go even if we want to. That reason alone is enough.”

The video ended, and Fang Hong casually closed the page.

Appointing Qiu Guangcheng to lead the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project was absolutely the right decision. This interview was publicly released to counter those public intellectuals, but that was just a side effect. Having a C-level executive from Stellaris Capital’s core decision-making team stand up just to debate public intellectuals would be giving them too much credit.

The true goal of this video was for Qiu Guangcheng, representing Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and by extension Stellaris Capital, to demonstrate to the relevant national leadership the necessity and urgency of their contribution to the aerospace sector.

Clearly, the vision expressed in this video would also be helpful for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s subsequent efforts to bring in the two aerospace giants from the “National team” as partners.

However, after this interview was released, Qiu Guangcheng quickly went viral!

He received praise from countless netizens, especially those with strong patriotic feelings and aerospace enthusiasts, who were immediately won over by his interview.

This included some scientists and technicians in the aerospace field, particularly those within the state system who were initially skeptical of private capital. After watching the interview, their perception changed drastically, and their opinion of the company improved significantly. They felt that the private capital firm behind Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was truly different.

The nation’s top aerospace talent was mostly concentrated in the “National team,” or else they were abroad, as there were no private aerospace companies. Therefore, in its upcoming recruitment drive, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was certain to attract some talent from within the state system.

Beyond that, they would also recruit talent internationally, whether it be top experts returning after studying abroad or foreign specialists—excluding, of course, those who were just padding their resumes overseas.

…

Around 5:30 PM, Tian Jiayi returned from the company and went to the second-floor study to report to Fang Hong. The focus of today’s report was on matters related to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, specifically the formation of a team of high-end technical talent.

“We won’t actively poach people from the state-owned enterprises,” Fang Hong said. He then looked at his beautiful assistant and added, “But we will treat those who come to us of their own accord with respect and excellent benefits. Once Jiuzhou Blue Arrow successfully partners with CASIC or the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and those two giants become shareholders, they will naturally send talent our way. They’ll have to give us at least some, right?”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but nod. This way, they wouldn’t have to actively poach anyone.

“The Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project is a long-term endeavor, with a timeline of at least ten years. We should focus even more on cultivating new talent,” Fang Hong said, thinking for a moment before continuing, “Contact a few universities, like Northwestern Polytechnical University, the University of Science and Technology of China, and Harbin Institute of Technology. Jiuzhou Blue Arrow can partner with these universities, provide them with research funding, and even sponsor students in relevant majors. We can create talent reserve programs to cultivate people who will eventually join Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.”

Of course, in addition to cultivating a talent pool within the Mainland, recruiting from overseas was also a priority. True top-tier, high-end technical talent is globally mobile. Whether they were Chinese talents returning from studying abroad or foreign experts, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow would actively recruit them.

If money could solve the problem of attracting talent, that would be ideal. The one thing Stellaris Capital didn’t lack was money. For them, any problem that could be solved with money was the simplest kind of problem.

…

Chapter 302: Stellaris Capital’s Complete Exit from the A-Share Market

After giving instructions for Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, Fang Hong picked up a document and handed it to his beautiful assistant, saying, “Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin withdrawing from the A-share market. The stocks to be liquidated and the plan are all in here. Just have the traders below execute it.”

Tian Jiayi took the document and opened it for a look. The funds that had entered the market around the beginning of September would be withdrawn starting tomorrow, Monday. The vast majority of assets held by Stellaris Capital in the A-share market would be liquidated and exited directly, with only a small portion of core assets—stocks capable of weathering both bull and bear markets—being retained.

The A-share market was set to enter a downward bear market trend for the next five years. Stellaris Capital could only enter at opportune times, engaging in trend trading rather than so-called value investing. They would hold assets during the trend and cash out to exit when the trend ended.

However, even amid the overall downtrend in the A-share market over the next five years, it wasn’t without opportunities. After all, the market wouldn’t fall in a straight line; there would still be periods of temporary strength during the broader decline, and these were the windows for profit.

Although the overall trend was downward, it wouldn’t be a problem for Stellaris Capital to continue profiting from the A-share market. It just wouldn’t be as simple as this year’s effortless money-making by going long on everything.

“Given our company’s current influence in the capital market, if the market learns that Stellaris Capital is liquidating and exiting A-shares, it will likely have a significant negative impact,” Tian Jiayi said after closing the document. Stellaris Capital’s move to liquidate its holdings signaled that this incredibly profitable institution was bearish on the secondary market. It would undoubtedly affect market sentiment, and not in a small way.

“The company shouldn’t rashly express a bearish view on the market. As for our withdrawal, we have a ready-made reason, don’t we? We’re getting into high-tech, and that stuff burns through cash. So we’re cashing out to invest our money in the high-tech industry,” Fang Hong said with a smile, crossing his legs.

Making money was all that mattered; the rest was just noise. Still, it was best to have a reason for the withdrawal prepared, though it would be ideal if they didn’t have to use it.

After all, Stellaris Capital was pulling out funds on the scale of hundreds of billions. Without proper preparation, they could be blamed for crashing the entire market, and Fang Hong had no intention of taking the fall for that.

The next day, Monday, November 23rd.

On the first trading day of the week, the A-share market opened with its two major indices slightly higher. In the first hour of trading, the market fluctuated upwards. Around 10:25 AM, the broader market surged to 3333 points, its intraday gain expanding to the +0.75% level, getting closer and closer to the 3478-point high.

Stellaris Capital began a large-scale sell-off of its stock assets in the A-share market. The market’s trading volume had picked up again in recent days, with the Shanghai Composite Index’s daily volume returning to the 200 billion yuan level and the combined volume of both markets reaching 350 billion yuan.

Back at the end of September, trading volume had shrunk to an extremely low level; the Shanghai Composite’s full-day volume had even been as low as 70 billion yuan, completely incomparable to the current liquidity.

Around 10:30 AM, as Stellaris Capital began its massive sell-off to exit the market, the day’s trend was affected. After surging to 3333 points, the broader market began to fluctuate and fall back.

As the 11:28 AM close of the morning session approached, the Shanghai Composite Index once broke below its opening price and touched the zero-axis line. The index nearly turned negative for the day.

When the market reopened in the afternoon, it rebounded for about half an hour. But as Stellaris Capital continued to unleash selling pressure, the market fell back again for nearly half an hour after the rebound. Around 1:55 PM, the broader market briefly turned negative.

However, starting from 2:00 PM, the market strongly fluctuated higher and even accelerated its rise in late trading.

Stellaris Capital continued to execute its withdrawal orders, selling relentlessly throughout the day. However, their selling pressure in late trading was much lighter than in the morning. This allowed the market index to successfully break through the morning’s intraday high in the last half hour and set a new recent high.

At the market close, the broader market index was up +0.92%, closing at 3338.66 points. The Shenzhen Component Index rose +1.16% to close at 13854.66 points. Both indices set new recent highs, and the combined volume of the two markets remained at the 300 billion yuan level.

In terms of individual stocks, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, which Fang Hong had bought into on its second consecutive limit-up on November 18th, staged a reversal to a limit-up today. Yesterday, the stock had opened high and closed low. Today, it hit its fourth limit-up in five days with a trading volume of 700 million yuan. Fang Hong also cashed in his profits today, selling about 100 million yuan worth of shares and exiting with a profit of about 23 percent, or around 18.5 million yuan.

Another stock he had entered, Changchun Gas, recorded its fourth consecutive limit-up in four days today, with its price rising to 11.65 yuan. Fang Hong had also taken the lead in sealing the first limit-up board for this stock. Yesterday, it had staged a sneak attack to a limit-up in late trading on a volume of one billion yuan. Today, after trading was suspended for an hour due to abnormal activity, it hit the limit-up again about half an hour after resuming.

Fang Hong still held his position in the stock, with a floating profit of about 36 percent, or around 30 million yuan.

The next day, November 24th.

Today, the A-share markets opened slightly higher and maintained a sideways trading pattern after the open.

Individually, Changchun Gas opened high at 12.28 yuan, a gain of +5.41%. After a pullback for a few minutes, it began to fluctuate higher. Around 9:45 AM, the stock surged to 12.82 yuan, hitting its fifth consecutive limit-up board.

However, it merely touched the board before coming back down. The attempt to seal the limit-up failed, and it quickly pulled back to near the opening price. Meanwhile, Fang Hong was already quietly cashing in his profits.

Over the next hour, Changchun Gas began to trend upwards again. Around 10:47 AM, it began its second attempt to seal the limit-up. In that minute, over 25 million yuan worth of shares changed hands, but the attempt failed again. It didn’t plummet sharply, however, instead maintaining a gain of over 9 percent.

At 11:11 AM, Changchun Gas made its third attempt. This time, over 31 million yuan in volume flooded in that minute, successfully sealing the limit-up.

However, it only held for five minutes. Around 11:16 AM, the limit-up board was broken by a 15 million yuan sell order, and the stock quickly plummeted to around 12.5 yuan, its gain narrowing to about 7 percent.

After the afternoon session opened, Changchun Gas continued to trade at a high level with exceptionally active trading.

Stellaris Capital continued its large-scale, orderly withdrawal today. Fang Hong also continued to sell off his position in Changchun Gas. After the market opened in the afternoon, he finished exiting his final 20 million yuan position at around a 9 percent gain, completely liquidating his stake in the stock.

At the same time, Fang Hong was directing the girls operating the institutional accounts to slightly reduce their positions to avoid profit retracement.

As expected, the two markets were about to stage a sudden flash crash and sharp plunge in the afternoon.

After surging to 3361.39 points in the morning, the Shanghai Composite Index hit its intraday high. As time reached 1:30 PM, the market began to weaken, and the index fell back and turned negative. At this time, B-shares suddenly plummeted.

Around 2:00 PM, the Shanghai Composite’s decline widened to -0.75%. Soon, the plunge in B-shares spread to the A-share market, and the Shanghai index began to follow with a flash crash and sharp plunge. The 3300-point mark was breached in one fell swoop with no resistance.

At 2:17 PM, the Shanghai index dropped to the 3256-point level, its decline widening to -2.47%. It then stopped falling and rebounded, recovering to the -1.48% level in five minutes. But it failed to push higher and began to slowly weaken again.

This plunge was triggered by the B-share market, causing a major rout in A-shares. The B-share index at one point had panic-sold down by -8%.

It was worth noting that Changchun Gas, the current high-sentiment leading stock, was also dragged down during the market plunge, its gain falling to +4.46% around 2:17 PM.

However, as the broader market rebounded, Changchun Gas shot up in a straight line to the 9 percent gain level, as funds began to flock to the high-profile leading stocks.

With the market rebounding, it seemed the worst was over.

However, misfortunes never come singly. In the last half hour of trading, around 2:30 PM, the market staged another flash crash and sharp plunge. Around 2:41 PM, the Shanghai Composite panic-sold down to the 3214-point level, with its decline widening to -3.72%. Massive volume erupted in both markets as funds fled in panic.

At the same time, Changchun Gas plunged again to a 6 percent gain, but as the broader market began to rebound by 1 percent, Changchun Gas once again shot up in a straight line.

Around 2:48 PM, Changchun Gas’s stock price surged to 12.82 yuan, hitting the +10.04% limit-up board. Over 31 million yuan in volume flooded in that minute. The broader market dropped back again, but Changchun Gas only saw its board break momentarily before it was sealed tightly for the final five or six minutes of trading.

Meanwhile, the broader market continued to fall.

The cause of the second major plunge in late trading was negative news about bank stocks. The China Banking Regulatory Commission had required large state-owned banks to raise their capital adequacy ratio to 13% by next year. This made the market feel the pressure of tightening liquidity again, and it promptly dropped dead.

After the second plunge near the close, Fang Hong instructed the girls to add back the positions they had day-traded out of in the morning. He also had them make some new short-term trades in stocks like recent IPOs Dayu Water-Saving and Beixin Road & Bridge, as well as Ankai Bus and United Chemical.

However, the amounts were all around ten million yuan or so; not much capital was committed.

Chapter 303: A New Market Concept: The K-God Concept Stock

At the close of trading, the A-share markets plummeted across the board. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 3.45% to close at 3,223.53 points, with a turnover of 295.1 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped by 2.90% to 13,453.28 points, with a trading volume of 178.2 billion yuan. The combined turnover for both markets surged to 473.3 billion yuan.

Today saw a staggering massive volume, the highest of the year, breaking the previous record of 435 billion yuan set on July 29th, when the market plummeted from a high point.

After the market closed, various “geniuses in hindsight” began their post-market analysis to summarize the reasons for the sudden crash.

They attributed it to three factors: first, technical reasons—the broader market had been rising continuously since the beginning of the month without any significant correction. Second, the impact of the B-share market plummeting—the B-share index suddenly panic-sold in the afternoon, at one point dropping 8% and dragging down the A-share market. Third, negative news from the banking sector about tightening liquidity.

This year’s sub-high point has been established at 3,361.39 points.

…

In the afternoon.

“As of today, the company has liquidated 45% of its stock assets in the A-share market. We have completed about 67% of our liquidation target in two days,” Tian Jiayi reported on Stellaris Capital’s withdrawal progress to Fang Hong after returning home.

“Hmm, we can slow down a bit tomorrow. We’ll offload the remaining shares early next month,” Fang Hong said with a nod. “We’ll liquidate the rest during the rebound, when the index bounces back to around 3,300 points.”

Tian Jiayi made a note of his decision to arrange things at the company tomorrow. She no longer questioned Fang Hong’s strategic maneuvers in the capital market. Even if she didn’t fully understand them, she firmly believed he had his reasons and trusted his judgment.

After all, he precisely predicted the market’s direction every single time. Tian Jiayi also checked her own account today. She currently only held shares in Dongfang Yuhong. Following Fang Hong’s advice, she had previously invested one million yuan in Double Coin Holdings and exited with 2.7 million yuan, including principal and profit. She then invested the entire amount into Dongfang Yuhong at 22 yuan per share.

The stock had also fallen by over 5% today, closing at 37.7 yuan. Tian Jiayi’s profit had only pulled back slightly; she still had a floating profit of about +71%, amounting to 1.91 million yuan. The market value of her holdings had reached as high as 4.61 million yuan.

Since Fang Hong hadn’t told her to do anything, she held her position. She would sell whenever he told her to.

It was definitely much more rewarding than her salary from Stellaris Capital.

A moment later, Tian Jiayi reported on another matter: “The first judicial auction for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group concluded today. The initial auction failed.”

This event was closely watched within the industry. Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had a starting bid of 5.675 billion yuan. Stellaris Capital did not send anyone to participate in the bidding, and, as expected, the auction failed.

From the perspective of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s value alone, the starting bid of 5.675 billion was a complete cabbage-price fire sale. Yet, with Stellaris Capital abstaining, not a single other institution participated.

Those who know, know. This was Stellaris Capital’s fish on the chopping block.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group still had over twenty billion in non-performing assets and debt, a fact that wasn’t well hidden. Other institutions could discover it with a little due diligence.

If anyone dared to bid for that 100% equity, they would immediately be hounded by creditors. Everyone in the industry knew that Stellaris Capital had stuffed those debts and non-performing assets into the company, sending a clear message to others: stay away from this piece of meat.

Finally, Fang Hong asked, “When will the second auction take place?”

Tian Jiayi promptly replied, “If there are no surprises, the second judicial auction process should begin around mid-January 2010.”

The price for the second judicial auction would be lowered to 4.8 billion yuan. At that time, Stellaris Capital would send someone to acquire it, officially bringing Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group under its umbrella. The subsequent steps would involve breakup and reorganization, followed by an IPO on the ChiNext board.

Everything was clearly laid out and would proceed according to plan.

…

In the evening.

There was new news from the capital markets. Regarding the daytime rumor that large state-owned banks would have to raise their capital adequacy ratio to 13% next year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission denied the authenticity of the news.

This caught everyone off guard.

The next day, November 25th, the A-share market opened. The Shanghai Composite Index surged higher in early trading before falling back. Around 11 a.m., the broader market had dropped by more than 1%, touching the 20-day moving average, but then it immediately began a V-shaped rebound.

The rally continued after the market opened in the afternoon, rising for the entire session.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by +2.07% on shrinking volume, closing at 3,290.17 points.

Today’s restorative rally was a short-term rebound after being oversold. Yesterday’s sell-off was indeed too ruthless and sudden, and the drop was a bit excessive.

It was worth mentioning that several stocks Fang Hong had bought during the late trading dip yesterday, including recent IPO stocks like Dayu Water-Saving and Beixin Road & Bridge, gapped up and hit the limit-up in seconds today.

The reason was that Fang Hong’s personal securities account had also bought into these newly listed stocks. Dayu Water-Saving hit its limit-down yesterday, and Beixin Road & Bridge opened high but closed low. Investors thought it was over, but when the Dragon-Tiger List data was released, they saw K-God had entered.

These few recent IPO stocks immediately became hot, and sentiment reversed completely.

As soon as the market opened today, investors rushed to buy in, quickly pushing the stocks to their upper limit in an engulfing pattern. Hot money investors of all sizes were in awe of the situation. K-God’s market influence was simply unrivaled. He could literally point anywhere, and the market would follow, always with a legion of fervent retail investor fans.

Over the next two trading days, Thursday and Friday, both recent IPO stocks, Beixin Road & Bridge and Dayu Water-Saving, achieved three consecutive limit-ups.

Never mind logic or fundamentals; K-God’s arrival was the strongest logic. A stock picked by K-God was the strongest logic. K-God’s car never leads you into a pit. As long as you follow the car in time, you’re guaranteed a huge profit.

This was a perfect illustration of how capital is king in the market and how sentiment drives it. A group of speculators in the market flocked together, using K-God himself as a concept.

K-God had now become a new concept in the A-share market: the K-God Concept Stock. Any stock K-God picked was guaranteed to rise. It was absurd, but it was the market consensus, much like how, a decade later, certain contrarian convertible bonds in the market would behave. When the broader market plummeted, a group of funds would pile into a specific convertible bond, and it would soar while the market fell.

There was no logic to it. If one had to find a logic, it was a tacit understanding among a group of investors: whenever the broader market panic-sold, they would trade convertible bonds to hedge.

Likewise, the current “K-God Concept Stock” was a tacit understanding reached by the market. Any stock K-God entered was presumed to be capable of a high-level rally with consecutive limit-ups. When the overall market sentiment was good, it could achieve a super high-level run, like the first leader of the restructuring concept, Dongbai Supermarket.

As for when the sentiment tide receded, whoever was left holding the bag could only pray for themselves.

Dongbai Supermarket, previously hailed as the Universe’s Overall Leader, was now a case of “a washed-up leader is worse than a dog.” It had suffered seven consecutive limit-downs, opening at the limit each day, in addition to its initial “heaven-and-earth board” limit-down.

It had now recorded eight consecutive limit-downs. The stock price had plummeted from 35.35 yuan to 13.84 yuan, a cumulative drop of over 60% from its peak. Even after being slashed in half, the sell-off continued, with no signs of breaking the limit-down.

After the halo of the restructuring concept shattered, there was nothing to support its current stock price. Moreover, judging from Dongbai Supermarket’s financial reports, being designated for “Special Treatment” (ST) was a high probability. After crying wolf so many times with its stories, no one would play this stock again. It was safe to say that the previous epic rally had thoroughly exhausted the stock’s potential.

While Beixin Road & Bridge and Dayu Water-Saving enjoyed consecutive limit-ups on Thursday and Friday, the broader market plummeted with two large bearish candlesticks, leaving investors who had mistimed their entry in a daze. Those who entered during Wednesday’s rebound were crying that they had been played by the A-share market.

On Thursday, the broader market plunged by 3.62%, breaching the 3,200-point mark. On Friday, it fell again by 2.36%, losing the 3,100-point mark and finally closing at 3,096.26 points.

…

Around 5 p.m. on Friday, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow held a bombshell news conference. The media reporters who rushed to the scene were surprised to find representatives from the country’s two major aerospace giants also present.

That’s right, it was a joint press conference held by three parties: Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

At the conference, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s current head, Qiu Guangcheng, personally announced that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation had reached a strategic partnership with Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. The two aerospace giants had become shareholders, each holding a 20% stake in the company.

The speed of this development was far beyond outside expectations.

As part of their strategic investment, the two aerospace giants signed a voting agreement with Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. The agreement is valid until both conglomerates have completely divested from Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

In other words, as long as the two aerospace giants held shares in Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, they must vote in unison.

The two aerospace giants, representing the national team, would collectively hold 40% of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s equity. In a sense, this meant Jiuzhou Blue Arrow was now practically a member of the national team itself.

…

Chapter 304: Strive for National-Level Aerospace Engineering Projects

News about Jiuzhou Blue Arrow quickly dominated the headlines over the weekend. Most people never expected Jiuzhou Blue Arrow to bring in two major aerospace conglomerates from the national team, let alone at such a breakneck pace. The collaboration had come together at light speed.

After all, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had only announced its establishment a month or two ago. Such a significant change and strategic partnership could easily have been stuck in negotiations for a year or two without any progress. To achieve it in such a short time was what was truly remarkable.

But then again, while it was unexpected, it also made perfect sense.

Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had announced it would be investing over ten billion a year into the project, an amount that accounted for 72% of the country’s entire aerospace budget allocation. This was an absolutely astronomical figure.

How to even spend that much money was a problem in itself, especially since Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had no foundation or background to speak of.

All it had was money.

…

“Regarding technical talent support, we reached a consensus with the two major aerospace groups today.” On the weekend afternoon, Tian Jiayi reported to Fang Hong on the latest progress of the collaboration between Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and the two aerospace giants. “CASIC will send 621 people to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will provide 598. This is the list of key technical personnel.”

Fang Hong took the documents and looked them over.

Providing talent was one of the core aspects of their cooperation. However, the vast majority of these personnel from the two conglomerates—about 80%—were essentially on “loan” to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and would eventually return.

In other words, the two giants were sending people to help Jiuzhou Blue Arrow quickly build up its research and development system, get on the right track, and train its own talent. Once Jiuzhou Blue Arrow could operate independently on a preliminary level, these seconded technical experts would be recalled.

The remaining 20%, roughly 245 individuals, were leaving their state-sector jobs to be directly hired by Jiuzhou Blue Arrow at high salaries. The top-tier talent among them was scarce; the two giants would never let their absolute best people go.

However, while these two hundred-plus individuals might not be the sharpest of the sharp, they were still exceptional talents that the conglomerates would not have released if they hadn’t become shareholders in Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. Most importantly, the two giants were providing a systematic talent support plan for the new company.

Fang Hong looked at the resumes of the key technical staff among the two hundred-plus direct hires and nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. The average age of these scientific and technical personnel is only about thirty. Their potential for growth and development is very high.”

In truth, Fang Hong didn’t really care whether these two hundred-plus people were the absolute best. As long as they joined Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, that was all that mattered. He would use the Achievement Points from his Social Reputation System to directly and forcefully enhance their talents.

The Achievement Points in the Social Reputation System had been steadily accumulating, unused, precisely for a moment like this.

Finally, holding the personnel roster, Fang Hong said, “Jiuzhou Blue Arrow must spare no effort to participate in national-level aerospace projects, including the Lunar Exploration Program, the Space Station Program, and even the Manned Lunar Landing Program. We will join any project we can and apply to be involved as much as possible.”

Right now, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow lacked a technical foundation, but it had powerful financial backing. By participating in as many major national aerospace projects as possible, it would not only build its reputation but also lay the groundwork for a much more distant future.

Once they participated, it would be much easier to secure government contracts later on, such as the entire contract for space station cargo resupply missions being handed over to Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

Moreover, a burnished reputation would be immensely helpful for securing international commercial space launches in the future. Participation in a series of large-scale aerospace engineering projects was a symbol of strength. When potential clients saw Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s track record, they would undoubtedly hold it in high regard.

In short, for these national-level aerospace projects, it was worth it even if they had to pay out of their own pocket just to get a foot in the door.

After Tian Jiayi finished her work report and noted Fang Hong’s major decisions, she put away her materials and went to the gym. Fang Hong, on the other hand, took the list of the two hundred-plus technical personnel up to the study on the second floor.

Fang Hong placed the roster on his desk and sat perfectly still. The interface of the Social Reputation System soon appeared before his eyes.

The latest data showed that his accumulated Reputation Value had reached 575 million, and his usable Achievement Points had grown to 53,820,000. Staring at the numbers, Fang Hong murmured to himself, “Fifty-three million, eight hundred twenty thousand… that means I can redeem 538 Item Cards.”

Every one hundred thousand Achievement Points could be exchanged for one Item Card from six different Attribute categories. To enhance the R&D capabilities of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s researchers, he naturally needed “R&D” type Item Cards, which, when used, would directly manifest as a significant boost to the designated target’s IQ.

A moment later, Fang Hong immediately opened the roster and glanced over the technical personnel who had joined Jiuzhou Blue Arrow. As employees of the two major aerospace conglomerates, they were all generally part of the high-IQ group, with some core members being on an even higher level.

Fang Hong thought silently, contemplating how to allocate the limited Item Cards to enhance their R&D abilities.

This required careful planning.

The effect of an “R&D” Item Card was to grant the designated target a 5% bonus to creativity for each card consumed, which was reflected as an increase in their IQ score.

However, the increase in IQ followed a curve of diminishing returns. The higher the score, the more Item Cards were needed to raise it by a single unit. For example, at an IQ of 100, one card might raise it by several points. But for an IQ above 139, it might take several cards just to raise it by one point to 140.

Fang Hong had used cards on his dorm buddy Lou Gaoyuan and his second brother Fang Ping, so he had a good idea of how it worked. To raise someone to a top-tier R&D level, capable of serving as the chief engineer for a major project, would likely cost well over fifty Item Cards.

With limited Item Card resources, it was impossible to upgrade everyone. Nor could he go all-in on a single person to create a super genius.

The risk was too great. If an accident were to happen and that person was gone, everything would go down the drain.

One person’s energy is inherently limited. Even if Einstein were alive today, he would still only have twenty-four hours in a day.

Therefore, the best solution was to select the five or six most intelligent individuals from this batch and focus the enhancements on them. Fang Hong nodded to himself, having made his decision.

That was the plan.

The first person he selected was Luo Liang, the leader of a genius team Fang Hong had accidentally discovered on the Yixing Video website.

Luo Liang had to be included. After all, he was someone Fang Hong had personally scouted and recruited. For Luo Liang to step up and succeed would better reflect Fang Hong’s ability as a big boss and a good judge of talent. Otherwise, he would just be making a fool of himself.

Luo Liang was the first confirmed choice.

Next, Fang Hong began to screen the two hundred-plus people from the two aerospace groups. The company had already categorized the data on these new research employees. Fang Hong directly reviewed the files of about twenty core technical experts, each with detailed resumes and background information.

These individuals all belonged to the high-IQ group, with scores above 130, placing them in the superior range. A score exceeding 139 was considered genius level.

After some time, Fang Hong selected five of them: Zheng Xin, Yan Jiandan, Chen Jiongwei, Yin Ting, and Xiang Lanzhi. Three men and two women, making a total of six people including Luo Liang.

Having confirmed the six candidates, Fang Hong began to redeem a large number of “R&D” Item Cards, designating them for the six individuals. His goal was to raise their IQ scores to the 140 level.

Luo Liang consumed a total of 68 Item Cards to forcibly raise his IQ to 140. Xiang Lanzhi used 72, Yin Ting used 73, Chen Jiongwei used 69, Yan Jiandan used 75, and Zheng Xin used 70.

To elevate all six of them to an IQ level of 140, he had used a total of 427 Item Cards. His accumulated 53,820,000 Achievement Points plummeted, leaving only 11,120,000, enough to redeem another 111 Item Cards.

“I saved up for so long, and they’re gone in a flash…” Fang Hong shook his head with a wry smile, though he didn’t feel much regret. Exchanging forty-two million, seven hundred thousand Achievement Points for six genius-level scientific researchers was well worth it.

“When CASIC and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation see the achievements of Xiang Lanzhi and the others at Jiuzhou Blue Arrow and the technical breakthroughs they make, they’ll probably be secretly crying their eyes out and kicking themselves in regret…” Fang Hong couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

It was foreseeable that in the near future, the two aerospace giants would definitely regret letting Chen Jiongwei and the others join Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

…

Chapter 305: Investing in Jingdong, Big Qiang is a Solid Bet

The matter of Jiuzhou Blue Arrow had come to a temporary close. After significantly enhancing the R&D capabilities of the six technical personnel, including Luo Liang and Xiang Lanzhi, all that was left was to patiently wait for their results. In time, they and Jiuzhou Blue Arrow would achieve mutual success.

With Qiu Guangcheng in charge of the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project, Fang Hong shifted his primary focus elsewhere in the following days.

This week, the A-share market had experienced a sharp panic sell. By Monday, November 30, the final trading day of the month, the market concluded with a strong rebound. Both markets opened high and climbed higher, with the broader market index surging by +3.20% that day, closing as a marubozu.

As December began, on Tuesday, December 1, the A-share market kicked off the final month of the year on a high note. The market continued its powerful rebound throughout the week. The market index rose +1.25% on Tuesday and +1.06% on Wednesday, followed by a -0.16% correction on Thursday. By Friday, it rallied again by +1.61%, with the index closing at 3317.04 points, reclaiming the 3300-point mark.

Friday, in particular, was a rollercoaster ride for the A-shares. Both markets opened low in the morning and then rallied all the way up. Around 11:00 AM, the market breached the 3300-point mark, with gains widening to +1.43%. It then plummeted, turning negative around 1:15 PM with losses extending to 1.6 percentage points. In the afternoon, it fluctuated before closing higher, ultimately finishing with a gain of +1.61%. The trading volume in both markets once again reached the 400-billion-yuan level.

Amidst today’s rollercoaster market, Stellaris Capital sold off and cashed out all of its remaining shares in the A-share market.

Even Moutai was cleared out, leaving only a base position.

This was because, over the next six months, Moutai was set to experience a main downtrend wave, and it was natural to avoid the risk.

…

Monday afternoon, December 7.

“A strategic investment in Jingdong?” Back home for her daily work report on Stellaris Capital, Tian Jiayi was surprised by Fang Hong’s new idea. After a moment, she looked at him and said, “But it doesn’t seem like Jingdong is currently seeking external financing.”

The beautiful assistant was quite curious. She had no idea what Fang Hong had been up to at home these past few days. In her mind, he was a playboy who spent his days in revelry. How did he suddenly decide to enter the e-commerce sector, and why had he set his sights on Jingdong instead of Alibaba?

“How could a company in its startup phase not be short on money? Besides, Jingdong is currently facing numerous powerful competitors,” Fang Hong said with a smile. In the first few days of December, he hadn’t focused much on stock trading or just having fun with girls. Instead, he had been contemplating how to spend Stellaris Capital’s money.

Jingdong had become one of Fang Hong’s targets. Big Qiang was quite impressive, and Jingdong was worth a major bet from Stellaris Capital. At this point in time, Jingdong’s valuation wouldn’t exceed 300 million US dollars.

Back in April 2007, Jingdong had received ten million US dollars in financing from Capital Today. The following year, in December 2008, Capital Today, Bull Capital, and the private company of the renowned Asian investment banker Liang Botao collectively invested another twenty-one million US dollars in Jingdong.

Fang Hong handed Tian Jiayi a compiled file of materials related to Jingdong and added, “Contact its helmsman as soon as possible and finalize this.”

Tian Jiayi took the file and opened it. After a moment, her eyes widened as she read the contents. She immediately looked up at Fang Hong and said, “You want to invest 2.5 billion in Jingdong? From what I know, the industry’s general consensus on Jingdong’s current valuation is around 200 million US dollars. Are you providing them with venture capital or trying to buy them outright?”

An investment of 2.5 billion RMB was equivalent to about 335 million US dollars, which was higher than Jingdong’s current valuation.

Fang Hong grinned at his beautiful assistant and said, “Although the money I make seems to come as easily as if it were blown in by the wind, I’m not the clueless son of a rich landlord with more money than sense. I came up with this number after carefully calculating the costs.”

Tian Jiayi was at a loss for words. Since joining Stellaris Capital, this had indeed been her impression. The money was made so easily it was as if it had been conjured out of thin air. It was utterly absurd, yet it was the reality.

The company was now so poor that all it had was money, especially now that they had cashed out of the A-share market.

Fang Hong continued, “According to my calculations, for Big Qiang to succeed with his heavy-asset e-commerce model in major cities, he’ll need at least 2 billion RMB. How much to build warehouses, how much for logistics centers, how much for fixed asset investments—it can’t be done without around 2 billion.”

Jingdong’s model was different from Alibaba’s. Because of this, the founders of the two e-commerce giants had often clashed while boasting at various industry forums. Alibaba’s founder had bluntly stated that a business model like Jingdong’s was doomed to fail and would struggle to become profitable. At the time, Big Qiang had no rebuttal, as Jingdong was indeed operating at a “huge loss,” and profitability was nothing but a dream for him.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but fall into thought. “I heard Alibaba’s founder once complain about Jingdong’s business model at an internet conference. He said that Jingdong does everything itself, and such a model is a bottomless pit. If they don’t change, their number of employees will soar in the coming years. According to Boss Ma’s prediction, there could be 300 million packages annually within the next ten years.”

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong again and added, “By that calculation, Jingdong might theoretically need over a million employees to handle deliveries. Just managing that many employees would be more than you can handle and give you sleepless nights. I actually think he has a point. Jingdong’s business model does seem problematic.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled and said, “Let’s not even talk about whether Jingdong will ever have a million employees. But if it does, that doesn’t mean a company is incapable of managing a million people. Walmart has 1.4 million employees worldwide, and they’re managed just fine. Why can’t Jingdong do it?”

Tian Jiayi said, “It seems you’ve really decided to bet on Jingdong.”

Fang Hong nodded affirmatively. “I have faith in Big Qiang. Back when he was still selling optical discs, he was quite the ‘misfit.’ He insisted on clear pricing, small profits and quick returns, issuing invoices, and providing good service. I heard that the Administration for Industry and Commerce once went to his company, back when it was called Jingdong Multimedia, to conduct a three-day investigation. They found no tax evasion, no smuggled goods, and no pirated discs. That’s how Jingdong gradually built its reputation and base of repeat customers.”

Convinced that Fang Hong was set on investing in Jingdong, Tian Jiayi said no more. Her job was to execute.

However, she did offer a reminder, “You want to invest so much money, but they might not accept it.”

According to the details Fang Hong had laid out in the materials, this investment aimed to secure a 45% stake in Jingdong. Of course, Jingdong used a dual-class share structure, so even with a 45% stake making them the largest shareholder, Big Qiang would still maintain control. Fang Hong had no intention of taking control anyway.

“The 2.5 billion won’t be a direct investment into Jingdong. We’ll invest the equivalent of 300 million US dollars into Jingdong, and use the rest to buy a portion of the shares from the earlier-round investment firms,” Fang Hong explained.

The earlier-round investors included Capital Today and Bull Capital. The industry valued Jingdong at only about 200 million US dollars. Fang Hong would directly offer to buy some of their shares at a valuation of around 700 million US dollars, allowing them to recoup their initial investment costs.

He wasn’t asking them to exit completely; the rest would be pure profit. It was highly likely they would agree. Moreover, with a cash-rich company like Stellaris Capital coming in and boosting Jingdong’s valuation, it would probably hit the one-billion-dollar unicorn level soon enough.

Most venture capitalists eventually exit their investments. With Stellaris Capital offering a 2.5-fold premium, it was an offer they couldn’t possibly refuse.

…

Stellaris Capital moved swiftly. After Fang Hong made his decision, Hua Yu immediately made the arrangements, assigning this venture capital project to Shi Yao, one of the company’s board members.

Three days later, Shi Yao, along with a few people, flew over on the company’s private jet. They then chartered a car to Suqian, braving the heavy December snow to find Big Qiang with a contract in hand.

When he heard the news, Big Qiang was utterly surprised. He never expected people from Stellaris Capital to show up at his door, wanting to invest in his company.

…

Chapter 306: The Very Definition of “Lavish”!

On the morning of Saturday, December 12th.

The venture capital firm and the startup officially met for negotiations. In a conference room, Shi Yao met with the founder of Jingdong. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point. “…I won’t beat around the bush. Stellaris Capital intends to finance Jingdong with three hundred million US dollars.”

At this moment, it wasn’t just Big Qiang present; Jingdong’s presidential assistant and chief financial officer were also there. They were inwardly shocked by Shi Yao’s loaded-with-cash demeanor.

Three hundred million US dollars—that was enough to buy Jingdong outright.

Big Qiang was much more composed. He said, “Three hundred million is too much. The entire Jingdong might not even be worth that much right now. If your company wants to invest in Jingdong, seventy-five million should be enough for us.”

Shi Yao smiled and said methodically, “This isn’t just about giving you a surprise, Mr. Liu. Let me tell you why Stellaris Capital is offering this amount. Jingdong’s model requires building warehouses, logistics centers, and more in major cities. The seventy-five million you mentioned isn’t even enough to test this practice. Entrepreneurs often overestimate their abilities and underestimate the difficulties they face.”

Big Qiang was extremely surprised. Stellaris Capital actually approved of Jingdong’s model. Most domestic capital investors were not very optimistic, and he was often left speechless after being rebuked by the founder of Alibaba.

There was nothing he could do; Boss Ma was too eloquent, too skilled in debate. Many industry exchange conferences had become backdrops to make Boss Ma shine.

In truth, Shi Yao also had his reservations about Jingdong’s business model, but this was an investment mandated by the big boss. The talking points he was using with Big Qiang were all prepared by the big boss in the briefing materials, which Shi Yao was referencing for the discussion.

After a moment, Shi Yao continued, “You think seventy-five million dollars is enough, which shows you haven’t clearly seen the difficulties and challenges of what you’re trying to do. Jingdong is an extremely cash-burning business—I’m sure you don’t deny that. Without burning enough money on logistics and supply chains, you can’t build your core competitiveness. Jingdong needs this much money, so we’re offering this much money.”

Big Qiang couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. He knew that the words from Stellaris Capital’s investor had struck a chord with him.

Shi Yao added, “With three hundred million US dollars from Stellaris Capital, Jingdong can undoubtedly establish an unshakeable leading position in the B2C e-commerce sector in a very short time. To some extent, it will also deter competing companies from pouring capital into this field, thereby strengthening Jingdong’s market position.”

Finally, after the carrot came the stick. Shi Yao delivered a harsh ultimatum, “Either you accept the three-hundred-million-dollar investment, or Stellaris Capital won’t invest a single cent. Instead, we will invest this money in your direct competitor and completely copy your Jingdong business model. We’re optimistic about this model too. If there’s one thing Stellaris Capital has, it’s money. If three hundred million isn’t enough, we can throw in another three hundred million.”

Uh…

Big Qiang and his team were stunned by these words, momentarily speechless.

If there’s one thing we have, it’s money!

Not many could say such a thing and be convincing, but Stellaris Capital absolutely had the credibility to back it up. Big Qiang had no doubt about that.

Just last month, Stellaris Capital had made a huge move by entering the commercial aerospace sector. Its company, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, announced it would invest over ten billion in R&D annually, a hundred-billion-scale investment over ten years.

This news had caused a sensation in the investment and tech circles in November, making front-page headlines across various media outlets. Big Qiang had heard about it as well.

In the current venture capital world, everyone knew Stellaris Capital was a super VC firm so lavish it had no equals. They spent money as if they got it for free, without batting an eye.

For Stellaris Capital, a sum of over two billion was small change. If they really decided to enter the B2C e-commerce field and Jingdong refused, and if a competitor received funding from a backer like Stellaris Capital who spent money without hesitation, it would absolutely spell a world of trouble for Jingdong.

Conversely, by accepting Stellaris Capital’s investment, Jingdong could practically take off on the spot. Big Qiang knew very well that Shi Yao was right. With this financial support, Jingdong could quickly establish an unshakeable leading position in the B2C sector and, to a certain extent, deter capital from flowing to competitors.

After all, other VCs would have to think twice before getting into a cash-burning war with Stellaris Capital. For other investors, it would be safer to get on Jingdong’s bandwagon with Stellaris Capital than to compete head-on. As a result, Jingdong’s competitors would find their financing capabilities curbed, while Jingdong would receive continuous capital support.

Although Big Qiang, after weighing the pros and cons, didn’t give a direct answer, he basically knew what choice to make.

…

A week later, on Saturday, December 19th.

Jingdong officially announced that it had completed its C1 round of financing, receiving a three-hundred-million-dollar investment from Stellaris Capital, equivalent to about two billion RMB. This financing deal set a record for the largest single investment in the domestic internet industry this year.

The news shocked figures across the internet and investment circles.

Everyone’s jaws dropped at Stellaris Capital’s move. When they saw the news, many industry insiders had to repeatedly confirm that Stellaris Capital was financing Jingdong, not acquiring it outright.

However, the specific equity stake given up was unknown, as neither Jingdong nor Stellaris Capital disclosed it. Everyone was extremely curious about the valuation Stellaris Capital had given Jingdong; it was certainly far higher than the two-hundred-million-dollar estimate currently circulating in the industry.

Entrepreneurs and investors were in awe of Stellaris Capital. They really didn’t bat an eye when throwing money around, making many people feel like they were back in the days before the dot-com bubble burst.

Keep in mind, the world had just experienced a financial storm. Stellaris Capital’s frantic spending spree at this juncture was truly excessive.

First Jingdong, before that Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, before that the procurement of film and television copyrights, and even earlier, investments in Stellar Universe Technology, Quantum Beat, and others. Each move was more lavish than the last, and each more outrageous than the one before it, emphasizing their domineering generosity.

Putting aside the Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group acquisition case, entrepreneurs found that Stellaris Capital was truly the model angel investor.

Many members of the onlooking crowd saw Stellaris Capital’s recent moves—Jiuzhou Blue Arrow entering commercial aerospace and now extravagantly investing two billion in Jingdong. Gossiping netizens joked that this was aerospace plus Jingdong. “Next-day delivery to Mars, are they trying to set up an interstellar express service?”

But that being said, after their initial shock at Stellaris Capital’s lavishness, industry insiders began to predict that this investment would inevitably go down the drain. Their reason was still their lack of faith in Jingdong’s business model.

They even brought up the arguments previously used by Alibaba’s founder. If nothing else, the future salaries of Jingdong’s hundred thousand, or even hundreds of thousands, of delivery staff would be enough to cause the company a world of trouble. Profitability would become a distant dream, and Big Qiang currently had no reliable profit plan to present.

However, this didn’t change Big Qiang’s resolve. Public opinion wasn’t the main point. The fact that his wealthy backer, Stellaris Capital, approved of Jingdong’s business model gave Big Qiang a huge boost of confidence.

Stellaris Capital once again became the focus of public attention. No one could figure out how this investment firm, which had risen with meteoric speed, had so much money, as if it were endless. Each of its moves was more terrifying than the last.

Most people in the country were familiar with Stellaris Capital for having made a killing in overseas capital markets and also profiting handsomely in the A-share market, successfully buying the dip at over 1660 points. Looking back now, they had made a fortune.

The question of where Stellaris Capital’s money came from seemed to have an answer: it was earned from the stock market.

…

Speaking of the recent A-share market, while Stellaris Capital and Jingdong were in the midst of their financing deal, the A-shares began to fall again. This was especially true on Thursday and Friday of this week, with major drops of -2.34% and -2.05% respectively. The market index fell from 3300 points back down to the 3100-point level.

With the current trend, forget the previous high of 3478 points; even the sub-high point of 3361 had become a new resistance level. The market was growing increasingly weak.

Around 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 22nd, during intra-day trading in the A-share market, a piece of major negative news emerged. According to insiders, Stellaris Capital was pessimistic about the future market trend and had already completely liquidated its A-share positions to cash out and exit the market.

Affected by this news, the A-share market, which had just been trading in the positive at 11:00 AM, immediately fell. In the afternoon session, the dive accelerated.

Clearly, the news of Stellaris Capital liquidating its A-share positions triggered follow-the-herd selling. If the news was true, it meant a massive exodus of capital on the scale of a hundred billion, and the blow to the market, including to investor confidence, was imaginable.

If Stellaris Capital alone pulled out that much, what about other institutions?

Regardless of whether the news was true or not, as soon as it spread, capital with the first move started selling off first and asking questions later.

The result was that the market broke through the 3100-point support level today. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had plummeted -2.32%, closing at 3050.52 and setting a new recent low.

…

Chapter 307: [Year-End Finale, Ninety Thousand Times Since Entering the Market]

After the market closed, the news of Stellaris Capital liquidating its A-share holdings was widely discussed within the community. However, the party involved did not step forward to comment on the matter.

It had to be said that Stellaris Capital’s influence on the A-share market was growing by the day, which was directly related to its capital volume and scale. If the news was true, the judgment of an institution with such an outstanding ability to make money could not, under any circumstances, be taken lightly.

But secrets have a way of getting out. A very small number of people still caught wind of the news. Quite a few large funds followed suit, some even getting out at the market peak of 3478 points right alongside Stellaris Capital.

After all, Stellaris Capital was not the only one to judge 3478 as a historic top.

However, most retail investors questioned the authenticity of the news about Stellaris Capital liquidating its positions to cash out. Many pointed to the third-quarter holdings data, arguing that Stellaris Capital hadn’t left. If they were going to get out, why hadn’t they done so at 3478 points?

And in the following days, the market mounted another strong rebound.

On Thursday, December 31, the last trading day of 2009, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up +0.45% at 3277.14 points. In the final seven trading days to cap off the year, the A-share market experienced a trend of six bullish days out of seven.

This further solidified the belief among the doubters that the news of Stellaris Capital liquidating its A-share holdings was false. They saw it as a scare tactic by institutional funds to suppress the market in a shakeout, forcing retail investors to hand over their shares.

Most retail investors were bullish on a cross-year rally!

During the subsequent three-day New Year’s Day holiday for 2010, professionals from all walks of life were conducting their year-end reviews, and retail investors were naturally among them.

For the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets, 2009 was an extraordinary year. The global financial crisis had yet to fade, economic recovery remained a long and arduous road, and the pressure from the lifting of sales restrictions on shares had suddenly increased. Faced with these difficulties, the A-shares’ performance this year was still quite impressive.

Following the state’s launch of a massive four trillion yuan economic stimulus plan in November 2008, a global first, the A-share market bottomed out ahead of schedule. It ultimately ended 2009 with a strong bullish candle, as the Shanghai Composite Index’s cumulative annual gain reached +79.98%, making it the fifth-largest annual increase in the 20-year history of the A-share market.

The previous four were +129.41% in 1991, +166.57% in 1992, +130.43% in 2006, and +96.66% in 2007.

In 2009, the combined trading volume of the two markets also hit a new historical high, with the total annual volume reaching 54.2 trillion yuan.

By the end of 2009, the total market capitalization of the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets had recovered to 24.27 trillion yuan, equivalent to $3.57 trillion. This represented a growth of +100.88% compared to 2008, surpassing Japan’s stock market at $3.53 trillion and making it the world’s second-largest capital market by capitalization, after the U.S. stock market’s $15.08 trillion.

All thirty major industry indices saw gains exceeding 40 percent. Over a thousand stocks in the two markets doubled in value, with a specific total of 1,153 individual stocks achieving this feat within the year.

At the same time, the total amount of stock financing in the Shanghai and Shenzhen securities markets in 2009 was close to 500 billion yuan, an increase of over 150 billion yuan from the previous year. Since the resumption of IPOs, a total of 111 companies had completed their IPOs, raising a combined 202.2 billion yuan, ranking first among all major global exchanges in new issuance volume.

Furthermore, the number of super-large-cap stock IPOs also surpassed the previous year. The companies that actually raised over ten billion yuan included China State Construction, China Metallurgical Group, China Shipbuilding Industry, China Merchants Securities, and Everbright Securities. In the previous year, there were only two: China Coal Energy and China Railway Construction. Meanwhile, the scale of refinancing through additional stock issuance and rights offerings was close to 300 billion yuan.

As the broader market continued its one-sided rise, the enthusiasm of retail investors to enter the market also saw a significant recovery. The total number of stock accounts in the two markets had now approached 140 million, and the number of A-share investors with active holdings surpassed 51 million for the first time.

In short, the hundreds of millions of retail investors in the A-share market deserved immense credit. Whether they made money or not was another story, but their contribution value was certainly maxed out!

…

With 2009 officially concluded, Fang Hong, who had been inactive on Weibo for some time, also planned to post a year-end summary.

In the month and a half from mid-November to December, his personal institutional account had once again profited by over 32 percent. The total assets of the institutional account reached 5.292 billion yuan, successfully breaking the five billion yuan mark.

The rate of return since converting to an institutional account at the end of May 2009 was +656.00%. In addition, the 100 million yuan he had previously transferred back to his personal securities account had now become over 700 million yuan.

On the afternoon of New Year’s Day, Fang Hong logged into his K3478 Weibo account and updated it with his first long post of the new year. Due to the character limit, he edited the text and published it as a screenshot on Weibo:

[Everyone is doing a year-end summary, so let’s follow the trend. 2009 has been a harvest year. Doubling your money this year is barely a passing grade. With 1,153 stocks doubling in the two markets, it was a year you could win effortlessly.]

[As of the close on December 31, the total assets in the institutional account reached 5.2 billion yuan, and the personal securities account has over 700 million yuan, totaling around 6 billion yuan.]

[Looking ahead at the future market trend for A-shares, I believe five factors are worth our attention.]

[One: The market capitalization of the top 50 companies is increasing far faster than the overall A-share market, indicating that companies in some sectors are striding into the ranks of leading companies with very rapid growth in market cap;]

[Two: The gap between industries has widened sharply. The market cap of the largest industry accounts for nearly 30% of the total market cap of the top 50 companies, while the smallest is less than 2%. The average industry barrier is 9.15, with a median of 3.51. A comparison with the situation at the end of 1999 shows a widening gap;]

[Three: The financial industry stood out in 2009. The banking sector not only remained firmly in the top spot, but its share of the market capitalization more than doubled, even as the market caps of the top 50 companies grew significantly. If non-bank financial institutions are included, the financial sector’s share is as high as 42.87%;]

[Four: Three sectors related to people’s livelihoods—home appliances, real estate, and automobiles—were squeezed out of the top ten. The share of technology-intensive sectors like electronics and computers also dropped significantly;]

[Five: The high-tech communications industry still holds a spot in the top 10, but it ranks last among the ten selected industries, with a share of only 1.82%.]

[Overall, looking ahead to the market in 2010, I won’t mention specific stocks to avoid being seen as making recommendations. I’m specifically bullish on these ten sectors: electronic components, biopharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, food and beverage, non-ferrous metals, information equipment, catering and tourism, construction and building materials, and textiles and apparel.]

[My personal strategy for 2010 will be centered on the idea of being “light on the index, heavy on stocks.” I will use a large position for a medium-to-long-term strategy and a small position for short-term side plays to stay active in the market.]

…

The moment Fang Hong posted this first Weibo update of the new year, people were once again stunned by the six billion yuan figure. That day, it was viewed and reposted by fans and all sorts of retail investors.

His Weibo account now had over 23 million followers, making him the undisputed number one financial blogger in the country. From entering the market in July 2008 until now, in about a year and a half, he had turned over sixty thousand yuan into six billion yuan, creating a legendary myth of over ninety thousand times returns, becoming an unrepeatable legend in the A-share market.

Financial news outlets also followed up with reports on K3478’s feats. This undoubtedly added a thick, colorful stroke to the dream of wealth creation in the A-share market, inspiring countless retail investors to yearn for the same.

The comments under the new post quickly surpassed ten thousand, and as far as the eye could see, it was a sea of worship and admiration.

[Ninety thousand times in a year and a half, an unbelievable miracle!]

[That money-making ability could surpass the annual net profit of a whole bunch of Fortune 500 companies. It’s simply terrifying!]

[No wonder so many people are so obsessed with the stock market…]

[Thank you, K-God Grandmaster! I lost so much in ’08 I was a mess. Luckily, I found K-God last March and followed his car into monster bull stocks like Double Coin Holdings, Shandong Juli, Dongbai Supermarket, and Changchun Gas. It let me make a killing last year, ten times my investment! I never thought I could manage a 10x return.]

[Awesome, old bro! You actually made 10x! I followed K-God’s car and only made 3x, but I’m super satisfied. Not only did I recover all my losses from ’08, but I also doubled my profit. Now I’m just waiting for K-God to start the car in 2010!]

[K-God’s car is never a trap! The first wave to get on board in time is guaranteed a huge profit!]

[Heh heh, those following the car should go take a look at Dongbai Supermarket’s current trend. Happily received 21 consecutive limit-downs, with two attempts to break the limit-down both burying everyone alive. The stock price fell from 35.35 yuan to the current 2.62 yuan, a drop of over 92% in just a month and a half. You can basically just close your account and quit the market. You go in with 100,000 yuan, you come out with 8,000. To recover from a -92% loss, you need a +1150% gain, which is basically impossible.]

[If you were holding the bag at the end, you can’t blame anyone. Every single person who got on board in time and knew when to take profits made a fortune, didn’t they?]

[If you can lose money on K-God’s car, I can only say you should stick to index funds. Don’t get involved with monster stocks, especially the popular leading ones. Or just quit the market.]

[Isn’t it better to do medium-to-long-term? All those who followed the 15 medium-to-long-term stocks K-God posted have made a killing. I got on board with JINZHONGZI JIU, followed K-God into this stock in September, and I’ve already doubled my money. Feeling comfortable and classy!]

[Is it still possible to get on board with those 15 medium-to-long-term stocks now?]

…

Chapter 308: Spicy A-shares’ Surprise

The Weibo post Fang Hong published wasn’t just being watched, commented on, and forwarded by all sorts of retail investors and fans; numerous institutional investors were also lurking, observing, and studying it.

Unlike retail investors, some institutions, such as Xiao Quan of Pengrui Capital, tacitly assumed that the K3478 Weibo account was secretly operated by Stellaris Capital. The so-called K-God wasn’t a single individual but rather Stellaris Capital’s investment research and analysis department.

Based on this logic, the post demanded serious attention, especially its bullish outlook on certain industry sectors for the coming year. In the eyes of these institutions, this was very likely a glimpse into Stellaris Capital’s strategy for 2010 and held significant reference value.

…

Meanwhile, on this New Year’s Day holiday, the user known as “Spicy A-shares” could finally hold it in no longer. Ever since reopening his brokerage account in early September, he had invested three hundred thousand yuan into three stocks—Dongfang Yuhong, Goertek, and Gujing Gongjiu—and then promptly uninstalled the trading app and ignored all group chats.

He did it all for this one moment: the year-end unveiling of the results.

“Is it a pleasant surprise or a nasty shock? K-God Grandmaster, protect me. K-God Grandmaster, protect me…” At that moment, Spicy A-shares sat in front of his computer, muttering to himself as he re-downloaded the trading software.

He was both anxious and full of anticipation.

The software finished downloading. He entered his securities account number and password and successfully logged in.

His personal account information window popped up on the screen. Spicy A-shares saw that his total assets were 526,700 yuan. After staring blankly for a few seconds, he let out an excited roar on the spot, “Oh yeah, yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

One look at his total assets and he knew he had made a huge profit.

Spicy A-shares immediately clicked to see the profit and loss on his individual stock holdings, and was once again so thrilled that he threw his head back and roared, “K-God Grandmaster is mighty! I’m finally turning things around! I finally know what it feels like to make a huge profit, haha!!”

Since he started trading, he had barely tasted any huge profits but had taken no shortage of beatings. The most painful one was Shandong Juli, which had beaten him down so badly that he’d almost quit the market for good.

This time, he had followed K-God’s medium-to-long-term stocks, buying three targets and holding them for about three months. Goertek had a floating profit of +61.7%, Gujing Gongjiu had a floating profit of +68.8%, and Dongfang Yuhong was up +96.19%, nearly doubling his investment.

His cumulative profit from the three stocks was 226,700 yuan, and his account’s cumulative return reached +75.56%. After the excitement subsided, Spicy A-shares looked at his account’s return curve and said to himself, “If I had opened my account and followed the trade one day earlier, I might have made 80 percent and beaten the broader market for the year. But I’m more than satisfied with 75 percent.”

A while later, Spicy A-shares logged into his Weibo account. He planned to go to K-God’s page to leave a grateful comment, to show his appreciation. K-God might not see it, but he had to thank him for this huge win.

He had once completely despaired of the A-shares market and had no intention of returning after closing his account. Now, his faith in the market was restored. To be precise, his faith was in K-God. He believed that under K-God’s guidance, he could achieve substantial returns.

“Holy crap!!?” Spicy A-shares was stunned when he clicked on K3478’s Weibo and saw the latest post. “K-God is already managing six billion? My God, that kind of profitability completely crushes the profits of listed companies worth a hundred billion.”

He recalled that just over a year ago, K-God had started with a little over sixty thousand yuan, less capital than he had. Suddenly, the two hundred thousand-plus yuan profit in his own account didn’t seem so impressive anymore.

Comparisons are odious.

“K-God’s status in the A-share market is probably going to surpass The Helmsman’s, right? Truly incredible!” Spicy A-shares exclaimed with emotion. He scrolled through K3478’s Weibo posts from the past three months and saw the recent monster stocks he had traded, and even how the term “K-God Concept Stock” had come into existence.

In the A-share market, whenever K-God’s name appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List for a stock, it was guaranteed to see consecutive limit-ups and bring huge profits in the following trading days. This record was, to date, unbroken. That was how the legends of “K-God Concept Stock” and “K-God’s car is never a trap” gradually spread throughout the A-share world.

Any stock K-God touched would be passionately chased by thousands of his retail investor followers.

…

January 2nd, Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

In the villa’s ground-floor multimedia room, a 3D screening room had just been added a few days ago. At this moment, Yu Qiu, He Xuan, Yifulei, and a group of other young women had all gone to the screening room to watch the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, mostly to experience the novelty of 3D.

This movie was arguably the hottest topic of the moment. It had been released in North America back on December 16th of last year, while its official debut in the Mainland’s major cinema chains was still two days away, on January 4th.

However, it was clear that the 3D screening room at Tranquil Heart Residence was able to show the film today. This was naturally due to internal channels and special resources; watching it ahead of time was no problem at all. It was a simple matter of Fang Hong making a call to Cao Chenghui.

Yixing Cinema Chain Company, a subsidiary of Art Star Media Group, which itself was under Stellaris Capital, was currently the third-largest cinema chain company in the country.

After nearly a year of resource integration and restructuring, Yixing Cinema Chain had rapidly become one of the top cinema giants in the country, and its momentum showed no signs of slowing. Yixing Cinema Chain was aiming for the top spot.

Although it was currently the third-largest cinema chain company in the Mainland, it already possessed the most 3D screening rooms in the country.

Before Yixing Media ventured into 3D cinemas, there were only just over two hundred 3D screens in the country. Now, that number had expanded to over one thousand eight hundred. Fang Hong remembered that if history had followed its original course, there would only be around six hundred 3D screens in the country at this time. It was clear that Art Star Media Group’s involvement had accelerated the expansion of 3D cinemas.

If all went as expected, the mainland box office for the 3D masterpiece Avatar would also surpass its record from his previous life. After all, the number of 3D screens had tripled compared to the original historical timeline.

And among these one thousand eight hundred-plus 3D screens, over one thousand two hundred belonged to the Yixing Cinema Chain, giving it a share of more than two-thirds.

With so many new 3D screens, it wasn’t impossible for Avatar’s mainland box office to hit two billion yuan. Fang Hong was quite optimistic. Although, as a reincarnator, he knew that Avatar 2, twelve years later, would flop in the mainland market and underperform in the global box office, possibly even losing money.

But for now, the first Avatar, as a groundbreaking 3D film, had sparked a global 3D viewing frenzy, and the Mainland was no exception.

…

At midnight on Monday, January 4th, Avatar officially premiered in the Mainland. Its midnight screenings raked in approximately 7.8 million yuan, shattering the previous national record of 3.5 million yuan set by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen during last year’s summer blockbuster season.

Its opening day performance was even more astounding, pulling in a box office of 59.03 million yuan, setting a new record for an opening day in mainland cinema history and shocking the industry. The country’s over one thousand eight hundred 3D screens were completely sold out. With the arrival of Avatar, almost all other films fell silent.

According to statistics, Avatar dominated nearly ninety percent of all showtimes in cinemas across the country. Only Bodyguards and Assassins became the lone survivor among domestic films, holding on to a small corner of the market to stand against the tide.

As for A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop, which had previously stirred up a war of words, it was basically crushed. The confident boast from the head of its distribution company—“150 million for one gun, 450 million for three guns”—was likely to remain just empty words.

As time went on, by the early hours of Thursday, January 7th, the latest real-time box office data for Avatar’s first three days in the Mainland was released. The figures were 59.03 million yuan, 64.38 million yuan, and 63.95 million yuan, respectively. The opening performance in the first three days of the week brought in a total of 187 million yuan, continuing to break records in mainland cinema history.

Major industry institutions quickly revised their forecasts for Avatar’s first-week box office performance, raising their initial prediction of 275 million yuan directly to 500 million yuan. At the same time, they adjusted the final box office projection from the previous 800 million yuan to 1.8 billion yuan.

The performance in the first three days was truly phenomenal, greatly exceeding expectations.

This was because, unlike typical movie premieres that started on a Friday and led into the weekend, Avatar’s first three days were weekdays, when many people were still at work and didn’t have time to go to the cinema. This meant that the box office results for the upcoming weekend were highly likely to set a new single-day record.

Breaking 500 million yuan in the first week was a very real possibility.

Meanwhile, Avatar’s strong opening in the Mainland also helped boost its global box office total to a staggering 1.13 billion US dollars, placing it third on the all-time global box office chart, behind only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Titanic. And surpassing The Return of the King’s 1.146 billion dollar record was just a matter of tomorrow.

The box office success of Avatar was beyond imagination.

Such a massive opening in the Mainland was absolutely inseparable from Art Star Media Group’s frantic expansion of 3D cinemas before the film’s release. The more successful Avatar became, the more Yixing Cinema Chain earned. According to the box office revenue split, cinema chains and theaters took 49.7%. This meant that of the 187 million yuan opening three-day box office, the cinema chains and theaters would slice off 92.93 million yuan of the cake.

Over seventy percent of the cinemas under Art Star Media were vertically managed chains. The rest were franchises from other theater owners. For the franchises, the cinema chain took a 7.5% cut of the box office revenue. For the vertically managed cinemas, the entire 49.7% share went to the Yixing Cinema Chain Company.

The main box office driver for Avatar was the 3D version; many moviegoers would rather wait for a 3D ticket than watch the 2D version. And the company with the most 3D screens was precisely Yixing Cinema Chain Company, which accounted for two-thirds of all 3D screens in the country. With Avatar’s explosive success, Yixing Cinema Chain Company was the undisputed winner, making an absolute fortune.

At this point, everyone finally came to their senses.

The people who had previously ridiculed Art Star Media for its frantic expansion of 3D cinemas were nowhere to be found. In their place, other major cinema chains were now scrambling to accelerate their own 3D screen expansion.

Damn it, with Avatar’s opening numbers, 3D cinemas were practically printing money. A huge number of movie fans would rather queue up and wait than watch it in a 2D screening room. Everyone in the industry had realized that the era of 3D movies had arrived.

…

Chapter 309: Blacklisted

Just as Avatar was setting off a 3D movie craze in Mainland China, the film’s premiere coincided with the first trading day of the new year for the A-share market. Investors were all hoping for a strong start to 2010, but instead, they were met with a slump.

The market closed down 1.02% on the very first trading day of the new year, much to the dismay of investors.

After two days of volatility, on Thursday, January 7th, the A-share market fell sharply again, closing down 1.89%. The index finished at 3192.78 points, breaking below the 3200-point mark.

Before the market opened on the first trading day of the year, the index was at 3277 points. Everyone had been expecting a strong start, hoping it would reclaim the 3300-point threshold on day one, but it plummeted instead.

On Friday, the A-share market again opened low and trended lower. By the afternoon, the decline had widened to 1.34%, but a strong rebound in the final hour of late trading led to a slight gain of 0.10% at the close.

The market’s performance in the first week of the new year had investors taking losses, and complaints about the A-share market were everywhere.

But right after the market closed, something even more exasperating happened. A bombshell announcement came from a CSRC spokesperson: the higher-ups had, in principle, approved the pilot program for margin trading and short selling for securities firms and the launch of stock index futures.

Margin trading and short selling would be introduced through “pilot programs first, followed by a gradual rollout,” and preparations for stock index futures would take about three months.

This meant that investors could now use financing to go long with leverage or borrow shares to go short in the A-share market. With the introduction of new products like stock index futures, short selling was gradually becoming possible in the A-share market.

According to the disclosed information, the first batch of pilot brokerage firms for margin trading and short selling would be selected from among the eleven firms that participated in the network tests in 2008, including Zhongxin Securities and Haitong Securities. The capital threshold for individual investors in stock index futures would likely be set at five hundred thousand yuan.

In short, although the A-share market could now be shorted, the vast majority of retail investors wouldn’t meet the threshold; only those with significant capital could participate.

Throughout the weekend, the capital markets were abuzz with news of the impending launch of margin trading, short selling, and stock index futures—a monumental event for the A-share market.

Pundits were heralding it as a historic step forward for the A-share market. All weekend, the sentiment was overwhelmingly bullish. The talk was all about how the ability to finance long positions and use leverage would cause market liquidity to skyrocket, driving prices up. This would kick off the new year’s bull market, and the previous high of 3478 would surely be surpassed.

Retail investors who had missed out on the rally were getting anxious, especially those holding no shares.

When the market opened on Monday, January 11th, A-shares in both Shanghai and Shenzhen gapped up significantly. During the call auction, the Shanghai Composite Index surged to 3301.61 points, opening 105.61 points, or 3.30%, higher. The entire market was sizzling.

In the five minutes between 9:25 and 9:30 AM, investors who had missed out scrambled to place buy orders, rushing into the market for fear of missing the major rally.

But when trading officially began at 9:30 AM, the bullish investors, especially those who had jumped in during the call auction, were left stunned.

Both markets plummeted right from the open without any rebound. By 2:30 PM in late trading, the index even touched the zero-axis line and briefly turned negative. Although it recovered slightly, after opening up 3.3 percent, it closed the day with a mere 0.52 percent gain.

All the investors who had impatiently piled in during the morning were absolutely livid. They had been thoroughly screwed over by this deceptive rally in the A-share market. Countless investors must have smashed their screens, keyboards, and mice, having believed the market would surge at least seven percent by the close.

And this was the result? This?

This fake-out rally truly left investors numb and bewildered. Curses filled all the major forums.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

About twenty minutes after the A-share market had closed, Fang Hong was sitting by himself on a sofa in the lounge area on the first floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence, browsing news about the release of Avatar.

The Hollywood blockbuster had been out in Mainland China for a full week, and its opening week box office had reached a staggering 509 million yuan, breaking a series of records in the country’s cinematic history.

Such an incredible performance only strengthened the resolve of major players in the film and television industry to accelerate the expansion of 3D cinemas.

As for Yixing Cinema Chain, its more than twelve hundred 3D screens were making an absolute killing. It had become the biggest winner in the box office split for Avatar in Mainland China. Of the five hundred million yuan box office, Yixing Cinema Chain was set to take a slice of at least one hundred eighty million.

However, Fang Hong was obviously focused on more than just the one hundred eighty million yuan box office share. What he truly valued was how Yixing Cinema Chain had pulled ahead to seize the 3D cinema trend. According to the original plan, Yixing Media was to increase its number of screens to over five thousand this year, with more than thirty-five hundred of them being 3D screens.

In short, the plan was expansion—crazy expansion!

As Yixing Cinema Chain’s market share in screens grew, Art Star Media Group’s influence in the film industry would become increasingly significant. So what if your movie is incredible? If you want more showtimes, you’ll have to play by my cinema chain’s rules. Otherwise, no matter how awesome your film is, if I don’t give you screens, your box office will bomb. Film production companies are the last ones who want to offend cinema chain companies.

Of course, this could also hurt the cinema chain’s profits, but to Fang Hong, influence was far more important than box office revenue.

Take Avatar, for instance. It was so popular that it was a cultural phenomenon, and 3D movie tickets were nearly impossible to find. But Yixing Cinema Chain’s share was still only about one hundred eighty million. Even if the film ultimately grossed two billion yuan in Mainland China, Yixing would only take a slice of over seven hundred million.

It was certainly super profitable.

But everything is relative. Compared to the profits reaped from the financial capital markets, it was just so-so.

Therefore, Fang Hong valued influence more. In the future, when Yixing Cinema Chain became the largest cinema chain in Mainland China by screen count, even achieving a dominant market position, it wouldn’t matter how big-shot the director, actors, or production company were. If I don’t give you screens, your movie will get wrecked, no matter how good it is. The most crucial part is that I can afford the loss, but you can’t.

Who would dare to offend Yixing Media then?

Over time, this influence would naturally be established. Besides, the cinema chain was just one part of the puzzle. According to Fang Hong’s strategy for the entertainment industry, the plan was to build a vertically integrated business covering the entire chain, from distribution and production to channels.

His strategy in this field truly relied on the almost omnipotent “power of cash.” As long as enough money was thrown at a problem, it could basically be solved. It wasn’t like tackling high-tech, where money alone might not be enough. In the entertainment industry, if you dared to spend money without worrying about profits, you were basically invincible!

…

Meanwhile, as Fang Hong was browsing the news, he noticed a blog post published today by a Mainland director that was being widely shared and discussed.

Fang Hong clicked on the link to the director’s blog post. The title alone made him frown: “We Should Be Ashamed in the Face of Avatar!”

Good grief!

The title made Fang Hong sneer. Without even reading the content, he could basically tell this was someone who worshipped the West. Still, he took a look at the actual content of the blog post.

In his blog, the director’s praise for Avatar bordered on worship. He expressed his reverence for James Cameron as follows:

【This is a master-class visual feast, a dream-like journey that absolutely cannot be missed.

The director’s reverence for life is palpable throughout the film.

This isn’t some profound, esoteric confession from an intellectual; it is the sincere cry of an ordinary person. The metaphor is simple: the jungle tribe can easily be seen as kin to the people of Africa or Native Americans, making it perfectly accessible to the general public.

For the average viewer, beyond being stunned by the visual spectacle, the film’s themes of environmentalism, boundless love, and anti-colonialism undoubtedly resonate deeply with the modern heart.

While “sincerity” and “passion” have become overused buzzwords in filmmaking, Cameron, through his actions, has shown global audiences a truly sincere work that he painstakingly prepared for over a decade.

The audience has discerning eyes, and they have indeed used word-of-mouth to write a new record for Avatar.

Avatar has shown me that what we lack is not technology; technology can be acquired. Avatar suddenly made me realize just how far our films are from passion and simple beauty, how far we are from crystal-clear purity, how far we are from burning dreams. For those of us who have been reveling in a convoluted mediocrity of distorted, dark nonsense, how far are we from true sincerity?

In the face of Avatar’s purity, we should feel ashamed.】

…

After finishing the blog post, which reeked of the typical “public intellectual” rhetoric, Fang Hong didn’t think much of it. But just as he was about to close the page, he noticed that the director’s personal information indicated a connection to Yixing Media.

This successfully captured his further attention.

He immediately opened a search engine, typed in the director’s name, and looked up his resume and recent news. It turned out this young director had recently received funding from Art Star Media Group.

If he hadn’t seen it, Fang Hong probably wouldn’t have bothered. But now that he had read the blog post, he immediately called Cao Chenghui and told him about the director.

“…Pull the funding for this person’s film project. From now on, restrict the theatrical runs for all his movies. And while you’re at it, use him as a template to categorize others; restrict showtimes for all films made by people like him, and make sure Yixing Media provides them with absolutely no resource support!” Fang Hong said decisively. A complete ban on showtimes would attract criticism, but giving a token number of screenings could still achieve the goal of blacklisting him.

“Understood!” Cao Chenghui immediately replied from the other end of the line. He was quite surprised. The big boss had called him out of the blue, and though he hadn’t said it explicitly, the message between the lines was a direct order to blacklist someone. And not just one person, but a whole category of similar people. At the very least, they would be blacklisted from all resources controlled by Art Star Media Group.

Fang Hong ended the call and put the matter out of his mind. Cao Chenghui, however, immediately summoned Yixing Media’s second-in-command, Yang Guang. He felt he couldn’t take a personal call from the big boss lightly. Although it seemed to be a simple matter of blacklisting a young director—not a huge deal, just follow the order—

But Cao Chenghui couldn’t shake the feeling that he, having been parachuted in to manage Art Star Media Group, had made some oversight he wasn’t aware of, and that the big boss had discovered it. Under normal circumstances, the big boss would never act like this.

Director Cao believed it was impossible that the big boss would personally call him just to blacklist a single director. Why would the big boss himself intervene in such a trivial matter?

This must reflect some underlying structural problem within Art Star Media Group that needed to be resolved. He had no choice but to take it very seriously because if something went wrong, he, Cao Chenghui, would be the one held primarily responsible, with no way to shift the blame.

…

Chapter 310: Becoming Xincheng’s Top Taxpayer

That director could never have imagined that posting a single blog entry would end his career. After ending his call with the big boss, Cao Chenghui immediately and personally ordered the man to be blacklisted. He then used this incident as a case study to create a new category, ensuring that anyone of this sort would be excluded from the Art Star Media Group system.

Although the group didn’t yet have the power to enforce an industry-wide ban, its word was law at least within its own industrial ecosystem.

Moreover, as time passed and its market share expanded, its influence would only grow. At that point, other investors would certainly not risk offending Art Star Media Group for the sake of a single director or actor.

…

As for the recent A-share market, the trends these past few days had been enough to drive investors to despair. After a bull trap on Monday featuring a high open followed by a dive, Tuesday saw a strong rebound of +1.91%, with the index rallying to 3273.97 points.

Investors cried that they had been tricked out of their shares. They believed the major players had used the high open for a shakeout and that a big rally was still to come, so they rushed to correct their mistake and buy back in.

But on Wednesday, the A-shares gapped down a massive -2.11% at the open. The market index ultimately ended the day with a steep drop of -3.09%, closing at 3172.66 points. The market’s performance in the first three days of the week left investors completely stunned and whipsawed!

Major forums and stock chat groups were filled with curses from investors. The trends of these three days made them feel like they were being toyed with by the market. The start of the new year had brought a volatile “monkey market,” and investors felt they were the monkeys being played with. Even worse, at least performing monkeys could earn a few coins, whereas they were losing money.

Last week, returning after the New Year, they had expected a market with a broader perspective, but after a few days of fluctuations, it turned into a panic sell. So, they sold at a loss on Friday. This Monday, the market gapped up 3.3 percent. Investors felt they had missed out on the rally, so they chased the high, only to be caught in a dive. On Tuesday, it opened low and pulled back, prompting them to sell at a loss in a panic. The moment they sold, the market began a strong rebound rally. Employing some “idiot’s strategy,” they chased the high and bought back in, only to be hit with a gap down and another crash today.

Fooled every single time, and each time in a different way. Was this broken market even playable?

Then, starting from Thursday, January 14, the A-share market began a continuous rally with bullish candles. But investors declared they wouldn’t be played by the A-shares again. Those who hadn’t bought the dip on Wednesday resolutely stayed on the sidelines, while those who hadn’t sold off their holdings did so during the rebound. This was reflected on the exchange: although the index continued to rebound, the trading volume did not increase.

…

Friday afternoon, January 15.

“The second judicial auction of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group concluded today. We acquired 100% of the equity for 4.8 billion,” reported Tian Jiayi, who had returned to give her routine work update, briefly summarizing the Ruihe Group auction.

Tian Jiayi added, “The next step, according to the original plan, is to strip Ruihe of its liabilities and non-performing assets, then facilitate the investment of Xincheng’s local state-owned assets. We expect this to be completed by the end of February.”

With Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group now acquired, it was 100% controlled by Stellaris Capital, severing all ties with Wang Qingxiong.

After completing the deal with Xincheng’s local state-owned assets, the next step would be to apply for a listing on the ChiNext board. In fact, the process of going public on the ChiNext board had already begun, with Xinhong Securities acting as the sponsor and providing guidance for the listing.

A moment later, Fang Hong shifted to another matter. “We can begin to liquidate the overseas market positions. Call Hua Yu and tell him to start closing the long positions tonight, then use half of the capital to go short.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright, I’ll contact him in a bit.”

The global markets were about to experience a sell-off lasting about half a month. The A-share market would follow suit, once again breaking through the 3000-point mark.

However, Stellaris Capital had already completed its plan to sell off all its shares in the A-share market at the peak, so the market decline wouldn’t cause them any losses. As for the A-share market, all they needed to do now was wait patiently for the market to bottom out before buying back in.

There would certainly be no major opportunities in the first half of this year. Fang Hong’s focus for the A-share market was on the second half, as there would be a very strong rebound rally then. Of course, it would only be a rebound, unable to change the overall bear market trend for the next few years.

…

Time passed to Wednesday, January 20.

The market opened high and trended lower today. Around 10:30 AM, it dropped by 1.5 percent at one point, breaking through the 3200-point mark. It then rebounded somewhat, fluctuating above 3200.

But just around 1:30 PM, a piece of news sent the A-share market collapsing.

The news was the release of the 2009 tax bill from Xincheng. On the list of numerous local tax-paying enterprises, the number one taxpayer in Xincheng was shockingly Stellaris Capital!

They weren’t even on the list in the first half of the year, but in the second half, they had parachuted directly into the top spot with a tax payment of a staggering, astronomical 35.3 billion.

In reality, Fang Hong could have legally avoided at least 30 billion of that tax bill. But he didn’t, and had repeatedly emphasized that Stellaris Capital must adhere to the eight-character principle: “Pay what’s due, no evasion, no omission.”

By becoming Xincheng’s top taxpayer, the so-called “Xincheng’s sure bet” would be born in the days to come.

This news came out around 1:30 PM. After about ten minutes of circulation, the A-share market flash crashed, instantly breaking through the 3200-point mark. Around 2:18 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index broke below the 3150-point mark, with the intra-day loss widening to 3 percent.

Stellaris Capital had really fled!

This astronomical tax figure of over 35 billion was indirect but powerful evidence confirming that Stellaris Capital had liquidated its A-share market positions. Retail investors finally reacted, but the smart money and large capital funds could do the math and reverse-calculate the situation.

While it might not be perfectly accurate, they could likely determine that Stellaris Capital had cashed out at least a hundred billion from the A-share market.

There was no need to wait for the preliminary annual reports and updated disclosures of the top ten shareholders from listed companies. Stellaris Capital had definitely gotten out. When the annual reports were released, their name would surely be gone.

Who cares about the details? The market will crash first as a sign of respect!

Run—!

During the intraday plunge, most investors had no idea what caused the sudden flash crash. The market was just plummeting莫名其妙.

It wasn’t until after the market closed and the news spread further that they understood the reason for the afternoon’s sudden collapse.

Stellaris Capital had really packed up and fled!

As the news fermented and attention soared, more information was unearthed. By evening, new rumors began to circulate that Stellaris Capital had actually bailed around the market peak of 3478 points in early August of last year.

Many who had been skeptical hoped this was also false news, but the thirty-plus billion in taxes paid could not be faked. Selling stocks from a personal securities account is tax-free, but when an investment company divests and cashes out, it must pay taxes.

All of Stellaris Capital’s investments in the primary market were still in their initial phase, with no projects having exited yet. The only way they could have paid so much in taxes was by cashing out of the A-share market.

Such a large-scale withdrawal by an institutional investor was a clear sign they were not optimistic about the market’s future, and it was reasonable to speculate that they were not the only institution fleeing.

Market confidence was thus dealt a heavy blow. As misfortunes never come singly, overseas markets also began to sell off in late January. The US stock market was hit with three consecutive huge negative candlesticks.

The A-share market followed suit, and by Wednesday, January 27, the market index had once again broken through the 3000-point psychological mark.

So much for the cross-year rally that was supposed to break through the 3478-point high. Instead, the first month of the new year brought a breakdown and a panic sell that breached the 3000-point mark.

However, public sentiment was better than Fang Hong had anticipated. If they had fled at 3478 points in early August and hadn’t re-entered in September, when the third-quarter reports came out revealing Stellaris Capital had completely vanished, the market would have undoubtedly blamed them for triggering the collapse during that violent A-wave decline.

Now, most people were simply marveling at Stellaris Capital’s skill: buying the dip at over 1660 points and exiting at the peak above 3300 points. They were truly the smart money in the market.

Another factor that couldn’t be ignored was Stellaris Capital’s massive investment in the tech sector and its strong support for the aerospace industry, pouring hard cash into the development of technology industries. This had won them public support and positive reviews.

Furthermore, the consolidation of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group played a significant role. It was hailed in the industry as a textbook example of capital operations, not only for the series of maneuvers to swallow Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole but also for the subsequent restructuring operations to completely sever ties with Wang Qingxiong.

After Stellaris Capital took over Hengtong and renamed it Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, they first purged the original executive management, sending a batch of them to prison. This series of actions, even at the cost of damaging the company’s reputation and incurring heavy losses, was aimed at making a complete change. They also implemented a series of measures, including compensating patients who had been harmed by the original Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

It is often said, “Don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does.”

The general public saw everything Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had done. The company’s damaged reputation was being rebuilt through concrete actions, winning back public approval. Coupled with the investment from Xincheng’s local state-owned assets, they were able to rebuild their public credibility in the shortest possible time.

The public’s perception was also gradually changing. Hengtong was Hengtong, and Ruihe was Ruihe. The current Ruihe Pharmaceutical company was no longer run by the same old boss, and that old boss, Wang Qingxiong, was now in jail.

But what Fang Hong valued most was the positive reputation that Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group brought to Stellaris Capital. Because Ruihe had been reborn, transforming from a corrupt pharmaceutical company into a conscientious one, and all the credit went to Stellaris Capital.

The positive reputation this brought to Stellaris Capital was more valuable than the recovery of Ruihe Group itself.

…

Chapter 311: Why Do You Need Risk Hedging Tools for a Sure-Win Game?

Thursday afternoon, January 28th, at the Tranquil Heart Residence.

“Regarding the overseas capital markets, the cumulative profit from our long positions this time is around 11.5 billion US dollars, and the floating profit from our previous short positions has now reached 1.7 billion US dollars. After deducting capital and transaction costs, Stellaris Capital’s current net value in the overseas markets is 24.3 billion US dollars, equivalent to about 165 billion RMB.”

Listening to Tian Jiayi’s report, Fang Hong nodded with satisfaction. This net value overseas was all solid profit. Not only had the initial capital for their overseas operations been fully recovered and repatriated, but an additional three billion US dollars—about twenty billion RMB—in profit had also been brought back.

The recent panic sell-off in the overseas markets was mainly caused by factors like the European debt crisis. However, Fang Hong had no intention of trying to make a fortune from the European debt crisis just yet.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it was that such matters were far from being simple market competitions. The deeper logic behind them was the game of international politics.

To put it bluntly, their country’s comprehensive national strength wasn’t sufficient yet, and the higher-ups were still focused on hiding their capabilities and biding their time. Going for a big score might mean they couldn’t protect the gains, and it could even disrupt the plans of the government. Fang Hong naturally wouldn’t do something that was more trouble than it’s worth.

Moreover, his current operations in the overseas markets were all done stealthily, focusing on making a fortune in silence. He was playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Americans, trying not to provoke them. If they discovered he was making off with tens of billions of dollars, they would probably pull the plug on the internet to stop him. Even if the money was earned legally and legitimately through market competition, it wouldn’t matter.

When a business gets this big, it’s no longer just simple business.

Tian Jiayi asked, “What should we do with the more than twenty billion US dollars of idle funds in the overseas accounts?”

Such a large amount of capital certainly couldn’t just sit there and depreciate. Fang Hong thought for a moment and then instructed, “Throw it into the foreign exchange market. Go long on the US Dollar Index. Use ten times leverage; we’ll trade with two hundred billion US dollars.”

The foreign exchange market was a different beast entirely. Its daily trading volume was in the trillions of US dollars, and all sorts of powerful players from around the world competed there. Everyone was a leverage player; using a hundred times leverage was completely normal.

However, Fang Hong only opted for ten times leverage, as the base capital was already substantial. Ten times leverage already brought the scale to two hundred billion US dollars.

In the first half of 2010, the domestic A-share market would be in a main downtrend wave, but the US Dollar Index would continue to strengthen. The index was currently at 78. By early June, it would rise all the way to around the 88-dollar mark, a total increase of about +13%. With ten times leverage, the expected return would be +130%, which meant an expected net profit of twenty-six billion US dollars.

Although the volatility in the foreign exchange market wasn’t as drastic as in the stock market, its capacity to handle large amounts of capital was immense, and leveraged funds could be used.

Tian Jiayi inquired, “A direct one-sided long position? Without any risk hedging tools?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Why do you need risk hedging tools for a sure-win game? Just do as I say. We’ll just wait to count the money. Anything less than twenty-six or twenty-seven billion dollars from this forex play would be a failure.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi could only nod. “Alright…”

There was nothing more to say. The man’s predictions of market trends were terrifyingly accurate. Whether it was the domestic or overseas markets, he could always devise the correct strategy and make a fortune. That was how Stellaris Capital had risen so quickly.

In Fang Hong’s eyes, as someone who had been reborn, these were certain market trends, one hundred percent guaranteed to make money. Naturally, he dared to go all-in and had no need for risk hedging tools, which would only reduce his rate of return.

A one-sided bet, just go all-in and that’s that!

Finally, Fang Hong gave another instruction, “Also, go find a shell company. The plan for the Weibo subsidiary’s backdoor listing can be initiated.”

Tian Jiayi made a note of it.

A so-called backdoor listing is the process by which an unlisted company indirectly goes public by acquiring the shares of an already listed company. The acquired companies are typically poorly managed listed entities, which are then restructured and renamed after the acquisition.

The approval process for a backdoor listing is relatively simple and doesn’t take long.

However, backdoor listings have their pros and cons.

The advantages include bypassing a series of verifications by the supervisory authorities, thereby reducing the economic costs of listing, lowering transaction costs, enabling rapid transactions, and achieving a quick listing. Moreover, the company doesn’t need to publicly disclose its various performance indicators, which increases its confidentiality to a certain extent.

The disadvantages are that a backdoor listing will cause some dilution of the company’s shares. Secondly, the quality of the shell company is uncertain and may come with debt disputes, as the shell itself generally has some use value, and acquiring it requires bearing a significant cost.

The negative aspects of a backdoor listing were just a matter of spending a bit more money, and money was the one thing Stellaris Capital didn’t lack. As for the dilution of shares, Fang Hong didn’t mind letting some of the retail investors inside get lucky and win the lottery.

“Should I look for a shell company on the Shanghai stock market or the Shenzhen stock market?” Tian Jiayi asked.

“The Shenzhen stock market,” Fang Hong said without hesitation. Although the Shanghai market’s liquidity currently crushed Shenzhen’s, in the future, Shenzhen’s liquidity would surge and eventually blow Shanghai out of the water.

In truth, listing on the ChiNext board was the best option, but a backdoor listing there was obviously impossible. The ChiNext board had only opened at the end of October last year, so there were no shell companies to acquire. Even if there were, the regulators would never approve it.

Coming to play the backdoor listing game on the ChiNext board just a few months after it opened?

That would be truly outrageous.

“Anything else?” Fang Hong glanced at Tian Jiayi curiously. The work report was done, and the necessary decisions had been made. Normally, his beautiful assistant would be packing up her materials to go work out by now.

Tian Jiayi looked at him and said slowly, “Um, you know all my money is tied up in stocks…”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yes, of course. So…?”

Speaking of which, Tian Jiayi had bought the stock Dongfang Yuhong for 2.7 million. On Monday, January 18th, the stock’s intra-day high hit 69.30 yuan. Based on her cost price of 22.00 yuan, her floating profit had reached +215%, more than tripling her investment.

However, today’s latest closing price was 59.55 yuan, a pullback of about fourteen percent.

Even so, she still had a floating profit of +170.68% on the stock. She hadn’t sold, because Fang Hong hadn’t told her to. At today’s closing price, her holdings in the stock were already worth 7.29 million yuan.

At that moment, Fang Hong saw a hint of a dilemma on her face, which piqued his curiosity.

Tian Jiayi hesitated for a moment, then met Fang Hong’s gaze again and suddenly said in a weak, delicate voice, “I’ve run out of cash. Could you lend me a little? I’ll pay you back after I sell the stocks. I don’t need much, just a few tens of thousands of yuan will do…”

Since joining Stellaris Capital, she had been paying for her daily expenses with her own money. Although her position in the company was Vice President, she took a symbolic salary of one yuan. She was worth over seven million, but that money was all tied up in stocks she didn’t plan on selling, and now she had less than a thousand yuan in available cash.

She could have asked the company’s finance department for an advance or even gone to Yue Qing. Never mind tens of thousands, Yue Qing would have lent her hundreds of thousands or even millions without batting an eye. But Tian Jiayi just couldn’t bring herself to ask. She would rather ask Fang Hong in private.

At this moment, Fang Hong was truly surprised to hear his beautiful assistant asking to borrow a few tens of thousands for daily expenses. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter on the spot.

Tian Jiayi said, annoyed, “What are you laughing at? If you won’t lend it, then forget it!”

Still smiling, Fang Hong replied, “Lend? Of course, I’ll lend it. Not only will I lend you a few tens of thousands, but I’ll also give you a few hundred million extra!”

A few hundred million?

Tian Jiayi was stunned for a moment, looking at him with astonishment. She asked doubtfully, “Give me a few hundred million? For real?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Of course, it’s real. But if I give you a few hundred million, would you dare to take it?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi blinked. If this guy really wanted to give it, he could certainly produce a huge sum of several hundred million. The beautiful assistant crossed her arms and snorted, “A few hundred million for free? Only a fool would refuse such a good offer. I’m not some overly sentimental woman. If you dare to give it, I absolutely dare to take it. Do you dare?”

Fang Hong was immediately provoked. He stood up and said, “Are you kidding? What’s there not to dare? Come with me to the study and get it now.”

With that, Fang Hong headed for the second floor. Tian Jiayi was momentarily confused and surprised, but she got up and followed him. She wanted to see if he really dared.

It wasn’t until she followed him into the study that the subsequent events caught the beautiful assistant completely off guard. She finally realized she had fallen into his trap, but by the time she understood, it was too late…

Afterward…

Tian Jiayi walked slowly out of the study and toward her room, but her steps seemed a bit heavy. After all, she was carrying the extra few hundred million Fang Hong had given her. How could her steps not be heavy?

…

Chapter 312: Fang Hong’s Surprise

Not long after Tian Jiayi left, Fang Hong also came out of the study. He had spent a few hundred million subscribing to a “new stock” today and was in a pretty good mood.

Actually, the key wasn’t about subscribing to a new stock, but about using this act to establish a closer, more intimate relationship with her. After all, Tian Jiayi was different from the other girls in this villa. she was a member of Stellaris Capital’s core decision-making layer and was positioned by Hua Yu and the others as Fang Hong’s “shadow.”

Therefore, from any perspective, Fang Hong had to ensure that Tian Jiayi remained completely aligned with him. In this world, there were two ways to build a strong relationship:

The first was a relationship built on common interests. Even if the two parties disliked each other, they could still cooperate sincerely for the sake of their core shared interests. The second was a relationship built on a physical bond, one established through intimacy.

Obviously, Fang Hong’s relationship with Hua Yu and the others was built on the first method, while his with Tian Jiayi was based on the second. Although it was impossible for him to get a marriage certificate with her, they had already become intimate, and the result had the same effect.

Now that this new layer of their relationship had been established and had deepened, Tian Jiayi would naturally and subconsciously think of herself and Fang Hong as a unit, completing the shift from “I” to “we,” rather than seeing them as separate individuals.

This way, Tian Jiayi could better play the role of Fang Hong’s “shadow” within Stellaris Capital. And with this new layer to their relationship, Fang Hong could also trust her more completely.

About an hour later, Tian Jiayi came out of her room. She had taken a shower and changed into summer clothes. The temperature outside was very low, but the villa had heating that maintained a constant temperature twenty-four hours a day, so everyone dressed lightly indoors.

Fang Hong, who was in the living room, saw his beautiful assistant coming downstairs and couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Why aren’t you going to the gym today?”

Tian Jiayi sat down in an empty seat next to him, shot him an annoyed glare, then turned her head away. She crossed her arms and said nothing, looking as if she couldn’t be bothered with him.

Their relationship had leveled up, and things were different. People really did change in an instant. But she had also become more feminine.

Seeing her silence, Fang Hong suddenly nodded with a serious expression and said to himself, “Oh, that’s right. You did have a bit of an aerobic workout not too long ago.”

At this, Tian Jiayi turned her head to meet Fang Hong’s gaze and said, “If I had known that the few hundred million you mentioned was…”

Fang Hong immediately put on a serious face and cut her off, “What? You took my few hundred million and now you want to deny it? Have you already forgotten the way you were arching forward and back? When you were asking for my few hundred million, you were even more proactive and eager than I had expected. But I didn’t expect our first ‘joint venture’ to be so in sync. It was practically flawless.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

The beautiful assistant’s lovely face flushed red. She was about to retort, but just then she saw the maid, Hu Tao, passing through the living room. She had to stop herself, glaring at him and feigning anger with a fierce look as she scolded him in a low voice, “Shut up!”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but lightly tap her forehead. She turned her head away, not wanting to deal with him, but muttered to herself inwardly: [Forget it. I’ve been mentally prepared for this for a long time anyway. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Now that it’s happened, so be it. It’s not a bad thing to have it settled early on.]

A moment later, Fang Hong smiled and changed the subject. “Alright, alright, let’s talk business. Come with me to Stellar Universe Technology tomorrow. Qin Feng told me the company has made a major breakthrough.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “They’re probably going to ask for money again.”

Leaning back on the sofa, Fang Hong said unhurriedly, “Asking for money isn’t a problem, as long as they can produce results that meet my expectations.”

The next morning.

Fang Hong took Tian Jiayi in a private car to Stellar Universe Technology’s headquarters. He was still operating behind the scenes, and only a few key people knew his identity as the true big boss of Stellaris Capital.

On the trip to Stellar Universe Technology’s headquarters, Fang Hong continued to play the role of Tian Jiayi’s secretarial assistant, while Tian Jiayi’s public identity was the Executive Vice President of Stellaris Capital.

Qin Feng already knew Fang Hong was coming and had set aside his work early to wait for his wealthy backer.

The company’s current office space was rented, but the Stellar Universe Technology headquarters was being established in the High-Tech Industrial Park planned for the northern suburbs of Xincheng. A plot of land had already been allocated for the headquarters’ construction.

When Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi arrived at Stellar Universe Technology, they attracted the gazes of many employees as they walked through the open-plan office. Everyone looked quite surprised, but their attention was mostly focused on Tian Jiayi.

It wasn’t just because she was a woman with stunning looks and a great figure, but also because she was so young yet held the position of Executive Vice President in the core leadership of a major investment group. The image she projected to outsiders was that of a cool and aloof, powerful woman.

After all, as a member of a corporate group’s core decision-making layer, she couldn’t appear too approachable or easy to talk to, otherwise, her subordinates wouldn’t take her seriously.

In contrast, Fang Hong didn’t receive much attention from the employees here, which was something he was delighted to see happen. However, the few female employees in the company did pay more attention to him.

It couldn’t be helped. With a movie-star level handsome face, being tall and good-looking, he could charm any girl, especially the young and inexperienced ones, with almost guaranteed success.

“This way, please!”

Qin Feng led them to one of the company’s meeting rooms. Once inside, Fang Hong dropped the act. He knew that Qin Feng had probably guessed his identity long ago. He sat down on the sofa and said, “On the phone the day before yesterday, I heard you say the company’s first product has been finalized and is just waiting for mass production and launch.”

At that moment, Qin Feng brought over a box containing a prototype and said, “Our first product… frankly, over seventy percent of the hardware uses foreign components, especially the integrated circuits. Well, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an assembled device.”

Fang Hong wasn’t concerned. “The rate of domestic production isn’t something that can be accomplished in a single step, especially with chips being a huge hurdle. There’s no rush, and we can’t rush it. We’ll take it slow. Let’s focus on capturing market share first. This is crucial for building the operating system’s ecosystem.”

Qin Feng nodded and said, “I think so too. It’s not good news for us if the Android, Symbian, and iOS systems rapidly build up their user bases.”

An operating system’s greatest need is an ecosystem, which requires a massive user base to attract third-party developers to create applications for your system.

Qin Feng handed the box with the prototype to Fang Hong and added, “But it’s not like we have nothing of our own. The operating system is ours, as well as our own industrial design, and so on.”

Stellar Universe Technology’s workforce had now expanded to two thousand five hundred people, eighty percent of whom were R&D personnel. The largest department among them was the operating system development team, which accounted for fifty-five percent of the company’s entire technical team.

Fang Hong took the box and opened it. Inside was a white smartphone prototype. The screen size was 4.0 inches, and the screen-to-body ratio reached seventy-five percent, which is a 4:3 aspect ratio.

When Fang Hong took the prototype out and looked at it from the front and back, he froze on the spot. Tian Jiayi, sitting beside him, was a little surprised to see his reaction, as she had rarely seen him show such astonishment in front of outsiders.

Fang Hong didn’t wake the prototype’s screen. Instead, he turned directly to Qin Feng and asked, “Did you poach some key industrial design talent from Apple?”

Qin Feng didn’t know why he was suddenly asking this question. He immediately shook his head and said, “No. Even if I wanted to poach someone from Apple, they might not be willing to come. The ones who would come, I’m not interested in, and the ones I’m interested in wouldn’t be interested in us.”

Fang Hong looked at the prototype in his hand again and suddenly muttered to himself, “Well, isn’t that a coincidence…”

His words left both Tian Jiayi and Qin Feng quite puzzled. What was a coincidence?

Chapter 313: Whoever Releases First Has a Huge Advantage

Without having poached any industrial design talent from Apple, this was really heading for an identical design, as the external industrial design of this prototype was over 90% similar to the iPhone 4. However, the iPhone 4 had not been released yet; it was scheduled to launch sometime in June or July of this year.

From its appearance, if you covered the Stellar Universe Technology logo, the prototype Fang Hong was holding was so similar to the iPhone 4 that you couldn’t tell them apart without scrutinizing the details. It had to be said that the iPhone 4 was indeed a legendary creation in the field of smartphone industrial design.

Fang Hong examined the prototype in his hands again. The smartphones currently on the market mostly had rounded designs with smooth corners, which actually provided a very good user experience.

But this prototype’s design was different from the others on the market. Its corners were closer to right angles, clashing with the current aesthetic of roundedness. The use of black and white as its primary colors also created a striking visual impact.

Both the back and front of the phone were perfectly flat, with no rear camera protruding beyond the plane of the casing—a godsend for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Moreover, the casing was also made of tempered glass. Compared to the smartphones on the market today, its external industrial design was highly distinctive.

Holding this prototype, its highly recognizable appearance gave it a uniqueness that was starkly different from other phones.

Fang Hong silently studied the prototype. As expected, releasing this product would undoubtedly lead to conflict with Apple; lawsuits and the like would be unavoidable.

Internationally, Apple had probably already registered the design patent, but it had not yet been approved in the Mainland. Patents are territorial; they are protected only in the country or region where they are filed. Therefore, a patent filed abroad would not be protected in the country.

Besides, the prototype’s appearance wasn’t a complete mirror image of the iPhone. For one, the screen size and aspect ratio were different, so there would still be plenty to argue about in a lawsuit.

Fang Hong then asked, “By the way, have you applied for the design patent?”

Qin Feng nodded with a smile. “Of course. We sorted that out half a year ago, but it’s limited to the Mainland.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong’s last sliver of worry vanished. That settled it. As long as it was handled in the Mainland, they were fine. This was going to be fun to watch. As for overseas markets, it didn’t matter. Stellar Universe Technology wouldn’t be targeting foreign markets anytime soon, so not applying was actually the right move.

As expected, Apple would hold its press event at the end of June this year to launch the iPhone 4. If Stellar Universe Technology released its product after the iPhone 4’s launch, they would definitely be accused of copying Apple’s product and face lawsuits and disputes.

Therefore, they had to hold their press conference before Apple’s iPhone 4 launch. Even so, they would surely create bad blood with Apple, and the two companies would inevitably clash over the industrial design, leading to quarrels and legal battles.

But as long as they released the product before Apple, it would be Stellar Universe Technology’s original creation. With the patent issue settled in the Mainland, Apple would be the one copying. No matter what, as long as Stellar Universe Technology got its product out first, it would have the advantage.

Putting his thoughts aside, Fang Hong woke the screen and began to experience the prototype’s actual performance. While testing it, he asked, “The operating system… TOS?”

Hearing this, Qin Feng replied, “We named this operating system ‘Taiji,’ which stands for ‘Taiji-Operating-System,’ or TOS for short.”

After trying out the phone, Fang Hong gave a simple review, “Not bad. Frankly, for the company to create a first product like this under the current conditions has greatly exceeded my expectations. The operating system’s functions are more complete than I imagined, and it’s very smooth. Although it’s not quite on par with Apple’s iOS, it’s slightly better than the Android system. My expectation was that it would be good enough if it wasn’t weaker than Android.”

Hearing his wealthy backer’s highly approving evaluation, Qin Feng was delighted. He knew that Fang Hong’s insights and knowledge in the IT field far surpassed most so-called industry insiders, which made his praise extremely valuable.

Fang Hong continued to test the new prototype, comparing it with the iPhone 4 from his past life’s memory. This phone still had its shortcomings compared to the iPhone 4, which had pioneered many “firsts” and initiated the intense competition in the smartphone industry.

For example, the iPhone 4 was the first phone to introduce the concept of a “Retina display,” kicking off the race for higher screen resolutions. It was the first to use a back-illuminated camera sensor, starting the competition for better apertures and night photography. It was also the first to incorporate a gyroscope, ushering in a whole new mobile gaming experience.

Furthermore, the iOS system’s incredibly high-performance smoothness crushed almost every other operating system of its time.

Finally, Fang Hong looked at Qin Feng and asked, “When is the launch event scheduled?”

The company’s first smartphone was named [Stellar-S1]. The letter “S” represented the company’s name, and the number following it indicated the product generation.

When asked about the S1’s launch date, Qin Feng immediately replied, “It’s tentatively set for this autumn.”

Upon hearing this timeframe, Fang Hong immediately rejected it, saying, “No, the press conference must be held within the next two months or so. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.”

At these words, Qin Feng looked utterly confused and seemed to want to say something but held back. What happened to not interfering with the company’s operations? Was he stepping in already? A single word from you changes everything, completely disrupting the company’s established plans.

Fang Hong read Qin Feng’s thoughts from his expression and said calmly, “I said that you are the Founder and helmsman of Stellar Universe Technology, and I wouldn’t interfere with your decisions. I always keep my word. But regarding the launch date, I’ll tell you something else, and you can make the decision.”

Qin Feng asked in surprise, “Something else?”

Fang Hong said methodically, “I’ve learned some news about Apple from other channels—specifically, about their new iPhone series product, the iPhone 4. The external industrial design of the iPhone 4 is over 90% similar to your S1. Based on my information, if all goes as expected, the iPhone 4 will be released at the end of June this year. If you schedule your product launch for the autumn, I think you’re well aware of the predicament the S1 will face.”

“What—?” Qin Feng was utterly shocked. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly recovered and stammered, “You’re saying… the iPhone 4’s industrial design is more than 90% similar to my S1? How credible is this information?”

This news was too shocking for Qin Feng. He instantly realized that if it was true, and Stellar Universe Technology launched the S1 after the iPhone, it would definitely be labeled a “knockoff” and a “copycat.” This would be an absolutely devastating blow.

After all, Apple was a giant, while Stellar Universe Technology had only been established for about a year. Add to that a group of public intellectuals who would feign selective blindness, and they would surely tear Stellar Universe Technology’s product to shreds.

Fang Hong replied with a calm expression, “If not for the sake of being cautious, I would say this information is 100% reliable.”

As for the source, there was no need to explain it to Qin Feng. He would never guess that Fang Hong’s source was his memory from a past life; he would only assume he had undisclosed connections and means to obtain Apple’s internal business secrets.

Receiving such a definitive answer from Fang Hong, Qin Feng paused for two seconds before making a decisive change on the spot. “The release date has to change. It must. We’ll move it from autumn to spring. How about we set it for March?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile to himself, knowing he would make this decision.

Qin Feng immediately looked to Fang Hong, wanting to hear his financial sponsor’s advice. This information about the iPhone 4 was too important. It was fortunate that his wealthy backer had obtained such crucial business intelligence at this critical juncture.

By launching before Apple, Stellar Universe Technology would be the undisputed original. Not only would the unfavorable situation vanish, but the tables would be completely turned. It would be Apple’s turn to be in an awkward and passive position.

Qin Feng was also calculating the timing in his head. Based on the reliable information Fang Hong had provided, if the iPhone 4 was to be released at the end of June, it had likely already entered mass production.

In other words, it would be impossible for Apple to change the design or scrap it and start over. Since they had already started mass production, there were probably a large number of units already coming off the assembly line.

Would they recall and discard all of them? The losses would be immense. Even if Chief Jobs wanted to shelve the project and try a different approach, he wouldn’t be able to get it past Apple’s Board of Directors. He would have to release it, gritting his teeth.

At that point, Apple would be the one in a tight spot. No matter how much they argued, they couldn’t change the fact that Stellar Universe Technology had released its product several months earlier. This meant that the iPhone 4 was not the first with that industrial design; it had copied Stellar Universe Technology.

In any case, they would both stick to their own stories and fight a war of words!

At that moment, Fang Hong nodded and said, “March leaves only one or two months of preparation time. Can you make the adjustments in time?”

Qin Feng said without hesitation, “The schedule will be tight, but it has to be done. This is non-negotiable. We must get ahead of the iPhone 4. Otherwise, I would rather kill the S1 and start over with a new design.”

He spoke with immense determination, which greatly pleased his financial sponsor. This was the kind of resolve and decisiveness that was needed!

After a moment, Fang Hong asked again, “What about the S1’s production capacity? What’s the situation now?”

…

Chapter 314: This Year Is Stellar Universe Technology’s Golden Window

When asked about production capacity, Qin Feng replied methodically, “For the phone’s production, we have currently reached a cooperation agreement with BYD. We’ve handed over the manufacturing to them. Their production efficiency can reach an annual output of ten million units. We’ve placed an order for eight million units, and production began over a month ago. So far, we’ve shipped one and a half million units.”

This efficiency was quite fast, a testament to the manufacturing capabilities of the Greater China region. However, after a rough calculation, Fang Hong figured that at this rate, they would have no more than four million units off the production line by the press conference in March.

Fang Hong said, “The capacity isn’t low, but it’s still too slow and too little. Try to have a stock of over six million units by March. The order can be increased to at least twenty million units.”

His words stunned Qin Feng, who couldn’t help but ask, “Twenty million units? Isn’t the risk too great?”

“What? You have so little confidence in the product you’ve developed?” Fang Hong glanced at Qin Feng, then said with a smile, “At the current capacity, you’ll have four million units in stock at most by the press conference in March. How is that enough? Let’s make a bet. Believe it or not, once this phone hits the market, the market will devour that four-million-unit capacity within one or two months.”

Qin Feng was taken aback. His wealthy backer was incredibly bullish on the sales of their first product!

Fang Hong was indeed very optimistic. Besides the product itself, he also knew very well that although the iPhone 4 would be released at the end of June this year, it wouldn’t be available in the Greater China market until the end of April 2011.

That was a full year’s gap.

In other words, during this one-year window when the iPhone 4 had not yet entered the domestic market, Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 would have virtually no competitors. As for domestic brands, not a single one could put up a fight. Lei-Jobs’s “Mi” hadn’t even been founded yet; if nothing unexpected happened, it would be established in March, and it was currently the end of January.

It was no exaggeration to say that this year was a golden window for Stellar Universe Technology. If they played their cards right, they could build their brand recognition in this year alone, using Apple as a stepping stone for their grand entrance.

After a moment, Qin Feng said helplessly, “I’m afraid we won’t have enough production capacity in time…”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “No, no, we definitely will. As long as you pay enough, BYD’s factories will burn the midnight oil, working 24/7 without a break. By March, they’ll churn out at least five million units for you, no matter what. Don’t underestimate our country’s manufacturing capabilities. Go talk to them. Tell them we need the capacity and to name their price for the contract manufacturing.”

At this point, Fang Hong added, “Apple’s iPhone 4 will be released at the end of June, but it will be delayed for at least a year before it’s launched on the mainland. This means that this year’s vacuum is a golden window for Stellar Universe Technology to rapidly seize the market and establish a first-mover advantage. The phone’s shipment volume is paramount. We need to acquire as many first-batch users as possible this year—the more, the better.”

Qin Feng couldn’t help but nod, clearly agreeing with his wealthy backer’s strategic thinking. Based on the bombshell news about Apple that his backer had provided, many of the company’s original plans had to be adjusted. He also quickly realized just how important 2010 was for Stellar Universe Technology.

After a while, Qin Feng said hesitantly, “This will probably require a very, very large sum of money.”

“Then let’s start the B-round financing as soon as possible. I’ll give you five billion in capital. Also, for BYD, let them hold the accounts receivable for now. We’ll agree that Stellar Universe Technology will settle the payment one year later. Stellaris Capital will act as your guarantor. If you can’t settle the payment when it’s due, tell BYD to come to us with the invoice for payment,” Fang Hong said decisively. “I refuse to believe BYD will find a reason to reject this order. And I refuse to believe they can’t churn out five to six million units.”

Qin Feng was stunned. As expected of his wealthy backer, so domineeringly generous it was almost unreal. And his support for Stellar Universe Technology was simply beyond words.

“How much equity do you want?” Qin Feng asked, getting straight to the point. Frankly, he didn’t know how to value Stellar Universe Technology anymore. With a massive financing of five billion, what kind of valuation should he offer? It was truly impossible to assess.

This didn’t even include Stellaris Capital’s other resource support, like acting as a guarantor, which were intangible assets that should, by rights, command a premium.

Fang Hong said bluntly, “Given the current situation and all the support Stellaris Capital is providing, it’s no exaggeration to say we’re treating Stellar Universe Technology like our own flesh and blood. A conventional valuation doesn’t mean much. No matter how much equity Qunxing takes, we aren’t taking advantage of you, and you aren’t losing out.”

Qin Feng chuckled and nodded. “That’s true.”

“Since you’re our own, let’s not get caught up in the details. Those who achieve great things don’t sweat the small stuff,” Fang Hong said with a smile, then turned to Tian Jiayi and asked, “What’s Qunxing’s current equity stake in Stellar Universe Technology?”

Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “After the previous A-round financing, Stellaris Capital holds a 44% stake in Stellar Universe Technology’s total share capital.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded, turned back to Qin Feng, and said crisply, “Increase it to eighty percent. We won’t increase our holdings after this. You and your team can divide the rest!”

Qin Feng replied with a concise and to the point, “Done!”

The two reached a consensus at lightning speed. Just as Fang Hong said, those with grand ambitions don’t get bogged down in trifles. A historic opportunity is fleeting. To quibble over a few percentage points of equity at this critical juncture was nothing compared to building the company into a world-class tech giant like Apple.

If haggling over a few percentage points of equity caused the company to miss its chance, turning a potential trillion-dollar enterprise into a mere hundred-billion-dollar one, that would be a classic case of picking up a sesame seed but losing the watermelon.

Qin Feng wasn’t worried, either. Stellar Universe Technology had two shares with veto power—one in the hands of Stellaris Capital, and the other in his. A third veto share would never be added. Stellaris Capital wouldn’t do it, and neither would Qin Feng.

Two were enough. It represented a balance between the venture capital and the startup. The founder couldn’t screw over the investor, and the investor couldn’t kick out the founder. Mutually assured destruction benefited no one. Working together to make the company bigger and stronger was the common goal that served both their interests.

Beside them, Tian Jiayi was taking notes on the B-round financing agreement they had just reached.

Finally, Qin Feng said methodically, “With this money, we can speed up many things, including the creation of offline direct-sale stores. I was originally planning to focus on e-commerce channels.”

With such powerful financial backing from his wealthy backer, all he had to do was spend it. Qin Feng also realized that Stellar Universe Technology’s most precious asset right now was time. He could see that his wealthy backer agreed that time was more valuable, and was willing to pay a higher price to buy more of it!

Qin Feng continued, “I will strive to quickly establish no fewer than seventy offline official direct-sale stores across the country on the day of the press conference, covering all major cities. Fortunately, we started working on the official flagship stores early on. We currently have five—one in each of the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and one in Xincheng. While it’s a bit of a rush to get them operational by March, it shouldn’t be a major problem.”

Now that his wealthy backer had thrown a whopping five billion at him, he could double or even triple the number of workers on the renovation teams to speed things up.

Fang Hong nodded, fiddling with the prototype in his hand. “What’s the price point?”

Qin Feng glanced at the prototype in his hand and said, “For the first-generation product, we’ve prepared a Standard Edition and a Plus Edition. The Standard Edition is the S1, and the Plus Edition is the S1-Plus. The difference between them is that the one in your hand is the Standard Edition, with a 4.0-inch screen, while the Plus Edition has a super-large 4.3-inch screen.”

Back in 2010, 4.0 inches was definitely a large screen, and 4.3 inches was absolutely a super-large screen, especially considering the iPhone 4 was designed with only a 3.5-inch screen.

The future trend was for screens to get bigger and bigger. A larger screen had another advantage, especially for a young company like Stellar Universe Technology. A larger screen meant a larger phone body, which in turn meant more internal space.

Space inside a phone was as precious as gold. To a large extent, smaller phones required more advanced technology. Making the screen bigger could, to some degree, mitigate the disadvantages of Stellar Universe Technology’s current lack of technological reserves.

Qin Feng continued, “Both the Standard and Plus editions will come in three memory versions: 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB. They won’t support memory expansion, and the battery is non-removable, but they will support dual SIM, dual standby.”

The lack of expandable memory was due to limited space and, more importantly, a way to compensate for technical shortcomings, as the read/write speeds of expansion cards could genuinely affect the phone’s smoothness and thus the user experience.

However, the inclusion of dual SIM, dual standby was aimed squarely at catering to the habits of domestic consumers. Qin Feng wasn’t even considering the international market right now; securing their home base was the top priority.

…

Chapter 315: Your Financial Sponsor Has Another Big Move for You

“As for the pricing of our first product,” Qin Feng paused, then looked at Fang Hong and continued, “The S1 Standard Edition will be priced at 2399 yuan for 8GB, 2999 yuan for 16GB, and 3599 yuan for 32GB. The S1-Plus Edition will be priced at 3499 yuan for 8GB, 4099 yuan for 16GB, and 4699 yuan for 32GB.”

Sitting beside them, Tian Jiayi was also quite shocked to hear this pricing. This was definitely the most expensive pricing for a domestic smartphone. The S1-Plus Edition with 32GB, in particular, was only a few hundred yuan cheaper than Apple’s iPhone.

After he finished, Fang Hong nodded and said, “That’s some bold pricing. I doubt many of our competitors would have the courage to set their prices so high.”

Tian Jiayi, who had been silent, couldn’t help but chime in, “With such a high price, I’m afraid sales might not be optimistic. Consumers will subconsciously think that if they’re spending that much, they might as well add a bit more and buy an iPhone…”

It had to be said, Apple’s brand recognition was undeniable.

“I approve of this pricing. It’s fine. As for your point about adding a bit more for an iPhone, you can’t buy the iPhone 4 this year, at least. That means the best new smartphone in the country this year is undoubtedly the S1,” Fang Hong said with a smile. He then looked at Qin Feng and continued, “If I’m not mistaken, the company is counting on the Standard Edition to drive sales, while the Plus Edition is meant to be the showpiece.”

Qin Feng was taken aback for a moment, then immediately nodded and said, “That’s right. With Stellar Universe Technology’s products, my ultimate strategic goal is to secure the high-end market and eventually compete with Apple. If we raise prices later, consumers will resist. It’s better to set the price at this level from the very beginning. Whether consumers accept it or not can be set aside for now; the first step is to establish that expectation.”

At that moment, Fang Hong not only thought more highly of Qin Feng but also couldn’t help but think of Lei-Jobs and his Little Mi phone. The Little Mi phone’s success was a double-edged sword. When the product launched with the slogan “for the enthusiasts” and a groundbreaking price of 1999, the Little Mi phone quickly gained a fan base, and its value-for-money proposition became a powerful tool for market expansion.

But it was precisely this value-for-money reputation that made the Little Mi brand synonymous with cheap, good-quality smartphones, which ultimately led to bitter struggles when they tried to break into the high-end market. People came to you for your affordability, but when you raised the price by several thousand, Little Mi’s users refused to buy it. This led to the very sentiment Tian Jiayi just expressed: why spend so much on a Little Mi when you could buy an iPhone?

In reality, there’s no such thing as “good and cheap” in this world. You get what you pay for, or at best, you get half of what you pay for. You certainly never get twice the value for your money.

When it seems like you can buy something worth two cents for one cent, it’s either because corners were cut, or the upstream and downstream supply chains were forced to sacrifice their profits. This leads to minuscule profit margins in the manufacturing industry, and suppliers further down the chain are squeezed layer by layer, forcing manufacturing companies to inevitably suppress workers’ wages to subsidize their profits. It would be a miracle if workers’ salaries could ever increase.

So, from a broader perspective, it’s the vast majority of people at the bottom who ultimately lose out.

Moreover, there was another fatal problem for high-tech companies without sufficient profits: no money for R&D. With its meager profits, how could the Little Mi phone possibly afford to burn money on technology?

Without the ability to develop new technologies, they could only buy from others, creating a vicious cycle of negative feedback.

The real world-class tech giants invested tens of billions of dollars in R&D every year. All that funding was supported by high profits, and those investments allowed them to maintain a leading technological edge, thereby forming a virtuous cycle.

Therefore, after hearing Qin Feng’s pricing for the product, Fang Hong was immediately reassured. He was certain that Qin Feng wouldn’t follow the path Lei-Jobs had laid out for the Little Mi phone. The path Qin Feng had chosen might be difficult at the start, but if they could overcome the initial hurdles, the road ahead would be much easier.

Besides, Fang Hong had another big move he could offer Qin Feng.

“I suggest we adjust the main strategy and directly promote the 32GB Plus Edition as the first-generation flagship,” Fang Hong said immediately. As soon as he spoke, Qin Feng quickly interjected, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Although I’ve said we’ll take on Apple in the future, we have to acknowledge the current gap between Stellar Universe Technology and Apple. Focusing on the Plus Edition would actually weaken our competitiveness.”

Because they would lose their price advantage. At 4699 yuan, one could buy a base model iPhone. It had to be admitted that at a similar price point, consumers would be more inclined to choose the iPhone.

Fang Hong smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I have a big move for you.”

Hearing this, Qin Feng looked at Fang Hong with curiosity. The latter then said, “When consumers buy a smartphone from Stellar Universe, we can offer zero-interest installment plans, payable over twenty-four installments in two years. A 4699 yuan S1-Plus with 32GB would only cost less than 200 yuan a month.”

Paying for phones in installments would be nothing new a decade later, but in the present year of 2010, it was an absolute game-changer. According to the original historical timeline, installment plans for smartphones didn’t start appearing until around 2017.

If Stellar Universe Technology supported installment payments, it would be six or seven years ahead of its time.

Qin Feng was stunned at first, and then his eyes lit up. He finally remembered what his wealthy backer’s main business was—he was a master of finance!

Other manufacturers would never have the resources or conditions to do this, but Stellar Universe Technology was backed by Stellaris Capital. They had just negotiated a five billion financing round, and Stellaris Capital held an 80% stake. Wouldn’t they treat it like their own son?

How could the necessary financial support be lacking?

Other manufacturers couldn’t pull it off, but with Stellaris Capital’s support, Stellar Universe Technology definitely could.

The cost of capital from the zero-interest offer could be effectively treated as a disguised price reduction and be recorded as a part of the company’s operating costs, thus subtly boosting its competitiveness. This way, they could achieve their sales volume targets while avoiding the awkward path of the Little Mi phone.

At this, Qin Feng fell silent but gave Fang Hong a big thumbs-up. This was a truly ultimate move.

In 2010, not many people could afford to shell out four or five thousand yuan at once for a phone. But if they only had to pay less than 200 yuan to take the phone home, with monthly payments of under 200, any factory worker could afford it. As long as you weren’t unemployed, anyone who got a job, even tightening screws on an assembly line, wouldn’t feel any financial pressure.

They might not be able to afford a mortgage for a house or a loan for a car, but could they not afford monthly payments for a smartphone? Besides, a mortgage lasts for decades, while the phone only needs to be paid off in two years. More importantly, it was zero-interest. No interest meant no cost of capital; in fact, you’d even be gaining from two years of inflation.

Fang Hong spoke unhurriedly, “Stellaris Capital will handle the financial operations for you. I’ll have Hua Yu find third-party financial institutions to partner with, ensuring that consumers in all major cities across the country can apply for these installment plans.”

Just then, Qin Feng said in a serious tone, “The installment plan is indeed a big move, but it will create a problem for the company’s capital. Every phone sold on an installment plan is equivalent to tying up two years of accounts receivable. The company will soon face a liquidity crisis.”

The implication was that he still wanted more money from his financial sponsor. Fang Hong smiled inwardly and said calmly, “What’s the big deal? It’s just liquidity. Qunxing will just lend you the money.”

They certainly couldn’t do another financing round for Stellar Universe Technology. They already owned 80% of the shares. Another round would be like giving money to Stellar Universe to spend freely with no expectation of return—a complete giveaway, which he would not do.

At this point, Fang Hong added with a smile, “As for liquidity, Stellaris Capital will give you as much as you need. Even if you want to borrow one hundred billion, we can provide it. At Qunxing, my word is final. You can rest assured on that.”

Just as Qin Feng was overjoyed, Fang Hong immediately added a condition: “But, you have to pay interest.”

Qin Feng: “Uh…”

Fang Hong said with a grin, “Since Stellar Universe Technology is Qunxing’s dear son, as the saying goes, even blood brothers must settle accounts clearly. The same applies to a dear son. The annual interest will be 12.5 percent, calculated daily.”

Qin Feng couldn’t help but plead, “You’re already calling us your dear son, surely you don’t have to be so ruthless? How about we round it down to an even 10 percent? After all, the amount we’ll be borrowing won’t be small!”

Sitting nearby, the beautiful assistant watched the two of them without a word. Just a moment ago, it was all “those who achieve great things don’t get bogged down in trivial details,” with an air of inseparable partnership. In the blink of an eye, they were haggling over prices.

Fang Hong replied calmly, “It’s precisely because the amount you’re borrowing is large that I’m charging this much. Otherwise, what financial institution would dare to lend you such a huge sum? The first level of risk control would shut you down immediately.”

Qin Feng had no rebuttal. If Stellaris Capital didn’t own 80% of Stellar Universe Technology and treat it like its “own son,” getting such powerful financial support would be a daydream. This point was irrefutable.

Finally, Qin Feng threw up his hands and smiled, “Alright, a son doesn’t really have the right to bargain with his father. 12.5 it is. It’s settled.”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

In fact, Qin Feng had already done a quick mental calculation. While an interest rate of 12.5 percent from Stellaris Capital wasn’t low, it wasn’t excessive at all. When you really broke it down, they wouldn’t make much money from it.

The target demographic for the phone installment plan was the majority of ordinary people with lower incomes. There was no guarantee that every installment plan would be paid back on schedule. There would always be people who defaulted for one reason or another, and these defaulted debts would become bad debts. As a financial institution, they would certainly have to provide a safety net for this potential risk.

His financial sponsor was already providing such strong support; he couldn’t let him bear the risk and lose money, could he?

Fang Hong’s approach was simple: charge Stellar Universe Technology more interest, indirectly transferring the potential risk to the company. On Stellar Universe Technology’s income statement, this would simply be reflected as the cost of capital for the borrowed funds.

As a high-tech company, Stellar Universe Technology could afford this cost of capital. As long as the products were sold, it was a profit.

The pressure on the cash flow from the installment plans would mainly be an issue for the first year or two. Once those two years passed and the funds from the first batch of installments had all been collected, the cash reserves accumulated from Stellar Universe Technology’s own profits would be enough to create a self-sustaining internal capital cycle.

…

Chapter 316: 【It’s Already Generous Enough Not to Slaughter the Donkey After the Grind】

Fang Hong stayed at the Stellar Universe Technology headquarters for over an hour to get up to speed on the company’s recent affairs before leaving.

Qin Feng immediately convened a meeting with the company’s core executives to quickly adjust and rearrange their original strategies. There were two urgent matters that needed to be fast-tracked.

One was to move the company’s first product launch from the autumn to March of the spring. The other was to expand production capacity, especially for the S1-Plus version, as the initial order volume for this model had been low.

After his conversation with Fang Hong today, and with the powerful financial support from Stellaris Capital that enabled the zero-interest installment plan, Qin Feng now had the confidence to make the flagship model their main focus.

Furthermore, the original production plan was adjusted. Qin Feng decided to increase the order volume to fifteen million units. Once again, it was the combination of the zero-interest installment plan and Stellaris Capital’s financial assets that gave him the confidence. This strategy could massively stimulate consumer spending.

In terms of production capacity, Stellar Universe Technology currently had to rely on upstream and downstream suppliers for contract manufacturing. Everything except for their core technology was outsourced. However, Stellar Universe Technology didn’t have much in the way of core hardware technology at the moment; its most important core technology was concentrated in its software and operating system.

Their supply chain partners included companies like Goertek and Luxshare Precision, both of which had received relevant orders from Stellar Universe Technology.

Qin Feng was also incredibly relieved that he had chosen BYD for assembly instead of Foxconn. Since Foxconn also took orders from Apple, they would have certainly been discovered if they had partnered with them. In that case, Chief Jobs might have moved up Apple’s launch event.

It was foreseeable that Stellar Universe Technology and Apple would engage in a spat over patents. Industrial design was also patented, but it was a difficult area to define. The industrial design of the Stellar Universe S1 was not a direct copy of the iPhone 4; it was more of an accidental collision of design philosophies. Qin Feng had been completely unaware of this, but he couldn’t guard against a transmigrator like Fang Hong.

Therefore, a protracted war of words was inevitable. Apple would surely claim that Stellar Universe Technology had copied their design, but Stellar Universe Technology could just as easily claim Apple had copied them. The key advantage would go to whoever launched their product first.

If Stellar Universe Technology had been a startup with no backing, it might have been crushed. But it was backed by Stellaris Capital, which had already become the number one taxpayer in Xincheng and was a staunch ally of the Huayang Group.

Fang Hong was aiming to build “Xincheng’s sure bet.” The local government’s protection of its local enterprises was bound to be strong, especially for a company that could contribute an astronomical sum of over thirty-five billion in taxes within its first year of operation.

Why did they insist on the eight-character principle of “no evasion, no omission, pay all that is due” when it came to taxes? This was the reason.

In short, Stellaris Capital had initially relied on the protection of the Huayang Group in a certain sense, but it had now passed its most vulnerable growth phase. It had begun to establish its own power and had formed the “Qunxing ecosystem,” a community of shared interests. There were truly very few entities that could suppress Stellaris Capital now.

…

Fang Hong got into his private car and left Stellar Universe Technology. Riding with him was Tian Jiayi, who sat beside him.

After a moment, Fang Hong turned his head to the left to look at Tian Jiayi and said, “Have Hua Yu take care of something. Find some powerful ‘National team’ institutions for Stellaris Capital to connect with, organizations on the level of the Social Security Fund or central state-owned enterprises.”

As Stellaris Capital continued to grow in scale, the level of the games it played would also rise. It was time to consider bringing in more, and more powerful, institutions and binding them together through shared interests.

Tian Jiayi immediately began taking notes.

Fang Hong added with emphasis, “The institutions we are seeking to bring in this time must connect directly with Stellaris Capital and must be at the level of a central state-owned enterprise.”

For some of the problems or troubles Stellaris Capital might face in the future, friends without real power would be of no help. They would look shabby even just for show. Bringing them in would be meaningless, offering little help to Stellaris Capital while taking up a spot.

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong decided, “Put 35% of Stellaris Capital’s equity on the table for this connection.”

Of course, this wasn’t a direct transfer of Stellaris Capital’s shares. Instead, it would be converted through “Shenxing,” one of Stellaris Capital’s two holding companies. The incoming institutions would hold shares in “Shenxing,” with their stake corresponding to 35% of Stellaris Capital’s equity.

Under Stellaris Capital’s current equity structure, the largest shareholder was the trust fund Fang Hong indirectly held, with a total stake of 89.03%. The second-largest shareholder was Huayang Group with 10%, and the third was Hua Yu himself with 0.97%.

Fang Hong did not intend to dilute Huayang Group’s shareholding in this new round, nor Hua Yu’s 0.97%. In other words, after the new institutions came on board with a 35% stake, the equity proportion held by Fang Hong’s trust fund would decrease to 54.03%.

Tian Jiayi inquired, “At what valuation will the new institutions be brought in?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong thought for a moment and said decisively, “Let’s price it based on the net asset value at the end of 2009.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Understood.”

Stellaris Capital’s 2009 financial report wasn’t out yet, but it would be soon. After making a note, Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “Back then, the equity you sold to Huayang was valued at a premium of several times the net asset value at the time. Although that valuation bubble has since been filled and Huayang hasn’t lost out, this time you’re bringing in new institutions without any valuation bubble. Won’t Huayang feel that you’re suppressing the company’s valuation to let others get on board?”

Fang Hong smiled and said faintly, “First, bringing these new friends on board this time doesn’t dilute the Qunxing shares that Huayang holds. Even if I sold them at a ridiculously steep discount, Hua Yongming can’t say a word.”

“Second, Huayang would be more than eager to have these new friends join. Huayang’s sphere of influence is limited to Xincheng and its surrounding areas. In front of these new friends I’m bringing in, Huayang is just a newbie. And as a newbie, he should stay quiet on the sidelines; it’s not his place to speak.”

At this point, Fang Hong turned to his beautiful assistant and added with a smile, “Right now, even Stellaris Capital’s strength has surpassed that of Huayang Group. We can handle things Huayang can handle, and things we can’t handle, Huayang can’t handle either. In a way, Huayang Group can’t help with the big stuff anymore, only minor things. It’s already generous of me not to slaughter the donkey after the grind. What right does he have to object? He should just hold on to his 10% stake and quietly collect dividends from Qunxing.”

Hua Yongming was a shrewd old fox. Fang Hong was confident that he understood the situation clearly and knew his place. All that was needed was to give Huayang Group a heads-up. As for Hua Yongming, he would certainly not say a single word against Stellaris Capital’s decisions.

…

On the morning of the weekend, January 31st.

Stellar Universe Technology officially announced that it had secured 5 billion RMB in B-round financing from Stellaris Capital. This round was once again an exclusive investment by Stellaris Capital. The announcement did not disclose how much equity was sold in this B-round.

However, there was no doubt that Stellaris Capital was now the largest shareholder of Stellar Universe Technology.

The news broke and sent shockwaves through the investment and tech circles. A financing scale of 5 billion RMB, approximately 733 million US dollars, directly set the record for the largest single financing deal of 2010.

People in the investment circle were already numb to Stellaris Capital’s big-money moves. It was as if their money was conjured out of thin air; every move they made was massive.

Entrepreneurs from all walks of life were also deeply moved. A financial sponsor like this was one of a kind.

When Lei-Jobs saw this news, he felt a bit restless. He had already decided to start another venture in the smartphone industry, but Stellar Universe Technology had been established for a year and had such a lavish financial sponsor backing it with seemingly no regard for cost. Meanwhile, his XiaoMi Company had not even been founded yet.

It was worth mentioning that outsiders, especially those in the investment circle, were all speculating on the valuation Stellaris Capital had given Stellar Universe Technology for such a massive investment. Judging from the scale of the financing, the valuation must have been at least at the unicorn level.

This, in turn, created another very perplexing new question for the outside world: was Stellar Universe Technology really that valuable? Or did it have some kind of secret weapon?

But what kind of secret weapon could a startup that was only about a year old possibly have?

The core of a tech company is its technology, but advanced technology is not so easily developed. The outside world really couldn’t understand how Stellaris Capital dared to be so bold. Their net was cast ever wider, and their bets were getting bigger and bigger. Weren’t they afraid that the gamble would fail someday and they would lose everything?

Chapter 317: [This Major Player Is Such a Show-off, Brothers, Let’s Crush Him!]

Time flew by, and the first month of the new year was already over.

Entering February, the A-share market kicked off the first trading day of the month with a major drop. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by as much as -2.53% during the day, hitting a low of 2912.89 points.

Those who had been clamoring at the beginning of the year to break last August’s high of 3478 points had vanished without a trace. With the market performing like this, investors could only mourn the A-shares’ misfortune and resent their lack of fight.

Now that the market index was back below three thousand points, forget breaking the 3478-point high; no one knew when—if ever—it would even reach the sub-high point of 3361. As for the historical high of 6124 points set in the twenty years since the A-share market opened, it was now referred to as the “cosmic peak,” utterly unattainable.

For Fang Hong, however, it didn’t matter whether the Shanghai Composite Index rose or fell; he could still profit from the A-share market.

At this moment, it was just after 1:30 PM on February first, the month’s first trading day.

In the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence, only Fang Hong remained. Hu Tao, Yifulei, and the others had just left. Although the market hadn’t closed, the institutional account had finished its operations for the day, so Fang Hong let the girls go.

He was currently staring at the market display, preparing to invest in a particular stock with his personal securities account: ticker 000735, Luoniushan.

While the broader market was underperforming, this stock had been performing strongly. Since the start of the new year, it had already risen by over fifty percent.

Around 1:43 PM, Luoniushan’s stock price rallied to 9.44 yuan, its gains widening to +9.77%, just two cents shy of hitting the limit-up.

Fang Hong looked at the sell side of the order book and saw orders for about one hundred thousand lots. Calmly, he operated his personal account and placed an order for one hundred million yuan—roughly one hundred thousand lots—instantly consuming all the sell orders on the board and taking the lead in sealing the limit-up.

Luoniushan’s price shot up to 9.46 yuan, a +10.00% increase, hitting the limit-up. The stock’s trading volume for the day had already surpassed a massive 1.5 billion.

At that moment, numerous new comments flooded the stock’s forum.

[Incredible! Ate up one hundred thousand lots in one bite!]

[This major player has got some serious skills!]

[I saw the one-hundred-million-yuan sell order on the board and thought it was hopeless, but it got devoured in an instant.]

[A limit-up with high turnover. Has the market maker changed?]

[I sold at the limit-up. Hope those who stayed get rich!]

…

As time went on, around 2:10 PM, Luoniushan’s limit-up board broke. However, it didn’t plummet. Instead, it fluctuated just below the limit-up price, above a +9.60% gain, while trading volume surged. In the first minute after the board broke, over seventy million yuan in volume was unleashed.

Those who hadn’t sold when it hit the limit were now scrambling to get out, fearing a sharp plunge in late trading and knowing that even if it hit the limit-up again, it would be a shaky one.

The reason the stock didn’t dive after the limit-up broke was that Fang Hong was absorbing the selling pressure.

By late trading, around 2:30 PM, Fang Hong had acquired another fifty million yuan worth of shares near the limit-up price. He now held one hundred fifty thousand lots.

Fang Hong glanced at his account; he still had over six hundred million in available funds.

Meanwhile, Luoniushan’s stock was at 9.45 yuan, up +9.88%, just one cent from the limit-up. There weren’t many sell orders on the books—only a few million yuan’s worth.

Next, Fang Hong unhurriedly placed a buy order for one hundred thousand lots at the 9.46 yuan limit-up price, sealing the board tightly once more. Immediately after, he placed another buy order for one hundred thousand lots at the 9.45 yuan price.

All the various funds watching the stock were stunned. A one-hundred-thousand-lot order had just appeared at the top buyer’s seat, and almost immediately, another one-hundred-thousand-lot order appeared at the second buyer’s seat.

But Fang Hong wasn’t done. He placed another one hundred thousand lots at the third buyer’s seat (9.44 yuan), then another at the fourth (9.43 yuan), and finally, yet another one hundred thousand lots at the fifth buyer’s seat (9.42 yuan).

Only after placing the final order at the fifth buyer’s seat did he stop.

At the same time, investors and hot money traders alike stared at the stock’s order book in disbelief. The comment section of the stock forum exploded with even more activity.

[Man! Awesome! The major player is flexing!]

[Which master is this? Such a show-off!]

[What the hell? One hundred thousand lots on Buy 1 through Buy 5? Damn it, that’s five hundred thousand lots! Over five hundred million yuan!]

[Hahaha, the volume just dried up. No one’s selling anymore!]

[Sell my ass! With a major player this badass, tomorrow’s premium is a sure thing!]

[Major Player: Go ahead and sell. I’ll buy as much as you’ve got!]

[That’s so slick!]

[I was right to hold on.]

[Brothers, this major player is such a damn show-off! I can’t stand guys like this! We have to crush him, trap his funds!]

[We can’t crush him. Over 21% of shares have already changed hands. Those who wanted to run already did this morning or when the board broke. All we can do now is watch the major player flex!]

[Damn, I think I sold too early!]

…

After the market closed, Luoniushan finished the day sealed at its limit-up price of 9.46 yuan, a +10.00% gain. Its total turnover for the day was a staggering 1.72 billion yuan, ranking it among the highest in both markets.

As for the broader market, the index closed down -1.60% at 2941.36 points.

Around 4:30 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Luoniushan was on it, and when investors saw the top buyer’s seat, they were shocked. It had bought a whopping 155 million yuan worth of shares near the limit-up price.

But that wasn’t the main point. The crucial part was that the trading seat was none other than “Xinhong Securities, Xinnan Branch Road Office,” and some software even added an extra tag next to it: [Top-tier Hot Money: K3478].

This trading seat was already a legendary presence in the A-share market. For short-term traders, not knowing the name K-God at this point was simply unheard of.

Shareholders were instantly ecstatic. Consecutive limit-ups tomorrow were a sure thing. The investors who got out today were crying about selling too early, slapping their thighs in regret.

Because K-God had arrived!

Luoniushan was now officially a “K-God Concept Stock.” Investors were discussing it everywhere, especially the five-hundred-thousand-lot muscle-flexing in late trading, which everyone guessed was K-God’s handiwork.

Five hundred thousand lots amounted to over five hundred million yuan. Most hot money traders, and even major players, didn’t have that kind of firepower.

But K-God definitely did. Everyone knew he had already amassed over six billion yuan by the end of the year and was the god-like figure who had accurately predicted the peak at 3478 points.

Although the A-share market had a lousy start to the new year, everyone believed K-God was still making money. Even though he hadn’t posted his latest holdings on Weibo, no one would doubt it if someone claimed K-God was now worth seven billion yuan.

For someone with K-God’s current capital, spending five hundred million yuan to seal a limit-up was no big deal.

That evening, Luoniushan announced a trading suspension due to abnormal stock price volatility. Trading would be halted on Tuesday and resume on Wednesday.

But the shareholders weren’t worried at all.

…

When the market opened on Wednesday, Luoniushan started the call auction with a high opening of +9.62% at 10.37 yuan. After a brief pullback lasting only a second or two, it began its assault on the limit-up. It didn’t hit the limit-up in seconds mainly because K-God’s 155-million-yuan position was a bit like a heavy sedan chair, making it slightly difficult for others to lift.

Another factor was the stock’s massive trading volume, which had exceeded one billion yuan for the last three trading days, and over 1.5 billion in the last two.

Moreover, the fact that it didn’t open with a one-word limit-up was below some people’s expectations, prompting them to sell their shares right at the open.

However, about five minutes after trading resumed, Luoniushan still powerfully sealed its second consecutive limit-up. The price surged to 10.41 yuan, a +10.04% gain, closing with a shrinking volume T-shaped candlestick on a turnover of about eight hundred million yuan for the day.

…

The next day, Thursday, February fourth, Luoniushan opened with a massive +9.41% gap up. After a slight one-minute pullback that generated two hundred million in volume, it hit the limit-up in seconds during the second minute with another one hundred million in volume. After about 160 million yuan worth of shares changed hands at the limit-up in the third minute of trading, the volume began to shrink.

Today, the stock rallied to 11.45 yuan, up +9.99%, once again forming a T-shaped candlestick and successfully hitting its third consecutive limit-up. It remained sealed at the limit-up for the entire day, with turnover further shrinking to about six hundred million yuan as it advanced to its third board.

The stock’s forum was filled with comments like “Riding with K-God is foolproof” and “Follow K-God’s car to a villa by the sea,” all paying homage to him.

It had to be said that Fang Hong’s market influence was the real deal. His K3478 Weibo account alone now had twenty-five million followers, almost all of whom were stockholders, with at least half being short-term traders.

His appeal was off the charts. If one hundred thousand people followed him, each buying just one lot, that would be one hundred thousand lots. Even if only one percent of his Weibo followers bought in with a single lot each, that would still be two hundred fifty thousand lots. His terrifying influence could instantly bring hundreds of millions, or even over a billion, in liquidity to a single stock.

Countless institutions wanted to contact Fang Hong, hoping to leverage his influence for their own market manipulations.

But now, no institution bothered trying. The weaker ones wouldn’t dare, knowing K-God, with his publicly known capital of over fifty billion, wouldn’t give them the time of day.

And the top-tier large institutions wouldn’t approach him either, because they, like Xiao Quan from Pengrui Capital who had once tried to contact Fang Hong, all believed the K3478 Weibo account was a social media account operated by Stellaris Capital.

…

Chapter 318: Rumors of Weibo’s Backdoor Listing Emerge, Sending the A-Share Market into a Frenzy

Friday, February 5th.

On the last trading day of the week, after Luoniushan had formed two T-shaped candlesticks, it opened directly at its limit-up during today’s call auction, with the stock price surging to 12.60 yuan.

After the market opened at 9:30 AM, the one-word limit-up was immediately broken. A massive volume of 278 million yuan was traded in the first minute, but the stock didn’t plummet. In just about three minutes, it hit the limit-up again, once more forming a T-shaped candlestick.

But around 9:54 AM, the re-sealed limit-up board broke again.

At this moment, Fang Hong was staring at the stock’s intraday market data. He planned to cash out and exit today. In fact, he could have finished selling off his position in the first minute of trading; the liquidity was too abundant, and there were too many people willing to take over the shares.

However, Fang Hong didn’t sell at the open. The reason was, of course, his reputation. He didn’t want to be the lead “big brother” smashing the market, because the Dragon-Tiger List would be released today.

But he definitely had to sell, and money still had to be made. He’d let other funds do the market smashing; he would just earn a little less.

As time went on, Fang Hong’s 150,000 lots of shares were all distributed in batches before 10:30 AM. The average selling price was around 11.82 yuan, netting him another profit of about 3 percent today. Selling right at the open would have allowed him to trade near the limit-up price. Missing out on six or seven points of profit was a price paid to protect his reputation. Anyway, let someone else get the bad name; it was just a matter of earning six or seven points less.

This trade, where he took the lead in sealing Luoniushan’s first limit-up and then exited, earned Fang Hong a cumulative profit of around 25 percent, an absolute profit of 38.75 million yuan.

…

As time passed, shortly after Fang Hong finished selling off his position, Luoniushan’s intraday line began to plummet further. By 10:38 AM, it had turned negative, dropping more than 2 percent, and its intraday line was also extremely volatile.

Around 11:00 AM, the decline had exceeded 8 percent, and it was heading for a “heaven and earth board.”

Just then, Fang Hong, who was in the middle of trading, immediately looked at Lin Yun and said, “Lin Yun, place a 50 million yuan bid to support Luoniushan!”

Lin Yun quickly executed the order. A moment later, she responded, “It’s done!”

This large support order entering the market halted the stock’s decline at 10.49 yuan and caused it to rebound. Following that, Fang Hong directed the girls to use the institutional accounts to continuously buy in batches of several million yuan to pull the price up.

This stock could not be allowed to hit a “heaven and earth board” today. A stock that K-God sold off, after so much action, had never been smashed into a “heaven and earth board” on the same day. In any case, this stock could not be allowed to hit one today.

As Fang Hong continued to use the institutional accounts to pull the price up, around 11:09 AM, Luoniushan turned positive for the day. After pausing at the zero-axis line for two minutes, it continued to climb. By about 11:15 AM, the stock’s gain had expanded to 8 percent.

Fang Hong’s institutional accounts had already bought over 80 million yuan worth. After he stopped buying, the stock’s intraday line began to dive again. At the end of the morning session, it still closed down -1.14%, but after the afternoon market opened, it quickly rose to a 5 percent gain.

The afternoon trend began to fluctuate in positive territory, and the trading volume also started to decrease significantly. It dived into the negative several times, but Fang Hong used small amounts of capital to pull it back up each time.

By the market close, Luoniushan’s closing price was 11.45 yuan, a gain of 0.00%, ending the day completely flat. The investors had not expected it to end this way.

The stock’s trading volume today exploded to a staggering 3.68 billion yuan. Fang Hong’s institutional accounts bought 120 million yuan today, stabilizing the stock and preventing it from being smashed into a “heaven and earth board.” Moreover, they made a profit of about 5 percent, as they had bought all the way up from below the opening price.

There was an expectation that this stock could see a reversal to a limit-up on Monday. Fang Hong hadn’t originally wanted to use the institutional accounts to get involved, but he had no choice; the retail investors were selling off too ruthlessly. So, he could only “tearfully” make another ten-plus million yuan before removing the stock from his watchlist.

The first “wealth code” of the new year was considered over.

The next “wealth code” would have to wait a while; the specific time was uncertain. Fang Hong would pull a stunt like this with his personal securities account from time to time, mainly to maintain and expand his influence. Making money was a side benefit; the main goal was to accumulate Reputation Value.

However, Fang Hong didn’t frequently let his personal securities account’s trading seat appear on the Dragon-Tiger list. Because of the current “K-God Concept Stock” effect, no matter which stock appeared on the list, tens of thousands of investors would howl and rush in to bid it up wildly.

Doing this too often wasn’t a good thing; it would overuse the “K-God Concept Stock” halo. Furthermore, being too frequent would, to some extent, increase the probability of a crash. Another factor was that Fang Hong had to consider the feelings of the regulators.

The “village chief” was definitely watching. If he did this too often, it was entirely possible the “village chief” would come over to “show some concern.”

Therefore, doing it once in a while, generally every one to two months, was most appropriate. The “village chief” would also turn a blind eye, as the market needed short-term speculative sentiment to maintain active liquidity.

Releasing a “wealth code” every one or two months could also maintain the “K-God Concept Stock” halo, allowing him to continue making money while consistently accumulating Reputation Value.

…

During this period, Stellaris Capital was also looking for a shell resource for its Weibo subsidiary’s backdoor listing. They had found several suitable shell resources, and in recent days, the company had been successively sending people to contact the owners of these shell companies to discuss the acquisitions.

On the weekend afternoon, news broke that Quantum Beat’s Weibo was planning a backdoor listing. It was rumored online that it would use Guangxin Culture, a company on the Shenzhen main board, to list on the A-share market. As soon as the news came out, the stock’s popularity skyrocketed over the weekend.

The stockholders who held this stock were thrilled to see the rumor. It felt like they had been blessed by the Goddess of Fortune.

As the news spread, various masters in the market began digging to verify it. Soon, some stock trading groups were forwarding news about Quantum Beat’s recent activities. They discovered that the company had indeed made a big move recently: Quantum Beat had undergone a spin-off and restructuring, separating its Weibo business into an independent subsidiary.

Good grief!

This looked like a real move toward a backdoor listing on the A-share market. The popularity of Guangxin Culture’s stock soared.

…

On Monday, February 8th, Guangxin Culture opened directly at its limit-up. Those holding it were ecstatic, while those who had sold it last Friday were beating their chests and stamping their feet in regret.

Everyone remembered the last company with a merger and reorganization story, Dongbai Supermarket, which had soared more than fivefold. The investors who missed out were regretful, sighing at their bad luck. But another group of people were truly beating their chests in regret—the retail investors who had sold the stock on Friday. They were devastated.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Guangxin Culture continued to open at its limit-up, achieving three consecutive limit-ups.

This stock was currently a bona fide garbage stock with poor performance, but as soon as it was associated with a merger and reorganization story, it could instantly transform from a pheasant into a phoenix, becoming a hot commodity.

At the same time, investors began to follow and dig up information about Quantum Beat’s Weibo subsidiary. According to the Weibo subsidiary’s latest financing round, VCs in the primary market gave it a unicorn-level valuation of about 10 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, Guangxin Culture’s current total market capitalization was only 1.3 billion yuan. That wasn’t even the crucial part. The key was that Weibo was an internet company and the current leader in the domestic microblogging sector.

An internet company and a market leader—the potential was enormous.

In that case, a fivefold increase for Guangxin Culture was a conservative estimate!

Just as those who sold too early were heartbroken and those who held on saw immense wealth right before their eyes, on Wednesday night, Guangxin Culture received an inquiry letter from the “village chief” regarding the online rumors of a backdoor listing. At the same time, the stock triggered an unusual trading activity announcement that day.

By Thursday morning, Guangxin Culture hit its fourth consecutive one-word limit-up, and it remained sealed tight throughout the morning session.

But around 12:40 PM, Guangxin Culture issued an announcement denying the matter of a backdoor listing by Quantum Beat’s Weibo subsidiary.

Good grief!

The investors saw it and thought, “Damn it, we’ve been tricked! Run, run!”

When the market opened at 1:00 PM, Guangxin Culture, which had opened at its limit-up, instantly plunged 20 points to seal its limit-down. It went straight to a “heaven and earth board,” with the coffin lid welded shut. No one who got in over the past few days could hope to escape.

Various stock market apps pushed out alerts about Guangxin Culture’s plunge to a “heaven and earth board” limit-down.

Fang Hong, who was watching the market, also saw the news and switched over to take a look at the stock. He had known about this stock since Monday; after all, rumors had suddenly spread that Quantum Beat’s Weibo subsidiary was going to use this company for a backdoor listing.

However, Fang Hong didn’t get involved. It was his own company’s backdoor listing; he wouldn’t meddle with it because it would be hard to explain later on.

…

Chapter 319: The Shell Resource Is Decided

As time went on, around 2:30 PM in the late trading session, the media sector strengthened. A look at the individual stocks in this sector revealed that almost all the ones making unusual surges were poor-performing or garbage stocks. Furthermore, the stocks that formed long positive candles not only belonged to the media sector but also had the shell resource concept attached to them.

The reason was that Guangxin Culture had collapsed and hit its limit-down. News came out at noon that it was impossible for Weibo to use Guangxin Culture for a backdoor listing, which meant other companies now had a chance. After an afternoon of speculation, a portion of the market’s capital realized this.

As a result, the market’s reaction was a surge of interest from funds into the media sector and shell concept stocks.

This kind of concept-driven speculation had the most room for imagination during such an ambiguous period, offering huge potential for hype. The rise of numerous garbage stocks seemed more like funds coming in to bet on which individual stock would become the target of Weibo’s backdoor listing.

Funds were placing their bets one after another!

At 2:42 PM, a stock called Diansheng Online gained favor with market funds, becoming the first to hit its limit-up during the late trading surge. Another stock, Meisheng Interconnect, was not to be outdone and also hit its limit-up, while other trend-following stocks began to pull back.

Friday, February 12th.

On the last trading day of the week, Diansheng Online, which had been the first to hit its limit-up yesterday, opened significantly higher by six percent. However, just as the stock was about to surge to its limit-up, it was outmaneuvered by Meisheng Interconnect, which had opened flat. Meisheng Interconnect went on to hit the limit-up for a second consecutive day.

Having been cut off, Diansheng Online surged higher then fell back. In the market, there’s a concept of funds vying for position. In this kind of sentiment-driven speculation, capital is king, and liquidity is king. The approval of the funds is key.

After the market closed, many stock trading groups and stock forums were hyping up Meisheng Interconnect as the target for Weibo’s backdoor listing, claiming investors could just lie back and count the consecutive one-word limit-ups next week.

However, just as the weekend began, specifically on Saturday afternoon, another piece of news started circulating, supposedly from the legendary “uncle party” insiders.

According to these so-called informed sources, Xu Jingren, the helmsman of Quantum Beat, had no intention of listing his Weibo subsidiary on the A-share market. Instead, he was planning to go to the US for an IPO.

It was almost a given for Mainland internet companies to list overseas. After all, famous internet companies like the BAT triumvirate were listed either on the H-share market or in the US.

As an emerging unicorn-level internet company, it would be unconventional for Weibo to list on the A-share market. Ringing the bell at Nasdaq was the proper move.

Therefore, everyone found this “uncle party” rumor to be quite plausible.

The Spring Festival holiday was next, and the A-share market would be closed. For the investors who had chased Meisheng Interconnect at its limit-up before the holiday, the festival was a bit depressing. They had thought they were in for a huge profit, but now it looked like they were in for a huge loss when the market reopened.

Monday, February 22nd, the first trading day after the holiday for the A-share market.

Meisheng Interconnect opened directly at its limit-down. Diansheng Online was also forced to a limit-down opening. The funds that had participated in the pre-holiday speculation were all trapped and crushed. Other junk stocks that had followed the trend also fell sharply.

As for Guangxin Culture, the stock that had started all the merger, restructuring, and backdoor listing rumors and had seen a dozen one-word limit-ups, it came down the same way it went up.

Seeing this, many investors felt a strange sense of relief that they hadn’t participated in the speculation, or they too would have been buried.

That afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Tian Jiayi, who had returned from work, found Fang Hong and reported to him, “The shell resource for the Weibo subsidiary has been decided. It’s Dasheng Shares, stock code 003060. The company should release a trading suspension announcement tonight.”

Fang Hong took the documents from his beautiful assistant and looked them over. Dasheng Shares’ closing price today was 6.52 yuan per share, with a market capitalization of around one point four billion.

After a moment of skimming through the materials, Fang Hong nodded and said, “Hmm, this shell is not bad. Let’s proceed as planned!”

Dasheng Shares was in the media sector and was a typical garbage stock. In the excellent market of last year, over a thousand stocks had doubled in value, yet this stock had only risen by just over thirty percent. By now, it had given back all those gains and had even fallen another thirty percent.

The number of shareholder accounts had hit a new historical low. The vast majority of investors had already sold it to buy other stocks, most of them exiting with a loss. The few who were still stubbornly holding on were easily down thirty or forty percent, and that was after averaging down. Those who hadn’t added to their positions had long seen their investment slashed in half.

But these retail investors who were still in did not know that Lady Luck had already smiled upon them. Those who still held shares today were about to win the lottery.

Around 8 PM that night, Dasheng Shares released a blockbuster announcement that sent its shareholders into a frenzy of excitement.

【Announcement on Planning for Restructuring, Listing, and Related Trading Suspension】

【Dasheng Shares Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) is planning to purchase all or part of the equity of Xincheng Weibo Co., Ltd. through the issuance of shares. This matter may involve a change in the Company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller.】

【As of the disclosure date of this announcement, the Company and all relevant parties are actively advancing the work related to this major asset restructuring. To ensure fair information disclosure, protect the interests of investors, and avoid abnormal fluctuations in the company’s stock price, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the company’s stock (Stock Abbreviation: Dasheng Shares, Stock Code: 003060) will be suspended from trading starting from the market open on February 23, 2010. The estimated suspension period will not exceed 40 trading days.】

【Currently, the Company is preparing the restructuring plan in accordance with the regulations for major asset restructuring of listed companies. It is expected that the restructuring plan, approved by the Board of Directors, will be disclosed before the expiration of the suspension period, at which time the Company will apply for the resumption of trading of its stock.】

That night, the comment section of the Dasheng Shares stock forum exploded, and the stock quickly shot to the top of the popularity charts.

[Crap, Weibo is really doing a backdoor listing on the A-share market!]

[I’m impressed. All those previous junk stocks like Guangxin Culture and Meisheng Interconnect were just a distraction. Damn it, Dasheng Shares is the real deal!]

[Envy all you old bros who are already on board. Hitting a merger and restructuring is like winning a five million grand prize!]

[Hahaha, has my fortune finally arrived? I went all-in on Dasheng Shares in late trading with one hundred seventy thousand yuan. Am I about to get rich?]

[What damn good luck!]

[Crying my eyes out. I chased Guangxin Culture and got wrecked, losing over thirty percent.]

[As expected, the ones that pop up first are always junk stocks meant to distract everyone!]

[I’m an idiot, a complete and utter idiot. I was trapped with a heavy position for seven or eight months, and today I finally mustered the courage to sell at a loss in the late trading session. I lost thirty or forty percent. F*ck you! You announce a merger right after I sell? I’m so damn pissed! Why the hell did I even watch the market? If I hadn’t looked, none of this would have happened. I feel like chopping off my own hands!]

[So tragic. To die before the dawn!]

[A merger and restructuring? Damn, I just got in today. I didn’t buy enough! Slapping my thighs in regret! I only bought a 15% position. If I’d gone all-in, I’d be rich!]

[Heh, another one touting the merger and restructuring story. Look at the last one that touted a restructuring, Dongbai Supermarket. Look how far it’s fallen now. You can get your fill of limit-downs!]

[Hahahaha, just look at your envy, jealousy, and hate. You missed out on the rally, didn’t you? Don’t have any shares left, huh? Oh, you’re talking about Dongbai? The Dongbai that went up five-fold?]

[No matter what, even if Dasheng Shares ends up like Dongbai Supermarket, Dongbai still rallied five-fold before it crashed. Anyway, I’ve got shares in hand. After trading resumes, I’ll just lie back and watch the limit-ups. Damn, so this is what it feels like to win by doing nothing…]

[15 consecutive limit-ups for a three-fold increase isn’t too much to ask, right?]

[Only triple? Small, too small. Your perspective is too small. We should be looking at a five-fold increase, at least!]

[Sigh, can’t be envious. For a stock like this where you win effortlessly, you either have inside information or it’s all about great luck and fate. If it’s in your fate, you can’t stop it. If it’s not, you end up like that bro above who fell before the dawn.]

[Last time Dongbai hit its first limit-up, K-God got in. Do you guys think K-God is in on Dasheng Shares this time?]

[I don’t know, but it’s hard to say. It’s K-God, after all!]

[He might actually be in there.]

[If he bought in advance, that would be too much. The Dongbai incident was one thing, but to do it again with Dasheng… does he not care about the feelings of us retail schmucks?]

[Probably not. This stock fell -1.75% today, closing at its lowest price. The trading volume was less than twenty million, and it’s been in a slow bleed recently without even a decent rebound. The recent trading volume shows no signs of major funds entering. I don’t think K-God is here.]

[Thank god I didn’t sell at a loss today, otherwise I’d regret it for the rest of my life. I have half a position in it, just waiting to rake in the huge profits. According to the announcement, Dasheng Shares should resume trading by April 20th at the latest. I’ll have to wait two months at most. I really wish the market would open tomorrow so I can start counting the one-word limit-ups.]

[So envious, it’s going to be a feast of one-word limit-ups!]

Chapter 320: Stellaris’s 2009 Fiscal Year Results Are Out

After the news of the restructuring came out, many investors speculated whether K-God had bought in advance. Everyone was reminded of Dongbai Supermarket from a while ago, where K-God had taken the lead in sealing the first limit-up board and ridden almost the entire primary rally.

So, when Dasheng Shares announced such major positive news of a merger and restructuring, everyone couldn’t help but wonder if K-God had a position.

After some discussion, many of his investor fans decided it wasn’t worth guessing and went straight to the K3478 Weibo account to leave comments and ask. They didn’t expect a reply, but many people still left comments anyway.

What if K-God actually replied?

The next afternoon, Fang Hong, with nothing better to do, logged into his Weibo account. He found that the latest messages, including private messages showing “99+”, were all asking if he had bought into Dasheng Shares in advance.

Looking at the series of comments, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile.

This time, he truly had inside information—the most insider of insider information. He definitely hadn’t bought into Dasheng Shares. Not only would it be more trouble than it’s worth, but there was simply no need.

Was he going to fleece himself? That made no sense; he’d even lose money on transaction fees.

Fang Hong read the comments for a while but didn’t reply to any of them. However, he quickly edited and posted a new Weibo update with very succinct text:

[Bought into Dasheng? Don’t spread rumors! I didn’t! It never happened!]

A straightforward three consecutive denials!

As soon as this post went live, his investor fans saw that K-God hadn’t bought into Dasheng Shares, and a flood of comments quickly appeared under the new post.

[Marking my spot on the first page!]

[First comment!]

[I was strangely relieved to see K-God didn’t buy into Dasheng Shares… (facepalm.jpg)]

[Hahaha…]

[It’s perfectly normal that he’s not in it. If K-God could even get in on this one in advance, that would be truly outrageous. Nailing Dongbai Supermarket was already outrageous enough!]

[Went heavy following you on Luoniushan and made over ten percent. Grandmaster, what’s the next wealth code? I’m keeping half my position ready to go all-in at any time!]

[Ever since I started following K-God’s plays, I have to check all the stocks on the Dragon-Tiger List every day.]

[Same here.]

[I still miss the early days when K-God first started his Weibo. He used to post every day, showing his actual positions. Some days he even posted his positions during trading hours. Too bad I didn’t dare to follow back then, or I’d be rich by now!]

[What’s K-God’s take on the Dasheng Shares merger and restructuring? Will you get in after the stock breaks its limit-up board?]

[K3478 replied: I have to focus on my college graduation in April and May, so I won’t have much energy to watch the market for short-term trades.]

[Holy crap, I just realized K-God hasn’t even graduated from college yet. My god, and he’s already worth six or seven billion!]

[Awesome, awesome!]

[K-God, can we take over after Dasheng Shares breaks its limit-up board?]

[K3478 replied: Judge for yourself.]

…

Fang Hong replied to two comments and then closed the Weibo page. As for his earlier reply about not getting involved with Dasheng Shares, the excuse about being busy with graduation was just a pretext. It wasn’t that Fang Hong didn’t want to participate; it was that he couldn’t.

Once he got involved with this stock, even by buying a single lot, he would need to announce his intention to reduce his holdings fifteen trading days in advance before selling, or it would be a violation. This was because Fang Hong and Stellaris Capital were essentially a concert party, making it a related-party transaction.

In short, whenever a subsidiary or sub-subsidiary of Stellaris Capital was listed on the A-share market, Fang Hong would not participate in trading their stocks.

Although the penalty for a violation might only be a few hundred thousand yuan, which was insignificant to him—after all, Fang Hong was no longer some retail investor—he didn’t want to do anything illegal. There was simply no need, as there were plenty of other stocks to make money from.

…

In the following days, the A-share market rebounded, and the index once again reclaimed the 3,000-point mark.

Since hitting the high of 3478 last year, the strength of the rebounds had been continuously weakening. However, Fang Hong wasn’t paying much attention to the index. The overall market was sluggish, but that didn’t stop him from profiting on individual stocks. When the market was strong, he could earn effortlessly; when it was weak, he earned a bit less, but overall, he was still consistently profitable.

Dasheng Shares had officially suspended trading. The stock’s holders were patiently waiting to resume trading around April and enjoy effortless limit-up days. For retail investors, the biggest positive news in the A-share market was definitely a restructuring concept stock. A struggling company could transform into a phoenix overnight. Buying into such a stock in advance basically meant effortless earnings and at least a doubling of your investment.

However, for a retail investor to buy into a merger and restructuring stock in advance was, 99.99% of the time, a matter of sheer luck. They would have never expected to stumble upon such a deal before buying. Conversely, the restructuring concept stocks that retail investors knew about and chased were all traps, for example, Guangxin Culture and Meisheng Interconnect.

…

Two days later, the audit of Stellaris Capital’s 2009 financial statements was completed. As the company was not publicly listed, it was not required to disclose them.

It was worth noting that Stellaris Capital’s subsidiaries, such as Art Star Media Group, Quantum Beat, and Stellar Universe Technology, did not consolidate their financial statements with the parent company. The finances of these subsidiaries were all independently audited, and the same was true for Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group.

As soon as the annual financial report came out, Tian Jiayi brought a copy home from work that afternoon to show Fang Hong.

“Here are the company’s results for the 2009 fiscal year. Total revenue for the year was 278.534 billion yuan, with a net profit of 132.955 billion yuan. At the end of the period, total assets were 515.867 billion yuan, and net assets were 289.325 billion yuan. The debt scale is 226.542 billion yuan, with a company debt ratio of 43.91%. Our current cash flow reserves are 118 billion yuan…” Tian Jiayi summarized the key figures as she handed the annual report to Fang Hong.

Since the second half of last year, Stellaris Capital had been spending money like crazy, on a scale that was simply staggering. Yet, despite this wild spending, the company still had over one hundred billion yuan in cash reserves just sitting there.

Finally, after Fang Hong finished reading the annual report, he said concisely, “Hmm, the results are pretty good!”

Tian Jiayi saw his unfazed expression and didn’t know what to say. In his eyes, it was as if all this was to be expected. Being on the inside, she knew better than anyone just how exaggeratedly fast Stellaris Capital’s rise had been. So many companies in the world spent decades, even generations, working hard and still might not make it into the Fortune 500.

But Stellaris Capital had done it in just over a year, which was nothing short of a myth, utterly incredible.

The company’s revenue from last year was equivalent to about 40.8 billion US dollars. According to the 2008 Fortune 500 rankings, that would place them at number 172.

In the 2009 fiscal year, the tech giant Apple’s revenue was around 36.5 billion US dollars. Stellaris Capital’s revenue directly surpassed Apple’s. As a high-tech company, Apple was a classic high-profit enterprise, with a massive net profit of 5.7 billion US dollars in fiscal 2009. But Stellaris Capital’s net profit for last year, converted to US dollars, was 19.5 billion—3.4 times that of Apple.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain internally, “This is just ‘pretty good’? In about a year and a half since its founding, Stellaris is on track to parachute into the top 200 of the Fortune 500. That’s just a little less than the China Southern Power Grid. And that’s still not enough to satisfy you? How big are your ambitions?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong closed the report, tilted his head to glance at his beautiful assistant, and said calmly, “This is just the beginning. Broaden your perspective.”

Tian Jiayi, exasperated, just shook her head, not knowing what to say.

After a moment, Fang Hong suddenly said, “The profit is still a bit too high. That’s not good.”

When he said this, Tian Jiayi looked at him in complete confusion and said, “That’s not good? Is high profit a bad thing?”

Fang Hong reopened the report, glanced at it, and said, “Of course, the higher the profit, the better. But having it reflected in the annual report isn’t necessarily a good thing. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. You should make your fortune quietly. Low profile, low profile. It’s a good thing Stellaris isn’t a public company and doesn’t have to disclose this to the public.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but smile and say, “With the scale of the company’s investments in Jingdong, Stellar Universe Technology, or Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, do you think it’s possible to keep a low profile? To use your own words, ‘I want to keep a low profile, but my strength doesn’t allow for it’.”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Active and passive exposure are two different matters. I don’t want to be targeted by foreign countries, especially the Americans, too early. In short, unless necessary, we should keep as low a profile as possible.”

At this point in time, it’s not just the country that needs to hide its capabilities and bide its time for quiet development. Stellaris Capital also needs to develop quietly. Being noticed by the Americans too early is not a good thing.

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said, “For this year’s profits reflected in the financials, we need to hide them. Twenty or thirty billion should be enough.”

Hiding profits isn’t about misreporting data, but “legally” suppressing the profits through financial auditing techniques. Financial statements are just a numbers game. They can be embellished and beautified, and the reverse is also possible—in fact, it’s even simpler than embellishing them.

…

Chapter 321: A Blazing Start

By using some reasonable methods to suppress the profit statement, the resulting financial situation would show that the company had high revenue but low profits, appearing not very profitable. However, the company’s development was still quite good, with a rapid expansion speed and a massive scale.

Coincidentally, Stellaris Capital was currently labeled by many outsiders as a “splurger,” so they would maintain this image.

Finally, Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi and said, “I estimate Qin Feng will have a funding gap of around fifty billion. Set aside this amount to lend to Stellar Universe Technology.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

When the time came, Stellar Universe Technology would plan to issue bonds to the capital market to raise money. The 12.5% coupon rate was far above the market average, equivalent to a premium of fifty to sixty percent, and a large number of financial institutions would undoubtedly be scrambling to buy them.

Under normal circumstances, absolutely no one would buy bonds issued by a startup like Stellar Universe Technology, which had been established for just over a year, especially for such a large amount. It would basically be dismissed as a scam company.

The reason they would scramble to buy them was the knowledge that Stellaris Capital was backing Stellar Universe Technology. If Stellaris Capital was willing to provide a guarantee, they would certainly rush to buy.

However, these bonds wouldn’t be available to other financial institutions. It was merely a procedural step; in reality, it was a directed debt issuance to Stellaris Capital. The 12.5 percent interest would not flow into the hands of outsiders.

The stock market was currently performing poorly, and it was not a good time for large-scale entries and exits in overseas markets. With so much liquidity sitting on Stellaris Capital’s books, which couldn’t be spent in a short time and would only depreciate, it needed a place to be parked. The bond market was a good option, and a 12.5% coupon rate was very profitable.

Once the second half of the year arrived, the A-share market would experience a strong rebound rally lasting about half a year. At that point, these funds could be returned to the stock market.

Of course, the money lent to Stellar Universe Technology couldn’t all be recovered in half a year, but Fang Hong never intended to do so. When the time came, he could take the notes and toss them onto the capital market. Anyone who wanted them could take them over, and he could transfer them to other financial institutions willing to accept them.

Stellaris Capital could even act as a guarantor for it. If Stellar Universe Technology couldn’t redeem the bonds, they could go directly to Stellaris Capital. There would definitely be plenty of financial institutions willing to snatch up this deal.

And just like that, the liquidity would be swapped out. He could then take that liquidity into the riskier stock market to pursue higher returns, without hindering Stellar Universe Technology’s development and operations.

…

February was about to end, and in the coming month of March, Fang Hong’s greatest focus was undoubtedly the launch of Stellar Universe Technology’s first product. This was a strategic investment for Stellaris Capital, a high-tech enterprise with the potential to reach a trillion-dollar scale in the future—and the currency unit wasn’t RMB, but US dollars.

After receiving 5 billion in financing and various other resources from his wealthy backer, Qin Feng immediately and swiftly adjusted the previously confirmed press conference plans, moving it from the autumn to the end of spring.

All work was now centered around serving the advanced press conference. For the manufacturing contracted to BYD, Qin Feng personally flew over to negotiate and reached a new agreement at light speed. Of course, the non-disclosure agreement was also elevated to a new level.

Faced with the terms offered by Stellar Universe Technology, BYD simply couldn’t refuse. They were just offering too much. The conditions were incredibly generous, and many clauses in the agreements were favorable to BYD.

For example, the two parties signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement, entrusting all future product manufacturing for Stellar Universe Technology to BYD. Not only did they promise a massive volume of orders, but to put BYD at ease about expanding its production lines, Stellar Universe Technology also pledged that if future product sales fell short of expectations and the expanded lines had to be shut down, Stellar Universe Technology would buy the production lines outright at a 20% premium.

And there was no need to worry that Stellar Universe Technology wouldn’t have the money. Stellaris Capital continued to play the role of a third-party guarantor. Even if BYD didn’t trust Stellar Universe Technology, could they not trust Stellaris Capital, a company so poor it only had money?

In short, they could expand their production lines with confidence. All risks would be covered by Stellar Universe Technology, with BYD having to bear none of it. It was equivalent to making risk-free profit while lying down.

Moreover, the manufacturing profit margin was more than double what Apple gave Foxconn. Stellar Universe Technology dared to offer such high margins to its downstream suppliers primarily because of the profit expectations for its own products. This was the confidence and advantage that came from a company’s high profitability and the reason for targeting the high-end market.

The profit margin of an iPhone was an astonishing 60% or more. As for Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone, as long as the current pricing was accepted by the market, its profit margin would not be low either. Even after giving up more profit to upstream and downstream suppliers, its average profit margin would be no less than 35%. In contrast, the profit margin for the “Little Mi” phone from Fang Hong’s previous life was less than 5%, which was precisely why Lei-Jobs wanted to push into the high-end market.

Faced with this series of irresistible, generous terms, BYD reached a strategic cooperation consensus with Stellar Universe Technology on the very same day.

Although Stellar Universe Technology’s production capacity requirements were also incredibly demanding, and completing their product shipment volume in such a short time seemed almost impossible, BYD gritted its teeth and promised to work around the clock, 24/7, to deliver the full quantity of products with all quality control standards met by the deadline.

With manufacturing settled, the next step was establishing channels. Qin Feng’s primary channel strategy was to build offline direct-sale stores. Again, it was a matter of throwing money at the problem to gain speed. He didn’t bother haggling over the prices of shops in shopping malls, simply raising his offer to lock them down quickly and then immediately begin renovations.

Stellaris Capital was also providing support by channeling resources from all sides. For sales team personnel, particularly store managers, securing one manager essentially meant securing a direct-sale store, as the manager would handle the rest.

Recruiting from the job market was definitely too slow. Of course, recruitment was ongoing, but to save time, they still needed help from their wealthy backer.

Fang Hong’s approach was simple, a matter of a single sentence: he asked Hua Yu to handle it. Hua Yu’s solution was also simple: he transferred talent from Huayang Group, specifically from its real estate sales teams.

It might seem like a cross-industry leap from real estate to smartphones, but they were all in sales. The core was the same, and these were all top-notch salespeople who could get up to speed quickly with a little training.

Qin Feng had to admit that without this series of resource allocations from his wealthy backer, it would have been nearly impossible to make these adjustments in such a short time. Many resources were not things that could be solved immediately just by throwing money at them.

If Stellar Universe Technology had to develop step-by-step on its own, it would have been absolutely impossible to achieve this in less than two or three years, and that’s assuming everything went smoothly.

Talent resources alone would have taken a lot of time. This was a major reason why startups sought financing from investors. Bringing in an investor not only provided financial support but also access to the investor’s entire network of resources.

With the full support of their wealthy backer in terms of funding, connections, and other resources, things that would have originally taken two to three years could be settled in just one or two months. Efficiency was boosted by more than tenfold.

By mid-March, the promotional work for the launch of Stellar Universe Technology’s first product began to unfold in full swing. The product press conference was scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, March 25th.

The intensity of a promotional campaign is largely determined by the amount of money spent. After receiving 5 billion in financing from his wealthy backer, Qin Feng was not stingy at all with promotions. In the days leading up to the product launch, advertisements were everywhere—on television, on the internet, and in both online and offline spaces.

Many ordinary people were bewildered by this advertising “bombardment.”

Stellar Universe Technology? Never heard of it.

They make phones? Never heard of a phone manufacturer with that name. They knew Nokia, Samsung, and the like, but Stellar? Completely unfamiliar. In fact, many consumers at this time didn’t even know much about Apple. Apple only truly achieved god-like status in the Mainland starting with the iPhone 4. For now, the iPhone was definitely a niche product in the Mainland; Nokia’s Symbian phones were the mainstream.

Industry insiders were also very curious and maintained a strong interest in Stellar Universe Technology’s first product launch. The posture suggested they were planning something big. But what truly interested them was the potential for a spectacular failure—with such a grand setup, it would be hilarious if it ended up being a case of a strong start but a weak finish.

And most industry insiders felt that the probability of Stellar Universe Technology failing was extremely high. After all, it was a startup that had been established for just over a year. Even if they had a unique skill up their sleeve, it was unlikely to be too stunning. By singing such a high tune now, it was bound to be a case of all sizzle and no steak.

But then again, their peers were also incredibly amazed. The scale of the campaign was truly massive. Anyone who didn’t know better would think a tech giant was releasing a blockbuster product, only to look closer and find it was a startup less than two years old.

Frankly, their competitors were envious and jealous of such resource allocation. They found it hard to believe how a startup could enjoy such abundant resources and even harder to understand why its wealthy backer, Stellaris Capital, would provide such exaggerated support. The resources, from funding and connections to channels, were可以说是 funneled to them in every possible way.

As long as Stellar Universe Technology needed it, and as long as Stellaris Capital could provide it, it would be given!

With this level of support, calling it their “own son” was no exaggeration at all.

…

Chapter 322: Stellar Universe Technology’s Press Conference Arrives as Scheduled

As Stellar Universe Technology’s preliminary promotional campaign gradually unfolded, public attention on the release of the company’s first-generation product continued to climb. The current slogan was “The Mainland’s first true smartphone,” with the keyword being “domestically produced.”

However, this kind of promotion was met with scorn from many “foreign-worshipping” groups in the Mainland, especially the so-called public intellectuals. They had always belittled domestic products and were now eagerly awaiting a disaster.

Most people in the industry, including those in the investment world, felt that Stellar Universe Technology’s recent moves were far too aggressive. The way everything was set up gave the outside world the impression that the company was supremely confident its debut product would be a surefire bestseller.

Many industry insiders couldn’t understand the source of this confidence.

This only made the outside world more curious about Stellar Universe Technology’s press conference. It also led many in the investment circle to secretly hope that if Stellar Universe Technology stumbled and its first product launch was a miserable failure, all the money Stellaris Capital had poured in would be a complete loss—a catastrophic one at that.

However, what frustrated these competing investment firms was the realization that even if Stellar Universe Technology failed miserably, and even if Stellaris Capital lost every penny on this project, it probably wouldn’t cause any substantial damage to them.

Stellaris Capital simply had too much money. The thought was truly infuriating.

It was worth mentioning that earlier this month, Lei-Jobs had already founded Xiaomi Tech. In terms of efficiency, Xiaomi might be faster; Lei-Jobs was determined to churn out the first-generation Little Mi Phone this year.

But the technical substance was nothing to write home about.

Even Qin Feng had called his own S1 an assembled device because most of its core components weren’t their own.

In that case, Xiaomi’s first-generation smartphone was even more of an assembled device. Almost everything, from hardware to software, belonged to someone else—only the brand was their own.

Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation smartphone, on the other hand, had quite a few of its own components, especially on the software side.

Lei-Jobs was also paying close attention to Stellar Universe Technology’s press conference. This could potentially be Xiaomi’s first competitor in the Mainland, and he didn’t dare underestimate them, because Xiaomi really had no outstanding advantages when benchmarked against Stellar Universe Technology.

In terms of timing, Stellar Universe Technology was founded much earlier than Xiaomi, which was only officially established at the beginning of this month.

In terms of funding, Xiaomi had no advantage either. Although Lei-Jobs had plenty of investors backing him, the wealthy backer behind Stellar Universe Technology, Stellaris Capital, was even more powerful. They supported Stellar Universe Technology as if it were their own dear son, giving them whatever technology they needed. If Stellaris Capital had it, they would provide it; if they didn’t, they would find a way to get it.

It’s also worth noting that Apple paid no mind to Stellar Universe Technology’s upcoming press conference; they weren’t even paying attention. Chief Jobs didn’t even know a company like this existed.

For a world-renowned tech giant, it wasn’t surprising to ignore a newly founded startup, since new tech companies were established every day all over the world.

Besides, Stellar Universe Technology wasn’t founded in Silicon Valley. In short, the major tech firms didn’t take it seriously.

Most importantly, Apple was on the verge of a major incident that would make Chief Jobs livid. Why would he pay any attention to an unheard-of startup like Stellar Universe Technology, which hadn’t even released a product?

Time passed, and March 18th arrived. On this day, something happened that greatly infuriated Chief Jobs.

In North America, an Apple software engineer named Gray Powell went to a bar to celebrate his 27th birthday. In his pocket was an unreleased iPhone 4.

The release date for Apple’s new product was set for three months later. Before a new device is officially launched, engineers sometimes have to take it out into the real world to test its performance, iron out bugs, and so on. Engineers at Stellar Universe Technology did the same thing.

So, it wasn’t unreasonable for Gray Powell, an Apple engineer, to be carrying around an iPhone 4 prototype. In fact, Gray had even put it in a deceptive iPhone 3GS disguise case, making it difficult to identify without taking it apart.

The problem was that Gray Powell got a little too excited on his birthday. He drank a lot, left the bar in a daze, and accidentally left the top-secret iPhone 4 prototype on a table.

Not long after Gray Powell left the bar, a young man named Brian Hogan discovered the phone. After a while, he noticed no one came to claim it and realized its owner must have lost it.

Brian picked up the phone and asked around the bar, but no one claimed it. He sat and waited for a long time, but the owner never returned.

So, Brian simply took the phone home.

Back at home, Brian took out the phone and started playing with it. He quickly realized there was something special about it. “Why does an iPhone 3GS have a front-facing camera?” Brian muttered to himself in surprise. “This isn’t an iPhone 3GS…”

Brian soon discovered that the phone’s screen was also exceptionally clear. Finally, he made a decision: he would take it apart to see what was inside. In doing so, he accidentally removed the prototype’s disguise case.

“Holy crap…” Brian stared in shock at the phone before him, now without its case. The sharp edges, the frame, the glass back—it was clearly not the already-released iPhone 3GS. He quickly realized this might be the upcoming iPhone 4.

The next morning, Brian called Apple’s customer service directly, telling them he had found an unreleased iPhone and wanted to return it.

But Apple’s customer service didn’t believe him at all. They dismissed it as a prank call and hung up.

This annoyed Brian a little. He then tried contacting several tech media outlets, but many of them didn’t believe him either. How could some unknown person possibly have a new Apple product?

What a joke.

However, an editor from a website called Gizmodo took him seriously. To their delight, they discovered a super bombshell. In the end, they bought the iPhone 4 prototype from Brian for five thousand dollars.

Meanwhile, Apple engineer Gray Powell realized he had lost the prototype. When the news reached Chief Jobs’s ears, he flew into a rage that same day, though Gray was not fired over the incident.

After realizing the prototype was lost, Apple immediately wiped all the data from the phone remotely. In other words, the prototype had become a sophisticated industrial brick.

But even as a brick, Gizmodo still violently disassembled the prototype from the inside out. They also began writing a series of explosive leak articles to be published in April, ready to drop this bombshell news.

They didn’t release the news immediately because they needed time to study the device. It was a technical job, especially since Apple had remotely wiped all the data, and the phone could no longer be turned on.

They had to prepare thoroughly for such a big scoop. In any case, as long as they exposed it before Apple’s press conference in June, it would be fine.

As a transmigrator, Fang Hong knew all about this. This was the infamous “iPhone 4 leak scandal.” He even knew that, if nothing unexpected happened, Gizmodo would publish a series of articles on April 19th, revealing the iPhone 4 prototype to the world ahead of schedule.

That was why he had scheduled Stellar Universe Technology’s press conference for the end of March.

As time went on, March 25th arrived as scheduled.

This morning, many invited tech media outlets began arriving in Xincheng. The press conference was being held right in the city, at a venue set up next to one of the five official flagship stores.

There were five official flagship stores nationwide, with the other four located in the four first-tier cities. These flagship stores were different from other directly-operated stores, which were usually rented storefronts in shopping malls. The official flagship stores were entire standalone buildings. Although they weren’t massive, they were situated in the centers of major cities where every inch is as precious as gold.

The five flagship stores had been in the works for a long time. They had directly purchased a building in each location and were extensively renovating it. It cost a lot of money, but it was definitely not a loss. In ten years, the price of these commercial buildings would skyrocket by six or seven times, becoming worth billions.

Stellar Universe Technology’s headquarters was in Xincheng. Although the city wasn’t as developed as a first-tier city, as the company’s home base, it naturally had to have an official flagship store.

Around 3:00 PM, a luxury car pulled up to the Stellar Universe Technology press conference venue. In the back seat was none other than Fang Hong. He had come personally today to watch this grand new product launch.

Chapter 323: A Stunning Debut

Sitting in the car, Fang Hong didn’t get out right away. He turned to his beautiful assistant beside him and said, “Call Qin Feng later. Tell him not to mention Stellaris Capital at the press conference. We need to keep a low profile.”

If he didn’t give Qin Feng a heads-up, he would definitely make a point of thanking his wealthy backer during the conference. After all, without the powerful support of Stellaris Capital, Stellar Universe Technology couldn’t have risen so quickly and steadily.

But that wasn’t what Fang Hong wanted. It would only draw more outside attention to Stellaris Capital, and he particularly wanted to avoid being noticed by the Americans too early.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but tease him with a smile, “If you ask me, this move looks like you’re burying your head in the sand. With such a massive event, did you really think no one would notice Qunxing? Do you take everyone for a fool?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “It’s different. Active attention and passive attention are two separate things. If Qin Feng mentions Stellaris Capital at the press conference, it will draw a lot of passive attention, which is unnecessary. As for those who are actively paying attention, let them be.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright, I’ll give him a call in a bit.”

The two quickly got out of the car and headed toward the conference venue. Fang Hong then took the bag from his beautiful assistant’s hand and followed her, playing the part of her personal secretary and assistant in public.

After all, Tian Jiayi was now one of the Executive Vice Presidents of Stellaris Capital. If Fang Hong had her follow him, his identity would surely attract the attention of outsiders, especially the media present at the event.

The press conference was scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM. After Tian Jiayi called Qin Feng to give him the instructions, she and Fang Hong entered the venue and sat in the front row, with Fang Hong right beside her.

Although they were being very low-key, they still caught the eye of some media members. The reason was Tian Jiayi herself was a hot topic—her youth, her beauty, and her high-ranking position at Stellaris Capital were all newsworthy.

Under normal circumstances, someone her age could not possibly hold such a high position, so the media was quite curious about her background.

However, that wasn’t the main event today. Stellar Universe Technology’s first product was the star of the show. The conference hall was decorated in a high-end, magnificent style, and over one thousand seven hundred people were in attendance. Among them, there were more than five hundred industry professionals, investors, and media personnel.

The other thousand-plus attendees were ordinary consumers invited by Stellar Universe Technology. For those coming from other cities, the company would even reimburse their round-trip travel expenses.

Many who received an invitation gladly accepted as long as they were free, treating it as a free trip since they didn’t have to pay for travel.

With the company just releasing its first product, its user base was zero. Naturally, they had to spend some money to invite consumers. The cost was considered a marketing expense. As long as these consumers were impressed, they would talk about it directly or indirectly after returning home, thereby creating a promotional effect.

Meanwhile, the press conference was also being broadcast live online. Netizens could watch it directly through the Yixing Video website.

Yixing Video’s registered user count had already surpassed forty million. Today, the homepage of the website was dominated by the Stellar Universe Technology product launch. If not for the fact that Stellaris Capital was also Yixing Media’s “daddy,” Yixing Video certainly wouldn’t have promoted it on their homepage, let alone for a full three days.

Of course, another important reason was that Hou Junda, the head of Yixing Video, was a very good friend of Qin Feng’s. It was Qin Feng who had built the bridge and introduced Hou Junda to Fang Hong. With that relationship, Hou Junda had to support his brother.

Although their industries were worlds apart, at the end of the day, they were all members of the “Qunxing ecosystem” and shared a certain bond.

…

3:30 PM arrived on schedule, and the press conference officially began.

The main lights in the venue were turned off, leaving only the stage and the large screen on it illuminated. The more than one thousand seven hundred attendees all turned their gazes to the stage. Everyone there was highly anticipating Stellar Universe Technology’s conference, wondering if it would be a strong start with a weak finish, live up to its massive promotional hype, or exceed all expectations with a soaring start.

A moment later, Qin Feng walked out from backstage with a calm and confident stride, heading to the center of the stage. He had rehearsed this repeatedly for days.

When the attendees saw Qin Feng, they couldn’t help but be surprised and amazed by his youth.

Somewhere in the audience, two people from the investment circle whispered to each other, “First, there was Xu Jingren’s team with Weibo, and now there’s Qin Feng with Stellar Universe Technology. They’re both from Xincheng University. There’s something special about that school; I’ll have to visit more often when I have time.”

The other person, looking at Qin Feng on stage, whispered back, “And both were discovered by Stellaris Capital…”

On stage, Qin Feng cast his gaze over the audience and quickly spotted Fang Hong in the front row. The latter sat perfectly still. After a brief exchange of glances with his wealthy backer, Qin Feng’s eyes swiftly moved on to scan the entire venue, and his voice resounded through the hall, “Good afternoon, and thank you all for coming.”

After a simple opening, Qin Feng faced the cameras and the audience and continued in a well-organized manner, “In 2007, the first-generation iPhone was born, redefining what we thought a mobile phone could be. Steve Jobs’ swipe to unlock the iPhone also swiped open the gates to the mobile internet. The iPhone redefined the mobile phone in our minds.”

Pausing for a moment, Qin Feng spoke again, “2007 was undoubtedly a revolution for smartphones, and Apple and Steve Jobs were undoubtedly great pioneers of the industry. But we have an old saying: the new waves of the Yangtze push the old waves forward. Today, in 2010, we will witness the beginning of a brand-new era in the smartphone industry. And the one to push open the door to this new era is not Apple, but us!”

As soon as he said this, nearly all the attendees were stunned. Everyone was shocked by Qin Feng’s words.

He wasn’t old, but his claims were not small!

A generous interpretation would be that the younger generation is to be respected; a less generous one would call it arrogance.

After the initial shock, those who came to their senses couldn’t help but scoff inwardly. However, this also piqued the interest of many industry professionals. The bold claim had been made. If the product didn’t live up to it, he would surely face widespread ridicule.

“Today, we are officially launching Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation smartphone, the S1. It boasts over fifty new features. We don’t have time to introduce them all at this conference, so I will only talk about five of them.”

Qin Feng paced back and forth on the stage. After a moment, he looked at the audience and said, “First, it has a brand-new industrial design, unprecedented among all smartphones in the world. If you’ve never truly seen it, what you will see today is the most beautiful smartphone design you’ve ever laid eyes on.”

At this moment, the various attendees all wore relaxed and calm expressions. They all thought Qin Feng was just spouting nonsense. Who couldn’t talk big?

Some were even secretly looking forward to the scene of the whole audience jeering, just to see how he would handle it.

Just as Qin Feng’s voice fell, the large screen behind him switched to a picture—it was the front of a white S1 model, though the screen was off.

The attendees all focused their eyes on the large screen. There was still no significant emotional reaction. There wasn’t much to see from the front of the S1, though at first glance, its texture looked quite good. Some also noticed a front-facing camera, which was a point of surprise.

The iPhone 3GS didn’t have a front-facing camera, only a 3-megapixel rear camera.

Other than that, the front of the S1 was almost entirely screen. It didn’t even have a home button at the bottom. That’s right, besides the volume and power keys on the upper right, the S1 had no physical buttons. However, below the screen were three virtual keys: back, home, and menu.

The picture of the S1’s front on the large screen didn’t reveal much useful information, but then, Qin Feng suddenly pressed a small remote in his hand.

The picture on the screen began to move. Only then did everyone realize it wasn’t a static image, but a to-scale 3D animation of the S1.

Witnessed by the more than one thousand seven hundred people in the audience and the viewers watching the live stream online, the S1 on the screen first tilted to an angle, then began a slow, 360-degree counter-clockwise rotation horizontally.

As the 3D animation continued its loop, the entire exterior of the S1—from the front, the sides, to the back—was revealed to everyone. Its highly distinctive industrial design instantly stunned the entire audience.

Everyone present, be it industry peers, media personnel, or consumers, wore expressions of shock.

Looking at the industrial design of this smartphone, the attendees felt as if it had been transported from a science fiction movie. They were even more astounded that this was actually a domestically produced phone. It was almost unbelievable, but right here and now, a domestic phone manufacturer was holding this conference.

“Woah—!”

After a few seconds of silence, the venue erupted for the first time in an uproarious clamor. It was immediately followed by the cheers and screams of thousands of consumers. Thunderous applause broke out, and many people shot up from their seats, cheering loudly and without pause. The press conference had reached its first boiling point.

…

Chapter 324: Is This Really a Domestically-Made Smartphone?

The cheers at the launch event continued unabated. The initial reveal of the design alone was enough to astound everyone in attendance.

A smartphone could be designed so beautifully? It could be designed like this?

Many consumers in the audience were won over just by seeing the design. The glass back panel, in particular, with a rear camera that didn’t protrude, made perfectionists in the crowd sigh with relief.

“No wonder they were talking big. They really do have something…” In the sensational atmosphere of the launch event, an industry insider who had come hoping to see a joke had to admit that the initial reveal of the S1’s industrial design was indeed beautiful. It was stunning, stylish, and highly distinctive.

Fang Hong, who was in the audience, clapped slowly along with everyone else. He was quite calm, as the crowd’s reaction was well within his expectations.

At present, Apple’s market share in the Mainland was low, making it a niche product. Nokia still dominated the landscape, and very few users in the Mainland actually had an iPhone. Apple wouldn’t make its major push into the Greater China region until the iPhone 4, but that was still in 2011, very close to the release of the iPhone 4S.

At this point in time, the iPhone 4 hadn’t even been announced. In the current market window in the Mainland, Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 had no real competitors.

Back on stage, as time passed, Qin Feng gestured for quiet, and the cheers and applause gradually subsided. The reaction from the audience, especially the consumers, was incredibly encouraging, and he couldn’t help but breathe a secret sigh of relief. The feedback was a great start.

Only Fang Hong could truly know the immense pressure Qin Feng was under. Fang Hong hadn’t directly pressured him; on the contrary, he had offered his full support. But the sheer scale of Stellaris Capital’s backing for Stellar Universe Technology was precisely the source of Qin Feng’s pressure.

Failure was simply not an option! With such backing from their financial sponsor, Stellar Universe Technology absolutely could not fail. Once they had taken this step, there was no turning back—only success.

At that moment, Qin Feng managed his expression perfectly, suppressing his excitement. He glanced back at the big screen and said with calm confidence, “Without a doubt, this is the most precise and exquisite product we have ever designed. The S1 is glass on both the front and back. The precision of this phone surpasses any consumer product we have seen before. The closest comparison would be a beautiful Leica camera—it’s just that gorgeous.”

Qin Feng pressed a button on the small remote in his hand, and the looping 3D animation switched to a three-view diagram showing the S1’s front, back, and sides. He continued, “The S1 is only 10.3mm thick, which is 16.26% thinner than the iPhone 3GS, making it the thinnest smartphone in the world right now…”

Fang Hong listened silently from his seat. He knew that the S1’s record would soon be broken by the even thinner 9.3mm iPhone 4, but since the iPhone 4 hadn’t been announced yet, it was entirely correct to call the S1 the world’s thinnest smartphone at present.

Qin Feng continued to introduce the S1’s external components, such as the volume buttons on the frame, the power button, the front-facing camera, the rear-facing camera, the flash, and the SIM card slot.

After introducing the S1’s industrial design, Qin Feng moved on. “The second feature is the ‘Taiji Operating System,’ or TOS. This is an operating system fully and independently developed by the Stellar Universe Technology team, and it is the most advanced domestic smartphone operating system.”

This statement once again sent the entire venue into an uproar, met with thunderous applause. Many of the industry insiders in attendance stared wide-eyed, and one person exclaimed on the spot, “What? It’s not using Android? Stellar Universe Technology developed their own brand-new operating system? What the…”

Ordinary consumers might not have grasped the full significance, but industry professionals knew just how difficult it was to create an operating system. While the consumers were still focused on the S1’s design, the insiders were shocked—even stunned—by Stellar Universe Technology’s TOS.

“It’s not that surprising, considering Stellaris Capital is backing them with no regard for cost,” one investor commented to his colleague. But his colleague shook his head and said, “Stellaris Capital’s support is one thing, but the most important factor is Qin Feng’s technical team. I heard he’s a renowned genius from Xincheng University. Stellar Universe Technology’s R&D capabilities are truly astonishing.”

The first investor added, “I wonder how this TOS performs. Qin Feng’s claim that it’s the most advanced domestic smartphone operating system is technically true. A sly way to put it, since TOS is the only domestic smartphone OS. Of course it’s the most advanced, haha…”

A moment later, after the cheers and applause died down, Qin Feng calmly continued, “TOS has so much built into it, yet its data protection and device management remain excellent. It offers features like over-the-air app distribution for enterprises, multi-Exchange support, and deeper VPN integration…”

At this point, Qin Feng smiled at the consumers in the audience and continued, “We also added something else for consumers. To give users the most direct sense of TOS’s smoothness, games are the best way to showcase it. But we weren’t satisfied with the mobile games on the market…”

Qin Feng added, “…So we developed a special action game that can run on the S1. It’s a funny story—the team initially just wanted to make a simple game to demonstrate the phone’s performance, but they got carried away. So, we were ‘forced’ to spend over thirty million yuan to develop a game.”

Man!

They made a game just to demo TOS? And spent over thirty million yuan on it? That’s insane!

Even with a wealthy sponsor, you can’t just splurge like that, can you?

Still, people didn’t have high expectations for the game itself. After all, Stellar Universe Technology wasn’t a game developer; it was a huge leap into another field. But what Qin Feng showed next shocked the entire audience once again.

“But enough talk, let’s do a live demonstration!” Qin Feng said with a smile. He walked away from the center of the stage to the side, where a staff member had an S1 ready for the demo. After a few moments of setup, the phone’s screen was mirrored onto the large screen on stage.

Just as he woke the phone’s screen, he turned to the audience and said, “While you’re playing games like Angry Birds or Snake on other phones today, you won’t believe this is a mobile game. You are playing the future!”

With that, Qin Feng tapped an app icon on the screen. During the loading screen, he explained, “The game is called Ode to Gallantry. It’s the first mobile game ever made with Unreal Engine 3. The game is set in a fully 3D inn, where players can gain experience by fighting, level up to improve their skills, and acquire powerful props until they face the final boss.”

This statement sent another shockwave through the crowd. An industry insider uttered in astonishment, “What? A mobile game made with Unreal Engine 3? Can that even run on a phone?”

Another attendee said in disbelief, “Didn’t the third-generation Unreal Engine just come out last November? To develop a game just to show off an operating system, and to have cranked it out in three or four months… that’s…”

Meanwhile, before everyone could recover from their shock, Qin Feng had already entered the game on the phone. The gameplay was projected onto the large screen, and he began a live demonstration for all to see.

The entire audience was captivated by the game’s gorgeous visuals, thrilling combat, and the spectacular 3D characters and environments brought to life by Unreal Engine 3. Everyone was utterly stunned.

A wave of gasps swept through the venue, followed by a full-blown eruption of excitement. The thousand or so consumers who had come were especially ecstatic, offering fervent applause and cheers. The entire event was pushed to a new climax.

“My God, this is a mobile game? A game that can run on a phone?”

“That smoothness…”

“Incredible. They burned thirty million just to show off the TOS, and they developed a game to do it. That’s seriously next-level!”

“The game looks pretty fun.”

“This phone is blowing my mind. While I’m playing Angry Birds, I can’t believe another phone can run a game made with Unreal Engine 3. Oh my God…”

“Was this really developed by one of our country’s tech companies? Is this really a domestically-made smartphone? Am I dreaming?”

…

Chapter 325: Walk the Opponent’s Path and Leave Them with Nowhere to Go

The atmosphere in the venue surged to new heights, one wave after another. When the press conference first began, everyone had scoffed at Qin Feng’s “arrogant” pronouncements. But as the event progressed, they realized he hadn’t been wrong.

Even if it was arrogance, this product had given him the capital to be arrogant.

First came the stunning industrial design, followed by the TOS operating system. Each reveal far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

At that moment, Qin Feng was looking down, playing a mobile game. “Players can block, dodge, or attack enemies by swiping the screen,” he said without lifting his head. “The game also offers a variety of props, including weapons, shields, helmets, armor, rings, and more.”

“Responsive and intuitive touch controls for attacking, dodging, blocking, and more, all with a simple swipe of the finger. The touch interface allows players to effortlessly navigate and explore the realms within the game, where swords and other treasures await to be discovered and mastered. This allows players to level up their characters, enhancing their attack, health, defense, and so on…”

The audience, especially the industry professionals, was utterly dumbfounded.

This was too much! This was really going too far!

They had crossed into a new field and developed a mobile game in just three or four months that also far exceeded expectations. With such rich gameplay and replayability, how were actual game developers supposed to feel? You’re a phone manufacturer, not a game company!

They were so dissatisfied with the games on the market that they developed one themselves, and the game turned out to be excellent. This move had truly blown everyone away.

After a while, Qin Feng exited the game, set the S1 phone aside, and looked out at the audience with a smile. “My apologies, I got a little carried away.”

With that, he walked toward the center of the stage, glancing back at the staff. “You should have reminded me that this is a phone launch, not a game launch.”

The venue erupted in roaring laughter. No one knew if this was a specially planned segment or not.

But whether it was intentional didn’t matter. What mattered was that the content on display had vastly surpassed everyone’s expectations.

Next, Qin Feng continued with the following items on the agenda, including hardware specifications like the dual-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, and so on. However, Qin Feng deliberately used subtle phrasing to gloss over these details.

He didn’t spend much time on them because they were all foreign-made components, not technology independently developed by Stellar Universe Technology.

Another feature that stunned consumers was the camera’s imaging capabilities, which also exceeded expectations. The rear camera boasted five million pixels, while the front-facing camera had two million pixels.

For context, the iPhone 3GS’s rear camera only had three million pixels and no front-facing camera. The yet-to-be-released iPhone 4’s front-facing camera only had 300,000 pixels.

It was worth noting that the iPhone 4’s rear camera also had five million pixels, but its image quality was still slightly superior to the S1’s.

However, Qin Feng had put a great deal of effort into the S1’s front-facing camera, a point Fang Hong fully endorsed. Qin Feng understood the selfie needs of young women and therefore had extremely high standards for the front camera.

“…As for the S1’s other specs, we offer three models with different storage capacities: 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. Expandable storage cards are not supported,” Qin Feng introduced methodically from the stage.

The consumers in the audience were a bit disappointed to hear that expandable storage was not supported.

They didn’t like the lack of expandable memory.

Qin Feng added, “We decided against an expandable storage card because it would affect the phone’s overall smoothness and user experience. Of course, this is also an area where our technology is lacking. We frankly acknowledge that we have some technical gaps compared to established major tech firms, and we are dedicated to improving. We firmly believe this is only temporary.”

At this, the consumers in the venue gave him a round of applause. For a company that had been established for just over a year, achieving this level was already beyond what consumers had expected. They also appreciated Qin Feng’s attitude—confident but not conceited, and not shying away from their shortcomings.

However, besides the lack of an expandable storage card, consumers were also dissatisfied with the non-removable battery. All phones on the market, except for the iPhone, came with two batteries.

Now the S1 was following suit with a non-removable battery. But Qin Feng provided a good reason, offering two specific justifications for choosing a single, non-removable battery:

One was to improve the phone’s lifespan, as repeatedly removing and inserting a battery affects a product’s longevity. The other was for environmental considerations. Recycling lithium batteries is troublesome, and disposing of them after they’ve died is a major headache.

Playing the environmental card was a great way to score points—it was noble and a very good reason.

Undoubtedly, Stellar Universe Technology’s debut product still had room for improvement, but for such a young company to create a product of this caliber was far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Qin Feng also used the design philosophy of a larger screen to gain more internal space, compensating for many shortcomings, such as the battery system. With the overall phone being larger, there was more room, which naturally meant the battery could be bigger too.

On stage, Qin Feng was systematically introducing the product’s battery system: “The S1 phone has excellent battery life. It supports six and a half hours of 3G talk time, or five hours of 3G web browsing, or ten hours of Wi-Fi browsing, or ten and a half hours of video playback, or thirty-seven hours of music playback. Its theoretical standby time is as long as 275 hours.”

Hearing these figures, industry insiders realized the S1’s battery life was on par with the iPhone’s. As the conference progressed, competitors discovered that this company not only had something up its sleeve but had quite a lot.

After the battery system introduction, the press conference moved on to its fifth segment. The consumers in attendance were filled with anticipation. According to Qin Feng, the S1 phone had over fifty new features. The ones highlighted at the press conference were bound to be its unique skills, and the last one would most likely be the grand finale.

Qin Feng, standing in the center of the stage, began to walk slowly toward a console on his left. His voice echoed through the venue: “In 2007, when Apple launched the original iPhone, I saw my idol, Steve Jobs, make the first public phone call from the stage. Today, I want to do the same thing to pay tribute to a giant.”

The audience was filled with curiosity, while Fang Hong, sitting in the front row, chuckled to himself. Qin Feng’s move might be framed as a tribute, but it could also be seen as an attempt to stymie Apple’s iPhone.

He’s walking the iPhone 4’s path to leave the iPhone 4 with nowhere to go.

Fang Hong wondered just how frustrated Chief Jobs would be when he saw what this “fan” was doing. He was sure that Chief Jobs would watch the video of this conference.

At that moment, Qin Feng reached the console, picked up the S1 phone, and began to operate it. The phone’s screen was simultaneously projected onto the large screen on stage.

The audience saw him dial a number, then tap a video icon on the virtual keypad. The keypad disappeared, and the main screen showed that a communication request was in progress.

While waiting for the other end to accept the call, Qin Feng added, “I’m calling the head of the design team for this communication feature.”

After a short wait, the connection was successful. The audience saw the phone’s interface on the large screen suddenly display a clear image.

It was a remote video call!

The moment the image appeared, the venue fell silent for a beat before erupting into a frenzy once more. Applause and cheers drowned out everything else. The industry professionals were all stunned.

In this era, no smartphone had the capability for video calls.

When the S1 demonstrated it, and with such a clear image, everyone was deeply shaken.

The two-million-pixel front-facing camera wasn’t just for satisfying the selfie needs of young women; its primary purpose was video calling.

Meanwhile, Qin Feng on stage exchanged simple greetings with the head of the design team in the video, then began a casual video chat. “…I’m a huge sci-fi fan. When I saw the remote video communication tools portrayed in sci-fi novels or Hollywood movies, I had a dream—the dream of the video call you and I are having right now. A scene from a sci-fi movie has become a reality.”

Qin Feng turned to the audience and added with a smile, “Of course, more important than that is that we are the first to bring it into the real world for all of humankind!”

His words triggered another round of thunderous applause.

The thousand-plus consumers invited to the event, as well as many watching the live stream online, had by now been completely won over by Stellar Universe Technology and the S1 phone. They felt an immense sense of pride that it was a domestic product.

In truth, Qin Feng knew many of the iPhone 4’s specifications. Although it hadn’t been released yet, when he met with Fang Hong, he had been told a great deal about the iPhone 4. He realized that many of the S1’s key innovative features had a “design clash” with the iPhone 4.

So he rushed to beat them to the punch and claim the “first.” Releasing it first and securing the title of “first” meant being a pioneer. The historical standing was completely different!

It was worth mentioning that Qin Feng genuinely regarded Chief Jobs as his idol. But an idol was an idol, and business was business. In the world of commerce, one had to act like a businessman, and the marketplace is like a battlefield. Thus, he had no hesitation in doing whatever would make things difficult for Apple.

Chapter 326: Unified Pricing

Qin Feng chatted with the head of the video call design team for a while before ending the communication. He then walked back to the center of the stage and said, “With two S1 phones, you can use the video call feature anywhere there’s Wi-Fi. You don’t need to install any extra configurations, find a server, input anything, or enter any codes. You don’t need anything at all—you just make a call.”

“You can use the front camera or the rear camera. Switch to the rear camera, and the person on the other end can see what you see. It’s simple and easy to switch back and forth. You can use it anywhere with Wi-Fi. This is the S1 phone. We believe that since the original iPhone redefined the smartphone in 2007, the arrival of the S1 represents the biggest upgrade to the smartphone industry. On this point, we don’t want to be overly modest!”

The audience once again erupted in fervent applause. Everyone present had been thoroughly captivated by the product. Even those who had been waiting to see Qin Feng fail had to admit the product’s excellence. It certainly lived up to the hype of its pre-launch publicity, and even greatly exceeded expectations.

Meanwhile, Lei-Jobs was also at home watching the entire press conference. He never would have imagined that Little Mi, which had just been officially established this month, would encounter such a formidable competitor unleashing such a big move.

Lei-Jobs was silent, his expression grim. He was also incredibly bewildered.

He simply couldn’t figure out how Stellar Universe Technology, a company that had been established for just over a year, could produce such a worldly masterpiece full of “black technology.”

Just how monstrously talented was Qin Feng’s technical team?

Soon, the press conference moved on to the announcement of the price and release date—the part that all consumers, especially those who had already become fans of the S1, were most concerned about.

On stage, Qin Feng spoke at an unhurried pace, “Regarding the price and launch date of the S1, first, there are two versions: the S1 Standard Edition and the S1-Plus Edition. Both versions come in three storage capacities: 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB.”

The Standard and Plus editions had been introduced earlier. Without a doubt, the Plus Edition was better. The most significant physical difference was the size; the Standard Edition had a 4.0-inch screen, while the Plus Edition had a 4.3-inch screen.

Qin Feng continued, “Both versions are available in five colors: pure black, pure white, dark purple, pink, and silver-gray. They are all gorgeous.”

Compared to the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4, which would only come in black and white, the S1 offered five color options for consumers to choose from. After all, the product was primarily aimed at the domestic consumer market.

In fact, for the color naming, the design team originally wanted to come up with some ornate terms for effect.

Things like “Ceramic White” or “Obsidian Black,” which sounded very high-end.

However, Fang Hong had shot down the idea.

Black was black, and white was white. There was little point in expending effort to pile on such flowery language.

On the stage, Qin Feng methodically announced the prices: “The unified price for the S1 Standard Edition is 2,399 yuan for 8GB, 2,999 yuan for 16GB, and 3,599 yuan for 32GB. The unified price for the S1-Plus Edition is 3,499 yuan for 8GB, 4,099 yuan for 16GB, and 4,699 yuan for 32GB.”

Good grief!

Upon hearing the announced prices, the consumers couldn’t help but gasp.

This pricing was genuinely not cheap, especially for the flagship S1-Plus Edition with 32GB of storage, which was in the same price tier as the iPhone 3GS.

One consumer in the audience said in astonishment, “The S1-Plus is selling for 4,699 yuan? The Plus Edition? No, this is the ‘Price-Plus’ edition!”

A large group of consumers who had been planning to buy the phone felt discouraged upon seeing the price.

They really couldn’t afford it!

Even if they stretched their budgets, they could probably only afford the S1 Standard Edition with 8GB of storage. Even the cheapest version would cost many consumers more than a full month’s salary. In reality, they would need to save for at least three months to afford it, since they still had to cover basic living expenses.

As for the flagship 32GB Plus Edition’s 4,699 yuan price tag, the vast majority of ordinary consumers were simply speechless.

Fang Hong, however, was calm. The Greater China region had a massive population. There was a large group of people who couldn’t afford it, but there was an equally large group who could.

When many industry insiders learned of the pricing, they felt that even if the S1 was an excellent product, it would likely become a niche item. The pricing was truly hard to swallow.

The flagship model, in particular, would almost certainly not sell in large quantities.

A comparison could be made with the sales of the iPhone in the Greater China region; the iPhone 3GS did not actually sell well in the Mainland.

But Fang Hong knew that Mainland Apple fans only truly got to know the iPhone starting with the iPhone 4. Some said the iPhone 2G was the revolutionary product, but in 2007, many people in the country were still using Nokia phones, and the iPhone 2G posed no threat to Nokia at the time.

According to the original historical timeline, it was from the iPhone 4 onwards that the seeds of Apple’s dynasty began to sprout.

But now, there was no sign of the iPhone 4 yet, and its launch in the Greater China region would be delayed until after April 2011. The S1’s sudden appearance had essentially snatched Apple’s opportunity with the iPhone 4.

Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product, the S1 phone, was slightly inferior to the iPhone 4 in overall performance but far superior to the iPhone 3GS. Qin Feng was not afraid of the S1 competing head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone 4.

What’s more, the iPhone 4’s entry into the Mainland market was still at least a year away. In this window of time, the S1 would be invincible in the Greater China region. Nokia? Samsung? HTC?

He was even less worried about these competitors.

By the time the iPhone 4 landed in the Mainland market in 2011, the opportunity would be long gone!

Back at the press conference, just as many industry insiders believed the S1’s sales prospects were grim, Qin Feng unleashed another super ultimate move, leaving his competitors dumbfounded.

Qin Feng announced methodically, “Stellar Universe Technology has already established deep partnerships with several financial institutions. Starting from the day our first-generation product, the S1, goes on sale, we will simultaneously launch a zero-interest installment plan for the phone. It will be divided into twenty-four installments over two years. Even for the most expensive S1-Plus, you can take it home with a monthly payment of just 195 yuan.”

Qin Feng added, “For the zero-interest installment plan, you can consult our company’s customer service or inquire at one of our offline direct-sale stores.”

What?

The entire venue was in an uproar. Immediately after, all the consumers erupted into a frenzy of cheers. The audience members rose to their feet and applauded, the sound echoing for a long time.

One person in the audience said, stunned, “Installment payments are supported? And with no interest? I can take home the 32GB S1-Plus for less than 200 a month? Doesn’t that mean the cheapest Standard Edition can be taken home for just 99 yuan a month?”

A consumer next to him said excitedly, “I’m getting it, I’m getting it, I have to get it! A monthly payment of less than 200 yuan is no pressure at all, and it’s zero-interest. Buy early, enjoy early. Buy! Buy! Buy!!”

Another consumer couldn’t help but say, “This probably requires a check of one’s personal credit and ability to repay, right? I wonder if I’ll qualify.”

The conditions for the phone installment plan were relatively low; one only needed to meet four criteria:

First, the user must be over eighteen years of age and have full capacity for civil conduct.

Second, the user needs a stable job and income, with the ability to repay the loan. If one changes jobs frequently, they will not meet the institution’s requirements and will not be able to apply for the zero-interest installment plan.

Third, the user must bring valid identification documents such as a second-generation ID card and household registration book. The essence of the installment plan is to apply for a loan and repay it in installments. The user must submit proof of identity to the institution for review, which also confirms the user is applying for the loan in person.

Fourth, the user’s personal credit history must be good. The user’s credit report cannot have any negative records, otherwise, they will not pass the lending institution’s review and will be unable to use the installment plan.

Overall, the eligibility threshold for the zero-interest installment plan was very low. A regular, stable job and a clean default record were sufficient.

Although a low threshold increased risk and potential bad debt for the financial institutions, the actual risk was very low. Ordinary people dared not default easily; they would repay the loan even if it meant gritting their teeth. Plus, this wasn’t a loan for a large transaction like a house. Anyone with a factory job could avoid defaulting.

That was why Fang Hong dared to make this play. Daring to play meant that Stellaris Capital would provide a safety net, so the partner financial institutions were certainly willing to play along.

Many industry insiders were caught completely off guard, never expecting Stellar Universe Technology to have such a move up its sleeve. Some of the investors present suddenly realized they had almost forgotten that the wealthy backer behind Stellar Universe Technology was Stellaris Capital.

A non-bank financial institution that had nothing but money.

With such a wealthy backer providing powerful financial resources and support, it was no longer surprising!

Offering installment plans for phones was something no one had expected, and with zero interest at that. With an already excellent product, this would undoubtedly offset the disadvantage of the high price, stimulating consumption and boosting sales.

…

Chapter 327: Competing Reports

“The product will launch in one week, officially hitting the market on April 1st. It will be available for purchase at our five offline official flagship stores and seventy direct-sale stores. We have also opened an online flagship store on Jingdong, which will also support installment payments.”

From the stage, Qin Feng continued his announcement in a calm and orderly manner, “Additionally, starting at nine o’clock tomorrow morning, our five offline official flagship stores and all of our direct-sale stores will officially open. Everyone is welcome to visit and experience the actual device in person.”

Pausing for a moment, Qin Feng scanned the audience. “Before we conclude today, I would like to thank our entire technical team of over 2,300 people for their tireless, round-the-clock work over the past sixteen months to bring us this product. I am incredibly proud of this product’s team!”

The audience responded with warm applause. After Qin Feng delivered a few more words of thanks, the press conference officially came to an end.

Fang Hong leaned over and whispered to Tian Jiayi, “Let’s go. It’s over, we should head home.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to see Qin Feng?”

Fang Hong smiled. “He’s got a lot on his plate.”

The wealthy backer was very satisfied with this press conference, and Qin Feng was about to be extremely busy. Not only did he have to manage the launch of the S1, but he also had to prepare for a direct confrontation with Apple. If all went as expected, news of Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product launch would cross the ocean today and reach Apple’s headquarters in North America.

Things were about to get interesting.

…

As the press conference concluded, members of the media departed and began to write their reports. That very evening, news of Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation smartphone, the S1, was covering the sky and earth, appearing as the front-page headline in major media outlets.

【Stellar Universe Technology’s release of its first-generation S1 phone is undoubtedly a product worth commemorating in the history of smartphones】 — Global Net

【Its fashionable industrial design and video call technology are already world-leading, even ahead of the iPhone. We have reason to look forward to the S1’s market performance after its release】 — Pacific Computer Network

【The S1 has undoubtedly become a leading product in the smartphone sector. Besides the challenge from Google’s Android, Apple’s rivals in the smartphone space may now have to include this new and powerful competitor: Stellar Universe Technology】 — Business Weekly

【Shocking! You’ll never guess that this stunning, world-class smartphone is actually a domestic product…】 — UC Headline News

【A brand-new design, with front and back glass materials, a departure from the plastic feel of previous smartphones. The S1 may become another major milestone in smartphone history since the debut of the original iPhone】 — Economic Weekly

【With a highly distinctive industrial design and a 10.3 mm body, the S1 is a fashionable, ultra-thin phone】 — Tech Express

【The S1 is undeniably the first phone whose hardware design surpasses its software features. Its stylish and aesthetically pleasing design drew gasps and screams from the crowd when it was unveiled at the press conference】 — Sohu

…

All kinds of media outlets were competing to report on the news, with the vast majority giving unexpectedly positive reviews. It was clear that Stellar Universe Technology’s debut product had, at the very least, won over most of the media.

Even mainstream media outlets joined in, offering extremely high praise.

The current environment was one where the country was promoting economic transformation and upgrading, and right on cue, a tech company like Stellar Universe Technology emerged with such a stunning product.

This led even the official state media to spare no ink in their praise and affirmation. It was a case of perfect timing. Stellar Universe Technology fit perfectly with the narrative of transformation and upgrading and could be held up as a prime example.

Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation S1 was launched at a time when the smartphone industry was still in its early stages. In early 2010, Android manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola were just dipping their toes into the smartphone market and, arguably, still didn’t know how to make a proper phone. Many users were still on Nokia’s Symbian phones.

It was against this backdrop that the S1’s debut stunned everyone, showing them what a smartphone could truly be.

Its minimalist design philosophy, highly recognizable appearance, and premium feel made the product stand out among all other flagship smartphones.

The moment most smartphone users saw this device, they were captivated by its fashionable design, falling in love at first sight and immediately wanting one for themselves.

…

That same night, the news crossed the ocean to North America. Even overseas media began to pick up the story. Renowned foreign outlets like The New York Times and The Times expressed surprise and took notice of Stellar Universe Technology’s new phone.

It was worth mentioning that, in this era, America was still very confident and did not yet see the great Eastern power as its number one competitor. Thus, it appeared quite “tolerant,” though this tolerance stemmed from an attitude of looking down on everything that came from the East.

So while they were surprised and intrigued, their commentary was relatively objective, without a strong bias.

If this had been a decade later, these media outlets would never have cited the reports. Even if they had, it would have been to relentlessly slander the product. No matter how impressive you were, their political stance would be the top priority.

The news of the S1, unveiled at Stellar Universe Technology’s press conference, also reached Apple. It was morning in the Western Hemisphere.

…

At that moment, Chief Jobs, the head of the iPhone 4 design team, Apple’s Chief Technology Officer, and several other senior executives were gathered together. Everyone was silent. Nobody spoke. They were all watching a recorded video of the Stellar Universe Technology S1 product launch.

Not a single executive in the room uttered a word. When they saw the S1 revealed, they were all dumbfounded. The head of the iPhone 4 design team was practically frozen in place.

The smartphone’s design was almost ninety percent similar to the iPhone 4, yet different in its details. For instance, the iPhone 4 still retained the home button, whereas the S1 did not, featuring a three-virtual-key design at the bottom. In terms of minimalist philosophy, it surpassed the iPhone 4. The front and back of the phone were two completely flat, smooth panes of glass, giving it an incredibly sleek texture.

Other details differed as well. The volume and power buttons on the iPhone 4 were on the top left, while the S1’s were on the top right. The screen size was different: the iPhone 4 had a 3.5-inch screen, while the S1 Standard Edition was 4.0 inches and the Plus Edition was 4.3 inches. The iPhone 4’s screen-to-body ratio was 66%, while the S1’s was a much larger 75%, among other differences.

After a long silence, Chief Jobs finally broke the tension. He turned to the others, gestured toward the screen, and said, “Can someone tell me… Why???”

Everyone could feel the barely contained rage in his voice. The leak of the iPhone 4 prototype a while back, which had yet to be recovered, had already infuriated him.

And now, a company on the other side of the ocean that he had never even heard of had just released a smartphone so strikingly similar to the iPhone 4 that, if not identical, could be called its twin.

“How can such an incredible coincidence exist in this world? My God! This joke has gone a little too far…” Johnny, the head of the iPhone 4 design team, muttered to himself.

“Do you believe this is a coincidence?” another executive asked.

“Isn’t it?” Johnny replied instinctively, but another executive reacted faster, stating with conviction, “This is absolutely not a coincidence. This is unforgivable plagiarism. We must sue Stellar Universe Technology for infringement!”

It was a blatant lie. The other company’s product was already released, making it an unbelievable coincidence.

But the others quickly caught on. Even if it was an unbelievable coincidence, Apple absolutely could not admit it. Otherwise, the iPhone 4 would be in a very awkward position.

They all realized the gravity of the situation. The iPhone 4 had not yet been announced, but Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 had been. This was an unchangeable fact. Everyone in the room knew that the iPhone 4 was now in a dilemma.

All the glory had been snatched by the S1, which had beaten them to the punch. The world was eagerly anticipating Apple to unveil a masterpiece at the iPhone 4 launch in June. Everyone present knew that when the iPhone 4 was finally revealed, the world would be utterly stunned.

Everyone’s first, incredulous reaction would be: How could a world-renowned tech giant like Apple release an iPhone 4 that was a copy of a startup’s debut product!

As the Apple executives pictured this, they could already feel what a catastrophic scenario it would be.

…

Chapter 328: The Packed Offline Store

Meanwhile, day had given way to night in the Eastern Hemisphere.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, it was now around eleven o’clock at night. Fang Hong was in Tian Jiayi’s second-floor bedroom, having just arrived and informed He Xuan that he wouldn’t be returning to the master bedroom for the night.

At this moment, Fang Hong was as still as a statue, motionless as he read through a document. Tian Jiayi, in contrast, was a flurry of motion before him, as energetic as a startled rabbit and as graceful as a swan.

The document was none other than the S1 phone’s development log, which Qin Feng had given to Tian Jiayi. Fang Hong said in surprise, “I never expected the S1 development team to have kept a complete internal video record of the entire process…”

He noted that there were three alternative options for the industrial design, and Qin Feng had been the one to ultimately select the current design for the S1. Fang Hong nodded to himself and smiled. “With this material as proof, even if we can’t guarantee a victory against Apple, we can at least ensure we’re in an unbeatable position.”

Apple’s claims that the S1 was a copy of the iPhone 4 would no longer hold water. Moreover, the S1 had an advantage the iPhone 4 could never match—it was released first. This was now an irrefutable fact, and the public had already formed their first impressions.

Fang Hong was also quite curious about how Apple was reacting at this very moment. They must have learned about the contents of the S1 launch event by now; after all, in the internet age, information travels at the speed of seconds.

Just then, Tian Jiayi snatched the document from his hand and tossed it aside. With a pout, she complained, “You…! Can’t you stop multitasking? You’re so unromantic!”

In a flash, Fang Hong switched from passive to active. “Hold on tight,” he said. “We’re about to speed up. I’m going to take you to the ninth heaven to pluck the stars and grasp the moon!”

He received no reply, for her mind had gone completely blank, unable to even form a thought.

The next day, Friday, March 26th.

Around eight or nine in the morning, after finishing breakfast, Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi walked out of the villa. Two cars were parked outside the main gate. Fang Hong planned to visit Stellar Universe Technology’s official flagship store in Xincheng, as it was its official opening day, a testament to how much he valued the S1.

Tian Jiayi would not be joining him; she was heading to the office.

As they walked toward the gate, Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today, her face radiating pure satisfaction. Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask with a grin, “Looks like the experience of plucking stars and grasping the moon was pretty good.”

Tian Jiayi shot him a mock-annoyed look. “Oh, please…”

Stretching as he walked, Fang Hong said to himself, “I’m quite confident in my waist work. Steady and fast, right?”

Tian Jiayi: “I can’t be bothered with you.”

Once they neared the villa’s main gate, they put an end to their playful banter. They got into their respective cars, Tian Jiayi heading for Stellaris Capital, while Fang Hong had his chauffeur drive him to Stellar Universe Technology’s official flagship store in Xincheng.

After about a half-hour drive, Fang Hong arrived at the flagship store, located in the most bustling commercial district of Xincheng city center. The store was a standalone building with an enormous plaza in front.

It was worth mentioning that all five of Stellar Universe Technology’s official flagship stores were slated to be torn down and rebuilt in the future. The company had hired the renowned master architect Zaha Hadid to design them.

Hadid’s architectural designs were filled with surrealism, earning her the title of “Deconstructivist Master” in the architectural world. Her style was unique among architects, brimming with wild and unrestrained imagination.

Fang Hong got out of the car and walked toward the flagship store alone. The public had no idea he was the actual big boss of Stellaris Capital, nor that he was K-God, a name known to every A-share investor. He could walk down the street without drawing a crowd, so he had no need for bodyguards. Fang Hong quite enjoyed this state of not being the center of attention.

The flagship store was teeming with people, bustling and vibrant. A large number of consumers, mostly young people, had been drawn here by its reputation.

After the launch event, an even more powerful promotional campaign had unfolded as planned. Ads for the S1 phone were plastered all over major cities across the country. They dominated television commercial breaks, and posters for the S1 could be seen in high-traffic areas like subways. Even the city buses running on the streets were wrapped in S1 advertisements.

It had to be said that even consumers who hadn’t watched the launch event were deeply captivated by the phone’s beautiful industrial design when they saw it on the posters.

At this moment, the flagship store was packed to the brim, both inside and out. It took Fang Hong considerable effort to squeeze his way in. On the various counters inside, S1 phones were on display. Each phone was connected to and secured on the counter by a spring-loaded tether with an extremely strong pull, one that even a strong adult couldn’t break.

They were all actual devices, available for consumers to experience firsthand. Every model was there, from the 8GB Standard Edition to the 32GB S1 Plus Edition, in all five colors.

Fang Hong hadn’t arrived late, but many more had come earlier than him. Even after squeezing into the store, he couldn’t get his hands on an actual device, as every phone on the counters was already in someone’s hands.

After a while, Fang Hong stood next to a few young women, joining the onlooking crowd. He stood behind two of them, craning his neck to look left and right.

The woman on the left was holding a white 16GB S1 Plus and discussing it with the friend who had come with her. “These sharp edges, this frame, this glass back… I’ve never seen such a beautiful phone! The camera is amazing too. I want it so badly, I really, really want it!”

The flagship store was filled with a cacophony of discussion, punctuated by frequent gasps of amazement. The most memorable feature of the S1 phone was its unprecedented industrial design—after all, appearance creates the first and most direct impression.

Just then, Fang Hong heard a man in his twenties exclaim excitedly while holding one of the demo phones, “The S1 is definitely the best smartphone on the market right now! The design is gorgeous. I never expected Ode to Gallantry, made with Unreal Engine 3, to be so refined, and I never thought a game like this could run so smoothly on a phone.”

Fang Hong remained silent, listening to the various discussions around him. The domestic market was still Nokia’s territory, filled with flip phones and slider phones. The Android operating system had been updated to version 2.2 this year, but it was extremely prone to crashing, frequent glitches, and lag.

Among the consumers who came to the flagship store, quite a few had Android phones with them, perfectly illustrating the saying: No comparison, no pain.

There were also industry insiders present. One of them remarked with emotion, “The S1 phone may not be the best telephone, but we have long since moved past the era of just making phone calls. I have to admit, it’s currently the best media player phone, an exceptionally excellent camera phone, and a truly remarkable gaming phone on the market.”

This professional had attended the S1 launch event yesterday. At the time, he had scoffed at Qin Feng’s arrogant remarks at the beginning of the conference. But now, he had to concede that this product gave Qin Feng the capital to be arrogant.

Another industry insider experiencing the actual device commented, “I dare to assert that the stunning industrial design puts the S1 phone at the pinnacle of the smartphone industry this year. This design style will likely become a classic in smartphones and lead a new trend in the industry.”

His friend next to him nodded in agreement. “Indeed. This product has pretty much kicked off the use of glass in the phone industry. Although it’s not as drop-resistant or scratch-resistant as metal and plastic, the improvement it brings to the phone’s texture and feel is undeniable. Besides, the material has enormous potential with so much room for imagination. To this day, I still can’t believe this is a domestic creation.”

At that moment, Fang Hong was still craning his neck left and right from behind the two young women. Both of them had managed to get hold of a demo phone. They were trying to make a video call, but they didn’t seem to be very tech-savvy and couldn’t figure it out.

After watching them fumble for a while, Fang Hong, who was peeking from behind, couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Your phone’s Wi-Fi isn’t turned on…”

Hearing his voice, the two women finally noticed someone behind them. They both turned to look, and after a brief moment of eye contact with Fang Hong, they quickly turned back, whispering to each other, “He’s actually handsome…”

Seeing their clumsy attempts, Fang Hong had no choice but to guide them. “You, turn on the Wi-Fi. Right. You turn yours on too. Then tap here, and then here. Wait a moment… okay, it’s ready. Now you tap to accept the call.”

A video call was quickly established between the two demo phones. The women saw each other on their respective screens through the front-facing cameras. After a little while, they glanced back, only to find that Fang Hong, who had been standing behind them, had disappeared. They couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret; if they had known, they would have asked for his QQ number or something.

Fang Hong wandered around the store for a while before leaving. From the feedback on-site, it was clear that the S1 was destined to be a massive seller—a definite case of debuting at the peak. The only remaining question was just how explosive its popularity would be.

The answer would come in a few days, with the first week’s sales figures after the product’s official launch on April 1st.

Chapter 329: The Launch

It wasn’t just the official flagship store in Xincheng that was buzzing with popularity; the offline flagship stores in several other first-tier cities were just as crowded. Even the seventy direct-sale stores in major cities across the country had all opened their doors today as per headquarters’ instructions, welcoming consumers to come in for a hands-on experience.

“Can I buy this phone today?” a consumer holding a device asked an employee inside one of the direct-sale stores. The employee replied apologetically, “I’m very sorry, but we can’t sell this one. The official launch is on April 1st. You’ll just have to wait a few more days.”

The consumer pointed at the S1 demo unit in his hand and said, “But you have it in stock right here, don’t you? Do you people even know how to do business?”

The employee forced a smile and said, “There are rules from headquarters. Besides, sir, if you buy this phone, we won’t have a demo unit left in the store. We need to cooperate with the company’s promotional activities these next few days. If you take it, other customers won’t have a phone to try out.”

The consumer put the phone back and pulled the employee he was speaking with to the side, whispering, “How about this, buddy? Sell me a few under the table, and I’ll give you a two-hundred-yuan kickback. No? Five hundred!”

Hearing this, the employee said helplessly, “Bro, I’d love to make that sale, but I really can’t make that call.”

The consumer immediately said, “Then get your store manager over here.”

The employee explained again, “To be honest, even the manager can’t make that decision. This is a company-owned direct-sale store, not a franchise. Please don’t make things difficult for me. How about this? Leave your phone number with me, and I’ll reserve one for you on the launch day, April 1st.”

At this point, the employee added, “You’ve seen the crowd. With this level of popularity, this phone will probably sell out very quickly.”

Hearing this, the consumer glanced back at the bustling store. He thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense. He had things to do in April and would probably miss out if he came late.

He mulled it over for a moment before nodding and exchanging contact information with the employee.

Then, the consumer suddenly pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into the employee’s hand. The latter was stunned, “Bro, what’s this…?”

He felt that if he didn’t give some money, the employee wouldn’t take it seriously. Who knew if he’d later claim to have forgotten or make some other excuse? Nowadays, if you don’t offer someone a little benefit, why should they give you special treatment? Why should they go out of their way for you? That’s just how a society built on relationships works.

The consumer said calmly, “It’s nothing. Just consider it me treating you to a meal, a token of our new friendship. Remember to call me. Reserve a white one and a pink one for me, the 32GB Plus Edition. I’m counting on you, little bro!”

After a few polite refusals, the employee took the money. Seeing this, the consumer left, relieved and satisfied. Now that money had changed hands, he was sure he wouldn’t have to worry, and it would save him the trouble of scrambling to buy one on launch day.

Evidently, this consumer was well-off and willing to pay for convenience and peace of mind.

Over the next few days, Stellar Universe Technology further intensified its promotional efforts in the run-up to the official launch. The internet was abuzz with related discussions, news feeds were flooded with articles, and advertisements were everywhere offline.

The company’s renown continued to skyrocket, and online searches for Stellar Universe Technology, the S1 phone, and related terms surged exponentially.

It was worth noting that as the S1 went viral online, Qin Feng, as the founder of Stellar Universe Technology and the creator of the product, instantly became a supernova in the tech circle. His photo and name appeared frequently in media reports, his star truly on the rise.

Qin Feng’s fame and soaring influence also indirectly caused Fang Hong’s system Reputation Value to increase substantially. Without having to be a subject of excessive public attention and analysis, his Reputation Value was still shooting up, which was quite delightful.

During this time, Fang Hong had also been keeping an eye on Apple’s activities but found no news.

However, he didn’t believe Apple was doing nothing. They were definitely making moves, most likely discussing and formulating a response strategy. It was inevitable that Stellar Universe Technology and Apple would become adversaries. Various disputes might be delayed, but they would certainly not be absent.

Fang Hong wasn’t worried, though. Apple certainly had the advantage in overseas markets, but in the Greater China region, they were bound to be at a disadvantage. As for the overseas market, Qin Feng wasn’t considering the company’s global expansion path for now.

It would take a considerable amount of time just to fully tap into the massive Mainland market.

On the weekend, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Hu Tao walked out of the house and went to the main gate, where a car was parked. A man got out of the car, took a box out, handed it to Hu Tao, and left after giving her a few instructions.

A short while later, Hu Tao brought the rather large and heavy box into the villa and set it down in the living room.

“Bro Hong, someone delivered a package. They said it’s full of phones. What do you need so many phones for?” Hu Tao asked, puzzled, when she saw Fang Hong in the living room.

Sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, Fang Hong glanced at the box and smiled. “Go get everyone. You can all pick one, whatever style you like.”

Hu Tao’s face lit up with a pleasant surprise. “Huh? Are these for us?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. Hu Tao immediately went to call everyone. Soon, Yifulei, Lin Yun, and the other girls arrived in the living room, and the previously quiet space filled with voices as pleasant as the chirping of orioles.

The phones in the box were all S1-Plus Edition 32GB models. With the salaries they earned working at Tranquil Heart Residence, Lin Yan and the others could certainly afford a phone that cost four to five thousand yuan, but right now, you couldn’t buy one even if you had the money; you needed connections.

What made the girls even happier was that this was a special gift from Bro Hong.

Yesterday, Fang Hong had given Qin Feng a heads-up, asking him to send over about thirty phones. He didn’t know which colors or styles the girls would like, so he had more than enough prepared for them to choose from. The leftovers could just be sent back.

Luo Lan and Lin Yan both chose pink and white, while Lin Yun picked dark purple. No one selected the black or silver-gray models.

A moment later, Lin Yun, holding a pink phone, suddenly approached Fang Hong and whispered to him, “Can you come to my room tonight…?”

Fang Hong replied calmly, “The day after tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Lin Yun nodded with a radiant smile. “The day after tomorrow works too!”

Lin Yan, who had just chosen a phone, saw Lin Yun talking to Fang Hong and was immediately curious, but she didn’t approach them. Once everyone had picked out their phones.

A little while later, Lin Yan saw her younger sister, Lin Yun, leave the living room and head upstairs, and she followed her.

“Sister, what were you just talking to Bro Hong about?” Lin Yan pressed.

“Huh?” Lin Yun was momentarily stunned, then she avoided her sister’s gaze and said, feigning composure, “We weren’t talking about anything…”

“Really nothing?” Lin Yan looked at her younger sister suspiciously.

“What else could we talk about? I was just thanking Bro Hong…” Lin Yun replied, then made an excuse and left. Watching her sister go, Lin Yan felt that she was becoming more and more suspicious.

April 1st, the S1 launch day, arrived as scheduled.

The five official flagship stores and seventy direct-sale stores under Stellar Universe Technology had not yet opened for business, but the areas outside were already packed with people. This was especially true for the five official flagship stores. Today was the launch day, and with less than ten minutes until the sale began, the squares in front of the flagship stores were already lined with queues of over a thousand people each.

Some of these waiting consumers had been here for a day or two, and some had even traveled from other provinces to buy one. Stellar Universe Technology’s offline direct-sale stores did not yet have nationwide coverage, so consumers from cities without a store had come directly to cities that had one to get their hands on the phone.

The consumers queuing to buy the phone right now were, without a doubt, the S1’s first batch of hardcore fans.

In the capital, not far from one of the five flagship stores, a person in a small car watched silently. It was none other than Lei-Jobs. CEO Lei had personally come to “spy” on the intelligence, so to speak.

CEO Lei gazed at the queue of over a thousand people outside the flagship store and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “What an unprecedented sales spectacle…”

There were only a few minutes left until the official start of the sale, but Lei-Jobs didn’t stay. He soon drove away.

Little Mi Phone was also planning to release its first-generation product this year. CEO Lei and the Little Mi team had been studying their formidable competitor, Stellar Universe Technology, for the past few days. They finally came to a conclusion: it would be difficult for Little Mi to compete head-on with Stellar Universe. To quickly gain a foothold, they would have to engage in asymmetric competition.

Stellar Universe’s S1 phone was very expensive and not budget-friendly. Little Mi could choose to target the lower end of the market, focusing on value for money.

This would allow them to avoid direct competition with Stellar Universe. Lei-Jobs believed that the current smartphone industry was a blue ocean, a growth market. They could each capture their share of new users without needing to clash head-on. There would be time to compete when the market became saturated in the future.

At that moment, around 9:00 AM, the five flagship stores and all the direct-sale stores under Stellar Universe Technology opened their doors to customers almost simultaneously. The five flagship stores set off a series of confetti cannons, and the many fans and users present erupted in applause.

The queuing customers entered the stores in an orderly manner. Many media reporters from the tech circle had also come to the five flagship stores to cover this unprecedented sales event.

Chapter 330: Unprecedented Sales Frenzy (Bonus Chapter)

The media personnel and industry insiders who had come to the flagship store to “gather intelligence” were once again taken aback by the crowd. The experience events over the past few days had been wildly popular, suggesting the product might be a big hit.

But they had never expected it to be this popular.

Inside the flagship store, a middle-aged man in the queue, upon his turn, declared with immense bravado, “Give me 500 units of the 32GB Plus Edition, thank you!”

The store employees and the customers queuing behind him were all stunned. A moment later, a chorus of dissatisfied voices rose from the line.

“What the hell? You’re getting 500 phones by yourself? Are you a scalper?”

“Yeah, you must be a scalper, right?”

“Definitely a scalper!”

“Don’t sell to him!”

“This is outrageous, one person buying so many! There are still so many people waiting in line behind!”

Hearing the clamor from behind, the middle-aged man quickly turned around and vehemently denied it, “Everyone, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! How could I be a scalper? I’m buying these for my company, as employee bonuses. Employee bonuses, employee bonuses, haha.”

The customers queuing behind him stared at him with suspicion. Soon, the middle-aged man went to pay. Since Stellar Universe Technology had no purchase limits, the store staff sold him the 500 units. There was no reason not to.

It was worth noting that the company supported a zero-interest installment plan for the phones, but those who paid in full were given priority in receiving their devices. After all, the company needed to recuperate its capital to maintain operations.

A while later, the middle-aged man and the few followers who came with him left the flagship store, each carrying a box, with a total of 500 phones. They loaded them into a vehicle.

Once the three of them were in the car with the doors shut—they were all distant relatives—one of the followers said, “Big Bro, these five hundred phones cost over two point three million. Honestly, I’m a little scared!”

The Big Bro calmly replied, “Don’t panic. Look at the queue outside. It’s almost noon, and there are still over a thousand people waiting to buy. Look for yourself, more people are still rushing over. If you want to make big money, you have to be brave enough to be the first to eat the crab.”

As it turned out, this man was one of the legendary scalpers.

At this, the Big Bro looked back at his follower and said with utter confidence, “I’ve done in-depth research before hoarding these electronics this time. I’m very bullish on them, and I’m certain Stellar Universe Technology will sell out. One of my contacts is even planning to stock up on over 3,000 units. Damn it, if I had enough cash, I’d get a few thousand myself. Stick with me on this deal, and you’re guaranteed to make a profit. Just wait to count the money and get rich.”

After hearing this and looking out the window at the bustling scene, a crowd so dense it was comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush, the followers felt much more at ease. This time, he too had scraped together money from all over to go all-in with his Big Bro.

“Go get some takeout. We’ll stay here and keep an eye on the first day’s foot traffic,” the Big Bro ordered. The follower beside him nodded and eagerly got out of the car to fetch some fast food.

As time ticked by, the group of scalpers sat in their car observing the flagship store’s sales. They stayed until evening, and the Big Bro noticed the line was still long. The explosive sales far exceeded his expectations.

Around 6:50 PM, a follower in the car quickly shook awake the dozing Big Bro, pushing his shoulder and saying, “Bro, bro, look! Why are all the people in the queue dispersing?”

The Big Bro glanced out the window, and hearing his follower’s words, he immediately said, “Go see what’s going on. Just grab a passerby and ask!”

The follower nodded and got out of the car to investigate.

A few moments later, he came running back and said excitedly, “Big Bro, they’re sold out! They’re sold out!”

Hearing this, the Big Bro’s spirits immediately soared. He quickly asked, “Are you sure?”

The follower nodded affirmatively. “Absolutely. I asked several people, and they were all complaining they couldn’t get one. I also went into the store to ask, and they’re really out of stock. Their entire inventory is sold out. They need to transfer more from headquarters tomorrow.”

Another relative in the car said with excitement, “Haha, we’re going to strike it rich this time!”

The follower who had gone to inquire added, “On my way back just now, I heard a few people who didn’t get a phone cursing. Apparently, a lot of people were buying them up by the dozens or hundreds.”

The Big Bro was also surprised to hear this; it seemed there were many others in the same trade.

Soon, he started chatting in a group chat, which was, in fact, a group organized by scalpers like themselves.

Seeing many scalpers in the group showing off their stock, casually mentioning inventories in the thousands, the Big Bro cursed, “What a bunch of animals…”

At least sixty percent of the scalpers in the group had hoarded S1 phones to some extent. The Big Bro estimated that the scalpers in this chat group alone had probably snapped up at least 100,000 units.

Just then, a follower in the car asked anxiously, “Big Bro, since the official store is sold out, can we start selling our stock now?”

All the followers were waiting for the Big Bro’s word. Their method of selling off was simple: hang around the flagship store, spot someone who looked like they wanted to buy a phone, and go up to ask if they wanted an S1…

The Big Bro immediately shot back, “Sell what now? Do you understand what it means to hoard and sell reluctantly? You’ve been staring at this all day and you still haven’t realized how insanely well this thing is selling? Stellar Universe Technology isn’t an established phone manufacturer; they definitely didn’t expect it to sell this well. They certainly didn’t prepare enough inventory. Soon, the market will face a situation where one phone is hard to find. Selling now? Are you an idiot?”

The follower gave a sheepish smile and fell silent. The Big Bro still commanded a great deal of authority and respect, and everyone listened to him.

The Big Bro continued, “Come back here tomorrow and keep watching. And do more research online, see what netizens are saying in their local areas. I also have a few contacts in other cities with whom I have good relations; we’ll exchange information. As for when we start to sell off, just follow my lead!”

The followers nodded repeatedly. If not for the lack of funds, the Big Bro would have wanted to add another 500 units to his stockpile.

…

Not only did the official flagship store in Xincheng sell out on the first day, but so did the other four official flagship stores. The 70 direct-sale stores scattered across the country were also on the verge of selling out. The managers of all the major direct-sale stores were calling headquarters to request more stock.

Even Qin Feng hadn’t anticipated such an unprecedented sales frenzy. He immediately called his financial sponsor to tell Fang Hong about the product’s sales performance.

In response, Fang Hong remained quite calm. With the iPhone 4 yet to be released, the S1 phone had virtually no competition in the Mainland market.

Fang Hong still remembered from his past life that before the iPhone 4 was officially released in the Greater China region, people began buying so-called “grey market goods.” Grey market meant no warranty service, while official goods came with one.

At that time, the transaction price for each iPhone 4 was basically around 10,000 yuan. After the iPhone 4 was released in the Mainland, because supply couldn’t meet the overwhelming demand, the price of grey market phones remained high. For a long time, there were queues of several hundred, even a thousand, people. If you were lucky enough to get one, someone would be willing to buy it from you on the spot for a premium of nearly 4,000 yuan. There were even rumors of people selling their kidneys to buy an iPhone 4.

And now, the sales frenzy that was meant for the iPhone 4 in the Mainland had been intercepted by Stellar Universe Technology’s S1.

The first-mover advantage was on full display.

Now, with the interference of a transmigrator-reincarnator like Fang Hong, Stellar Universe Technology had even introduced a zero-interest installment plan for the phone. People probably wouldn’t have to resort to selling a kidney for a phone anymore, which he considered a way of accumulating some good karma.

During the S1 phone’s launch, Stellar Universe Technology’s advertising blitz was nothing short of extravagant. After receiving the latest five billion in financing from his wealthy backer, Qin Feng had directly allocated a budget of one billion yuan for advertising and promotion, an insanely aggressive move.

But Qin Feng was no fool with too much money. The effect he wanted was to ensure that before Apple’s iPhone 4 came out, every consumer in the country would know that the S1 came first. He had to plant a preconceived notion in the consumers’ minds, to the point that when they saw the iPhone 4, the thought that would instantly pop into their heads would be, “Isn’t this the S1 phone? So the iPhone 4 copied our domestic S1.”

If he could achieve that effect, no amount of money would be too much.

Therefore, Qin Feng placed extreme importance on promotion and spared no expense in the advertising blitz. His order was to immediately arrange for S1 ads to appear in any place that could run advertisements but hadn’t been occupied yet!

It could be said that advertisements for the Stellar Universe S1 phone were currently ubiquitous in major cities across the Mainland: ads in elevators, on subway lines, on buses, on satellite TV stations, on billboards, on ad spaces across major internet platforms…

The general public was bound to encounter an S1 ad in one scenario or another. This was the power of a one-billion-yuan advertising budget.

And if the budget wasn’t enough, it could be increased.

After the major flagship stores sold out on the first day of sales, they began replenishing their stock from the headquarters’ inventory overnight. As the consumers who failed to get a phone dispersed, they discussed online and discovered that all of Stellar Universe Technology’s offline stores and its official flagship store on Jingdong had sold out.

Some of the quicker and more ruthless consumers turned right back around to get in line first. As a result, in the middle of the night, there were actually two to three hundred people queuing outside the flagship store, prepared to wait all night.

…

Chapter 331: Flagship Phones Sell Out and Scalpers Go Wild

The next morning.

The official flagship store in Xincheng had not yet opened its doors, but eight or nine hundred people were already lined up in the square outside. By around eight o’clock, the number had surpassed one thousand and was rapidly growing.

As the nine o’clock opening time approached, the queue of eager consumers had swelled to two thousand people, a scene even more exaggerated than on the first day of sales.

The reason was the news that had fermented overnight. Related online forums and chat groups were all saying that the local direct-sale stores for the S1 had sold out. Consumers who wanted to buy and enjoy the phone as soon as possible grew anxious at this sight, afraid they wouldn’t be able to get one, so they all rushed over to buy it. This created a situation even more frenzied than the day before.

The store employees were stunned by the scene and hurriedly notified the flagship store’s General Manager. Upon seeing the situation, the General Manager immediately called headquarters to request an urgent shipment of more stock.

At this rate, the inventory they had brought in overnight would definitely be snatched up in no time.

As time went on, the news began to report on consumers queuing overnight to buy the S1 phone, and pictures of the lines were being shared online by all sorts of gossiping netizens.

The buzz and discussion around the S1 phone remained incredibly high, and many people on Weibo were showing off the phones they had just managed to get their hands on.

Only a day had passed, and many on Weibo were already discussing and sharing their experiences. Some who had bought the phone on the first day were sharing their impressions. One high school student shared the story of his father giving him a brand-new S1-Plus phone that he had just bought yesterday.

When he brought the phone to school today, it caused everyone in his class to crowd around. He felt like he was the coolest kid in the entire class.

Indeed, at this moment, especially in schools, the S1 phone was like a god-tier device in the eyes of many students. Anyone who had an S1 would be surrounded and become an object of envy.

Even pulling out an S1 phone on the subway or bus would draw gazes from other passengers. That subtle feeling of flexing made spending several thousand yuan feel completely worth it.

The current situation was that if anyone nearby pulled out a brand-new S1 phone, they would quickly become the envy of everyone present.

When this unprecedented sales frenzy and the news of people queuing overnight were reported, numerous industry insiders were left with their jaws on the floor. It was truly outrageous that such an expensive product had sparked a buying panic.

After all, Nokia currently held about seventy percent of the mobile phone market share. The price of the S1, especially the flagship S1-Plus, was much, much higher than Nokia’s phones. Yet, thousands upon thousands of consumers were willing to spend a great deal of money to buy this newly designed, revolutionary smartphone.

…

Around 9 PM that evening, Stellar Universe Technology released an announcement: the company’s flagship model, the S1-Plus, was sold out. The Plus Edition, whether in its 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB variants, was completely gone.

As soon as the news broke, the investment and technology worlds were in an uproar, utterly shocked.

The most expensive flagship model was the first to sell out?

However, Stellar Universe Technology did not release specific sales figures. The reason for the stock-out was the previously low production capacity. And this was after Fang Hong had suggested focusing on the flagship and increasing its production.

Not announcing the sales data for specific models also left room for outside speculation.

Although they had adjusted their strategy to focus on the flagship, it wasn’t as if they could instantly ramp up production capacity. OEM partners like BYD and other upstream and downstream supply chain companies had received the new orders and were now burning the midnight oil, working around the clock.

This insane sales craze made everyone realize that a startup from the Mainland’s smartphone industry was on the rise. Various figures in the investment world were once again prostrating themselves in admiration of Stellaris Capital’s vision, and they were green with envy.

Stellar Universe Technology was unequivocally a rising star in the tech industry, with the potential to become an industry giant.

Stellaris Capital was on track to make a killing!

The explosive sales of this first-generation product looked to be heading toward the ten-million-unit mark in annual sales.

During the pre-launch publicity, industry insiders thought Stellar Universe Technology was heading for a crash. After the stunning debut at the press conference, they thought the product would probably succeed. But upon hearing the exorbitant price, they felt that while the product was amazing, its price might relegate it to a niche market.

From the launch until today, the industry insiders finally realized they had managed to avoid every single correct answer; all their predictions had been wrong.

Of course!

The industry insiders would never admit their predictions were wrong. This is what you call “exceeding expectations”!

…

As time went on, on the morning of Saturday, April 4th, Stellar Universe Technology made another blockbuster announcement that shocked the industry: in the first three days, a total of 1.72 million units of all S1 phone models were sold, combining online and offline sales in the Greater China region!

This news once again made countless jaws in the investment world and among competitors drop to the floor.

It was selling like crazy, absolutely insane!

And after three days, the demand still far outstripped supply. Many people were still queuing outside specialty stores, even sleeping on the streets, just for a chance to get their hands on this phone.

This explosive sales phenomenon also led to reports from major overseas media outlets. Besides being amazed by the S1’s popularity, foreign media were even more astonished by the purchasing power of the Greater China market.

It could be said that the S1’s pricing and the buying frenzy had given the world a preliminary glimpse of this market’s consumption potential.

Apple still remained silent, but that didn’t mean they were inactive. When the news reached them, Apple was probably crying itself unconscious in the bathroom. At the same time, they were stepping up their efforts to gather materials to sue Stellar Universe Technology.

Right now, Apple was about to lose its mind!

…

Over the weekend, the news of scalpers frantically hoarding S1 phones became a hot topic. Many scalpers were flexing online, hoarding massive amounts of stock and posting pictures on the internet.

In reality, the scalpers weren’t just flexing. What looked like showing off was actually a signal to the market: I’ve got stock! Want to buy one? You can, but you’ll have to pay more!

The scalpers’ arrogance and flexing also triggered a torrent of condemnation and curses from consumers. However, while cursing, many people for whom money is no object were privately contacting the scalpers. A little extra money was no big deal.

But more consumers flocked to Stellar Universe Technology’s official Weibo account, leaving comments and sending private messages, hoping the company would do something about the scalpers.

…

On the weekend afternoon, Tian Jiayi returned to the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

She was currently sitting with Fang Hong, reporting on some work matters. Finally, she brought up Stellar Universe Technology. “The sales of the S1 phone have been incredibly explosive. The issue of scalpers hoarding for speculation has become a hot topic these past two days. Qin Feng introduced some restrictive measures against scalpers today.”

Fang Hong asked curiously, “What measures?”

Tian Jiayi said, “Around two o’clock this afternoon, Qin Feng posted a blog post on his personal Weibo account warning the scalpers. He also stipulated that, effective immediately, each customer would be limited to purchasing only one phone per day.”

While scalpers hoarding large quantities of stock could certainly produce impressive sales figures, and from that perspective, Stellar Universe Technology was guaranteed to profit, that wasn’t the whole story. The main reason Qin Feng couldn’t tolerate scalpers was that it would hinder the construction of the TOS system’s ecosystem. Building the TOS ecosystem required a user base, which meant the phones had to be in the hands of users, not hoarded in large quantities.

Stellar Universe Technology had just released its first-generation product, and what it needed most was to rapidly expand its user base. This affected the company’s negotiating power with third-party developers. Only by increasing the user base could the surge in downloads for apps developed on their platform attract more third-party developers to the TOS ecosystem.

Tian Jiayi said, “The S1’s flagship model sold out early. In the last two days, the 32GB S1-Plus Plus Edition has been driven up to 8,000 yuan by scalpers, and it’s still hard to get one. Many netizens have jokingly dubbed it the ‘’Pay-More’ Edition’—as in, paying with cash. But with the one-phone-per-person-per-day limit, the inflated price should come back down.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong shook his head with a faint smile. He glanced at his beautiful assistant and said slowly, “Using purchase limits to crack down on scalpers is the right move, but the root of the problem is that production capacity hasn’t caught up. Once the capacity is there and the supply is sufficient, scalpers will have no profit to make and naturally won’t hoard.”

Fang Hong added, “Qin Feng’s move won’t be very effective. If I were a scalper, since it’s one phone per person per day, I would just buy them from consumers at a high price and then sell them for an even higher price. As long as your shipments are still in a state of supply-not-meeting-demand, the purchase restriction will only cause the price to be pushed even higher. The logic is simple: I spent more money buying it back from a consumer, but I certainly won’t be the one to bear that cost. I’ll pass it on to the next consumer in need. And the general public has a mentality of buying when the price is rising, not when it’s falling.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but be taken aback. “The S1-Plus Plus Edition is already being sold for 8,000 yuan. Based on what you’re saying, won’t it be driven up to the sky-high price of 10,000 yuan after a while?”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Even more expensive. It could go up to thirteen thousand or even fifteen thousand.”

Hearing this price, the beautiful assistant was so astonished she was at a loss for words. A flagship phone with an official price of 4,699 yuan could be scalped to the astronomical price of 15,000 yuan? That was too insane.

This prediction from Fang Hong was not without basis. He was benchmarking it against the situation when the iPhone 4 was released in the Mainland in his previous life. It was also driven up to 15,000 yuan by scalpers. The price only fell back to six or seven thousand six months after the official release, but even then, it was still over two thousand more than the official price. Scalpers could still make a profit after the stock changed hands once.

…

Chapter 332: First Week’s Sales Figures Released

As long as market demand outstripped supply and Stellar Universe Technology’s production capacity couldn’t keep up, Qin Feng’s efforts to crack down on scalpers hoarding inventory wouldn’t have much of a substantial effect. He could only watch as the scalpers snatched a piece of the pie from Stellar Universe Technology.

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and said, “Since cracking down on scalpers will only fuel further price speculation, should we tell Qin Feng to stop?”

“No, don’t!” Fang Hong, who was crossing one’s legs, immediately raised a hand to stop her. He then placed his hands on his knees and said with an air of ease, “What Qin Feng is doing is right. If the company doesn’t crack down on scalpers, consumers will suspect and accuse you of colluding with them to rip off the general public. We can’t take the blame for that.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi suddenly realized the truth and couldn’t help but nod to herself. “That makes sense. Suppressing scalpers is still very necessary.”

Fang Hong said calmly, “Whether suppressing scalpers is effective isn’t important. What’s important is that you’ve taken action. You need to let the consumers see that the company is intervening and cracking down in a timely manner. That way, you’ll never be the scapegoat. As for being unable to suppress them, that’s another matter entirely. In any case, if someone is willing to pay fifteen thousand for it, it’s not the poor who are getting ripped off.”

The beautiful assistant looked at him and said with a smile, “You’re still the shrewdest…”

After a while, Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “It’s been ten days since the press conference and product launch, yet Apple hasn’t reacted at all. Was your intelligence wrong?”

With that, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong curiously. The fact that Apple hadn’t made a single move so far left her deeply perplexed.

Logically, they should have been furious by now.

Fang Hong replied nonchalantly, “What reaction could there be? It’s not that they don’t want to react, but how can they? Jump out now? What about the iPhone 4? It hasn’t even been released yet. What’s more, Stellar Universe Technology has no plans for global expansion right now, and the patents in the Mainland were registered long ago.”

At this point, Fang Hong added, “My guess is that the reason Apple hasn’t jumped out yet is that they’ve realized it would be very difficult to win an infringement lawsuit against Stellar Universe Technology. You could say they’re caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but say, “From the sound of it, wouldn’t Apple be bursting with frustration?”

The S1 phone and the iPhone 4 were very similar, but not identical. For instance, the S1 phone lacked the Home button of the iPhone series, replacing it with a virtual key. The front and back of the phone were perfectly smooth and sleek, without any indentations. It also had a larger screen-to-body ratio, and its volume and power buttons were different from the iPhone 4.

If a lawsuit were to happen, Apple’s chances of winning would be extremely low.

Just then, Fang Hong mused to himself, “But this doesn’t mean we can rest easy. Apple is definitely frustrated, but I doubt they’ll do nothing. I’m not worried about normal competition. What I’m truly concerned about is some trouble brewing on the patent front…”

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong, puzzled, but he didn’t elaborate. The matter reminded Fang Hong of the “Qualcomm” trademark dispute from his past life, an intellectual property case with very deep waters.

There was no shortage of people who would side with outsiders against their own. If Stellar Universe Technology encountered a similar situation, it was possible they could fall victim to someone’s dirty tricks.

Finally, Fang Hong put his thoughts aside and turned to Tian Jiayi, asking, “What’s the situation with Hua Yu? How is Qunxing’s progress in connecting with the central state-owned enterprises and institutions?”

Tian Jiayi was momentarily taken aback by his sudden change of topic but quickly replied, “He’s pushing it forward. He left Xincheng a few days ago and is currently on a business trip in the capital, working on this full-time.”

Fang Hong said decisively, “As soon as possible. Tell him my requirement is simple: this matter must be settled by the end of the year.”

How to deal with certain people’s dirty tricks?

Fang Hong had no intention of engaging in any high-level business strategy or negotiation with such people, especially those who would side with outsiders. He only needed to do one thing: bring an entity into Stellaris Capital with power so immense it was practically untouchable. Then, they wouldn’t dare try anything.

This world was all about picking on the weak. As long as Stellaris Capital was connected with the relevant National Team institutions directly managed by the State Council, it would be anything but a soft target.

Tian Jiayi said, “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

Fang Hong nodded, then changed the subject again. “We can put the listing of Stellar Universe Technology on the agenda.”

As many companies under the Qunxing ecosystem as possible had to be listed on the A-share market. This was Fang Hong’s grand strategy to build the Qunxing ecosystem’s core assets in the A-share market.

However, even with so many high-quality assets listed, the A-share market index would almost certainly remain forever at 3000 points. It was 3000 now, and it would still be 3000 ten years from now.

If it didn’t grow taller, it could only mean it had grown wider and heavier.

Whether the index rose or not didn’t prevent individual stocks from having a bull market. The continuous listing of Qunxing ecosystem’s subsidiaries would, in the future, provide retail investors in the A-share market a place to genuinely practice value investing.

As subsidiaries of the Qunxing ecosystem successively landed on the A-share market, some public funds would inevitably launch on-exchange or off-exchange funds specifically holding the Qunxing ecosystem’s core assets. In other words, they would act as market capitalization management and market makers. This was also why Fang Hong was sharing the pie with other capital parties; they had to do the work to get on board and obtain shares cheaper than those in the secondary market.

Tian Jiayi looked surprised. “So soon? Are we still opting for a backdoor listing?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yes. We’ll aim to have Stellar Universe Technology complete its backdoor listing by 2011, or 2012 at the latest. Putting it on the agenda now is neither too early nor too late. The timing is just right.”

Stellar Universe Technology’s equity design used an A/B shares structure, which meant it couldn’t be directly listed on the domestic stock market unless the equity design was changed. Fang Hong wouldn’t mind since Stellaris Capital already held an 80% absolute controlling stake in Stellar Universe Technology, but Qin Feng would definitely not agree, as it would mean losing his influence.

However, when they accepted the first round of financing from Stellaris Capital, Fang Hong had told him plainly that if Stellar Universe Technology survived, it would be listed on the A-share market in the future, and Qin Feng had agreed.

Before the listing, the company would undergo a restructuring. The method was to establish another shell company with an A/B share structure. The equity held by Stellaris Capital, Qin Feng, and his team in Stellar Universe Technology would be valued and transferred into this shell company. This new company would then become the holding company of Stellar Universe Technology. After that, Stellar Universe Technology would abolish its A/B share structure to meet listing requirements, allowing it to go public on the A-share market through a backdoor listing.

The shell company would become the parent company of Stellar Universe Technology, holding absolute control over it.

This meant that Qin Feng and Stellaris Capital would first reach a consensus at the holding shell company level, and then they would vote unanimously on matters concerning Stellar Universe Technology through the holding shell company. In essence, the control of Stellar Universe Technology was moved up to the holding shell company, allowing the actual operating entity, Stellar Universe Technology, to go public.

…

April 8th, Thursday.

At around 9:30 this morning, Stellar Universe Technology’s official Weibo account published a new blog post, officially announcing the total sales figures for its debut product, the S1 phone, in its first week of release.

Total first-week sales for the standard and Plus Editions: 3.05 million units!

This was another figure that shocked industry peers and VC firms. Selling 3.05 million units in a single week was a number that no analyst dared to predict—a staggering sales myth!

The news dominated the internet that day. Currently, almost all the trending topics online were about this. Nearly half a month had passed since the press conference at the end of March, yet Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone remained a hot topic online, with discussions showing no signs of dying down.

When the news was announced, the A-share market had just opened for about three to five minutes. Goertek, which had risen by six percent the previous day, opened slightly lower today. In the first few minutes of trading, it experienced a minor pullback, but then its stock price began to shoot up in a straight line.

In just half a minute, Goertek’s stock price surged to 32.99 yuan per share, an increase of +9.99%, sealing the limit-up board tightly and setting a new historical high for its stock price.

Stellar Universe Technology’s debut product was selling like crazy, and Goertek, as one of its suppliers, also benefited, along with other companies in the upstream and downstream supply chain. This was a tangible boost to their performance. Goertek’s stock had been on a strong upward trend ever since the S1 phone’s press conference.

From the press conference to now, Goertek’s stock price had already risen by 50 percent. Its gain for the year was close to 80 percent, and calculated from when the Shanghai Composite Index bottomed out at 1660 points, its cumulative increase had reached +476%.

At this stage, Goertek’s stock price was on a mid-uptrend trajectory, a true bull stock. Securing orders from Stellar Universe Technology had opened up expectations for greater performance, and the S1’s sales once again exceeded market expectations, meaning Goertek’s orders would surely increase.

Thus, its stock price reacted swiftly today, with various funds in the market snapping up shares, pushing it directly to the limit-up.

…

Chapter 333: Managing the Market Capitalization of Qunxing Ecosystem Companies

Fang Hong’s institutional account also held Goertek. He had entered the stock in early September of last year and had executed a few weekly-level day trades during the continuation of an uptrend.

From early September of last year to its limit-up today, the stock had accumulated gains of nearly two hundred percent. Thanks to his day trades, Fang Hong’s position now had a return of +312%, significantly outperforming the stock’s own appreciation.

All sorts of institutions were now extremely bullish on Goertek, flocking to conduct research on the company. After all, having secured orders from Stellar Universe Technology meant its performance this year was guaranteed to surge.

Landing orders from Stellar Universe Technology didn’t just bring in more volume; most importantly, the profit margins on these orders were far above the industry average. This gave Goertek enormous potential for its performance this year, and the capital market was willing to grant it a higher valuation. Reflected in the stock price, this meant a continuous sharp rise, with shares being snapped up until they hit the limit-up.

…

In the afternoon, in the second-floor study of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Tian Jiayi, sitting in a nearby chair, reported on the contents of Qin Feng’s financial report: “Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product has been a massive success. Based on the first week’s sales data, the total sales for 2010 are expected to reach between 16.5 million and 18 million units.”

Given the current red-hot sales, this forecast was not an overestimation. For the entire year, the S1 phone would have no competitors in the Mainland market.

Of course, this was all contingent on production capacity.

Tian Jiayi continued, “According to Qin Feng’s estimates, if we calculate based on a year-end total sales volume of 18 million units, the company’s annual profit could reach 24.5 to 30 billion yuan, with a profit margin of around 35%.”

Fang Hong nodded without a word.

Stellar Universe Technology was on track to generate over 70 billion in revenue this year, with an expected profit approaching 30 billion. Such high value-added profit was the hallmark of a true high-tech company.

Tian Jiayi went on, “However, according to Qin Feng’s report, his plan is to invest 20 billion of the profits into R&D this year, compressing the company’s overall net profit margin to around seven percent, or about 6 billion.”

Stellar Universe Technology’s technological foundation still had a significant gap compared to established tech giants like Apple. There was a lot of catching up to do, and Qin Feng was clearly planning to pursue a path of domestic substitution, hoping to achieve complete autonomy in many key technological areas.

With the hefty profits from the S1 to back them up, Stellar Universe Technology had the confidence to invest in R&D and chip design. Pouring the money they earned back into R&D to enhance the company’s core technological competitiveness was something Fang Hong was very pleased with.

Never mind Qin Feng compressing the net profit to seven percent; even if the net profit was negative seven percent, Fang Hong wouldn’t object as long as the money was being poured into technological R&D.

A negative net profit would mean the company was losing money despite being so profitable, but that didn’t matter. They could always raise funds from the capital market. The backdoor listing of Stellar Universe Technology on the A-share market was already on the schedule.

The company’s first-generation product was a massive success, but it was far from time to rest on their laurels. If the Americans decided to exert a stranglehold, the current favorable situation could quickly be undone.

Fortunately, things in the US weren’t that tense yet. Although their attention on the great eastern nation was steadily increasing, they didn’t yet view it as their primary competitor.

For the next five years, Stellar Universe Technology still had time to “develop.”

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said, “Taking the path of domestic substitution is the right move. I fully support his strategy. But also tell Qin Feng to keep a low profile. Lie low, and when you strike, make it a blockbuster. Don’t act, but when you do, make it a decisive blow!”

Being too high-profile might attract sanctions from the US ahead of schedule.

After noting this down, Tian Jiayi shifted topics, “There has been a breakthrough in the backdoor listing of the Weibo subsidiary. The restructuring with Dasheng Shares is progressing, and Dasheng Shares will resume trading tomorrow, Friday.”

Fang Hong said, “I don’t care how those investment institutions who got on board play around, but their duty is to act as market makers—that was the condition for them getting in at a low price. They must properly manage the market capitalization of the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies. In the future, when other high-quality underlying assets go public, they’ll be sure to get a piece of the pie.”

So-called “market maker” and “market capitalization management” were just other ways of saying “stock manipulation,” or more politely, being a “benevolent market maker.”

To put it more bluntly, Fang Hong required these institutions to stabilize the stock prices of the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies. He didn’t care about the short-term speculative volatility that caused sharp rises and falls, but the stock price had to correspond to the company’s upward growth curve. This meant that if anyone deliberately tried to suppress the valuation of a listed Qunxing company in the future, these institutions, as friends and a community of shared interests with Qunxing, had to step in and push the valuation back up.

In the A-share market, capital was divided into different factions and cliques.

Fang Hong intended to build the “Qunxing ecosystem” concept in the secondary market. Proper market capitalization management for his listed companies was essential. If left unattended, hostile parties could suppress the company’s stock price in the secondary market, especially after five years when foreign capital would be allowed into the A-share market.

This was similar to how many high-quality state-owned enterprise (SOE) listed companies were given incredibly low P/E ratios, while private enterprises were given very high ones. Although many listed SOEs were indeed mediocre and should even be delisted, there was undeniably a force in the market suppressing the overall valuation of SOEs. Over time, this had ingrained in investors’ minds that SOEs deserved such low valuations, preventing state-owned assets from being revitalized and allowing them to be bought out cheaply by foreign capital.

Similarly, Fang Hong considered that Stellaris Capital might face a similar situation in the future. He couldn’t allow anyone to suppress the asset prices of the Qunxing ecosystem. This required uniting a group of institutions as strategic partners to act as market makers, which was why he was sharing the cake with them. Otherwise, why would he share a guaranteed win with them? There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

…

Around 8:00 PM, Dasheng Shares released a series of announcements, which quickly propelled the stock to the top of the popularity charts. Investors flocked to watch, especially those holding the stock.

Clicking on the Dasheng Shares stock, investors saw that the company had released a cluster of nine major announcements today, such as the “Explanatory Statement on the Plan for Major Asset Swap, Issuance of Shares for Asset Purchase, and募集配套资金暨关联交易,” the “Plan for Major Asset Swap, Issuance of Shares for Asset Purchase, and募集配套资金暨关联交易 (Revised Draft),” and the “Indicative Announcement on the Resumption of Company Stock Trading,” among others.

Among them, the one that investors, particularly retail investors holding the stock, cared about most was the announcement on the resumption of trading.

According to the “Decision on Approving the Resumption of Listing of Dasheng Culture Co., Ltd. Stock” from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Dasheng Shares would resume trading from April 9, 2010. On the first trading day of its resumed listing (April 9, 2010), the company’s A-share stock would not have a price fluctuation limit. Starting from the next trading day after resumption, the stock’s daily price fluctuation limit would be 10%.

The shareholders were ecstatic. They hadn’t expected the first day of resumed trading to be without a price limit. This meant they didn’t have to count the limit-ups; the positive news of the restructuring could be cashed in on the same day.

It was worth noting that for listed companies undergoing a backdoor listing and restructuring, upon resuming trading after a suspension, some had price limits on the first day while others didn’t. The two situations mainly depended on the specific approval from the regulatory authorities.

Unlike the pure bullshit Dongbai Supermarket had peddled with its restructuring concept story, Dasheng Shares, according to today’s announcements, had successfully completed its restructuring. It was a true case of a pheasant transforms into a phoenix.

However, the backdoor listing of the Weibo subsidiary wouldn’t be that quick. After trading resumed tomorrow, Dasheng Shares’ security name would remain the same. It had not yet been formally renamed. Once the backdoor listing was fully completed, the name Dasheng Shares would definitely be changed.

That night, the comment section of the Dasheng Shares stock forum was buzzing. Investors who had missed out on the rally were green with envy, while those holding the stock were too excited to sleep. The prize would be drawn tomorrow!

Investors were all discussing and predicting how much Dasheng Shares would rise at the opening.

The night passed, and April 9, Friday, arrived. The last trading day of the week began as scheduled.

Retail investors holding Dasheng Shares had opened their computers long before the market opened, switching to the stock’s intraday market data and patiently waiting for the day’s opening bell.

…

Chapter 334: A Taotie Feast for Shareholders

The call auction hadn’t started yet, but Dasheng Shares’ popularity was already soaring, topping the charts for individual stocks across both exchanges and staying there. This immense attention indicated that all kinds of capital in the market were watching this stock closely.

As 9:15 AM arrived, the A-share market officially entered the call auction phase.

The price of Dasheng Shares was immediately pushed to 45.67 yuan per share, a gain of +600.46%, bringing its total market capitalization to 24.159 billion yuan. Investors were stunned when they saw this opening bid. The retail investors who held the stock were yelling with glee in front of their screens, while those who had missed out were green with envy.

The most miserable of all were the investors who had sold the day before the trading suspension. Seeing the price now, they were kicking themselves with regret.

To have never owned it was merely envy, but to have owned it and left right before the dawn was truly infuriating.

Seeing this bid was like a knife to the heart.

Many investors marveled at the 45.67 yuan bid price—it was a perfect straight!

As time passed, around 9:18 AM, Dasheng Shares’ bid price began to fall, dipping to the 40 yuan level as some of the initial bid orders started to be canceled.

According to the rules of the call auction, investors could place and cancel bids in the five minutes between 9:15 AM and 9:20 AM. However, in the following five minutes, from 9:20 AM to 9:25 AM, investors could still place bids, but these orders could not be canceled.

Therefore, during the ten-minute call auction period, the bids in the first five minutes were often misleading, while the bids in the final five minutes were backed by hard cash.

As the clock ticked past 9:20 AM, any bids placed in the next five minutes were final. At the end, they would all be matched for execution based on the principles of price priority and time priority.

As the minutes and seconds ticked by, the bid price for Dasheng Shares continued to fall, making its holders a little anxious. They watched their profits shrink rapidly—in just a few minutes, their gains had been cut by more than half.

With one minute left until the end of the call auction, the price had dropped to 36.25 yuan, a gain of +455.98%. Compared to its peak price, the potential gains had been slashed by an immense amount.

This continuous decline in the bid price also tempted some retail investors who held the stock to sell.

At 9:25 AM, the result of the call auction for Dasheng Shares was announced. It opened high at a final price of 34.56 yuan, a +430.06% increase, giving the company a total market capitalization of 18.282 billion yuan, or approximately 2.68 billion US dollars, disregarding exchange rate fluctuations.

A moment later, major stock market apps sent out a push notification:

[Dasheng Shares resumes trading with an opening price increase of over 4x, current market cap exceeds 18.2 billion yuan]

The news pushed by the apps attracted even more investors to come and watch. The opening price of Dasheng Shares was another set of sequential numbers, a detail many investors noticed and actively discussed in the stock forum’s comment section.

[Holy shit, it opened more than 4.3 times higher! That’s equivalent to seventeen and a half consecutive limit-ups, all in one day…]

[This is insane!]

[Did the restructuring succeed?]

[I’m so jealous.jpg]

[I don’t get it. Why did Dongbai Supermarket have a price fluctuation limit when it resumed trading, but Dasheng Shares doesn’t?]

[Whoever holds this stock is literally getting rich overnight.]

[I already sold during the call auction. I originally bought this stock to bet on a technical rebound, but I never expected to get this lucky. Fortune just came knocking and wouldn’t be denied. A four-fold gain is more than enough for me. Wishing those who are staying good fortune!]

[Are the market makers morons? Opening it this high, who’s going to pump up the price for you? They’re not leaving any premium on the table. Only a fool would be left holding the bag.]

[An opening price of 34.56… interesting. The main players really know how to play the game!]

[This is a feast for the shareholders. Don’t be the one left holding the bag!]

In the stock forum’s comment section, an investor with the ID “Go with the Flow” replied to a post: [What’s there to be scared of? Just go for it! The potential of Weibo is right there for everyone to see. According to the latest announcement, registered users have already reached a massive 130 million. Internet companies like NetEase and Baidu aren’t even listed on the A-share market. This stock has a rare scarcity value in the A-shares market. It definitely has the potential for a tenfold increase or more. Plus, with all this sentiment, I’ve already gone in with half my position during the call auction. I plan to go all-in today!]

[You’re not afraid of dying, are you? Going in at such a high price, and with a full position too. A classic chump.]

[Go with the Flow//reply: Excuse me, I’ve already doubled my money this year. I completely agree with what K-God said on Weibo about the leading stock strategy: ‘The psychological barrier to buying a leading stock is that it has already risen a lot, so people always want to buy something cheaper. Experience proves this to be a tragic mistake. Only by overcoming fear and daring to buy the leader, and only the brave, deserve to feast on huge profits.’]

[Did K-God say that? When?]

[The leading stock strategy is incredible!]

[Go with the Flow//reply: Anyway, I already snapped up shares with half my position during the call auction. If I like what I see, I go for it. If there’s a dip during trading hours that hits my entry point, I’ll go all-in with the other half. With this stock’s current popularity and the scarcity of its kind, it’s definitely going to hit the limit and a new high tomorrow. The short-term potential is huge. Short-term trading is like a one-night stand. It’s like when you hire a prostitute; you just pick the prettiest one, right? Are you going to care how many guys she’s been with before? You just go for it!]

[Hahaha]

[A strange analogy, but so vivid. I’m speechless!]

[I wonder if K-God will trade this stock. If K-God shows up, I’m definitely following the car. Let’s see today’s Dragon-Tiger List. This stock will definitely be on it.]

[K-God won’t be coming. Didn’t you see his Weibo? He said a long time ago he wouldn’t touch this stock.]

…

At 9:30 AM, the A-share market officially opened for continuous trading.

Dasheng Shares, which was under the close watch of retail investors, hot money, and even institutional investors, went into a straight nosedive right at the open, accompanied by a staggering massive volume of trades.

In just about a minute after the market opened, the stock price plummeted from its opening price of 34.56 yuan to 30.50 yuan. The intra-day gain narrowed to +367.79%, and those who bought during the call auction were instantly looking at an unrealized loss of over 11 percent.

The stock price continued to dive, soon breaking below the 30 yuan mark.

About five minutes into the opening, the price plunged to 27.64 yuan, with the intra-day gain narrowing to +323.92%. From its opening price, it had created an intra-day drop of -20.02%. Those who bought during the call auction suffered a massive 20% loss in just five minutes.

As for the shareholders who didn’t sell during the call auction, their profits had been cut by more than half in a matter of minutes. Many of them couldn’t handle such volatility and began to sell off to lock in their remaining profits.

The intra-day volatility was truly terrifying!

At that moment, Fang Hong was also watching this stock. After all, it was his own company, and the first one under Stellaris Capital to achieve a backdoor listing. He had been observing since the call auction.

Just as the price of Dasheng Shares fell to 27.64 yuan, it triggered the intra-day temporary trading suspension mechanism.

This was a new rule introduced in July of the previous year. Firstly, the basis for implementing a temporary suspension was changed to the percentage change of the intra-day transaction price from the opening price, instead of the difference between the intra-day gain and the opening gain. Secondly, a two-tier suspension mechanism was implemented: a 30-minute halt for intra-day gains or losses reaching or exceeding 20% and 50% respectively. Thirdly, the rule requiring a risk-warning announcement when the intra-day turnover rate reached 80% was abolished.

When the price of Dasheng Shares dropped to 27.64 yuan, it triggered the first-tier suspension mechanism. At 9:36:23 AM, trading was temporarily halted. The suspension would last for half an hour, with trading scheduled to resume at 10:06:24 AM.

At this moment, Dasheng Shares was suspended from trading. No buying or selling was possible, but orders could be placed. However, once an order was placed, it could not be canceled until the very moment trading resumed.

In most cases, if a buy order was placed above the current price or a sell order was placed below it, there would be no time to cancel. This was because a block of trades would be matched centrally the instant trading resumed. As long as a buy order was higher than the market price and a sell order was lower, the trade would almost certainly be executed instantly.

With Dasheng Shares now in a temporary-day halt, its total market capitalization at the current price was 14.6 billion RMB, equivalent to about 2.14 billion US dollars.

So far, Dasheng Shares’ daily trading volume had already reached over 600 million yuan. On its previous trading day, the volume was only around 25 million yuan. To have over 600 million yuan in turnover in just six minutes was, by all accounts, a staggering massive volume.

…

Chapter 335: The Main Force is Showing Off Its Control

Although Dasheng Shares was temporarily halted from intra-day trading for half an hour, the stock’s popularity soared, securing the top spot on the popularity charts for individual stocks across both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. The discussions in the stock’s forum comment section were also incredibly heated.

[Damn it, I should’ve sold during the call auction. My profit pulled back by more than 100% in five minutes. It hurts so much!]

[I sold right at the call auction. Made over four times my money on this wave. So satisfying, haha!]

[I’m holding the bag, stuck at the high ground of 34.56. I feel like an idiot!]

[You’re incredible, daring to buy at that price. How does it feel to be lonely at the top?]

[Holy crap, my damn itchy fingers placed a buy order and now it’s non-cancellable. I’m so screwed. I really want to chop my hands off. Why are orders placed during a temporary halt non-cancellable? This mechanism is so idiotic!]

[You jumped in without even understanding the rules. If you don’t lose money, who will? A classic chump!]

[Where’s that ‘Stock God’ who went half-in during the morning call auction? You doing okay? Did you go all-in with the other half yet? A chump is a chump. Still trying to flex on me here. This is killing me!]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: No rush. When it resumes trading in half an hour, there will definitely be a sharp downward plunge. I’ll go all-in with my remaining half-position then, reaching a full position. To practice what one preaches!]

[Oh? Still talking tough? I seriously suspect you’re using a simulation account. Go all-in after a drop in half an hour? The only thing tough about you is your mouth.]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: Simulation account? Fine, here’s a screenshot of my real holdings!]

[It’s a real account? Master, you’re awesome! Dropped two million on a half-position during the call auction. Are you really going all-in? On a single stock?]

[Rich guy!]

[This is hilarious. People actually believe this? It’s obviously Photoshopped!]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: I don’t care. We’ll soon find out who the real chump is. If it weren’t for the fact that A-shares won’t allow margin trading and short selling for a few more days, I would have gone all-in with full margin when this stock plummeted at the open. Buying now is like picking up free money. I didn’t expect it to fall this much. It’s probably a stampede of retail investors who got lucky and bought this stock before the suspension. But that’s good; it lets me pick up cheap shares.]

[Master, why are you so bullish on this? Can you share your reasons?]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: I’ve said it before. First, this stock has the attribute of booming popularity right now. The sentiment is here; everyone is watching its performance. Second, the scarcity of this type of company. Famous Mainland internet companies are either on the H-share market or in the US. Weibo is currently one of a kind on the A-share market. Shares will definitely be snatched up like crazy!]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: Let me add one more thing: Weibo’s powerful future prospects. Weibo is the industry leader in its field, with 130 million users already. Let me put it this way: China has a population of over 1.3 billion, and the number of netizens in the Mainland surpassed the US to become number one in the world long ago. Think about Weibo’s future potential—it’s absolutely explosive. A tenfold increase is the baseline. This stock has popularity and prospects. It’s suitable for both short-term trading and long-term value investing. Anyone who sold today is a noob. Whether you’re a long-term or short-term investor, today is an entry point, definitely not a time to sell.]

[The Master’s analysis seems to make a lot of sense.]

[Hilarious. He talks a good game, but it turns out he’s down 20 percent on his half-position. Yep, that’s your so-called ‘Master’!]

[Go with the Flow // A reply to a post: If I wasn’t solely focused on Dasheng Shares today, I wouldn’t bother wasting my breath arguing with you during this temporary halt. ‘The inferior man hears of the Tao and laughs out loud. If he did not laugh, it would not be the Tao.’ You all can go ahead and sell your shares. I’ll take them, and I’ll keep buying until I have a full position. Just wait and watch me get rich when it rallies this afternoon. Tomorrow, when the engulfing pattern forms, I’ll be waiting for you all to chase the highs and buy at the limit-up price, haha!]

[Don’t believe him, everyone. This prick is obviously a shill for the main force, trying to trick you into holding the bag at a high price. Don’t try to catch a falling knife!]

…

Time ticked by. Half an hour later, Dasheng Shares resumed trading right on schedule.

The moment trading resumed, all the orders accumulated during the suspension were executed in a single transaction. The trading volume for that instant exploded to 350 million. On the intraday chart, the volume bar for 10:06 AM shot up instantly like a pillar holding up the sky.

Retail investors who held the stock before it resumed trading scrambled to sell their shares and flee. The stock price quickly plunged again, with the decline soon widening to 26 percent.

Just as the stock price fell to a decline of -26.93%, hitting an intraday price of 25.25 yuan, the investor with the ID “Go with the Flow,” who had been arguing in the comments section, was momentarily stunned when he saw the price. He subconsciously thought of the opening price of 34.56 yuan. A second later, without another word, he placed a lightning-fast order, going all-in with the remaining half of his position.

He placed his buy order at 25.50 yuan, well above the current price of 25.25 yuan, just to snap up the shares and complete the transaction as quickly as possible. He wasn’t concerned with buying at the absolute lowest point. The remaining two million or so yuan in his account was immediately used to complete the purchase.

Satisfied after having bought a full position, Go with the Flow stared at the screen and muttered to himself, “This main force is interesting. A straight for the opening high, and a pair for the bottom? Do they have OCD? No, they’re showing off their ability to control the market… Huh? It’s really a pair for the bottom?”

As he muttered to himself, the price of Dasheng Shares hit 25.25 yuan and did not make a new intraday low. It hovered at that price for only two or three seconds before rebounding to 27.78 yuan. The half-position he had gone all-in with at the bottom was instantly showing a 10 percent floating profit.

However, it soon pulled back sharply but did not create a new intraday low. After the pullback, it began to rebound and rally again.

Watching the intraday trend, the investor Go with the Flow declared with conviction, “It’s definitely a ‘pair bottom’. 25.25 is today’s intraday low, no doubt.”

He had bought a half-position during the morning call auction at the intraday high, but he had just gone all-in with the other half at almost the intraday low. Now holding a full position in Dasheng Shares, his average cost per share had dropped from 34.56 yuan to 29.90 yuan.

Although his cost basis had fallen significantly, his account was still showing an unrealized loss. But he wasn’t worried at all. He was convinced the stock would rally in the afternoon.

The stock’s turnover rate had already exceeded 20%, with a massive trading volume of over 1.2 billion. The retail investors who had lucked out and bought the stock by chance had mostly sold off. The selling pressure on the market had clearly decreased, indicating that those who were going to run had already left. Once the floating shares were cleared out, the stock was ready for a rally.

With profits multiplying at the call auction, if the major players had started pushing the price up right at the open, shareholders would have been reluctant to sell their shares.

Instead, they chose a plunging sell-off. Watching their profits pull back multiple times over, retail shareholders, in particular, couldn’t handle such volatility and chose to sell their shares to lock in profits, especially with no daily price limit. This created immense psychological pressure, invisibly amplifying the sentiment to take profits.

The major players themselves released almost no selling pressure. They simply initiated the sell-off to influence sentiment, and the retail investors followed suit, triggering a stampede.

…

When the market opened in the afternoon, Dasheng Shares slowly climbed amidst fluctuations. There wasn’t much trading volume, but 25.25 yuan remained the stock’s intraday low for the day.

The main force behind the stock did not choose to rally the price. They had already accumulated enough shares and were in no hurry. They wanted to wait for other funds from outside the market to come in—specifically, hot money—to pump up the price for them.

If hot money decided to take over, they would save on the funds needed for the rally. If not, they would just ignite the price in the last ten minutes of late trading.

At this moment, many hot money players, both large and small, had indeed added this stock to their watchlists and were keeping a close eye on it.

But they were not in a hurry to enter. They were waiting for the late trading session, as entering now carried the risk of the price dipping further.

As time went on, around 2:42 PM, during the last half hour of late trading, large orders began to enter the market. The investor who had bought a half-position at the call auction and then gone all-in at the bottom, holding a position of four million yuan, had already seen his unrealized loss turn into a floating profit.

Around 2:50 PM, several hot money funds began to snap up shares, pushing the stock price steadily upward. The investors who had sold at 25.25 yuan were somewhat dumbfounded as they watched the price climb.

A small number of retail investors bought back in using the legendary “SB” strategy, but they were a tiny minority. The vast majority who had sold did not dare to chase the high and buy back in.

At 3:00 PM, the market closed.

Dasheng Shares closed at 32.47 yuan per share, a gain of +398.01%. The total trading volume for the day was 1.691 billion yuan, with a total market capitalization of 17.176 billion yuan. The stock’s opening price of 34.56 yuan was also its highest price of the day, while its lowest was 25.25 yuan. The intraday amplitude reached 142.79%, and the turnover rate exceeded 30%. The daily K-line was a bearish candle with an extremely long lower shadow—though it was a bearish candle, it was in fact a false bearish, true bullish candle.

As for Go with the Flow, the investor with the full position of over four million yuan, his account, which had been showing an unrealized loss, now showed a profit of +8.59%. If he hadn’t bought the dip with the second half of his funds, he would have been at an unrealized loss of 6 percent. But by adding to his position at the lowest point, that portion of his investment brought him a profit of +28 percent. This not only completely erased the unrealized loss from his initial purchase but also resulted in an overall intraday floating profit of over 8 percent.

…

Chapter 336: The Launch of Stock Index Futures

After the market closed, the stockholder with the ID “Go with the Flow” made a special trip to the stock forum’s comment section. The thread where he had argued with someone had now become a hot topic, and he posted a new comment in it, attaching a picture as well:

[The unity of knowledge and action. I went all-in, adding to my position at the lowest point on the day trading resumed. Turned a loss into a profit of over 8 percent. Looking for a reversal to a limit-up and a new high tomorrow. Let’s get rich!]

Soon, the replies to this post started piling up.

[Master, you’re awesome. You were trapped with a loss of over 20 percent at the open and still dared to go all-in on a single stock after it had dropped so much. Truly brave!]

[There really was a rush to snap up shares and pull the price up in late trading, just like the master said. Incredible, incredible!]

[Is it really going to be a reversal tomorrow?]

[Sigh~ I watched it go up and up during late trading, but I just didn’t have the guts to buy. If I had bought at the lowest point, I could have made over 28 percent.]

[I’m buying in tomorrow!]

[I didn’t get in today, so I don’t have an initial position. Be careful the master doesn’t dump his shares on you.]

[This is a game for the brave. I’m too timid. I can only watch you masters show off your moves and cheer you on… (facepalm.jpg)]

[Hey, why hasn’t that dude who was arguing with the master surfaced!]

[Hahaha, now he has to watch the master get rich. He got proven so wrong. How embarrassing…]

[That comeback was so fast, haha!]

[To Go with the Flow: Master, are you holding tomorrow or getting out?]

[Go with the Flow replied: Selling tomorrow? No way in hell. In the words of K-God, you need a broader perspective. This stock will have no problem hitting 55 yuan in the short term!]

[Incredible. I’ll buy a 20% position tomorrow to follow you. Don’t you dare sneak out, Master!]

[Go with the Flow replied: It’s a hundred percent going to be a limit-up at the open tomorrow. If you didn’t get on board today, you won’t get any cheap shares tomorrow. Just wait for a divergence.]

[No way? It’s going to open at the limit-up?]

[Let me just quietly say, tomorrow is Saturday, the market isn’t open…]

[Stock traders don’t have weekends. A stock trader’s ‘tomorrow’ is the next trading day. You don’t even get it… (shiba_inu.jpg)!]

[Uhh, okay…]

…

In the afternoon, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released.

As expected, Dasheng Shares was on the list. The lineup of trading seats on the board was incredibly prestigious; the top, second, and fifth largest buyers were all institutional-only seats, while the other two seats belonged to two well-known top-tier hot money players in the A-share market.

The weekend passed. On Monday, April 12th, Dasheng Shares opened at its limit-up with shrinking volume, as predicted. Its price hit a new historical high of 35.72 yuan. The full-day trading volume was only 18.79 million yuan, and the company’s total market cap was 18.89 billion yuan.

The next day, Tuesday, April 13th, Dasheng Shares gapped up over 5 percent at the open to 37.61 yuan. Right after the opening bell, it shot up and hit the limit-up, sealing the board tightly. It achieved its second consecutive limit-up. The volume on the board exploded, but it didn’t break; instead, the shares changed hands at the limit-up price.

After the exchange was complete, Dasheng Shares’ limit-up board remained firmly sealed with over 130,000 lots of buy orders, representing more than five hundred million yuan in capital. The retail investors who were queuing up couldn’t get a single share. The trading volume for the day was 808 million yuan, and the company’s market capitalization reached 20.78 billion yuan.

On Wednesday, April 14th, Dasheng Shares opened higher at 40.13 yuan, a gain of +2.13%. Due to the stock’s recent abnormal volatility, trading was temporarily halted for an hour during the day.

When trading resumed at 10:30 AM, Dasheng Shares continued to surge, hitting an intraday high of 41.95 yuan, another new historical peak, with its gains expanding to +6.77%.

After that, it began to surge higher then fall back.

In late trading, it once plummeted and turned negative for the day, with the price dipping to a low of 37.55 yuan, a drop of -4.42%. However, it managed to hit bottom and rebound in the afternoon.

By the close, Dasheng Shares was down -1.13%, closing at 38.85 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was 1.09 billion yuan. It didn’t make the Dragon-Tiger List, but a lot of retail investors bought into the stock today.

On Thursday, April 15th, Dasheng Shares opened higher at 39.95 yuan, up +2.83%. After the open, it soared by 6 percent without any pullback. The intraday line showed a two-stage rally, and within the first half-hour of morning trading, it successfully hit the limit-up price and sealed the board. Its stock price rallied to a new historical high of 42.73 yuan.

After closing with a negative candlestick at a high point yesterday, today it formed a reversal to a limit-up on shrinking volume, represented by a marubozu candlestick with no upper or lower shadow. The full-day trading volume was 695 million yuan, and the total market cap rose to 22.6 billion yuan.

Since trading resumed, in just five short trading days, the stock price had accumulated a gain of +555.36%, multiplying by more than 5.5 times.

The stockholders who sold on the day trading resumed were kicking themselves for selling too early, especially those who got out at 25.25 yuan.

But that was all hindsight.

Even if they could do it over, the vast majority of retail investors would still have been unable to withstand the volatility and would have been shaken out on the day trading resumed.

…

In the afternoon, at the outdoor heated swimming pool of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was alone in the pool.

After a while, Tian Jiayi, having returned from the company, entered the villa. Just as she was about to go inside, she saw Fang Hong in the pool and walked over.

The beautiful assistant stood at the edge of the pool and said to Fang Hong, “Come on up. I have something to report to you today.”

Just then, Fang Hong swam over to her, his hands resting on the edge of the pool. Right before his eyes was a pair of exquisite, beautiful legs. Raising his gaze at a 45-degree angle, he found himself with a superb viewing position. Fang Hong couldn’t help but admire the scenery before him; that subtle, half-hidden beauty was the most captivating view of all.

Seeing this, Tian Jiayi quickly brought her legs together and shot him an exasperated look.

Fang Hong smiled silently, averted his gaze, and got out of the pool. He grabbed a towel from a lounge chair and dried his hair. Tian Jiayi followed him, sitting down on the adjacent lounge chair. “I’ve sorted out the stock index futures account you wanted,” she said. “It’s in a general corporate account.”

An institutional account, in other words.

Tomorrow was Friday, and the highly anticipated stock index futures would be launching in the Mainland capital market. The first batch would be four CSI 300 stock index futures contracts. The first contracts listed would be for May, June, September, and December 2010—namely, the CSI 300 index futures contracts IF1005, IF1006, IF1009, and IF1012. Their listing benchmark price was set at 3399 points.

Fang Hong threw the towel onto the chair and sat down, looking at his beautiful assistant. “How are the account openings for the stock index futures coming along?”

Tian Jiayi replied, “According to reliable data we’ve obtained, there are a total of 9,138 accounts opened for stock index futures, of which 8,944 are natural persons and 194 are general corporations. Institutions are barely visible. Also, here’s a document from the China Financial Futures Exchange.”

With that, Tian Jiayi took a file from her briefcase and handed it to Fang Hong, who opened it for a quick look.

According to the notice from the China Financial Futures Exchange:

The trading security deposit for the May and June contracts is provisionally set at 15 percent of the contract value, while for the September and December contracts, it is provisionally set at 18 percent of the contract value. On the listing day, the price limit for the May and June contracts will be 10 percent of the listing benchmark price, and 20 percent for the September and December contracts.

The contract handling fee is provisionally set at 0.005 percent of the transaction value, and the delivery fee is 0.01 percent of the delivery value. At the end of each trading day, the exchange will publish the trading volume and open interest of clearing members whose single-sided positions reach 10,000 lots or more and the top 20 clearing members for the current month’s contract.

Based on the benchmark price, the value of one lot of a CSI 300 index futures contract is about 1.019 million yuan. With the industry average security deposit rate of around 18 percent, it would take about 180,000 yuan to trade one lot of stock index futures.

Tian Jiayi leaned forward slightly, resting her chin in her hand, and looked at Fang Hong. “According to our sources,” she added, “the number of new accounts for stock index futures has surged recently. The current daily increase has reached about 1,000.”

Fang Hong closed the file and mused aloud, “With the official launch of stock index futures tomorrow, the A-share market will finally have a way to go short. With 20 years of pent-up bearish sentiment being wildly unleashed…”

He turned his head to look at his beautiful assistant and added with a smile, “In short, a waterfall-like panic selling will begin tomorrow. This wave of bearish sentiment will, at the very least, drive the market index down to 2300 points. Of course, the launch of stock index futures isn’t the sole reason for the market’s collapse.”

Tian Jiayi was stunned. “You mean, you’re bearish on the A-share market all the way down to 2300 points?”

She did a quick calculation. Today, the market index closed at 3164 points. A drop to around 2300 points meant a decline of more than 25 percent. Calculated from the beginning of the year, the drop would be 30 percent. And that was just the index’s decline.

If the market index fell by 30 percent, many individual stocks would likely be slashed in half.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong with a puzzled expression. “I don’t understand. If you’re so resolutely bearish on the market, and you’ve even opened a stock index futures account for yourself, why not have the company participate in shorting the market?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong said calmly, “What’s the scale of my personal funds? And what’s the scale of Qunxing’s funds? They’re not even in the same order of magnitude. But that’s not the main point. The key is, if one company makes all the money in the market, do you want to offend everyone and have them gang up on us? Besides, the stock index futures market is just starting out, and its scale is still small.”

Tian Jiayi was taken aback, her expression a mixture of understanding and confusion.

Fang Hong leaned back on the lounge chair, clasping his hands behind his head, and added unhurriedly, “Qunxing can’t be afraid of offending people, or it will be hard to get things done. But it can’t be foolish enough to offend everyone, either, because that would be just as difficult. Giving up some money-making opportunities for others allows us to make even more money later. So, we need to broaden our perspective and take a long-term view.”

There was no end to the money that could be made, and some had to be left for others. In the long run, this was definitely the way to earn more. In the A-share market, Fang Hong clearly intended to position Stellaris Capital as a bull to earn bullish profits, and to stay out of the market when there was no bull run.

…

Chapter 337: Shorting It All the Way Down

Hearing Fang Hong’s words, Tian Jiayi propped her chin on her hand and said slowly, “You’ve certainly adopted a broader perspective, but the A-share market has always had short bull markets and long bear markets. You even said the next three to four years would be a long and arduous bear market journey. How are we supposed to make big money if we only go long?”

She tilted her head slightly, glanced at Fang Hong, and added, “Besides, you spend money without even blinking. The company’s cash flow is healthy for now, but at your rate of spending, it’s questionable whether we can last even two years.”

Fang Hong smiled calmly. “It’s true that the A-share market has short bulls and long bears, but the profits from shorting are limited because the downside is limited—theoretically, a stock can’t fall by more than 100 percent. The profits from going long, however, are infinite because the upside is infinite—theoretically, there’s no ceiling to how high a stock can rise. For us, going long means we might not make a move for years, but one good run will sustain us for years. Besides, the company’s main profits will come from overseas capital markets in the future.”

In other countries’ markets, Fang Hong wouldn’t have so many scruples. It would be all about making money. As long as there was an opportunity, he would play both sides, long and short.

After finishing their discussion on business, Tian Jiayi immediately asked, “By the way, since you said the market will begin a one-sided panic sell tomorrow, will my position in Dongfang Yuhong be affected?”

The beautiful assistant’s stock holding had already accumulated a profit of 2.4 times its original value, with a market capitalization of 9.2 million yuan. She was on the verge of becoming a young, rich woman with a net worth of ten million.

Fang Hong smiled. “It could be. Sell it tomorrow.”

This stock was linked to the real estate market. The upcoming one-sided panic sell in A-shares, aside from the influence of stock index futures, was also heavily related to the state’s proposal for economic transformation and its crackdown on real estate. The property-based economy was currently the pillar of the national economy, and if a transformation was to occur, real estate would inevitably be subject to interference and regulation.

In the A-share market, real estate stocks ranked among the top sectors by market capitalization. Industry leaders like Wanke had market caps in the two-hundred-billion-yuan range. Unsurprisingly, property stocks were about to face a massive crash; even Wanke’s stock price would be slashed in half.

At the same time, the real estate sector was linked to the banking industry, and the banking sector was the largest weighted sector in the A-share market. Therefore, a sharp decline in these stocks would be the core force driving the A-share index down.

As expected, after hitting a cyclical peak, Dongfang Yuhong would experience a brutal sell-off with consecutive limit-downs, its price plummeting by over forty percent, nearly getting slashed in half.

Fang Hong had already finished liquidating his position in this stock over the past few days. He had also gotten out of several other medium-to-long-term stocks, holding onto only a few. The funds he cashed out were intended for stock index futures.

Stellaris Capital wouldn’t short the stock index futures, as its size was a bit too large, but Fang Hong planned to allocate a portion of his personal funds to do so.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi said with a cheerful grin, “So, what should I buy after I sell?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong replied with a straight face, “That depends on your performance tonight. If you satisfy me, I’ll reward you with a stock that can double in value.”

Tian Jiayi rolled her eyes at him. After glancing around and seeing no one else, she turned back to Fang Hong with a mysterious look and whispered with a smile, “Then… shall we do something romantic?”

Fang Hong asked curiously, “Romantic?”

Tian Jiayi said in a sultry voice, “You know, where I get a little wild and you take it slow…”

Hmm?

Fang Hong stared at his beautiful assistant for a moment, motionless, then chuckled. “Good grief, that contrast attribute… Just hearing it is enough to get a man going. You really get your boss. You’ve figured me out completely.”

Tian Jiayi rose from her lounge chair, walked over to Fang Hong, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Master~, don’t keep me waiting too long. Otherwise, hmph, hmph…”

Fang Hong was utterly stunned. “Uh…?”

Before he could react, his beautiful assistant took the file from his hand, placed it back in her briefcase, and took a few steps away. Then, she suddenly turned her head, threw him a seductive glance, and glided gracefully towards the villa.

Snapping back to his senses, Fang Hong looked at her retreating figure and said decisively, “When the market opens tomorrow, go all-in on Desay Battery!”

She was just too good at this!

…

The next day, Friday, April 16th, the last trading day of the week arrived as scheduled.

Walking towards the second-floor trading room, Fang Hong was in a great mood, muttering to himself, “When there’s work, the assistant can do it. When there isn’t, the assistant can be done. Basically, it was all about getting it done.”

The romantic night had been truly memorable, and his beautiful assistant had unlocked many new positions.

As the market opening approached, Fang Hong entered the trading room and pushed those thoughts aside, focusing his attention on the market. He was the only one in the trading room today. Yifulei and the others weren’t here; he had told them yesterday that he wouldn’t need their assistance.

Today was the launch of stock index futures. Fang Hong already had an account for it, and his strategy for the day was simple: just short the CSI 300 stock index futures all the way down.

His current personal capital consisted of 8 billion yuan in his institutional account and 1.5 billion in his personal securities account, totaling 9.5 billion. He was only a few days away from breaking the ten-billion-yuan mark.

The sharp market decline at the beginning of the year had not stopped his accounts from continuing to turn a profit.

It was still difficult to take a large position in the CSI 300 futures at the moment. Since it was the very first day of trading for the CSI 300 index futures, there wasn’t much capital involved yet, and the major institutions hadn’t entered the market. Unsurprisingly, Fang Hong would likely be the largest player in the stock index futures market right after its launch. The exact position size he would take would depend on the market’s liquidity, which would determine how many more short positions he could add.

At 9:30 AM, the market opened. The main contract started at 3450 points, with all four contracts opening higher.

After the open, the index climbed to 3488 points. At that moment, Fang Hong decisively placed a short order for 100 lots. The value of a single lot corresponded to 1.046 million yuan, so 100 lots were worth 104.6 million yuan.

The maximum order size for a limit order on CSI 300 stock index futures was 100 lots, so Fang Hong was already hitting the ceiling. Furthermore, unlike the T+1 trading of A-share spot indexes, stock index futures operated on a T+0 trading mechanism, meaning positions could be bought and sold repeatedly during the trading session.

As Fang Hong’s 100-lot short order appeared, the index futures immediately dropped from 3488 points to 3469 points, a 0.54 percent decline from its peak, though it quickly rebounded to 3485 points.

Small orders were being filled quickly on the screen, but they were all for single-digit lots—one, three, four lots, and so on. Occasionally, an order of more than ten lots would appear, both long and short.

Fang Hong’s 100-lot order was the first and largest short position in the market.

Just as the futures index fell and then rebounded, some traders, taking advantage of the T+0 trading mechanism, quickly took profit and closed out their positions for gains of a few tenths of a percent.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong calmly placed another 100-lot short order, followed immediately by two more consecutive short orders, both for the maximum of 100 lots.

The index began to dive, hitting 3426 points, a drop of -1.77% from its high. The execution prices of his three orders were 3477, 3451, and 3429, with corresponding contract values of 104.4 million, 103.5 million, and 102.8 million yuan respectively.

Currently, Fang Hong held 400 lots of short positions, with a total corresponding contract value of around 400 million yuan.

He continued to short, but now he stopped adding to his position with maxed-out 100-lot orders. Instead, he just randomly keyed in numbers and kept opening short positions, completely ignoring the intra-day price fluctuations. He paid no attention to the price; he just kept shorting, shorting, and more braindead shorting!

He completely disregarded the minor volatility on the screen.

Other players in the stock index futures market were trading frantically, using all sorts of technical analysis—five-minute K-lines, one-minute K-lines, support, resistance, breakthroughs… and engaging in high-frequency profit-taking.

In comparison, Fang Hong’s method was downright foolish. He just shorted and was done with it. It was that simple and unadorned, imbued with the profound weight of a heavy sword with no edge and great skill that appears clumsy.

To put it simply, it was braindead, one-sided shorting. He just had more money!

However, there was an important reason other traders were using complex technical analysis and trading frequently: they were all using leverage, and high leverage at that—ten, twenty, or even fifty times.

A 0.2% fluctuation in the market was magnified to 2% with ten-times leverage, and 10% with fifty-times leverage.

Fang Hong wasn’t using leverage. His capital was already enormous compared to the current size of the stock index futures market. Just by placing a few hundred lots of short orders, he had already smashed the index down by 1.77% from its peak.

As time went on, Fang Hong continued to open short positions until his holdings reached 700 lots, with a corresponding contract value of around 700 million yuan. Only then did he stop.

…

Chapter 338: The Fickle Short-Term Trader

Stock index futures debuted today, and Fang Hong didn’t plan to be too ruthless. Even so, the position he currently held had already made him the market’s number one super-bear, the undisputed commander of the shorts.

Holding 700 lots today would be enough; he would continue on the next trading day.

Fang Hong switched his attention to the trend of the broader market index, then pulled up the intraday chart for Dasheng Shares for a look. After all, this was the target for the backdoor listing of his own company, and he had been paying close attention to it recently.

Dasheng Shares’ opening today wasn’t dragged down by the index. It was the current momentum leader. The stock opened higher at 43.98 yuan, up 2.92%, continuing to set new highs.

After the market opened, the index fell, but Dasheng Shares fluctuated upwards. With both volume and price action, its chart pattern looked very healthy.

On the first day of its resumed trading, there was practically no retail investor participation. Instead, the lucky retail investors who had hit the jackpot by buying in advance before the trading suspension were eagerly taking profits and exiting. However, as Dasheng Shares continued its wild surge this week, a large number of retail investors could no longer resist the short-squeeze-like rally and chose to jump in.

Fang Hong glanced at Dasheng Shares’ market depth for a moment before switching away. He couldn’t get involved with this stock; doing so would be a violation.

In any case, an institution would be handling the market capitalization management for this stock.

A moment later, Fang Hong switched to Desay Battery for a look. This stock had opened lower in the morning but then trended higher, unaffected by the broader market’s panic sell-off. Yesterday, it had surged and even hit its limit-up, though the limit-up board eventually broke.

Fang Hong had been holding this stock since early September last year; it was one of his 15 medium-to-long-term strategic targets.

From early September until now, Desay Battery’s share price had accumulated a gain of 95 percent. However, Fang Hong had executed several weekly-level swing trades, bringing his return on this stock to +145%, comprehensively outperforming the stock’s own gains during that period.

Watching the stock’s intraday chart, Fang Hong muttered to himself, “Little Sweetie must have bought in this morning at the open.”

Tian Jiayi had indeed bought in. After closing out her position in Dongfang Yuhong in the morning, she had decisively gone all-in on Desay Battery with 9.2 million yuan, without a hint of hesitation. After all, Fang Hong had recommended this stock to her, and he would cover any losses.

Barring any surprises, Desay Battery would likely buck the trend and start a strong primary rally with consecutive limit-ups tomorrow, with the expectation of more to follow.

…

Meanwhile, Dasheng Shares was slowly climbing amidst fluctuations. The retail investor with the stock forum ID “Go with the Flow” had gone all-in with over four million yuan on the first day the stock resumed trading and had held with conviction ever since. He didn’t even sell on Wednesday when the stock closed with a bearish candle.

This retail investor, “Go with the Flow,” truly believed that short-term sentiment could push this stock above 55 yuan. His position in the stock was already showing a 48 percent gain, a floating profit of nearly two million yuan.

As long as the short-term trend didn’t break down and his sell signal didn’t appear, his strategy was to hold with conviction until it hit his target price.

He was bullish on Dasheng Shares in the short term and super bullish in the long term, for the same reasons he had argued about on the stock forums.

Most of China’s well-known internet companies were listed overseas, leaving A-share investors to sigh in envy. Now that Weibo, a renowned domestic internet company, was undergoing a backdoor listing through Dasheng, it was bound to become a rare and scarce asset. Scarcity meant demand would outstrip supply. Once everyone realized this, they would rush to buy, and the market would assign it a higher valuation.

Because the asset was highly sought after and in short supply, its price would naturally rise.

Secondly, there was the expectation of Weibo’s high growth potential. Backed by the world’s largest internet market in the world’s most populous country, with a booming number of internet users—these were all incredibly powerful expectations, an ironclad logic.

Stock trading is all about expectations, stories, and imagination!

He also planned to invest in this stock for the long term, but not right now.

The stock was currently in a short-term speculative frenzy, with a convergence of all kinds of well-known big shots, institutions, hot money, and retail investors all炒作得不亦乐乎, including himself.

Once the short-term sentiment faded, the stock price would inevitably peak and pull back for a period. He would re-enter with a large position for a long-term hold after the short-term risks were fully released and the price stabilized.

In any case, he had already added this stock to his watchlist and marked it as a key target to follow.

At this very moment, “Go with the Flow” was staring at his screen. He was currently holding his full position in Dasheng Shares, but he still had to watch the market at the open. After all, he was trading short-term with a full position; if he didn’t watch the screen, he wouldn’t know if something went wrong.

After a while, he switched to look at the broader market and a few other stocks, then switched back to Dasheng Shares’ chart. It was now about 10:29 AM.

“Holy crap?!” Just as he switched back to glance at Dasheng Shares’ intraday trend, he noticed that the current intraday high was 44.44 yuan, a maximum gain of 4.00% for the day. The price had since pulled back to 44.29 yuan, down about 2.5 percent from its high.

“Damn it, 4444! A topping pattern of double pairs and a four-of-a-kind? The hell if I care whether it’s a coincidence or intentional. Run—!” He instantly liquidated his position with a single click, without any hesitation. He had originally planned to hold with conviction until 55 yuan, but in a single moment, he changed his mind just like that.

A fickle short-term trader indeed!

Soon, all the shares he was holding were sold off. His average selling price was 43.05 yuan. After holding for six trading days, his full position had netted him a short-term gain of +43.98%, an absolute profit of about 1.85 million yuan.

Regarding the 44.44 yuan price, he didn’t care if it was the actual top or if he was selling too early. Seeing it hit that intraday high and then immediately dive without breaking through made him nervous. It was better to be safe than sorry. The Chinese A-share market was full of metaphysical trading; even ‘Year of the Zodiac’ concept stocks were hyped up around the New Year. Some stocks had no logic behind their surge at all—they were just hyped because their names happened to coincide with that year’s zodiac animal.

After liquidating his entire position, he waited a moment and then bought back 100 shares, or one lot. He still planned to trade this stock for the long term, and if the 44.44 yuan price turned out to be just a coincidence that scared him, he could always buy back in after it broke through.

However, re-entering would mean losing his first-mover advantage. He didn’t plan to go with a full position again; about a thirty percent position would be enough. After all, the price was already quite high. Without that first-mover advantage, he might as well avoid giving back his profits to a drawdown.

…

As time ticked by, Dasheng Shares’ intraday line grew weaker and weaker.

After the market opened in the afternoon, around 2:27 PM in late trading, the stock suddenly began a sharp plunge and turned negative. Intraday, it plummeted to a low of 40.54 yuan, a drop of over 5%. However, after falling five percent, Dasheng Shares didn’t dive toward its limit-down; instead, it quickly rebounded.

Once again, there was a frenzy of snapping up shares in late trading. Around 2:46 PM, the stock price briefly turned positive, and in the next minute, it surged to a two percent gain.

Clearly, the funds coming in during late trading were betting on an engulfing pattern rally next Friday, just like what happened on Wednesday. They were snapping up shares to get a first move, but in reality, the big money had already started to flee.

Some hot money was also betting on a rebound with small positions, but the main force snapping up shares in late trading was… that’s right, the retail investor legions!

The volume was massive today. Judging by the market’s absorption, the retail investors holding the bag were very enthusiastic.

…

At 3:00 PM sharp, the last trading day of the week officially came to a close.

Dasheng Shares, currently the most popular stock, closed down 2.48% today at 41.67 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was a massive 1.315 billion yuan, with a total market capitalization of 22 billion yuan.

As for the indices, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3130.30 points, down 1.10%, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 12416.90 points, down 0.77%. The market had eagerly awaited the launch of stock index futures for years, but the A-share market didn’t seem to appreciate it, greeting the futures with a sea of red.

Among the 28 concept stocks related to stock index futures, excluding five that had their trading suspended, the other 23 performed poorly. Only three stocks rose, while 20 fell, with most declining by more than one percent.

As the market closed, the news focused on the launch of stock index futures. The media quickly compiled and reported the data from the first day of trading.

On its debut day, all four futures contracts closed higher than their listing prices. The CSI 300 Index futures contracts all traded relatively smoothly. According to the latest statistics from the China Financial Futures Exchange, the total trading volume for stock index futures today was 58,457 lots, with a total turnover exceeding 60.5 billion yuan, and a total open interest of 3,590 lots.

Of the contracts held overnight, Fang Hong’s 700 lots accounted for nearly 19.5% of the total.

Although more than 58,000 lots changed hands during intraday trading, the final open interest figures showed that most investors opted for day trading. The open interest for the IF1005 contract peaked at only 3,300 lots, and ultimately, only 2,702 lots were held overnight. The combined total for all four contracts was just 3,590 lots.

As it was the first day of trading and also a Friday, most investors were clearly unwilling to take on overnight risk over the weekend and chose to close out their positions before the market closed.

…

Chapter 339: Stock Index Futures—Whoever Treats It Like a Lamb is the Lamb to Be Slaughtered

After the market closed in the afternoon, Fang Hong was sitting on the sofa in the living room on the ground floor of his villa, watching a special program on a financial news channel about the first day of trading for the CSI 300 Index stock index futures.

The program had invited two so-called stock market experts to provide analysis and commentary. With nothing better to do, Fang Hong was watching.

In the studio, the host faced the camera and said, “…Welcome back. The highly anticipated stock index futures finally met investors today, and the first trading day has now closed. Let’s invite our guests to break down the performance of this inaugural day for everyone.”

Hu Tao was sitting next to Fang Hong. She cut a slice of apple and fed it to him, enjoying a moment of leisurely comfort.

The voice of a guest expert came from the television: “Judging from today’s market performance, all four stock index futures contracts opened high across the board. The main contract, IF1005, opened high at 3450 points, an increase of over 2%. The 1012 contract opened even higher, up more than 7% at 3618.8 points. It’s clear that investors still have a habit of speculating on new listings.”

Guest: “However, all four contracts followed a pattern of a strong start, weak finish. They all hit their morning highs within the first five minutes of opening, then slid all the way down until they finally stabilized at 10:30 AM and began to consolidate. After 1:30 PM, the index futures started to rally, but the good times didn’t last. At 2:10 PM, they began to trend downward again, ending with a sharp drop in late trading. Nevertheless, they all closed above their listing benchmark prices.”

Host: “Mm, yes. Let’s look at the closing data. The 1005 contract was up 0.49%, the 1006 contract was up 1.25%, the 1009 contract was up 3.32%, and the 1012 contract was up 4.65%. However, we also noticed that the CSI 300 Index itself fell by 1.13 percentage points today. What do our two guests make of this?”

Guest: “Looking at the intra-day trends of the futures and the spot market, the correlation between the futures contracts and the spot index was not particularly high during trading hours. Although the futures index was consistently higher than the spot index, it remained well within the daily price fluctuation limits. Therefore, one could say that the first day of trading for stock index futures was quite stable.”

Hearing the expert’s words, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. When the flash crash hits next Monday, it’ll be a real slap in the face. He wondered how the expert would try to explain it away then.

Host: “The total trading volume of over sixty billion for the first day of stock index futures indicates a high level of investor enthusiasm. However, although all four contracts closed with gains, they all exhibited a strong start, weak finish.”

Guest: “Indeed. The futures and spot markets diverged today. Intra-day, the spread between the futures and the spot index was as high as nearly ninety points and at its lowest was over fifty points. This created numerous opportunities for futures-spot arbitrage and for short-selling at high points. The strong start, weak finish trend gave many investors their first taste of making money by short-selling.”

Guest: “We’ve just run some rough numbers. Based on the day’s high and low points, someone who bet correctly on the May contract could have made a maximum profit of 15%, while someone who bet wrong would have lost a maximum of 15%. For the June contract, the maximum profit was 14.8%, and the maximum loss was 18.3%. For the September contract, it was 22.26% for both maximum profit and loss. And for the December contract, both the maximum profit and loss were 18.3%.”

Host: “These figures clearly illustrate the leverage effect of the stock index futures market.”

Guest: “Yes, yes, that’s right. Because in the spot market, it’s generally impossible to have a profit or loss exceeding 10% in a single day. This shows that the stock index futures market offers high returns but also carries high risks. Unlike the stock market, stock index futures are a zero-sum game. If one side profits, the other side must lose.”

Guest: “Today, basically everyone who shorted made money, and basically everyone who went long lost money. Billions of funds were transferred from the hands of the longs to the shorts today. As a result, investors who went long could only watch helplessly as the funds in their accounts were transferred away.”

Host: “What do our guests think about the first day’s trading volume?”

Guest: “In terms of volume, the trading of futures contracts on the first day exceeded market expectations. Looking at the distribution of trading and open interest, the 1005 contract was the undisputed main contract, accounting for about 80% of both trading volume and open interest. The main contract, IF1005, traded 48,988 lots, far exceeding the market expectation of ten thousand lots.”

Guest: “According to data released by Changcheng Weiye Futures, calculating the total trading of the four contracts at sixty thousand lots, with seven thousand clients participating, the average trading per account was 8.6 lots. At an average commission of one hundred yuan per lot, the first day of futures trading brought in about twelve million yuan in revenue for the industry. The previously feared problem of insufficient liquidity did not materialize. However, most investors who entered the market were primarily engaging in exploratory trading.”

Fang Hong watched the program without a word. The new marketplace had collected twelve million in commissions on its very first day. At this rate, that would be three billion yuan in revenue a year. In reality, trading volume would only increase, meaning this income was a sure thing.

The program continued. Host: “According to our reporter at Hongye Futures, we’ve learned that about half of the company’s clients participated in the first day of stock index futures trading. An analyst from Hongye Futures explained that since stock index futures are a new product, most investors treated their first trades as an experience. One client, for instance, placed an order as a hedge, going long one lot and short one lot, testing both directions simultaneously with the intent of risk aversion.”

Host: “Additionally, news from a Changcheng Weiye Futures branch office indicates that the amount of capital used by clients today did not exceed 50% of their security deposit ratio, and there were no so-called liquidations.”

Guest: “As the first batch of investors to participate in stock index futures, this was their first time in live trading. They were just trying it out. Profit and loss weren’t important; the experience was what mattered (laughs).”

Host: “What characteristics do our guests believe defined the first day of stock index futures trading?”

Guest: “Based on the performance of the first day’s trading, I believe there are four main characteristics. First, there’s a pro-long bias. Many investors come from a background in securities, and over the long term, they’ve developed a bias toward going long. This caused valuations to surge at the opening today. The far-month contract, IF1012, at one point rose by 7.91%, and other contracts also saw significant gains. This, in turn, allowed experienced futures clients to reap substantial profits by short-selling.”

Guest: “Second, arbitrage opportunities emerged. Influenced by national real estate policies, the CSI 300 spot index, driven down by banking stocks, experienced a significant drop, closing at 3356.3 points, down 38.24 points for the day. Due to the pro-long bias, the near-month stock index futures contract, IF1005, closed at 3415.6 points, up 16.6 points. This created a premium of 59.3 points between the futures and the spot market. This large basis created arbitrage opportunities in the market.”

Guest: “Third, there were many short-term speculators. Although trading in stock index futures was active, most investors opted for day trading. The open interest for the IF1005 contract peaked at only 3,300 lots, and only 2,702 lots were held overnight. Most investors were unwilling to bear the overnight risk over the weekend and chose to close their positions within the day.”

Guest: “The final characteristic is that most institutions stayed on the sidelines. The investors on the first day of futures trading were clearly dominated by retail investors. Most intra-day trades were for less than ten lots, with only six orders exceeding one hundred lots. It’s apparent that most institutions are still observing. Today’s market conditions should be considered a test run. Aside from those six largest hundred-lot trades, no significant capital entered the market.”

Fang Hong watched for a while longer before turning off the special program. The two guest experts went on to analyze the six large orders placed on the stock index futures today, but there was nothing more of interest to see.

The capital markets were abuzz with discussions about stock index futures. On the news front, many experts from public funds, private equity, and the futures industry were predicting that the launch of stock index futures would stimulate institutions to ‘snap up shares’ of blue-chip stocks, leading a new wave of rallies. As for concerns about the short-selling aspect of stock index futures, they dismissed such worries as mostly excessive.

Their reasoning was generally summarized as follows: First, the broader market at 3,100 points is not too high, and the valuations of heavyweight sectors are low, so there is no incentive to short the market. Second, institutions have limited ways to participate in stock index futures; they can only engage in hedging activities under an authorization system and are not permitted to speculate. Third, the current scale of the stock index futures market is still too small, so the influence of private equity funds and other hot money on the spot market is quite limited.

The publicly expressed sentiments of expectation and hope made it seem as if stock index futures were nothing more than a docile lamb.

But in reality, whoever treated it like a lamb was the lamb to be slaughtered.

Fang Hong watched the widespread anticipation in the news, the grand statements like “giving the stock market a tool for risk aversion and hedging.” He could only observe in silence, say nothing, and wait for the market to open on the next trading day to quietly add to his short positions.

He, however, knew that after the introduction of stock index futures, the A-share market would be knocked flat right from the start. The A-shares would suddenly plummet as if they had gone mad, with long bearish candles breaking through support levels and no decent rebound. This was the story of the A-share market’s first month in the age of hedging.

After that, the A-shares fell continuously for more than two whole months. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged from 3130.30 points, hitting a low of just over 2300 points in early July, a relentless drop without a single pause to catch its breath. During this period, even accounting for the contribution of new IPOs, the total market capitalization of the A-share market evaporated by more than eight trillion yuan.

And after the crash in the first half of the year, the market rallied back above 3,100 points in the second half, staging a rollercoaster ride of a violent crash and a sharp rebound. But after that, it began a long, slow bleed into a protracted bear market.

…

Chapter 340: Could Stock Index Futures be Targeted?

Just as the weekend began, on Saturday morning, some bombshell news broke.

The government’s new real estate regulations were aimed at curbing property speculation and speculative home buying. A series of measures were introduced, such as suspending mortgages for third homes and beyond in areas where housing prices were too high and rising too quickly. Another measure was to suspend loans to non-local residents who couldn’t provide proof of local tax payments or social security contributions for over a year.

For ordinary people with genuine housing needs, this was good news.

However, for investors holding real estate and bank stocks, it was negative news. The real estate sector is one of the heavyweight sectors in the A-share market, and bank stocks are the number one heavyweight sector. With these two major sectors under pressure from the negative news over the weekend, if they couldn’t hold up, the broader market index would certainly be dragged down.

Since the implementation of the “four trillion stimulus package” two years ago, the property market had entered another round of soaring prices. In recent years, the government had already introduced a series of policies to curb the rise in housing prices, including measures preventing real estate companies from raising funds through IPOs in the A-share market.

However, looking at the actual situation, the property market’s performance seemed to be gradually falling into a vicious cycle: the more prices rose, the more restrictions were imposed, and the more restrictions were imposed, the more prices rose.

Monday, April 19th.

After the weekend, the A-share market had a significant gap down opening today. The Shanghai Composite Index broke directly through the 3,100-point mark, opening at 3,096.78 points, down 1.07%. After the opening, it continued to open low and trend lower.

Real estate and bank stocks plummeted across the board. The two core heavyweight sectors of the A-share market showed a one-sided decline, dragging the broader market into a continuous panic sell-off with almost no signs of a decent rebound.

In the stock index futures market, the main contract also had a gap down opening today, starting at 3,396 points, down 0.57%. After the opening, it also trended lower.

At the same time, Fang Hong was in the trading room, directing the women to continuously open short positions on the stock index futures. They had already accumulated enough trading experience. Over the weekend, Fang Hong had explained to them how to trade stock index futures, including some of the terminology.

He explained what terms like opening long, opening short, closing long, closing short, long swap, short swap, opening both, and closing both meant. This was all basic knowledge of futures trading, and they quickly grasped it, allowing them to start trading index futures today.

For the stock index futures instrument, Fang Hong always had just one trading strategy: shorting, and continuously shorting.

Right at the open, he made a statement by slamming down three large orders of a hundred lots each. The total open interest quickly increased to over one thousand lots. At the current market price, one lot of stock index futures was worth millions.

They now held short positions worth over one billion yuan. Given that the index futures market was still relatively small, this volume of short positions undoubtedly made them the single largest bear in the market.

After a while, Yifulei, who was executing the short selling orders in the trading room, suddenly stopped and turned to ask Fang Hong, “Bro Hong, if we keep taking such a one-sided short position, could we get targeted? What if our counterparty initiates a short squeeze? Wouldn’t that be extremely dangerous? After all, there’s a limit to how far it can fall, but no limit to how high it can rise…”

As the first woman to assist Fang Hong with trading, Yifulei was no longer a clueless rookie. In fact, none of the other women present were rookies anymore. After all, the person leading them was K-God, an idol worshipped by countless investors.

No matter how inexperienced they might have been initially, by trading alongside Fang Hong, their exposure and the knowledge they passively absorbed far surpassed that of ordinary retail investors. It was like standing on the shoulders of a giant, giving them a view that the vast majority of retail investors could never see.

Yifulei’s concern was not without reason. If a counterparty had enough financial power to crush their opponent, they could theoretically ignore fundamentals and use pure capital to forcefully drive the price sky-high, initiating a continuous short squeeze to force the bears into a margin call and liquidation.

For example, in the “Demon Nickel” incident more than a decade later, the initial short squeeze on the LME nickel price once surged to fifty-five thousand dollars per ton, eventually closing at fifty thousand three hundred dollars per ton, a daily gain of 73.97%. The trend on the following day was even more extreme. Within just three hours of opening, the price skyrocketed, more than doubling with an exaggerated gain of 274.4%.

This simply couldn’t be explained by rational market forces. The so-called idea that futures facilitate market price discovery sounded like a complete joke in this context.

In reality, the counterparty knew the short-seller’s hand; they knew their opponent couldn’t make physical delivery. That’s why they dared to initiate a forceful short squeeze, aiming to compel their opponent to admit defeat, sell at a loss, and exit the market, thus completing a grand harvest in the virtual trading arena.

In a sense, the short positions Fang Hong currently held faced a similar problem. All the smart money in the market knew that there was one and only one major short-seller in the current stock index futures market.

Although they didn’t know the specific identity of this bear—whether it was an individual or an institution—unless they could get inside information from the exchange. However, entities with that kind of power could be counted on one hand.

But even without inside information from the exchange, one could still determine from the market data alone that there was indeed a single major bear or multiple bears acting in concert.

After Yifulei raised her concern about being targeted, Fang Hong smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Just keep shorting as I say. The stock index futures in our Mainland market have daily price limits. The maximum gain is only ten percent, and the maximum intraday swing is twenty percent. No one would be foolish enough to initiate a short squeeze that ignores the fundamentals. Just do it.”

Because the Shanghai and Shenzhen index futures have price fluctuation limits, it’s impossible to be short-squeezed and liquidated intraday. A situation like the “Demon Nickel” incident could not happen to A-share index futures products, unless the counterparty could force consecutive limit-up days.

But that has a fatal flaw: it requires time.

With daily price limits, a short squeeze that doubles the price would take eight trading days. To triple it would take twelve trading days, and to quadruple it would take fifteen trading days.

Meanwhile, the spot index would be in a one-sided panic sell-off. This would cause a severe divergence between the futures and spot indices. Delays breed trouble; only a swift victory can secure the harvest. Dragging it out for ten days or half a month would undoubtedly give the counterparty enough time to react.

Moreover, as the spot index continued its sell-off, bearish sentiment would gain an absolute advantage. At that point, the party attempting a short squeeze would undoubtedly be fighting against the trend of the entire market, which is a path to ruin.

Fang Hong’s current one-sided bearish stance was simply him going with the trend; he wasn’t trying to fight the market.

“So, as long as they aren’t idiots, it’s impossible to target me in the Shanghai and Shenzhen index futures. In fact, on the contrary, the price fluctuation limits actually protect the one being targeted.

“If there were no price limits and someone tried to short squeeze me, it would just become a contest of who has more cash. If my opponent dared to double the price, I’d dare to add to my short position at that doubled price. If they dared to push it up tenfold, I’d dare to short it at ten times the price.

“Not enough margin? I’d cash out all my medium-to-long-term stock assets to cover it.

“Still not enough? Then I’d transfer funds from the company, Stellaris Capital. We’d just go through the procedures to borrow it. There aren’t many things I can mobilize right now, but I have plenty of money. I can even mobilize hundreds of billions in hard cash liquidity without any pressure.

“Who’s the hunter and who’s the prey would still be up for debate.”

However, this would never happen in reality. Even in North American stock index futures, which don’t have price limits, you wouldn’t see an index future double or multiply several times over in a single day. The “Demon Nickel” incident involved a single commodity future. Index futures correspond to an entire market index, representing expectations for the market as a whole. Could the broader market index double or even multiply several-fold in a month? Obviously not.

So, Fang Hong wasn’t worried about being targeted at all. Anyone with that kind of financial power couldn’t possibly be that foolish. If someone like that did exist, they’d have to be a great philanthropist, just giving money away to the entire market.

“All we have to do is short it!”

Meanwhile, the women were continuously adding to the index futures short positions. Fang Hong switched over to the stock market for a look. He glanced at the Shanghai Composite Index; just fifteen minutes after the open, it had already fallen by more than two percent.

Real estate and bank stocks were suffering setbacks across the board. Of the more than sixteen hundred individual stocks in the two markets, over fifteen hundred were down, and not a single one had hit its limit-up.

However, around 10:20 AM, the first stock to hit its limit-up appeared in the two markets. It was none other than Desay Battery. Its stock price surged to 17.84 yuan, a gain of 9.99%, sealing its limit-up.

After Tian Jiayi entered this stock at last Friday’s opening, she had now made a thirteen percent profit. The market value of her holdings exceeded ten million yuan, and she had successfully unlocked the achievement of becoming a rich woman worth tens of millions.

Fang Hong had already begun to gradually liquidate the medium-to-long-term holdings in the institutional account, cashing out of stocks like Dongfang Yuhong. However, he was still holding Desay Battery. The stock had hit its limit-up today at just under 18 yuan, and it was expected to surpass the 36 yuan mark within the year. Based on today’s limit-up price, there was still an expected upside of more than one hundred percent.

Naturally, the focus was on the long-term view, using weekly-level swing trades to control any profit drawdown.

Chapter 341: “You old bastard, you trapped your grandpa at the top again!”

The moment Desay Battery sealed its limit-up, the retail investor “Go with the Flow” was also one of the first to snap up the stock at its limit-up price.

As early as 10 a.m., Desay Battery had already risen by more than eight percent, continuing to climb in a straight line against the broader market’s trend, becoming a rare, if not the only, survivor of the day.

At that time, the retail investor “Go with the Flow” had started to pay attention to this stock, preparing to buy it at its limit-up.

As the market’s sole survivor, it deserved a closer look. He had to buy.

Most importantly, this stock was one of the fifteen medium-to-long-term stocks in K-God’s portfolio. Its upward trend was accelerating, so he had to follow.

The instant it hit the limit, he immediately placed an order to buy up 1.5 million yuan worth of shares. Two minutes after the limit-up was sealed, his queued funds were fully executed, completing the trade. The 1.5 million yuan constituted a 25% position in his current capital.

“K-God is truly incredible. The broader market has been a disaster this year, with the index heading south all the way, yet his fifteen medium-to-long-term trend stocks have gone against the tide and headed north. Many have doubled, and even the worst performers are up by fifty or sixty percent. He’s invincible in short-term trading, and just as awesome in the long term!” Watching Desay Battery seal its limit-up, the retail investor Go with the Flow was filled with emotion.

Without a doubt, K-God was his idol. He used to only hang out on a certain stock forum and never used Weibo, but now he had moved over to Weibo and hardly ever surfaced on the forum anymore.

After a while, Go with the Flow closed the intraday market data for Desay Battery. With the T+1 trading rule, once you bought, you were locked in. There was nothing more to see.

He now held a 25% position in this stock and had put the remaining 75% of his funds into reverse repos. He had caught the only survivor in the market; buying any other stock today would have been a trap. With market sentiment at an absolute low, putting the rest of his capital into reverse repos was the correct move.

After closing the Desay Battery chart, he thought of Dasheng Shares, the stock he had been scared out of last Friday at the price of 44.44 yuan. That stock had brought him a profit of nearly two million yuan, and he had even planned to allocate a portion of his funds for a value investment in it after the short-term sentiment cooled.

Go with the Flow immediately switched to Dasheng Shares to take a look. When he saw its current price, he was stunned for a moment, feeling both surprised and not so surprised.

“Thank goodness I got out fast last Friday. This main force is really something else, using the 4444 super quad pattern at the top as a warning signal to retreat!” Go with the Flow looked at Dasheng Shares’ intraday chart and chuckled to himself.

Today, the stock opened with a gap down of -2.90% at 40.46 yuan. After the opening bell, it plummeted directly, now hitting 37.50 yuan, a drop of -10.01%, sealing its limit-down. It formed a huge negative candlestick with no upper or lower shadow.

Those who snapped up shares during late trading last Friday, betting on a reversal today, were all wiped out in one fell swoop. They had held the bag!

Go with the Flow wasn’t the least bit surprised by this limit-down. Given the market’s performance today and such a brutal panic sell sentiment, even a stock like Dasheng Shares couldn’t escape, regardless of its scarcity or growth potential.

The flocking to high-sentiment targets was collapsing, and the tide turned in an instant.

Go with the Flow watched the limit-down chart for a while, then switched over to the stock’s forum to browse the comments.

[You old bastard, you trapped your grandpa at the top again!]

[What happened to the promised reversal to a limit-up?]

[The main force is a fucking genius. A huge negative candlestick reversal on Wednesday, then another one on Friday. Retail investors see it and rush to buy, betting on a reversal today, but the main force slams it to the floor price instead, trapping everyone!]

[If you don’t buy, it reverses. The moment you buy, it bags you.]

[44.44, a quad!]

[Caught a falling knife. Couldn’t bring myself to sell at the open, and now it’s sealed at the limit-down. Can’t get out even if I want to… (crying.jpg)]

[Fucking main force, let me the hell outta here!]

[A mere main force, how laughable! Don’t you dare be so arrogant! I am the rogue investor ‘Always-Full-Position,’ and I have come to face you today! Take this, my Leading stock strategy! This technique was created by Grandmaster K-God himself, a peerless skill in this age! Hiyah! Buy on MACD golden cross, sell on death cross! KDJ overbought then oversold! Bollinger bands, moving averages, volume-price relationships, three white soldiers, double bottom! Main force, tell me, are you scared yet… (puffed up.jpg)]

[Hahahahaha…]

[This is the most viciously K-God has ever been roasted… (laughing through tears.jpg)]

[K-God: Keep me out of this!]

[Another one’s gone crazy. Carry him away, carry him away, quick!]

[Golden cross, my ass! I’ve been crossed so many times, it’s nothing but a trap… (furious.jpg)]

[The moment you buy on a golden cross, it turns into a death cross, haha!]

[Brute force beats skill… (smiling shiba.jpg)]

[The ultimate leader has an extra life. If you’re going for the leader, you gotta have faith. Just do it!]

…

The trapped investors were either cursing or creating memes to laugh at themselves in the comments section. Although the stock had hit its limit-down, its popularity was still number one in both markets today.

Go with the Flow lurked and read the comments for a while before losing interest. With the stock hitting the limit-down today, it was basically confirmed to have peaked in the short term. With the 44.44 double-digit quad top, there was no way any capital would be coming in to break even for the people stuck at a high price anytime soon.

However, Go with the Flow was only bearish in the short term; his overall outlook remained bullish. He would continue to track this stock’s performance long-term and start making value investments once it stabilized after the correction.

The 44.44 peak would definitely be broken. As for when it would stabilize and begin to reverse, that depended on the choice of capital. Furthermore, one could not ignore the potential for news-driven catalysts from Quantum Beat or the Weibo subsidiary.

For example, releasing some positive news, like announcing the latest Weibo user growth data—such news could also trigger a reaction in the stock price.

The stock was still called Dasheng Shares and had not been formally renamed yet. Once the restructuring was fully completed, the stock’s short name would certainly be changed to Weibo. The investor “Go with the Flow” estimated that when the company changed its name, there would most likely be a main uptrend wave pushing the price past the 44.44 high.

…

Meanwhile, as the morning session was about to close, the market continued its one-sided panic sell. Both the spot index and the stock index futures were in a unilateral downward plunge.

Fang Hong was still having the girls continuously add to the short positions on the stock index futures side. His current short position had already reached 1,458 lots, with the main contract accounting for 70% of that position.

Currently, the trading volume for stock index futures had reached 60,000 lots, officially surpassing yesterday’s entire day’s trading volume. The main contract had also broken below 3,300 points, dropping to 3,273.4 points, with the intraday decline widening to -4.16%. The corresponding spot index, the CSI 300, had also fallen to 3,253 points, its decline widening to three percent.

When the market opened in the afternoon, both the stock index futures and the spot index continued their decline.

Fang Hong also continued to add to his short positions. The shorts he added in the morning were already profitable, and the ones he entered last Friday were showing substantial profits.

Around 2:30 p.m., Fang Hong finally stopped adding to his short positions. By now, his open interest had officially surpassed 2,359 lots, with the main contract reaching 1,852 lots.

Tomorrow, he would continue to add to his stock position, until it was maxed out at 3,000 lots.

If not for the fact that the current stock index futures market couldn’t accommodate too much capital, Fang Hong would definitely have maxed out his bearish position at 5,000 lots.

However, as time went on, more and more individuals and institutions would participate in stock index futures. The daily trading volume and open interest would also soar exponentially. During the great bull market of 2015, the daily turnover would reach a terrifying million-lot level, and open interest would frequently be in the 100,000-lot range.

After the market closed in the afternoon, the CSI 300 stock index futures plummeted by -6.39%, closing at 3,197.4 points, breaking below its listing price. The trading volume for the main contract reached 110,000 lots, with an open interest of 3,954 lots, a net increase of +1,252 lots from yesterday. The total open interest for all contracts reached 5,320 lots, a massive surge of nearly 40% compared to yesterday.

Fang Hong’s open interest accounted for nearly 45% of the entire stock index futures market, making him the absolute commander of the short army at present. This was because not many large institutional funds had entered the market yet; it was mainly populated by retail investors who enjoyed speculating on new listings. However, the retail investors playing in this field were all wealthy, as a single lot cost close to one million yuan.

Today was a day of huge wins for those who shorted the stock index futures. Some futures players even managed to double their money in a single day. Among futures traders, it was rare to find anyone who didn’t use leverage.

Fang Hong didn’t use leverage because it was unnecessary. The market’s capacity was limited, the number of stock index futures accounts had just surpassed ten thousand, and only seven or eight thousand were actively trading.

Using leverage would only add to his capital costs. Just going short with an unleveraged, one-sided position was enough. No need for anything fancy.

Besides, there was hardly any profit potential in the stock market right now. Across the entire market, only about one hundred stocks closed in the positive today. The number of stocks that hit their limit-up was a pitiful two: one was Desay Battery, which hit its limit-up in the morning and it was a shaky one at that, and the other was a recent IPO, Hanwang Technology, which struggled to seal its limit-up in the afternoon.

In stark contrast, the futures players who went long got wrecked today. Some short-term traders were slashed in half in a single day due to a series of mistaken trades.

…

Chapter 342: iPhone Hit by “Leak-gate,” Qin Feng Strikes First

Fang Hong’s return on investment in stock index futures wasn’t particularly high because he didn’t use leverage. However, his capital volume gave him an absolutely crushing advantage over the thousands of other players in the futures market.

Even if retail investors doubled their money, they would only make a profit of three to five million. For Fang Hong’s open interest, a one-percent fluctuation meant a profit of nearly thirty million.

On the index front, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets closed today with an extremely ugly, huge negative candlestick without upper or lower shadow. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -4.79% to close at 2980.30, breaking through the 3000-point mark. This single huge bearish candle completely wiped out all the gains from the rebound of the past month and a half.

The Shenzhen Component Index fared even worse, plunging by -6.22% to close at 11644.58. The closing price was the lowest of the day, breaking below the February 3rd bottom of 11714.16 and hitting a new low for the year.

The market’s sharp fall today could be attributed to a cluster of negative factors that brought the A-shares to their knees, leaving them with no strength to resist and forcing them to lie flat from the opening bell.

The first piece of negative news was the major drop in US stocks in the overseas markets last Friday. Then came new policies that cast a pall over the real estate and banking sectors, which in turn affected other financial stocks. It just so happened that stock index futures were launched last Friday, and it also just so happened that the heavyweight stocks that fell sharply today carried significant weight in the stock index.

In addition, the news that the regulators had greenlit domestically-listed companies to spin off and list their subsidiaries also had a stimulating effect, dealing the ChiNext board the biggest blow of negative news since its inception.

Then there was the rampant speculation in stock index futures themselves. Today’s trading volume in futures nearly doubled compared to its debut last Friday, and the number of new accounts opened also surged. This inevitably caused an outflow of funds from the main market to the futures market. At the same time, the pace of IPOs on the ChiNext and SME Boards continued to accelerate. With all these factors simultaneously creating a liquidity drain, the pressure on the market’s capital was relentless.

…

As the Eastern Hemisphere entered the dead of night, the Western Hemisphere, bathed in daylight, was shaken by bombshell news. Gizmodo, a well-known American tech blog, published a story that sent shockwaves through the North America tech circle.

[…What you are looking at is Apple’s next iPhone. It was found in a bar in Redwood City, disguised as an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing, and here are all the details…]

A writer for the site named Jason published a post titled “This Is the Next iPhone,” which explained in detail and with great persuasiveness why the device was the next-generation iPhone.

As the news fermented and spread, it quickly went viral across the European and American internet. Various renowned media outlets began to follow up with their own reports, amplifying its reach.

The tech circle instantly exploded!

This was undoubtedly one of the biggest leaks in the history of technology. Most crucially, the leaked next-generation iPhone looked incredibly familiar, as if they had seen it somewhere before.

Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation smartphone!

People in the tech world reacted instantly, and the image of Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation smartphone quickly came to mind.

When the two were compared, the resemblance was uncanny!

Was Apple’s next iPhone actually imitating the first-generation product of a startup tech company?

This answer left everyone stunned!

It was simply unbelievable, but the facts before them were irrefutable. For a time, the incident spread like wildfire throughout the tech circle.

Reporters from various media outlets in Europe and America rushed to Apple’s headquarters to stake out the entrance, seeking confirmation of the news. This pushed Apple into the eye of the storm, and the iPhone series faced a massive crisis.

Apple’s loyal users, in particular, found it hard to accept that a globally renowned tech giant would release a next-generation product that was a copy of one from a startup. They desperately hoped it was fake news.

Chief Jobs was furious when he heard the news. Right now, all he wanted was to get the prototype back as quickly as possible.

Just two hours after Gizmodo’s exposé, Apple quickly identified Jason, the author of the post. The California police, which was actually Chief Jobs’ own security team, promptly took action. They raided Jason’s home that very day and confiscated all of his equipment.

But it was too late to lock the barn door after the horse had bolted. The news was already out and spreading rapidly across the globe via the internet. Now, the whole world knew about Apple’s next-generation iPhone.

At the same time, the news soon crossed the ocean and reached the Mainland.

…

The next day, the news in the tech circles both at home and abroad was almost entirely dominated by Apple’s next-generation iPhone “Leak-gate” incident. Its spread to the Mainland also triggered a massive sensation.

Because the leaked iPhone’s appearance was over 90% similar to Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation S1 phone, industry insiders in the Mainland were equally stunned. They even initially dismissed it as a baseless rumor, but the tech circle in Europe and America was in a frenzy.

This caused the hype around the S1, which had been cooling down since its release, to soar once again, making it a hot new topic of discussion.

Apple was now in a very passive position. Not only was it embroiled in the “Leak-gate” scandal, but it was now also mired in a “plagiarism scandal”—a real mess.

Some began to mock the company, expressing deep disappointment in Apple’s upcoming iPhone.

Without a doubt, this “Leak-gate” and “plagiarism scandal” severely damaged consumer anticipation for Apple’s next-generation iPhone.

…

The next day, Wednesday, April 21st.

Following Monday’s crash, the market saw a rebound today. It surged higher in the morning before falling back, then strengthened again in the afternoon, trending upward with some volatility.

Fang Hong was watching the market when a new notification caught his eye. The headline, “Stellar Universe Technology Sues Apple,” made him pause for a moment. Realizing what it meant, he clicked on it to read the details.

[Breaking News: Stellar Universe Technology Co., Ltd. has filed a request with the State Intellectual Property Office to declare Apple’s iPhone design patent invalid and has demanded that Apple cease its infringing activities. This morning, reporters learned that the First Intermediate People’s Court has accepted the case. It is understood that Stellar Universe Technology has further stated that the company will proceed with cross-border intellectual property litigation.]

“Good kid, this preemptive strike is beautifully done. He’s got some skills,” Fang Hong muttered, stunned for a second after reading the news. He immediately broke into a smile, his estimation of Qin Feng rising yet again.

Apple hadn’t even come looking for trouble with Stellar Universe Technology yet. The iPhone 4 “Leak-gate” had just erupted, and Apple hadn’t even officially acknowledged it. But that super sly kid Qin Feng had already struck first, suing Apple.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but grin as he read the breaking news. Qin Feng really didn’t play by the rules. He constantly told everyone that Chief Jobs was his idol and heaped praise on him, yet when it came to business, he struck at his idol with such ruthless precision.

“Haha, he understands business warfare. Hmm, hitting hard is the only way to show respect for your idol. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be looking down on him? Makes perfect sense!” Fang Hong chuckled to himself.

The marketplace is like a battlefield. Qin Feng’s move made Fang Hong respect him even more. Among the new generation in the business world, Qin Feng was certainly hard to surpass. Facing a behemoth like Apple, which currently outmatched Stellar Universe Technology in every aspect—from history and reputation to global influence—he showed no fear. He acted decisively when it was time to act, daring to draw his sword and charge into battle.

He could seize opportunities and possessed both courage and strategy. Fang Hong was now even more convinced that Stellar Universe Technology would rise successfully under Qin Feng’s leadership.

For Apple, this was a loss whether they won or lost the case. And if they lost, it was an even bigger loss.

For Qin Feng, a win would be a massive victory. But even in defeat, he would earn the title of “hero” within the domestic industry. Few in the Mainland would dare to take on a tech giant like Apple in this manner.

Stellar Universe Technology’s preemptive lawsuit—striking first instead of waiting to be sued and then being forced into a defensive counterattack—was a brilliant opening move that further expanded their initiative.

When Fang Hong saw the news, he immediately understood Qin Feng’s intentions. The goal of suing Apple wasn’t to actually win the case. The real prize was the court of public opinion, where this was a surefire, massive win.

Apple was now in an incredibly awkward position. They didn’t know whether to engage or not.

If they engaged, it would be an admission that “Leak-gate” was real and that the exposed iPhone prototype was indeed the iPhone 4 they planned to release in two months. That was a painful choice. If they didn’t engage and denied the leaked iPhone was theirs, it would be tantamount to surrender. Did Apple really have the guts to cancel the June iPhone 4 launch and go back to the drawing board? That was an even more painful choice!

Fang Hong was one hundred percent certain that Apple would never do that. They would absolutely not cancel the launch and redesign the phone. For one, the enormous financial loss would be unbearable. For another, no one could swallow their pride and take such a hit. Apple must be feeling incredibly aggrieved right now.

So, their only option was to fight the lawsuit.

Qin Feng clearly didn’t care about the outcome of the lawsuit. It was perfectly normal for such disputes to drag on for years without a result. He could just let it simmer.

For this slick move, Fang Hong couldn’t help but give props to Qin Feng.

…

Chapter 343: Win-Win, the Kind Where You Win Twice

In the court of public opinion, Qin Feng’s choice to strike first had the effect of immediately reinforcing the idea in the public’s mind that Apple had copied Stellar Universe Technology. See? Stellar Universe Technology is even suing Apple for infringement.

What followed would be a war of words between the two parties, bickering either in the media or in court.

But sales of the S1 would definitely continue as usual!

And the fact that Apple’s iPhone 4 still couldn’t launch in the Greater China region this year would not change. They were 100% certain to lose any international lawsuit, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in the Greater China region.

If they won the lawsuit in the Mainland, it would mean the iPhone 4 could not be released on the Mainland market.

This was the key point. Qin Feng had no intention of expanding globally at this stage; his focus was solely on the Greater China market. If Apple’s iPhone 4 couldn’t be launched, Stellar Universe Technology’s product advantage would extend further into 2011.

In short, for Stellar Universe Technology, even the worst-case scenario put them in an unassailable position. The only question was whether it would be a big win or a small one. Either way, they were sure to make a killing with this move.

…

When the news reached Apple’s headquarters in the Western Hemisphere, the executive management was stunned to learn that Stellar Universe Technology was taking them to court. The entire executive team couldn’t believe it and was furious, including Chief Jobs, who was incensed.

No matter how they looked at it, they felt they were getting wrecked. The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.

With Stellar Universe Technology playing dirty like this, various media outlets that loved a good drama also jumped into the fray, and the scathing commentaries kept coming.

In terms of public sentiment, Stellar Universe Technology clearly had the upper hand in the Mainland; their advantage was too obvious.

The world knew that their first-generation product had been released first. If a startup like Stellar Universe Technology was considered a “newcomer,” then Apple was a “senior” of the highest order, a top-tier industry titan. For Stellar Universe Technology to dare challenge such a powerful figure, people couldn’t help but be impressed by Qin Feng’s fearless courage.

So what if they were a startup? So what if the other was an established giant? They were taking on the established giant!

The international media was more focused on Apple, with discussions centered on the company. In the Mainland, however, Stellar Universe Technology’s move successfully shifted everyone’s attention to them.

Netizens were in an uproar, with a major online debate erupting between a group of “volunteer patriots” and some foreign-worshipping public intellectual Big Vs. Apple hadn’t even responded yet, but the public intellectuals were already in a panic, trying to smooth things over for Apple and find fault with Stellar Universe Technology.

It’s worth noting that “public intellectuals” and “volunteer patriots” were practically mortal enemies. Online, there was a group operating under the name of “public intellectuals,” combining “citizen” and “intellectual.” They specialized in finding the dark side of society and magnifying it infinitely, then quoting a few lines from foreigners and starting to tell blatant lies.

The “volunteer patriots,” on the other hand, whose full moniker meant “the 50-Cent Army members who bring their own provisions,” referred to those who voluntarily and rationally used data and materials to debunk the lies of malicious online comments in order to win over the uninformed majority. They were a group of patriotic netizens who cheered for positive social energy and supported the country’s development.

The public intellectuals despised this group, denigrating the “volunteer patriots” as being even worse than the “50-Cent Army” who were paid to post. These people worked for free, “bringing their own provisions.” It was obvious that the “volunteer patriots” were on Stellar Universe Technology’s side.

Many of them supported Stellar Universe Technology for a very simple reason: it was a tech company from their own country that had created such an outstanding product, which made them feel proud.

At the same time, Qin Feng’s preemptive strike in suing Apple had thrilled and excited many people. After all, compared to Stellar Universe Technology, Apple was an undeniable behemoth.

The fact that Stellar Universe Technology dared to take the initiative against an entity far more powerful and established than itself had a “heroic” quality to it, and people desperately hoped that Qin Feng could defeat a rival like Apple.

The main battlefield for their online debate was Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform. Xu Jingren, who was in charge of Quantum Beat, once again skillfully used this hot topic to drive Weibo’s user growth.

Xu Jingren knew which side his loyalties lay on. He knew that Stellar Universe Technology’s largest shareholder was Stellaris Capital, which was also Quantum Beat’s largest shareholder, with their “leader,” Fang Hong, acting as the core link between them.

So, it was a no-brainer that Xu Jingren would lean toward Stellar Universe Technology. His position determined his perspective.

However, on this hot-button issue of public sentiment, Xu Jingren played a masterful “balancing act” to control the situation on his own platform. He had to ensure Weibo’s growth while also looking out for Stellar Universe Technology’s public image, so finding the right balance was key.

Xu Jingren’s approach was to not limit traffic or take other measures against blog posts unfavorable to Stellar Universe Technology. The Weibo platform itself needed these people to generate buzz and traffic. Simply put, the “public intellectual Big Vs” still had their uses; it wasn’t time to discard them just yet.

If the two sides were evenly matched in their debate, Xu Jingren’s strategy was for the platform to remain neutral and enjoy the show. If the “public intellectual Big Vs” were clearly gaining the upper hand, he wouldn’t suppress them either. Instead, he would secretly give their opponents a boost, slyly directing more traffic to the “volunteer patriots.”

The ideal situation was to keep the “public intellectual Big Vs” at a slight disadvantage. That was the perfect outcome.

This way, public sentiment was stabilized, and the Weibo platform got its traffic—a win-win, the kind where you win twice. Xu Jingren didn’t care what was happening on other platforms; this was how he ran things on his own turf.

After all, Weibo’s wealthy backer was also Stellaris Capital.

As for the “public intellectual Big Vs,” Xu Jingren had long ago received a final verdict on them from his “leader.” Fang Hong had said they were still useful for now, but once their value was mostly depleted and Weibo had emerged victorious to secure its absolute leading position in the industry, it would be time to start cleaning them up.

For now, he really did need them. Otherwise, if those Big Vs went to other platforms, they would, to some extent, end up strengthening the competition.

Fang Hong was quite satisfied with Xu Jingren’s handling of the situation. It took care of both sides. In any case, Quantum Beat and Stellaris Capital were two separate companies, so technically, Xu Jingren had no obligation to do anything for Qin Feng’s company.

The fact that he did was a friendly assist, given that they shared the same wealthy backer.

The news that Stellar Universe Technology had suddenly sued Apple was causing a huge stir in public opinion. Some industry insiders felt that Qin Feng’s move was too rash. To sue Apple based solely on the “Leak-gate” incident—what if it was fake?

If it was fake, Stellar Universe Technology would win big. If it was real, they wouldn’t lose either. That’s why, after weighing all the pros and cons, Qin Feng had chosen to seize the initiative without hesitation.

In a way, Stellar Universe Technology was using Apple’s body as a stepping stone, gilding its own reputation. This incident actually raised the company’s profile to a whole new level.

Regardless of the final outcome, the public’s immediate, intuitive reaction was that even an established international giant like Apple had “copied” Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product. Didn’t that indirectly prove how amazing Stellar Universe Technology was? It was practically an endorsement from a top international tech firm.

If one viewed this as a marketing tactic, it was undeniably a hugely successful marketing case study.

…

Chapter 344: Striving to Win the Mainland Lawsuit

A fierce online battle erupted over the “Plagiarism-gate” scandal between Stellar Universe Technology and Apple, and the topic’s popularity remained sky-high.

Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product, the S1 phone, gained a new halo of prestige. If even a renowned, established tech giant like Apple had “plagiarized” it, it must be something special.

Amidst the noisy online debates, the S1’s search volume and pre-order numbers were quietly climbing.

In particular, the 32GB model of the S1-Plus Plus Edition, which had long been sold out, was now being scalped for as much as ten thousand RMB. This was more than double the official retail price, and yet, demand still outstripped supply.

Stellar Universe Technology’s internal team was well aware of the actual sales data. The previously stabilizing pre-order numbers were once again on the rise, with the “Plagiarism-gate” incident fanning the flames.

This was, of course, thanks to Stellaris Capital’s zero-interest installment plan for the phones. Although there was a waiting list for the product, placing a paid order early meant you were more likely to receive your phone sooner, as shipments were fulfilled based on the order time.

The reality was that production capacity simply couldn’t keep up. Ever since the S1-Plus sold out, Stellar Universe Technology had implemented purchase limits. Besides restricting each customer to buying only one phone per day, the five official flagship stores were limited to selling two thousand spot units daily. Once those were sold, customers had to wait until the next day. The seventy direct-sale stores were limited to five hundred spot units daily, with the same rule applying once they sold out.

Under these restrictions, the daily quota of forty-five thousand units across the five official flagship stores and seventy direct-sale stores was now being snapped up by consumers every morning, leaving no phones to sell in the afternoon.

It wasn’t that there was no inventory, but that they couldn’t sell beyond the daily quota.

Qin Feng’s reasoning was simple: without purchase limits, the company’s previously prepared inventory would have long since been depleted. Even the display models in the stores would have likely been snatched up.

While selling as much stock as they had would have quickly recouped capital, it would have been a marketing failure. The current measure of limiting flagship stores to two thousand units and direct-sale stores to five hundred units per day resulted in a phenomenon where customers queued up early every single morning.

This created the spectacle of long queues at major flagship stores every day for over twenty days since the launch on April 1st, which undoubtedly highlighted just how popular the product was.

Curious onlookers who didn’t know the full story would see a phone store with so many people queuing up to buy every day and would inevitably ask around. Coupled with the extended buzz from the internet, it became a topic of casual conversation, naturally increasing Stellar Universe Technology’s brand awareness even further.

People have a herd mentality. When they saw so many people lining up to buy something day after day, their natural first impression would be to judge that the product must be good.

The consumers doing the buying, however, found it a bit frustrating. Some would queue for half the day, only for the stock to sell out just as their turn was approaching.

Qin Feng knew that the queuing experience was not ideal, and it was especially frustrating to nearly get a phone only to have to come back and queue again the next day. To address this, his strategy for the company was to require all flagship and direct-sale stores to make some very down-to-earth preparations each day, such as purchasing bottled water, breakfast, and other items to distribute to queuing customers for free.

This didn’t cost much, and customers who could afford a phone worth several thousand yuan weren’t concerned about the price of a bottle of water and breakfast.

But the gesture demonstrated the company’s respect for its consumers and served as an apology for the insufficient supply. This, undoubtedly, was what the consumers valued more, and it also went a long way in offsetting their frustration with the long queues.

The company was genuinely short on stock, but their service was so thoughtful that unless someone was just there to cause trouble, they would feel too embarrassed to complain.

A good reputation is built through attention to many such details, and a brand is established bit by bit.

Of course, the real reason Qin Feng dared to limit sales to forty-five thousand units per day despite the supply shortage was his confidence that the S1 currently had no competitors in the Mainland market.

At present, consumers could not find a comparable product on the market. If they wanted a phone like the S1, their only option was to queue up patiently. If they didn’t get one today, they would just come back tomorrow.

…

The next morning, at the Stellar Universe Technology headquarters.

“That was a beautiful and bold preemptive strike you pulled off,” Fang Hong praised generously. He was at Qin Feng’s headquarters, having arrived with his beautiful assistant around ten o’clock that morning.

“My thinking was, instead of waiting for Apple to make a move at any moment, it was better to seize the initiative by striking first,” Qin Feng said with a calm smile. “Although doing this has thoroughly burned our bridges with them, my rational mind told me it was the optimal solution for Stellar Universe Technology, so I went for it.”

Fang Hong nodded with a look of great appreciation, then said, “Internationally, it’ll mostly be just rattling our sabers. If it really comes to a lawsuit, we definitely won’t be able to win.”

Hearing this, Qin Feng nodded in agreement. Fang Hong’s tone then shifted as he looked at Qin Feng and added, “But we must strive to win the lawsuit in the Mainland. If we win, the iPhone 4 won’t be able to launch in the Greater China region. That would buy Stellar Universe Technology an extra year, doubling our golden window of opportunity. By the time Apple manages to enter, we’ll no longer need to fear their threat.”

Smart electronic products are different from other consumer goods, especially smartphones, because of the issue of user habits.

For example, whether it’s an Apple, Android, or Stellar Universe Technology user, once they’ve used a phone for a long time and become accustomed to the user experience of the iOS system or the TOS system, they become reluctant to switch.

For instance, a user who is accustomed to Stellar Universe Technology’s TOS system will prioritize a Stellar Universe Technology phone when it’s time to upgrade. Unless the new product is vastly inferior to other brands’ offerings at the time, the user will be unwilling to change their established habits and switch to another brand.

This is what is known as user stickiness.

Therefore, the goal was to hold Apple off for as long as possible. If they could prevent the iPhone 4 from launching in the Mainland market, Stellar Universe Technology could expand and capture as much market share as possible before the iPhone 4S came out in 2011.

The industry was currently in the blue ocean phase of a growth market. As a local smartphone manufacturer, Stellar Universe Technology had a natural home-field advantage. They had to use the next one to two years to get as many smartphone users in the Mainland as possible accustomed to the TOS system, build user stickiness, and thereby solidify their base in the Mainland market.

By then, Stellar Universe Technology would have a considerable customer base with established user stickiness and habits with the TOS system. Even if Apple were to enter the Greater China region market then, the threat to Stellar Universe Technology would be greatly diminished.

Finally, Qin Feng reported a figure to Fang Hong: “According to the sales data compiled up to the day before yesterday, actual unit sales for the first-generation product have reached 3.75 million. Pre-orders on installment plans have accumulated to around 1.33 million units. Including pre-orders, the S1’s total cumulative sales have exceeded five million units.”

For current physical stock sales, consumers who paid in full received priority.

However, this only applied to products that had already been shipped from the warehouse. Additional production runs were supplied according to the order in which pre-orders were placed, regardless of whether it was a full payment or an installment plan.

These sales figures were absolutely shocking to the industry. The 3.75 million units already sold had generated over twelve billion yuan in revenue for Stellar Universe Technology, resulting in a massive influx of capital.

Fang Hong was extremely satisfied with this achievement, as it had thoroughly surpassed expectations. He smiled and said, “You’re the one at the helm of Stellar Universe Technology. You call the shots.”

From every angle, especially Qin Feng’s recent preemptive strategy against Apple, it was clear that Stellar Universe Technology could advance steadily under his leadership. Leaving the company in the hands of such a founder, one could feel completely at ease.

…

Chapter 345: The Time to Go All-In on the Mobile Internet Has Come

Fang Hong stayed at Stellar Universe Technology for about forty to fifty minutes before leaving. His visit this time was mainly to understand the company’s recent plans and current situation. As an investor, Fang Hong did not interfere with Stellar Universe Technology’s development.

It was worth mentioning that following the resounding success of the S1 phone’s launch, Qin Feng had been traveling extensively to build the TOS system’s software ecosystem, busy with preparations for a third-party developer conference.

Long before the S1 phone’s release, he had already approached numerous major internet firms for collaboration, such as Taobao and Alipay under Alibaba, as well as companies like the Penguin.

The goal was to have these companies immediately develop and launch mobile apps based on the TOS system after the S1 phone’s release. In return, Stellar Universe Technology offered to provide pre-installation services for their apps on the S1 phone.

As everyone knew, pre-installing apps was a huge source of profit, especially for a best-selling smartphone brand. It was a crucial advertising slot. When a user buys a new phone, an app that comes with it greatly increases the chance of the owner becoming a potential user of that app.

Of course, users could also uninstall these pre-installed apps if they didn’t like them.

Qin Feng had offered such terms based on it being Stellar Universe Technology’s first product, but he hadn’t expected the sales to be this good. In less than a month, actual unit sales had already reached three million seven hundred and fifty thousand, with the total including pre-orders reaching five million.

Any veteran third-party developer in the internet industry could see the future potential of the TOS ecosystem. Various third-party developers were already paying close attention to the TOS system and preparing to launch their own apps.

This was even more true for the major tech firms. S1 phone users were also potential users for them, so they were now investing more effort into improving their app experience within the TOS ecosystem, with very frequent updates and optimizations.

Besides platform-type applications, mobile games were a massive hit. Stellar Universe Technology’s in-house developed mobile game, Ode to Gallantry, was the first on a smartphone to be made with Unreal Engine 3, and its gameplay was exceptional. It currently ranked in the top ten of the TOS game download charts.

In addition, the TOS versions of games like Angry Birds, released in December 2009, Plants vs. Zombies, released in May 2009, and Fishing Joy, released in 2009, as well as Fruit Ninja, released this month, also quickly became massive hits on the S1 phone.

The download numbers for these mobile games were all in the top ten of the TOS game charts. They were incredibly popular at the moment, and most people who bought an S1 phone spent the majority of their time on it playing games.

The large screen also provided a better gaming experience. When they had a free moment, they would take out their phones to play games, relaxing and passing the time in fragmented moments.

…

After leaving the Stellar Universe Technology headquarters, Fang Hong, accompanied by Tian Jia, went to Quantum Beat.

Stellar Universe Technology had already launched its first-generation smartphone product to great success. While it caused a sensation in the Mainland smartphone industry, it would also inevitably accelerate the industry’s development.

In the next year or two, all sorts of brands would surely pop up. Whether they were third-rate knock-offs or major corporations, everyone would enter the industry to get a piece of the pie. All kinds of venture capital would definitely pour into the sector as well.

The combined effect of these factors would inevitably drive the booming development of the mobile internet industry.

Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone had already sold three to four million units. It was time for Quantum Beat to go all-in on the mobile internet. The time was now.

Fang Hong arrived at Quantum Beat and was now in Xu Jingren’s CEO office.

Xu Jingren walked over to the sofa in the rest area, sat down, and said with a smile, “After more than a year of development in the Mainland market, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform has gradually established itself as a brand. Portal websites like Sohu, Sina, and NetEase have successively joined the Weibo competition, including the Penguin, but it’s very difficult for them to catch up to us.”

Fang Hong nodded and asked concisely and to the point, “What’s the current market share situation in the industry?”

Hearing this, Xu Jingren immediately replied, “According to the latest market data we have, Quantum Beat’s Weibo holds a 37% share, Tencent Weibo has 22%, Sina Weibo has 16%, Sohu Weibo has 11%, NetEase Weibo has 6%, Tianya Net has 3%, Fanfou Net has 2%, and others account for the remaining share.”

Xu Jingren added, “Currently, our Quantum Beat Weibo platform, along with the Weibo platforms of Sina and Tencent, occupy the vast majority of the market share in the Greater China region. And among the top three, our Weibo platform maintains a dominant leading position.”

Fang Hong said with considerable satisfaction, “A 37% share, that’s not bad.”

Xu Jingren smiled. “Our Weibo platform combines the seriousness and objectivity of traditional news, along with our first-mover advantage, attracting a large number of institutional and individual users, such as government personnel, experts, scholars, public figures, and entertainment celebrities. In terms of controlling opinion leaders, I can say with full confidence that we hold an absolute advantage over our competitors. These opinion leaders, in turn, attract more netizens to our Weibo platform, creating a virtuous cycle.”

After a short pause, Xu Jingren continued, “According to the data from the first quarter of this year, the platform’s user base has entered a phase of explosive growth since the new year. Since its launch, it has taken just over a year for the platform to become an important internet application used by over a third of all netizens.”

Fang Hong said with surprise, “So you’re saying our user base has reached one hundred and forty million?”

“One hundred and forty-five million, to be precise,” Xu Jingren said with a smile.

According to the first-quarter data released by the relevant authorities, the number of netizens in the Mainland had exceeded four hundred million, with mobile internet users reaching two hundred and seventy million. Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform growing to a user base of one hundred and forty-five million meant it accounted for about 36% of the country’s total netizens.

Xu Jingren added, “Based on our team’s internal analysis of the first quarter’s growth, when we compare a series of factors like usage rate, attention from mainstream netizens, product preference for potential Weibo users, user satisfaction, and frequency of use among Weibo users against our competitors, the results show that our platform holds an absolute dominant position among current Weibo products.”

At this point, Xu Jingren stood up from the sofa, went to his desk, and rummaged for a moment. He quickly returned with a user survey analysis report and handed it to Fang Hong, who took it and began to browse through it.

According to the feedback from the survey report, Quantum Beat’s Weibo product had the highest usage rate among the mainstream Weibo products in the Mainland.

When users were surveyed, 60.9% of them said they had used Quantum Beat Weibo. Analyzing based on netizen attention and usage rates, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform was undoubtedly the most popular product in the Mainland’s Weibo market at present.

As the number of netizens in the Mainland continued to grow rapidly, the usage rate and attention on Quantum Beat’s Weibo would also show geometric growth. The two had already formed a mutually reinforcing virtuous cycle. Seizing a first-mover advantage in a growth market was just that wonderful.

…

Chapter 346: A New Project: WeChat?

As of the first quarter of this year, among the users of Quantum Beat’s Weibo, there were 35,083 individual media accounts, 7,372 official media accounts, and over 10,000 verified government agencies and their public officials across various fields. Among these, there were over 6,000 government agency accounts and nearly 3,850 personal accounts of public officials. Additionally, more than 20,000 companies had registered and were using Weibo.

Fang Hong finished browsing the document, set it aside, and turned to Xu Jingren. “The momentum is excellent, but the company’s strategic focus must now shift entirely from PC to mobile. The successful launch of Stellar Universe Technology’s product will undoubtedly drive explosive growth in the smartphone industry over the next few years, which in turn will propel the mobile internet into a phase of rapid expansion.”

His main purpose for visiting the Quantum Beat headquarters today was for this very matter.

Xu Jingren nodded and said, “The final testing for Weibo’s mobile client was completed half a month ago. I plan to officially launch it on May 1st.”

Venturing into the mobile internet was a grand strategy Quantum Beat had established since its inception. Xu Jingren was now following the plan they had originally laid out in their school dormitory.

“There aren’t any major issues with Weibo, so just proceed according to your plan. I came today for something else,” Fang Hong said, then glanced at the beautiful assistant sitting beside him.

Tian Jiayi understood his look. She immediately placed her briefcase on her lap, opened it, and took out a document, handing it to Fang Hong.

Witnessing this, Xu Jingren was secretly surprised. An executive president of Stellaris Capital was acting just like the boss’s subordinate. It made him wonder: what role did his leader really play at Stellaris Capital?

At the same time, Fang Hong took the document and handed it to Xu Jingren with a smile. “It’s time to start putting together a new project team. Quantum Beat can’t just have Weibo; we need to launch a new project.”

“A new project?” Hearing this, Xu Jingren set aside his confusion and focused on the document being handed to him. He took it and looked it over. After a moment, he looked up at Fang Hong in astonishment. “WeChat?”

Fang Hong nodded. “WeChat should be a social application based on real-name registration. It should have a rich set of features, including voice calls, Moments, Official Accounts, and so on. Its core element will be relationship chains—or to be precise, three types of relationship chains…”

At this point, Fang Hong glanced at the document in Xu Jingren’s hands and changed his tone. “I have high hopes for WeChat. It’s the key to shaking the Penguin’s dominance in the social media sphere. When I say this document is worth 300 billion, that’s a conservative estimate, not an exaggeration at all. Not a single detail can leak before the product is launched. This must be treated as the company’s highest trade secret.”

Worth 300 billion? A conservative estimate? And that wasn’t an exaggeration?

At his words, it wasn’t just Xu Jingren who was stunned. The beautiful assistant sitting beside him was also dumbfounded for a moment. Stellaris Capital’s entire net asset value for the 2009 fiscal year hadn’t even passed the 300 billion mark.

Although the 300 billion figure seemed a bit outlandish, it clearly showed how much importance his boss placed on this new project. Xu Jingren began to read through the document again, starting with the discussion of the three “relationship chains.”

Acquaintance Relationships: By matching a user’s contact list, WeChat, with user permission, could add friends from their phone’s contacts. It would also allow users to log in directly with their Weibo account, essentially using Weibo to channel traffic to WeChat.

Stranger Relationship Chain: WeChat would develop features like “Drift Bottle” and “Shake.” These were designed for social interactions with strangers, providing users a channel to connect with and befriend strangers who were nearby, far away, or simply brought together by fate.

Furthermore, there would be a location-based social service. When a user was in a certain location, they could chat with other people nearby.

This was an absolutely god-tier feature!

Users could get incredibly creative with it, and it would be a key factor in making WeChat explode in popularity. This was because, built upon the stranger relationship chain, the feature had a natural “hook-up” attribute.

Offline Relationship Chain: By developing QR code contact cards, people meeting offline could easily add each other on WeChat. From acquaintances to strangers, the offline relationship chain could be imported into WeChat with a simple scan.

After reading the descriptions of the three major relationship chains, Xu Jingren continued through the rest of the document, becoming more and more engrossed. Expressions of surprise surfaced on his face from time to time. The document essentially laid out a detailed five-year development strategy for the new “WeChat” project.

Finally, Xu Jingren closed the document and looked at Fang Hong in amazement. “Boss, your creativity is truly… I can’t say it’s worth 300 billion, but 30 billion should be achievable.”

Fang Hong chuckled. “You’re thinking too small, aren’t you? To be honest, my own future valuation for the WeChat project is 500 billion.”

Hearing this, both Xu Jingren and the beautiful assistant had the same word pop into their minds: “Absurd.” The numbers were getting more and more ridiculous.

However, Fang Hong didn’t dwell on the issue. After all, they were limited by their historical perspective. As someone who had been reborn, Fang Hong clearly had no such limitations.

After a moment of thought, Xu Jingren tapped the document in his hand and said, “This new project might really be able to shake the Penguin’s dominance in social media. But besides QQ, its main competitor, we can’t underestimate China Mobile’s Fetion. Both of these products have incredibly high user activity, with concurrent users on the scale of one hundred million.”

Fetion was a software launched by China Mobile in 2007. Back then, the Mainland mobile market was still dominated by carriers. The application could seamlessly link the internet and SMS, making it one of the most popular social apps in the country at the time. It was no exaggeration to say that Fetion was in the same league as QQ.

Users could use Fetion to send text messages to friends in their contact list, which was very convenient for sending out notifications. The service was also free, requiring only a tiny amount of data usage. However, this was limited to communication between China Mobile users; sending messages to China Telecom or China Unicom users still cost money.

Fetion was currently at its zenith. Backed by China Mobile, it boasted a user base of 500 million, with 100 million monthly active users. Moreover, since smartphones had not yet become widespread, the vast majority of Fetion users were running it on so-called ‘smartphones’ with plastic keyboards.

At this, Fang Hong said calmly, “Fetion seems powerful, but in reality, it’s not worth worrying about. By excluding China Telecom and China Unicom users, the product doesn’t support all three major networks. This will become its biggest weakness. The key is that China Mobile has no intention of changing this, perhaps because acquiring users has been too easy for them.”

Another major factor is that Fetion’s free service is limited to its own China Mobile users. They still charge for messages to Telecom or Unicom users because they don’t want to give up that piece of the pie.

The IT and internet industry is a classic “fast fish eats the slow fish” world. Startups can rise very quickly; victory and defeat are decided in just one or two years. By the time WeChat rises and smartphones become widespread—a matter of two or three years—it will be too late for Fetion, even if it does switch to supporting all three networks.

Fang Hong looked at Xu Jingren and explained, “During Quantum Beat’s previous spin-off and restructuring, we separated a portion of the funds originally raised for the Weibo subsidiary and raised new financing. Those funds we separated out were actually intended for this project.”

Xu Jingren was shocked to hear this. “You were already planning for this back then?” he asked immediately.

In other words, this project had been brewing in his boss’s mind since that time, or perhaps even earlier.

The boss really does see ten steps ahead for every one he takes, Xu Jingren thought in admiration. But he quickly asked, “Will this project operate independently? Or will it be under Weibo?”

Fang Hong replied at once, “Of course it will operate independently. The whole point of Quantum Beat’s spin-off and restructuring, separating Weibo for a backdoor listing, was to allow the WeChat project to be independent. If we placed WeChat under the Weibo subsidiary, wouldn’t that just be a massive gift to those VCs?”

If WeChat were put under the Weibo subsidiary, the VCs who got on board during the last financing round would make an insane amount of money. The equity they received would have been at a rock-bottom price among rock-bottom prices.

…

Chapter 347: First, We Must Solve the ‘Can It Be Done’ Problem

“For the new project, let’s establish a new subsidiary, with Quantum Beat as the holding parent company,” Fang Hong said methodically. “Just like the Weibo subsidiary, the plan is to eventually list it on the A-share market.”

Hearing this, Xu Jingren nodded. “Understood. I’ll personally assemble the development team for this project.”

With the previous experience of spinning off and operating the Weibo subsidiary, the development of the WeChat project would be much smoother.

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “Let’s move quickly. Aim to launch the product by October this year.”

Xu Jingren replied with certainty, “No problem. The creative plan is all in these documents. You could say it’s just a matter of copying the homework. Five months is more than enough time to go live.”

By the time WeChat officially launched, the user base of Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform would surely exceed two hundred million. With Weibo driving traffic to WeChat, it would undoubtedly have a very strong start.

With their business discussion nearly concluded, Fang Hong prepared to leave Quantum Beat.

However, just as he was about to leave the CEO’s office, Xu Jingren pulled him aside and whispered, “Boss, how is it that a core executive like Stellaris’s Executive Vice President seems to be at your beck and call? Tell me the truth, bro. What’s your real connection to Stellaris?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled to himself. The timing was becoming more and more appropriate. He had specifically brought Tian Jiayi with him today to catch Xu Jingren’s attention. His aim was to gradually create an expectation in his mind, so the future reveal wouldn’t seem so abrupt.

“You can wait for me in the car,” Fang Hong said to Tian Jiayi. She nodded and left the office first. Fang Hong then turned to Xu Jingren, but just as he was about to speak, Xu Jingren beat him to it with an exclamation, “Could it be…”

Although Tian Jiayi had already left the office, Xu Jingren still lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Don’t tell me you’re having a secret affair with that beautiful Vice President?”

Fang Hong: “…”

Xu Jingren grinned. “I get it, I get it. Don’t worry, I won’t spout nonsense. Especially not to He Xuan. No, I’m just talking nonsense. No, no, I don’t know anything!”

Fang Hong shook his head in resignation. He’d thought Xu Jingren had figured out that he was the big boss of Stellaris Capital.

Then again, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

At that moment, Xu Jingren said with a broad smile, “I never thought you’d successfully win over an Executive Vice President from Stellaris Capital’s core management, boss. No wonder Stellaris has been so good to our Quantum Beat. As expected, there’s no such thing as love without a reason in this world, haha!”

As he finished speaking, Xu Jingren secretly gave his boss a thumbs-up in admiration.

Fang Hong smiled and said, “In short, it’s simple. You can trust Stellaris Capital as much as you trust me.”

Hearing this, Xu Jingren couldn’t help but be taken aback. Fang Hong said no more, leaving him with that single, suggestive sentence before walking out of the office, leaving Xu Jingren alone, lost in thought.

…

Fang Hong left the Quantum Beat headquarters and got into his private car where Tian Jiayi was already waiting. He turned his head to his beautiful assistant and instructed, “Regarding Quantum Beat’s WeChat project, Stellaris Capital will need to pull some strings to bring in state-owned institutions.”

Following the original historical trajectory, WeChat rose rapidly under Tencent. Many people believed this was due to WeChat’s own innovation, plus the fact that Tencent relentlessly drove traffic to it from QQ, which allowed WeChat to take off so quickly.

There was certainly nothing wrong with that assessment, but it overlooked a fundamental prerequisite that many were unaware of: Tencent was able to do it, while others could not. If others had tried it, they would have ended up in prison.

That was the crux of the matter.

At the time, creating an internet phone service between PCs was illegal; it was the kind of thing that could land you in prison.

When WeChat appeared, its voice and phone call features essentially functioned as a telephone service, which is an internet phone service.

But these features didn’t require users to pay call charges, so the emergence of the WeChat social network dealt a massive blow to the interests of the telecom operators. In a sense, it carved out a huge piece of their cake.

As it stood, without WeChat, people had to pay calling fees to make phone calls. But once WeChat and its voice call function appeared, the frequency of traditional phone calls plummeted.

In Fang Hong’s previous life, Tencent was able to successfully build WeChat because of a basic precondition: they were allowed to. No one would cross provincial lines to arrest them. If a grassroots entrepreneur had tried the same thing, they would very likely have been arrested. It’s just that Tencent was already a giant before they made WeChat, so ordinary people couldn’t touch them.

After Tencent made WeChat a success, talk of arrests faded away. Then, others were also able to develop internet phone services, and no one would bother you about it being forbidden or threatening you with prison.

Now that Quantum Beat was going to intercept Tencent’s opportunity to create WeChat, it would face similar problems.

First, they had to solve the problem of being able to do it!

Fang Hong’s solution was to make the “National Team” institutions one of WeChat’s shareholders. In any case, once it grew into a national-level super app platform, reaching a scale that could affect the national economy and people’s livelihoods, it wouldn’t be allowed to be entirely in private hands anyway.

So, he might as well bring the National Team in from the very beginning. This would not only save a lot of trouble now but also solve many future problems in one go.

By then, WeChat could expand and grow without any reservations.

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said, “Bring in the Xincheng local state-owned assets for an 11% stake, and also bring in one of the telecom operators, China Unicom, for a 22% equity share. We don’t want China Unicom to invest money directly into this project. We only need the user traffic support they can provide. They don’t have to put up a single cent.”

Relying solely on traffic from the Weibo platform wasn’t quite enough. As one of the three major telecom operators, any one of them had a massive user base. Gaining China Unicom’s user traffic support, combined with Quantum Beat’s own Weibo platform, would be like giving a tiger wings. WeChat’s development would be destined to soar and rise rapidly from the initial stage.

In the “fast fish eats the slow fish” world of the internet industry, it wasn’t enough to just seize the initiative by striking first; you also had to rapidly capture market share. This was especially true for social network platforms. As long as you achieved scale and secured an absolute majority of the market share, your position would be virtually unshakable, unless you made a catastrophic mistake yourself.

As long as the Xincheng local state-owned assets and China Unicom were strategic shareholders of WeChat, no one would dare to touch it. With that level of the problem solved, the rest would be up to Xu Jingren’s team to develop WeChat.

After a moment, Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi, who was taking notes, and added, “We need to sign a voting agreement.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

Negotiating this partnership with China Unicom shouldn’t face any obstacles, unless Unicom wanted to build an internet social platform themselves, but it was certain they had no plans to enter the social media space.

Now, with Quantum Beat approaching them to cooperate—offering a 22% stake in exchange for China Unicom’s user traffic—China Unicom would suffer no actual loss if WeChat failed.

If it succeeded, it would be a massive win, a killing. There was no reason not to partner up.

Moreover, Quantum Beat had already succeeded with Weibo, which made their new WeChat project very attractive to China Unicom.

Besides, China Unicom had a problem they couldn’t ignore: if they refused to cooperate with Quantum Beat, what if Quantum Beat turned around and went to China Telecom? Wouldn’t that be handing over a premium project with negligible risk and huge potential returns on a silver platter?

China Mobile had Fetion, so they might not even give Quantum Beat the time of day. But for China Telecom and China Unicom, it was a different story. They had no reason not to cooperate.

…

Chapter 348: Unlocking the Ten Billion Achievement

Getting China Unicom to cooperate wasn’t difficult, and getting the Xincheng local state-owned assets institution on board was even simpler. The 11% equity stake couldn’t be given away for free, of course, to avoid accusations of “rent-seeking.”

Therefore, for the Xincheng local state-owned assets institution to receive this 11% stake, it would have to invest a sum of money based on the WeChat project’s preliminary valuation, and it couldn’t be a low valuation either.

However, Stellaris Capital would provide a guarantee for this investment. They would sign a guarantee agreement, the main content of which stipulated that if the WeChat project failed in the future, the losses incurred from the Xincheng institution’s investment could be recovered from Stellaris Capital.

With Stellaris Capital providing a safety net, the Xincheng institution’s investment was essentially a no-lose proposition, so they could invest with confidence.

Moreover, after the Xincheng local state-owned assets institution invested the money—say, one billion yuan—it could quickly cash out and recover those funds.

The operation was super simple. With Stellaris Capital’s guarantee agreement, this was a super-prime debt claim. If the Xincheng institution wanted to cash out, it just had to pledge this claim.

With such a high-quality claim, backed by both the state and Stellaris Capital, plenty of financial institutions would be willing to take it. For the Xincheng local state-owned assets institution, it was just a simple pledge operation to easily free up liquidity. It just involved a few extra steps. In the future, when the pledge matured, they could either redeem it or extend the term.

To some extent, the Xincheng local state-owned assets institution didn’t need to spend much to get this 11% stake. The key amount was how much money they could get from pledging the stake.

They could even play it a little fancier and pledge for more liquidity in the future.

After all, there were expectations. Once WeChat was released and started to grow, its valuation would rise like a rising tide lifts all boats. If that 11% stake was currently worth, say, one billion yuan, and after a year of rapid development its valuation quintupled, that one billion would immediately be worth five billion.

Even if they cashed out liquidity corresponding to half of the five billion valuation, the Xincheng institution could get two and a half billion yuan, effectively freeing up an extra one and a half billion in liquidity.

Isn’t that how finance works? Besides, this was a routine operation in financial circles, nothing too fancy.

The layout for WeChat was officially underway. Positioned as a social networking platform for the mobile internet era, the next step was to let Xu Jingren’s team handle its implementation. As the big boss, Fang Hong would continue to oversee the grand strategy.

…

Monday, April 26th.

After a rebound last Wednesday, the A-share market resumed its downward trend. Today, the broader market index closed down another -0.47% at 2,969 points, marking the third consecutive day of losses after the rebound.

Fang Hong hadn’t made any moves amidst the recent market performance. His stock index futures had already reached their target position, and now all he had to do was wait for the market to panic sell.

With his current capital size, the returns from small-cap stocks weren’t high. He couldn’t build a large position in most of the small-caps that had gone wild. Pouring in a few tens of millions, even after a few limit-ups, would only yield so much profit. It was easy to get in with a large position, but getting out was difficult.

However, relying on the profits from his 15 mid-term target stocks and his short positions in stock index futures, the combined assets of his institutional and personal securities accounts had broken through ten billion yuan.

Shortly after the market closed, Fang Hong logged into his personal Weibo account and edited a short message:

[My returns for the year have reached about +56%, outperforming the Shanghai Composite Index by about +65% for the period. I’ve also successfully broken through and unlocked the ten billion achievement. This is a milestone worth commemorating. I hope to reach new heights in the future.]

After editing the content, Fang Hong took a screenshot of his account holdings and uploaded it to Weibo along with the post.

He naturally understood the principle of making a fortune in silence and not flaunting one’s wealth, but Fang Hong needed Reputation Value more. So, he decided to show it off. Even if his identity were exposed now, it wouldn’t be a major problem, just a bit of an inconvenience when traveling in the future.

Once the Weibo post was published, it was quickly reposted by his more than twenty million retail investor followers. It became a hot topic on major forums and stock trading chat groups. The comment section under the blog post quickly filled up, with dozens of new comments appearing every time the page was refreshed.

[Truly awesome. I prostrate myself in admiration!]

[He’s treating the A-shares like his personal ATM. His earnings could rival the annual profit of a Fortune 500 company. That’s honestly terrifying!]

[K-God, please stop! Don’t make any more money! You’re going to take all the money from the market!]

[Is this something you can earn through Value investing? To hell with Value investing, I’m embracing the Leading stock strategy!]

[You shouldn’t use the Leading stock strategy lightly. If you play it well, you can soar to the heavens. If you play it badly, you’ll go straight to hell.]

[I’m the one who goes after the leaders every day, and now my account has been slashed in half. K-God, why is that?]

[K3478 replied to the thread//: How can there be so many leaders in the market? It’s not like they’re mass-produced. A leader is only born in special periods. Just because a stock has consecutive limit-ups or green days doesn’t make it a leader. To be precise, a true leader should have these four attributes: Proactiveness, Influence, Altitude, and Capacity.]

[Marking my spot on the first page!]

[Admiring K-God from up close.]

[Can you explain the four attributes in more detail?]

[K3478 replied//: The so-called Proactiveness means it’s the first to start rising. Influence means it doesn’t just rise on its own, but can also lead its junior partners to rise. Altitude refers to its height, which in plain terms means it has the most consecutive limit-ups. Capacity means it can accommodate the inflow and outflow of large funds, with a daily trading volume that can easily exceed one billion, or even two billion. A stock that satisfies these attributes can basically be considered a market leader.]

[Taking notes on the blackboard! My brain is fried, brain is fried!]

[I went back and looked at Dongbai Supermarket and Shandong Juli. They indeed have all these characteristics.]

[He really is the Grandmaster!]

[I suggest K-God should be more low-key. Society believes in not showing off one’s wealth. Being so high-profile will make people envious and could bring you trouble.]

[K3478 replied to the thread//: Thank you, but it’s fine. Every penny was earned cleanly. It can stand the light of day and withstand scrutiny.]

[Being clean is the source of his confidence!]

[I support K-God!]

[I’m very curious about one thing, K-God, how do you plan to spend all that money you’ve earned?]

[Ten billion! If you cash out now, wash your hands of the business, and retire from the scene, you wouldn’t be able to spend it all in ten lifetimes.]

[What the hell, “wash your hands of the business”…]

[Please don’t cash out, K-God!]

[K3478 replied to the thread//: I’m personally quite interested in cutting-edge technology. Maybe I’ll invest in some tech innovation projects for fun in the future. Young and ambitious startup teams that lack seed funding are welcome to send me a private message on Weibo. I might not see it, and even if I do, I might not invest. But if I see a project that interests me, we can try to cooperate.]

[Is K-God getting ready to march into the primary market?]

[K-God: Making money in the secondary market all the time is too boring. Time to go have some fun in the primary market!]

[Awesome!]

…

The content of Fang Hong’s interaction with his fans on Weibo, especially his expression of interest in investing in tech startup projects, quickly spread. Many tech media outlets also took notice and reported on the matter.

If an ordinary person said such a thing, few would take it seriously.

But when a person worth ten billion said the same thing, a great many people took it very seriously.

Because he could actually come up with that much money to invest.

Even looking at the entire investment circle in the country, there weren’t many investment institutions with assets of ten billion.

This matter quickly caught the attention of people in both the investment and technology circles.

Most people in the investment world who saw it, especially the smaller investment firms, didn’t pay much attention. They didn’t know that the owner of the K3478 account was the big boss of Stellaris Capital. Furthermore, many acknowledged that K3478 was a genius speculator in the secondary market, but being successful in the secondary market didn’t necessarily mean one could thrive in the primary market.

The large investment institutions didn’t pay much attention either, because they assumed the K3478 Weibo account was a corporate operations account for Stellaris Capital.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs in the tech world were quite interested, especially young university student tech innovation teams that were not favored by VCs. They were the most concerned because everyone knew that K3478 was also a university student. He had posted on Weibo early on that he was an undergraduate, and everyone knew that K-God was a student set to graduate this year.

Since they were all young university students, it stood to reason that they would have more in common. Therefore, student tech innovation teams paid close attention. It was already difficult for university students to get angel investment. If they could hit it off with K3478, they might be able to get a round of angel investment from him.

…

Chapter 349: K-God Actually Replied, and Even Invited Us to Meet!

The next day, in a residential area in Nanjing City.

“It’s a long shot, but it’s our only hope. I sent a private message to K3478 last night. Let’s hold on for another half a month. If there’s no reply after that…” Chu Changxing trailed off, looking at his two co-founders. After a moment of silence, he added with a sigh, “…we’ll just dissolve the company on the spot.”

His two partners sighed as well. They were truly broke, and even running on passion alone couldn’t sustain them any longer.

Chu Changxing gave a helpless, bitter smile. “In any case, we should prepare for the worst.”

If their startup failed, their only option was to find a job. Zhou Yang, who was beside him, asked, “If we dissolve the company, where do you guys plan to go?”

Zhao Ping thought for a moment and said, “I’m thinking of going to DJI. Why don’t we all apply there? With our skills, we’ll definitely get in. That way, we can continue to develop in this industry. Going to DJI should be very promising.”

The three of them had all graduated from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. As top students from a Project 211 university, finding a decent job was an easy task for them in the current market.

After graduation, Chu Changxing embarked on his entrepreneurial journey. He called up the two partners who had worked on experimental projects with him to co-found Kunpeng Technology, dedicated to the R&D of commercial consumer-grade aerial photography drones.

Furthermore, their benchmark was DJI Technology, which was currently experiencing a surge in momentum in the field.

Kunpeng Technology, co-founded by Chu Changxing and his two partners, also encountered the growing pains that nearly every startup faces at its inception. The company was founded last year, but the recruitment process was agonizing. They could hardly attract any high-tech talent. People they found would lose interest after visiting their office—one look at the small workshop and they would turn around and leave.

They couldn’t secure any investment either. Not a single VC was willing to invest in Kunpeng Technology. Chu Changxing had met with some investors, but one sentence from them left him speechless: “If I want to invest in this industry, why would I choose Kunpeng over DJI? If Kunpeng can succeed, DJI will be even more successful!”

Well, what else was there to say?

He had also considered trying his luck with Stellaris Capital, but the thought of how they had swallowed Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole—ruthless and thorough, leaving nothing behind—gave him pause. It wasn’t just a matter of whether Stellaris would invest; even if they did, Kunpeng Technology was in no position to negotiate. Rather than do all the work just for capital to reap the rewards, Chu Changxing would prefer to let Kunpeng Technology fail. His desire for control over the company was extremely strong.

Chu Changxing felt he couldn’t handle Stellaris Capital, so he didn’t even bother trying.

In the year since Kunpeng Technology was founded, its team had peaked at just eleven people. The other eight had already left early this year. Now, only the three co-founders—Chu Changxing and his partners—remained. They had struggled on for three or four months, running on passion alone, but they finally reached their breaking point.

Some startups managed to survive, like DJI, which was founded in 2006 and also went through its own growing pains. But many more unknown startup teams went under without anyone ever knowing, as if they had never existed at all.

“Don’t be so down, guys. Can it get any worse than this? Maybe a miracle will happen. If we stick to our ideas, we’ll find a way.” Chu Changxing forced a smile, though he had little confidence himself.

Hearing this, his two partners exchanged glances. Zhou Yang immediately asked, “What you mean is… you still want to keep going?”

Chu Changxing nodded firmly. “Yeah, I want to make it through this year. Of course, if you guys go to DJI, we’ll become competitors. But you can take the technology with you. Who knows, I might have to come join you next year, so you’d better save a spot for me.”

After speaking, Chu Changxing let out a cheerful laugh. His two partners didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, their own laughter tinged with helplessness.

After a while, Zhao Ping said, “You know my situation. My family’s financial circumstances won’t allow me to keep dragging this out. But don’t worry, even if we go to DJI, we won’t give away Kunpeng’s technology this year. For now, we just need to make a living.”

Zhou Yang nodded in agreement. Dissolving the company was a choice born of helplessness. Working at DJI meant working for someone else, while at Kunpeng Technology, they were working for themselves—two completely different concepts.

Clearly, they were very confident in their technology, but alas, a penny can stump a hero. They had once boasted that even if they couldn’t take down DJI, they would at least be on par with them.

The three chatted for a while, the atmosphere heavy.

A moment later, Chu Changxing casually logged into his Weibo account and noticed an unread reply in his inbox. He didn’t think much of it and clicked on it for a look.

“Hmm?”

Chu Changxing, who had been leaning back in his chair, suddenly shot up like a spring, his upper body leaning forward as he stared blankly at the screen.

His two partners were surprised by his reaction. Zhao Ping couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on?”

Without turning his head, Chu Changxing exclaimed excitedly, “A reply! There’s a reply! He replied! He actually replied so quickly!”

He?

A reply?

Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping looked at each other, and in an instant, they both read the same guess in the other’s eyes. They immediately stood up and rushed to Chu Changxing’s side, staring at the computer screen together.

The next moment, they too became excited. Zhou Yang said, thrilled, “Damn! Did a miracle happen? Did a miracle happen?”

Displayed on the screen was, in fact, the reply sent to Chu Changxing by the blogger K3478.

The message was very brief, just a single sentence:

【I’ve looked at your materials. I’m very optimistic about and interested in the commercial aerial drone sector. Come to Xincheng so we can talk in person.】

Finally, Chu Changxing took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and said with a smile, “Heaven never seals off all paths, guys!”

Zhou Yang, incredibly energized, said, “The most impossible thing has become our final turning point. This is ridiculous!”

A short reply from K3478 instantly swept away their earlier depression and gloom, rekindling their hope. Kunpeng Technology wouldn’t have to die, and they wouldn’t have to go work at DJI.

This was a big shot worth ten billion. An investment of one or two million would be nothing more than an insignificant fluctuation in the stock market for him, but for Kunpeng Technology, that one or two million could be its salvation.

At this moment, Chu Changxing quickly said to the other two, “Calm down, calm down. Don’t get happy too early. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. It’s just a meeting; he hasn’t said he’s going to invest in us. Popping the champagne at halftime is a big mistake.”

Hearing this, his two partners also began to calm down from their excitement. Zhou Yang nodded repeatedly. “You’re right. It’s just a meeting.”

Chu Changxing looked at his two partners and said grimly, “This might be our last chance. It’s all or nothing.”

Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping both nodded solemnly. All three of them were incredibly anxious. They were terrified that K3478 had given them hope just as they were about to give up, only to crush that rekindled hope by saying he wouldn’t invest. That would be an exponential increase in pain.

“K3478 left contact information. Ask him when we can meet and how we can see him,” Zhou Yang urged. Chu Changxing was also growing impatient, so he took out his phone and dialed the number left in the reply.

…

Chapter 350: Going to Xincheng to Meet the Big Shot

It was around 2:30 in the afternoon when Chu Changxing dialed the number.

At the same time, Fang Hong was also watching the A-share market. The market was in a brutal, one-sided panic sell. The index had already fallen below the 2900-point mark, dropping to 2866 points, with the decline widening to -3.50%.

The rebound point from the low of 2890 on February 3rd had been broken today, and the index hit a new low for the year. Short positions in stock index futures were being furiously added as more short sellers joined in.

In the final half-hour of late trading, the plummeting index began to rebound.

Just then, Fang Hong’s phone rang. He picked it up and glanced at the screen—it was an unfamiliar number.

While watching the intraday line on his screen tick upward with the market rebound, Fang Hong answered the call, concise and to the point, “Who is this?”

A voice quickly came from the other end: “Hello, K-God. I’m the founder of Kunpeng Technology. I was the one who sent you the private message. I never expected you to reply so quickly…”

Chu Changxing’s tone was extremely humble, and Fang Hong could also detect a sense of anxious excitement in his voice. He smiled and said, “Shall we discuss the details in person?”

On the other end, Chu Changxing was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected the big shot to be so direct. Suppressing his excitement, he quickly replied, “When are you free? How can I meet you?”

Fang Hong replied, “Let’s do the day after tomorrow, Thursday afternoon, around this time. Come to Xincheng. Call me when you get to the entrance of Huayang Mountain Villa.”

After simply stating the time and place, Fang Hong hung up.

…

Meanwhile, far away in Nanjing, Chu Changxing slowly lowered the phone from his ear. His silent expression was driving Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping crazy with anxiety. Seeing that the call had ended, Zhou Yang immediately asked, “How did it go? What did he say?”

Seeing his expressionless face, Zhao Ping had a bad feeling and couldn’t help but ask, “Did something go wrong?”

Chu Changxing looked at his two partners and remained silent for a few seconds before saying slowly, “We’re meeting the day after tomorrow at two-thirty in the afternoon.”

The room was quiet for a few seconds, then Zhou Yang burst out cursing, “Damn it, you scared the hell out of me! Can you not be so dramatic? I thought it was all over!”

But his cursing couldn’t hide his exhilaration. Zhao Ping cheered “Nice!” three times in a row, and Chu Changxing leaned back in his chair and took another deep breath.

“Heaven never seals off all paths!” Chu Changxing shot up from his chair. “Quick, quick! Zhao Ping, go book three tickets to Xincheng, the sooner the better. We need to leave by tomorrow morning at the latest. If we can’t make it, book flights.”

Zhao Ping nodded repeatedly. “I’ll book the tickets!”

He picked up his phone to start making calls. Chu Changxing then said, “Zhou Yang, dismantle the prototype and bring it with us. We’ll reassemble it in Xincheng. Everyone, pack up!”

The three of them instantly got busy.

…

Around 7:00 a.m. the next morning, the three of them arrived early at the station and boarded a long-distance bus to Xincheng. After a full day of travel, they finally arrived late at night.

The trio left the station and found a hotel in Xincheng to stay for the night.

Although they had been traveling all day, the three young men were too excited to sleep, their minds preoccupied with the meeting with Fang Hong the next day.

The following morning, Chu Changxing and the others woke up early. They had slept less than five hours, but they didn’t seem tired at all—they were young, after all, and their spirits were high with excitement.

The three of them quickly ate breakfast, then began to reassemble the aerial drone they had brought with them and test it to ensure it was functioning properly. This took up the entire morning.

Around 1:15 in the afternoon, Chu Changxing and his partners left the hotel and took a taxi to Huayang Mountain Villa.

The meeting was scheduled for around 2:30 p.m., but to avoid any delays, they decided to head over early. The drive from the city center to Huayang Mountain Villa would take half an hour, and traffic could add another ten minutes.

At about 2:00 p.m., the taxi carrying the three of them arrived at the Huayang Mountain Villa residential area. After getting out, they walked a short distance along the road into the estate and waited by the side of the road near the entrance, planning to call Fang Hong around 2:30 p.m.

“By the way, K-God said Huayang Mountain Villa, but didn’t he specify which villa?” Zhou Yang asked as they waited, peering into the estate. However, not a single villa was visible from the entrance, as they were set back a good distance and spaced far apart.

“He’ll definitely tell us when we call him later,” Chu Changxing replied.

Just then, Zhao Ping tapped the case he was carrying and smiled. “How about we fly it for a look? We can’t see anything from the side of the road. I wonder what the layout of one of the top super luxury mansions in the country looks like.”

The case contained the aerial drone they had built.

Hearing this, Chu Changxing shot Zhao Ping a sideways glance. “Don’t do anything stupid. The people who live here are not people we can afford to mess with.”

Zhao Ping scratched his head and chuckled. “I was just kidding. I wouldn’t dare even if you told me to.”

Compared to the city center, Huayang Mountain Villa was scenic, quiet, and pleasant. After about three to five minutes, the roar of a supercar engine attracted the attention of all three men, and they all turned to look.

It was a red Lamborghini supercar, not moving very fast. The driver was He Xuan. She also noticed the three strangers standing by the roadside, and their eyes met as she drove past.

However, He Xuan didn’t pay them much mind and quickly drove on.

Watching the supercar disappear into the distance, Zhou Yang suddenly said, “That girl… she looks so familiar. I know her, I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere!”

Hearing this, Zhao Ping gave him a disdainful look. “Oh, you’ve seen her before? Don’t even start. She’s in Xincheng, and you’re an outsider. What nonsense are you spouting? If you moved in circles that included rich girls like that, would we have had to come all this way to Xincheng to look for investment?”

Zhou Yang thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up. “I remember now! She’s a famous fashion Big V blogger, the one on Weibo called Xuanxuan. I follow her. She’s close to having ten million fans.”

He immediately took out his phone, logged into Weibo, and found He Xuan’s account.

“Look, it’s her, and that’s her Lamborghini. She lives in Huayang Mountain Villa too.” Zhou Yang showed his phone to the other two. Chu Changxing and Zhao Ping leaned in curiously and saw that it was true.

A moment later, Chu Changxing complained internally, “So you know her, but does she know you?”

Zhou Yang was at a loss for words.

The three of them chatted about this and that as the minutes ticked by. Finally, it was two-thirty. As soon as the appointed time arrived, Chu Changxing took out his phone and made the call.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong was in his villa’s living room, sipping afternoon tea. He hadn’t been watching the market today; in fact, he hadn’t really been watching it for the past few days.

There wasn’t much to see. The market was in a main downtrend wave. With his current capital, small-cap stocks didn’t offer much profit, and large-cap stocks were stagnant. In the current market, the only way to make any money was to short stock index futures. He had already established his short positions on the futures index, and now it was just a matter of letting the profits run.

Just then, Fang Hong heard his phone ring. Without even looking at the caller ID, he had a good idea of who it was.

He answered the call, concise and to the point. “Where are you?”

Chu Changxing’s voice came from the other end: “Good afternoon, K-God. We’re already outside Huayang Mountain Villa.”

Fang Hong replied, “Come on in. I’ll let the guards know. Once you’re inside, come to Tranquil Heart Residence.”

Chu Changxing: “Okay!”

…

Chapter 351: DJI is Strong, But Innovation Can Break Through

After ending the call, Chu Changxing urged his two partners, “Let’s go, guys!”

Meanwhile, Fang Hong called over the house manager, Yu Qiu, and instructed, “Tell the gate guards to let them in.”

Yu Qiu nodded. “Okay.”

Fang Hong also got up from the main living room and moved to a sofa in the lounge area to wait for Chu Changxing. He was very interested in Kunpeng Technology, a startup in the commercial drone sector, because Stellaris Capital had missed the boat when DJI urgently needed funding for its growth.

The current DJI could develop just fine without outside investment, and more importantly, its founder had no intention of bringing in investors. Even if Stellaris Capital approached them, DJI wouldn’t give them the time of day.

Just two days ago, he happened to discover Kunpeng Technology on Weibo. They were in dire need of capital, on the verge of collapse. After some preliminary research, Fang Hong had already decided to invest a sum in Chu Changxing.

At this point in time, although DJI had risen, it was still far from achieving market monopoly. DJI’s real explosive growth phase wouldn’t come for another two years.

By propping up Chu Changxing’s Kunpeng Technology, even if Stellaris Capital couldn’t get a stake in DJI Technology, as long as Chu Changxing could prove himself, they could still carve out a large slice of the commercial drone market.

A short while later, the house manager, Yu Qiu, left the house and headed for the main gate of the villa.

Chu Changxing and his two partners had already entered Huayang Mountain Villa and were now waiting outside the gate of Tranquil Heart Residence. After a brief wait, they saw a beautiful woman walking over to open the gate.

“Which of you is Mr. Chu Changxing?” Yu Qiu asked, looking at the three men.

“Hello, that’s me!” Chu Changxing replied immediately. He gestured to Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping, then turned back to Yu Qiu and added, “These are my partners.”

“Please follow me, gentlemen. Mr. Fang is waiting for you,” Yu Qiu said with a polite smile.

“Thank you for your trouble!” Chu Changxing responded courteously. Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping quickly followed. As the three of them entered the gate and followed Yu Qiu toward the villa, Zhou Yang leaned over and whispered in Zhao Ping’s ear, “The ‘Mr. Fang’ that beauty just mentioned must be the legendary K-God.”

Zhao Ping nodded. “Should be. So K-God’s surname is Fang!”

Following Yu Qiu around a few bends, they caught sight of the secluded Tranquil Heart Residence mansion. However, their attention was quickly diverted to the outdoor tennis court. It wasn’t the court that was the key, but the young women playing on it.

The ones playing were Yifulei, Lin Yan, Lin Yun, and Luo Lan, who were in the middle of a doubles match.

The three men said nothing, but inwardly they all exclaimed, “Good grief!”

All the young women were stunningly beautiful, easily rivaling popular female celebrities, and each had her own unique charm.

Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping exchanged a look, seeing the astonishment in each other’s eyes. It was rare to see even one such breathtaking beauty, yet here they were everywhere. Even the house manager leading them to meet K-God, with her mature and cool older sister vibe, was a supreme beauty.

At that moment, the three of them had only one feeling: their eyes had been opened!

Zhao Ping immediately began whispering with Zhou Yang in a voice only they could hear, “Beautiful women, luxury cars, a mansion… Is this the world of the rich? What is their happiness really like?”

Zhou Yang whispered back with great seriousness, “The happiness of the rich is beyond our imagination, but I think we’re seeing it now.”

The three followed Yu Qiu into the villa, their faces impassive but their hearts filled with wonder and envy.

A moment later, the three of them entered the villa with Yu Qiu.

Yu Qiu looked at Fang Hong, who was sitting on the sofa in the lounge area, and smiled. “Bro Hong, I’ve brought them.”

At this moment, He Xuan was sitting right next to Fang Hong. She was surprised to see the three men, and they were equally shocked, especially Zhou Yang, who gasped internally, “So she’s… K-God’s woman!!”

There were two main rumors about He Xuan online: one claimed she was the daughter of a super-wealthy family, and the other said her boyfriend was incredibly rich. Now, it was basically confirmed that she did indeed have an incredibly rich boyfriend. As for her family background, that was another story.

“You guys chat.” Seeing them arrive, He Xuan stood up and, taking Yu Qiu’s arm, left the area. Fang Hong remained seated, looking at the three men with a smile. “Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable.”

Zhou Yang and Chu Changxing sat down one after the other. Zhao Ping placed the case he was carrying to the side and sat down next to Chu Changxing.

“Just having the honor of seeing K-God in person has made this trip worthwhile. The internet is full of rumors that you’re a college student, which I never believed. I didn’t expect the legend to be true,” Zhou Yang said with a smile. He knew Fang Hong’s name now, but for their first meeting, he still used the name “K-God.”

Since their connection originated online, using “K-God” both closed the distance between them and showed respect—after all, the title had the word “God” in it.

Fang Hong didn’t correct him; what they called him was secondary.

At this moment, Chu Changxing, Zhou Yang, and Zhao Ping were quite stiff. Fang Hong was dressed very casually—a pair of board shorts and a short-sleeved, crew-neck T-shirt—and he was younger than all of them.

But facing this legendary figure of the A-share market, they found it difficult to interact with him as equals. The aura Fang Hong exuded with every word and action was a bit overwhelming.

After a moment, Hu Tao came over with a tray, served them three glasses of water, and then left.

“Thank you!” Zhou Yang said politely as he took a glass. He met Hu Tao’s eyes for a second before looking away. Although he appreciated beautiful women, he knew his manners. One shouldn’t stare where one shouldn’t. They were here to pitch for an investment, after all.

However, when the three of them saw Hu Tao, they were once again secretly astonished. She was another beauty with perfect looks.

K-God really knows how to live…

If what they saw and heard here were ever exposed online, it would undoubtedly cause a nationwide sensation!

Of course, the three of them would just keep this gossip to themselves. They were all smart people, not foolish enough to leak such information and do something that was more trouble than it’s worth.

“I’ve read the proposal you sent me in a private message. Hmm, very thoughtful. I’m especially interested in what you said about surpassing DJI.” Fang Hong leaned back on the sofa, one arm resting on the armrest, and looked at Chu Changxing with a smile. “So here’s the question: how are you going to surpass them?”

Chu Changxing replied, “DJI is indeed very strong. Two years ago, their helicopter auto-hover technology was extremely rare in the civilian market, and their tech quickly gained industry recognition. A single unit could sell for two hundred thousand yuan. Kunpeng Technology views DJI as its biggest competitor. DJI is strong, but innovation can break through!”

Seeing his confident words, Fang Hong said with great interest, “Oh? Tell me more.”

Chu Changxing organized his thoughts for a moment before articulating his points clearly, “DJI’s products aren’t perfect either. Multi-rotor aircraft are very popular now, and aerial photography is getting hotter. While DJI has solved the technical problems of the aircraft, you still have to buy a camera separately and then install it. The process is a bit too complicated. So I thought, why not combine the two into one?”

Fang Hong nodded without speaking.

Chu Changxing glanced at Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping, then turned back to Fang Hong with a smile. “So my two partners and I started the R&D and design of an integrated camera-and-drone. We created the first generation of the Kunpeng drone, a highly integrated aerial photography drone. We brought the prototype with us today.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong asked curiously, “Can it fly?”

“Of course it can fly, and it’s extremely easy to operate,” Chu Changxing nodded repeatedly, quickly adding, “K-God, how about you give it a try?”

Fang Hong immediately stood up and said, “Alright, let’s take it outside and see it fly.”

With that, he started walking outside. Chu Changxing and his partners scrambled to their feet, and Zhao Ping picked up the case with the prototype and followed them out.

…

Chapter 352: Not Bad, I’ll Invest!

Outside the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

At this moment, Chu Changxing and his two partners followed Fang Hong to a patch of lawn. Zhao Ping opened the case, and he and Zhou Yang quickly set up the prototype. Meanwhile, Chu Changxing stood next to Fang Hong, smiling as he said, “Our first-generation Kunpeng drone not only integrates the camera and the aircraft, but more importantly, the product itself is not complex.”

While his two partners worked on the prototype, Chu Changxing continued his introduction to Fang Hong, “The first-generation Kunpeng drone doesn’t require a professional drone pilot to operate. An average aerial photography enthusiast, or even a novice who knows nothing about drones, can master the flying skills after reading the manual. The barrier to entry is very low.”

Chu Changxing spoke eloquently, “This is also a testament to Kunpeng Technology’s innovation. You see, an average drone is too complex for new users. Before takeoff, you have to set various parameters and calibrate all sorts of data. But with our product, you can fly it right out of the box, with no need to adjust any settings.”

Just then, Zhou Yang placed the prototype on the lawn. Zhao Ping walked over with a handheld remote control and handed it to Chu Changxing, who in turn offered it to Fang Hong with a smile. “K-God, would you like to try flying it?”

Fang Hong didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the remote, glanced at it for a few seconds, and quickly had the drone in the air.

This scene greatly surprised Chu Changxing and the other two. They hadn’t expected him to get the hang of it in seconds, giving them the impression of a seasoned aerial drone enthusiast. However, after their initial surprise, it didn’t seem that unexpected.

For a super-rich person like K-God, flying a small drone like this was nothing. It would have been perfectly normal for him to fly private jets worth hundreds of millions, so playing with an aerial photography drone was even more ordinary.

Seeing K-God operate it so skillfully, it was impossible to tell this was his first time with the prototype. Chu Changxing had originally planned to give him a detailed introduction, but seeing the situation, it seemed redundant, so he didn’t say anything.

Fang Hong flew the drone for a few laps around the Huayang Mountain Villa area, but he kept it within the airspace of his own villa, not flying over the other residential areas.

A little while later, the drone flew back and landed on the lawn again. Fang Hong gave his assessment, “Hmm, you weren’t exaggerating. It’s indeed easier to handle than DJI’s latest product. Very friendly to newcomers. Very good.”

Being friendly to beginners meant a low barrier to entry, and a low barrier to entry meant a larger market.

Fang Hong added, “It would be even better if you could develop a dedicated mobile app for it. That would make it easier for beginners to master drone piloting skills. The future is the era of the mobile internet; you have to keep up with the times.”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing immediately responded, “For open-source flight controllers, because the various chosen components are different, it’s impossible to design a universal app to control them. Doing so would easily lead to control issues.”

Then Chu Changxing changed his tone, “Actually, my thoughts are the same as yours, K-God. Developing a corresponding app is also my idea, but this requires all the components to be our own. If every accessory on the drone can be found at Kunpeng Technology, then a single, unified app would be able to control them very well.”

At this point, Chu Changxing’s tone became rather helpless. “But achieving this goal requires significant financial support. I’ve approached many VC firms, and none are willing to invest in us. K-God, to be honest with you, sending you that private message was a last-ditch effort. The day before yesterday, the three of us partners planned to have a farewell dinner and then shut down Kunpeng Technology. We were going to join DJI to work on the assembly line, haha…”

After speaking, Chu Changxing gave a few helpless, bitter laughs. He didn’t try to hide Kunpeng Technology’s current predicament from Fang Hong.

Fang Hong asked concisely, “What other plans do you have for Kunpeng’s future development?”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing said frankly, “As for plans, surviving is definitely the top priority. If we can survive, our team’s long-term goal is to create a complete ecosystem related to drones—things like gimbals, cameras, and so on—so we can single-handedly meet all the needs of an aerial photography enthusiast without them having to buy accessories from other brands.”

Chu Changxing added, “Overall, whether it’s our competitor DJI or us at Kunpeng Technology, development is inseparable from a spirit of innovation. I position Kunpeng Technology as a company driven primarily by core technology. Innovation will always be the company’s number one priority. If we aren’t constantly prepared to innovate, we will be eliminated by the ever-changing market. This is true for Kunpeng Technology, and it’s true for DJI as well.”

While listening to Chu Changxing, Fang Hong toyed with the remote in his hands and flew the drone again. A few minutes later, the drone landed on the lawn once more. Fang Hong nodded to himself without speaking. If he hadn’t accidentally discovered this startup team, they would have likely joined DJI, which would undoubtedly have been like giving a tiger wings.

Because everything Chu Changxing wanted to do was perfectly in line with the development path of the commercial drone market. He was on the right track.

This team not only had something to them, they had quite a lot.

Finally, Fang Hong handed the remote back to Chu Changxing and said crisply, “Is twenty million RMB enough?”

As Chu Changxing took the remote, he heard the question and was completely stunned for a moment. He almost dropped the remote. Zhao Ping and Zhou Yang were also dumbfounded when they heard the number.

They hadn’t expected to ask for so much money when they came.

After a moment, Chu Changxing recovered and quickly looked at Fang Hong. “K-God… are you saying you’ll invest twenty million in our company?”

Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping looked at each other, then turned to stare. They remained silent, but inwardly they were already howling with excitement.

Fang Hong looked at Chu Changxing and smiled. “How much equity in Kunpeng Technology can I get for twenty million?”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing hesitated, though he was just as excited inside. After a moment, he said seriously, “It’s our team’s good fortune to have met you, K-God, and to earn your approval. But twenty million is really too much for our team’s current situation. I think ten million should be enough. In fact, even ten million might be too much.”

Fang Hong didn’t beat around the bush. He nodded and said straightforwardly, “Alright, ten million it is then.”

Chu Changxing’s spirits soared, but he restrained himself and said, “For ten million, we’ll give up 45% of Kunpeng Technology’s equity, on the condition that you entrust the voting rights to me. What do you think, K-God?”

He really didn’t want to take so much money at once. Besides the fact that the company didn’t need that much in its current state, a very important reason was that he wanted to give up less equity. Generally, an angel round of financing is between five hundred thousand and five million, with a corresponding equity transfer of around 30%.

A sum as large as twenty million could have bought out Kunpeng Technology entirely.

Seeing that Fang Hong didn’t answer immediately, Chu Changxing thought he hadn’t met his expectations and added, “Given that Kunpeng Technology is currently on the verge of collapse, getting ten million for 45% equity is indeed us taking advantage of you. How about this: ten million for 55% of the equity, but you must entrust the voting rights to me.”

As Chu Changxing finished speaking, all three of them looked at Fang Hong, waiting for his response. Their hearts were pounding with anxiety.

Considering Kunpeng Technology’s current situation, getting 55% equity for ten million would mean Fang Hong was taking a slight loss, as he was shouldering almost all the risk. But in reality, Fang Hong didn’t feel he was losing out at all—he felt he was making a killing. Of course, he didn’t let it show, because he was extremely optimistic about Kunpeng Technology’s future potential.

Moreover, giving too little money would constrain Kunpeng Technology’s development speed, and time was the most precious resource. After all, DJI was a formidable player in the industry. Compared to DJI Technology, which had already been developing for three or four years, Kunpeng was a chaser and needed development capital even more.

But none of this was the most critical point. What Fang Hong truly valued was that Chu Changxing, even at a time like this, dared to ask for the voting rights and was even willing to give up a 10% stake to secure them.

What did this show?

It showed that Chu Changxing had a clear awareness of control over Kunpeng Technology. This point alone was worth five million. A founder without an awareness of control would surely be a disaster. If a person lacked a clear understanding of such a critical issue, how could one trust them to lead a company to greatness?

Chapter 353: Additional Conditions

Chu Changxing and his two partners were extremely anxious. They had no idea that Fang Hong was inwardly delighted. Stumbling upon this team on Weibo was like finding a real gem, but he certainly couldn’t let it show.

Fang Hong smiled and said calmly, “I’ll make a concession. You don’t need to give up an extra ten percent. I’ll just take forty-five percent. The ten million yuan investment will remain the same, and I can give you the voting rights.”

At these words, Chu Changxing and the others were ecstatic. They had truly found a good judge of talent, a benefactor in their lives!

However, Fang Hong’s tone shifted. “But I have a few extra conditions.”

Hearing the word “but” made the previously thrilled Chu Changxing tense up. He couldn’t help but say, “Please, go on…”

He dreaded this kind of reversal. In his mind, Chu Changxing was praying that Fang Hong wouldn’t propose any outrageous conditions.

“There’s no problem with you wanting control of the company. In fact, I admire founders like you who have a strong awareness of control,” Fang Hong said with a calm and methodical smile. “You can have control, but we won’t be using Tencent’s proxy voting system. I’ll sign a voting agreement with you, but the concerted action cannot be transferred to any other entity. In other words, if you give up the concerted action, the voting agreement is automatically terminated.”

Hearing this condition, Chu Changxing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately nodded in response. “No problem.”

Fang Hong continued, “The second condition is that Kunpeng Technology must be listed on the A-share market in the future, not overseas. I will handle the listing process. I have some connections at Stellaris Capital.”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing nodded without hesitation. “No problem!”

He was also quite surprised. He hadn’t expected K-God to have connections with Stellaris Capital.

Fang Hong spoke again. “The third condition is that when Kunpeng needs further financing, I will have priority rights. Simply put, if you need to raise money, you come to me first. I get the first chance to invest. If I pass on a follow-on investment, then you can go to other VC firms. Furthermore, any other VC firms that come in must give preference to an institution designated by me.”

Chu Changxing nodded again. “No problem!”

He had expected Fang Hong to lay out many harsh conditions, but they all turned out to be relatively minor issues. For Chu Changxing and Kunpeng Technology, they weren’t problems at all—in fact, they were beneficial.

Listing on the A-share market was perfectly fine, and the priority financing rights were no issue either. For Kunpeng Technology, it didn’t matter who invested or who was designated to invest, as long as they got the money.

Fang Hong then said, “The last condition is to move the company from Nanjing to Xincheng. I’m not sure if you know about the plot of land in the northern suburbs of Xincheng, but that’s the High-Tech Industrial Park that Stellaris Capital is developing. Your company will be located there. I have connections at Qunxing, and I’ll have them set aside a plot of land for you.”

After hearing everything, Chu Changxing let out a long sigh of relief and said with a smile, “K-God, I thought you were going to propose some incredibly harsh conditions. But looking at these, they all seem to be aimed at helping Kunpeng Technology grow.”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Work hard and surpass DJI sooner rather than later. I have high hopes for your team.”

Chu Changxing nodded solemnly. “We will definitely not disappoint you!”

Fang Hong also nodded with a smile. “I’ll send someone over on the weekend to sign the contract. The money can be transferred to your company’s account the same day.”

After chatting for a little while longer, Chu Changxing and his partners took their leave from Tranquil Heart Residence, their hearts filled with excitement.

Once they were out of the villa and had left Huayang Mountain Villa, the three of them finally unleashed their long-suppressed excitement. Zhou Yang let out a triumphant roar, “Oh, yes!!!”

Zhao Ping was thrilled. “We sealed the deal in less than half an hour! And he gave us ten million just like that! It went so smoothly I couldn’t have even dared to imagine it. The most unlikely scenario actually came true, hahaha!”

Zhou Yang nodded repeatedly. “K-God is definitely Kunpeng Technology’s savior, our benefactor and judge of talent!”

The relatively calmer Chu Changxing also said with a smile, “With K-God’s investment, Kunpeng Technology is saved. We guys don’t have to have a farewell dinner, and more importantly, we don’t have to go work for DJI!”

His two partners nodded happily. In this day and age, working for yourself was always the most motivating. Working for others was just a job; no matter how good the pay, it lacked that drive. Working for yourself was building a career, driven by a strong sense of ownership.

Zhao Ping added, “With a ten-billion-dollar big shot like K-God as our financial sponsor, I believe we won’t have to beg humbly and desperately for funding anymore. When we’re short on cash, I’m sure K-God will step in.”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing looked at his two partners and said, “Don’t you guys think that just because K-God is younger than us, he’s some fool with too much money who’s easy to bullshit. From any perspective, underestimating a multi-billionaire of his stature would be foolish. K-God’s money is easy to get now, but if we don’t meet his expectations, we can forget about getting another round of financing.”

Zhou Yang laughed. “Are you kidding? How could we dare to underestimate K-God? Honestly, the aura of a superior he exudes is just too powerful. I’m obviously several years older than him, but when I faced him, I felt like a junior facing an elder. I didn’t even dare to make eye contact with him for too long. Good thing you were there, I couldn’t handle it at all!”

Zhao Ping chimed in, “Right, right, that’s it, the aura of a superior! I really don’t know how he developed that kind of disposition. It made me feel like I was facing a master, but he’s so young. Are some people just born like that?”

Chu Changxing then reminded the two of them, “Oh, one more thing. What you saw at K-God’s villa—don’t you dare go around bragging or spilling the beans. As the saying goes, sickness enters through the mouth, and disaster comes out of it. We know K-God is no ordinary person, so you must keep your mouths shut to avoid unnecessary trouble for yourselves.”

Hearing this, Zhao Ping laughed heartily. “Boss Chu, you can rest assured. We have at least that much discernment.”

Zhou Yang nodded in agreement and said with a grin, “But I have to say, the life K-God lives is enough to make anyone’s envy, jealousy, and hate flare up. Never mind the huge mansion and luxury cars, especially those girls… each one was stunning, competing in splendor.”

Zhao Ping couldn’t help but chime in, “Damn, stepping into K-God’s mansion felt like walking into the Spider Cave!”

Zhou Yang chuckled. “You have a way with metaphors.”

Chu Changxing facepalmed and shook his head. Zhou Yang turned to him and teased, “Oh? Boss Chu is so calm? Don’t you have anything you want to express? Isn’t it tiring to pretend to be so composed? We’re brothers, we know each other inside and out.”

Zhao Ping teased with a grin, “Hey, hey, stop it. Boss Chu is the leader of Kunpeng Technology, after all. He has the burden of being the leader. How could he be as carefree and frivolous as us?”

Chu Changxing let out a deep sigh, turned his head to glance at his two buddies, and said, “Do you know what I’m thinking about?”

The two said in unison, “What?”

With his hands clasped behind his head, Chu Changxing said as he walked, “I’m thinking about striving, making Kunpeng Technology bigger and stronger, crushing DJI, becoming the霸主 of the commercial drone industry, listing on the A-share market, and reaching the pinnacle of my life…”

Zhao Ping turned to Zhou Yang and said, “See? He just can’t let go of the burden of being the leader.”

Chu Changxing wasn’t finished. He continued his monologue, “…And then, I’ll follow K-God’s example, learn from him, get a huge mansion and all that, and have a group of girls live in it together.”

Zhou Yang: “???”

Zhao Ping: “???”

Chu Changxing continued calmly, “In a way, K-God and I are actually very simple people with simple ideas. It’s just that once you succeed, you want to take care of a few more girls, keep them from suffering, and let them live carefree lives. That’s all.”

Zhou Yang and Zhao Ping nearly stumbled. Zhou Yang looked at Zhao Ping and said, “Do you want to take back what you said earlier?”

Zhao Ping didn’t hesitate. “Taking it back, effective immediately!”

Chu Changxing said with a straight face, “If we want to save more girls, if we want to take care of more girls, we must work hard! Let’s go, brothers!”

Zhou Yang: “Boss Chu really gets K-God. Boss Chu really gets the girls.”

Zhao Ping: “Work hard! Work hard! Work hard! For the girls, we must work hard! It’s our undeniable duty!”

With light and cheerful hearts, the three gradually walked out of the villa area, their banter filling the air. The traffic visibly increased. They waited by the roadside for a short while, successfully hailed a taxi, and headed for the station.

Having secured a ten million yuan angel round investment from Fang Hong with lightning speed, Kunpeng Technology was reborn. The three of them were brimming with motivation, eager to get back, pack up, and move the company to Xincheng.

…

Chapter 354: Significant Future Potential

Securing this ten-million-yuan angel round investment from Fang Hong was a game-changer for Chu Changxing’s team. It wasn’t just about giving Kunpeng Technology a lifeline to survive; it also meant gaining access to a wealth of other intangible resources and support from their new wealthy backer.

Fang Hong had decided to invest in Kunpeng Technology, and he had already taken a 45% stake. With future financing rounds, his equity share was certain to increase further.

He would not be stingy with the support he provided Kunpeng Technology. After all, the company’s success was in his best interest as its financial sponsor. Therefore, any resources Kunpeng Technology needed, he would certainly provide if he could.

For instance, their wealthy backer would step in to help the company relocate to Xincheng, ensuring a smoother and faster transition. He would also assist in building the company’s management structure, providing the necessary support to get its framework established quickly. He could also help with scouting for office space, recruiting talent, and so on.

After receiving the ten-million-yuan investment from Fang Hong, Kunpeng Technology’s originally hellish start had suddenly turned into a dream scenario. Many of the issues that would have caused Chu Changxing and his two partners headaches and sent them running all over town could now be effortlessly resolved. They could now focus more of their energy on R&D and innovation, improving their product’s core technology and competitiveness.

While a tech company’s core competency is, of course, technological innovation, building a strong and large enterprise requires the combination of many other factors.

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Chu Changxing and his team had left, but the prototype they brought remained. Fang Hong wanted to take a closer look at Kunpeng Technology’s prototype, and Chu Changxing had generously gifted it to his new backer.

At this moment, Fang Hong was outside the villa, continuing to fly the prototype. Tian Jiayi, having returned from the office, stood beside him.

“It’s really impressive, completely on par with DJI. This product is already very refined; it just needs to be mass-produced and brought to market,” Fang Hong commented, nodding repeatedly.

This first-generation Kunpeng drone had many features. First was its simple installation. An innovative built-in vibration-dampening design eliminated the need for an external frame or shock-absorbing pads. It could be simply attached to the drone’s body, which not only significantly reduced its size and weight but also simplified the installation process, giving users more mounting options.

It also featured intelligent switching between multiple flight control modes. The prototype offered four control modes: GPS Cruise Mode, GPS Attitude Mode, Attitude Mode, and Manual Mode.

Users could switch between these four modes freely and quickly to adapt to various flight environments. Even in special environments with poor GPS signals—such as between buildings, in valleys, or under bridges—the system would detect changes in the flight environment and intelligently switch flight modes.

For example, when flying through a bridge underpass where the GPS signal was intermittent, the system would automatically switch between GPS Flight Mode and Attitude Mode to ensure stable and safe flight.

Furthermore, it had precise positioning and hovering, high control accuracy, an intelligent failsafe protection and auto-return function, a built-in gimbal stabilization system, and more.

A short while later, the prototype automatically returned and landed. Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant beside him and smiled. “Getting 45% of Kunpeng Technology for ten million yuan. I’ve really picked up a huge treasure this time.”

Kunpeng Technology’s first-generation product could easily compete with DJI’s first consumer-facing product based on flight control technology, the ACE ONE. However, DJI’s ACE ONE had not yet been released; it was expected to launch around October of this year.

Counting the time, there were about six months left, which should be enough to catch up. With the ten million yuan from Fang Hong and a very mature prototype, Kunpeng Technology had enough time to bring its product to market in the fourth quarter of this year.

Standing beside him with her arms crossed, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and said, “As far as I know, a product focused on flight control modules is at best a very niche market, isn’t it?”

“Relatively niche, but the market’s expected growth is substantial, and the potential for the future is significant,” Fang Hong said, his smile unwavering. “But that’s not the key. The key is that the story Chu Changxing has planned for Kunpeng Technology is very compelling, and it convinced me. In the future, the main focus will be on the consumer-grade, non-professional drone market. According to him, Kunpeng Technology’s next-generation product will specialize in simplicity and ease of use, and they’ll aim to bring the retail price below 5,000 yuan.”

As he spoke, Fang Hong turned to his beautiful assistant and added, “If he can truly deliver on this grand promise, he will inevitably ignite the non-professional drone market, and the growth will be unstoppable. It’s worth betting on him, not just with ten million, but even a hundred million.”

Fang Hong had already read Chu Changxing’s proposal. According to his plan, Kunpeng Technology would systematically build an ecosystem with all the elements needed for a complete drone: software, propellers, frames, gimbals, remote controllers, and more.

This long-term vision perfectly aligned with the future development trend of commercial drones, which was why Fang Hong had invested without hesitation. With the launch of the A.R.Drone by the French company Parrot, the first consumer-grade multi-rotor all-in-one unit appeared on the market, sparking explosive growth in the multi-rotor sector. DJI also saw this opportunity and began to focus its efforts on complete drone systems.

Chu Changxing, however, had already set the goal of making complete drone systems in his development plan for Kunpeng, which, from this perspective, made his foresight even a step ahead of DJI.

It was just that VCs had not been optimistic about Chu Changxing’s team. If Fang Hong hadn’t discovered them this time, Kunpeng Technology would have probably gone bankrupt and disappeared into obscurity, and Chu Changxing and the others might have ended up working on the assembly line at DJI.

But things were different now. Having secured a ten-million-yuan angel round investment from Fang Hong, they were destined to make waves in the industry.

Finally, Fang Hong carried the prototype indoors while speaking to his beautiful assistant. “You go ahead and prepare the agreement with Kunpeng. Send someone to get it signed with Chu Changxing, and transfer the money to him as soon as possible. Take ten million from my account.”

It was worth mentioning that both Yu Qiu, the house manager, and Tian Jiayi, the private assistant, knew the account numbers and passwords for several of Fang Hong’s personal bank cards.

Fang Hong himself almost never handled money.

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was puzzled. “You’re investing in this project under your personal name? Aren’t you going to use Stellaris Capital?”

Fang Hong smiled calmly. “They were looking for an investment from K-God, not Stellaris Capital. For now, I’ll keep it under my personal name. Think of it as me doing a private equity investment.”

So-called PE equity investment, or private equity investment, involves making an equity investment in a private, unlisted company through private placement, with a future exit mechanism factored into the transaction—that is, selling the shares to realize a profit through an IPO, acquisition, or management buyout.

In the Mainland, it can be understood as buying a company’s original shares and waiting for it to go public. For PE equity investments, the exit mechanism generally doesn’t involve waiting until after the IPO to sell on the secondary market. Instead, the exit happens at the time of the IPO.

This means that on the eve of the IPO, they would package their shares and sell them directly to other investors. They would profit and exit directly in the primary market. As for the investors who took over the shares, such as institutional investors or public funds, their profit would come from selling on the secondary market after the IPO, capitalizing on the secondary market premium.

Of course, a PE investor could also hold their shares through the IPO. If the stock price continued to soar after the listing, they would certainly earn more. However, exiting through the secondary market was much more troublesome. For one, there was a lock-up period. For another, if the equity stake exceeded 5%, any sale would require an announcement of holdings reduction.

After a moment, Fang Hong added, “I’ll exit just before Kunpeng Technology’s IPO. I’ll package all my shares and have Stellaris Capital take them over, completing the transfer from me to the company at a thirty percent discount to the fair market value at that time.”

Transferring the shares to the company at a thirty percent discount to the current valuation in no way meant Fang Hong was enriching himself at the company’s expense. On the contrary, the company was getting a bargain. Acquiring it at a thirty percent discount meant the company would realize an immediate floating profit of +42.85% the moment the transfer was complete.

But even with a thirty percent discount upon exiting the primary market, given Kunpeng Technology’s valuation on the eve of its IPO, Fang Hong’s personal net worth would still increase by tens of billions without a problem. Turning a ten-million-yuan investment into tens of billions—an expected return of over a thousand times. He had truly picked up a huge treasure.

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Chapter 355: I Want Them All

Fang Hong didn’t need to handle the specific investment agreements and contracts himself. He could just leave that to the beautiful assistant beside him. When there was work to do, the beautiful assistant can do it. When there was no work to do, the beautiful assistant can be done. What a wonderful assistant.

As they neared the entrance to the house, Fang Hong stopped and turned to Tian Jiayi. “Speaking of this Kunpeng project, what on earth are the people in the company’s VC department and investment research analysis department doing? How could Stellaris have failed to discover such a great project in the primary market?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi, although not in charge of that area, was clearly aware of the company’s situation. She immediately explained on behalf of the two departments, “Chu Changxing’s team never approached Stellaris Capital. You set the company’s Eight Major Strategic Investment Directions, which cover hundreds, even thousands of fields. It’s impossible to catch every single startup in every industry subdivision. Even the most meticulous plan can have an oversight.”

Fang Hong was noncommittal. What she said was true; it was unrealistic to expect to seize every single opportunity.

Tian Jiayi added, “Actually, the company has been paying attention to the commercial drone market, but our focus was mainly on DJI. However, that company is already past its growing pains and has no intention of accepting capital.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “I don’t think so. That’s how they are when there’s no pressure. But there’s no rush. Once Kunpeng Technology rises, DJI will feel the heat. DJI may not be letting Stellaris in now, but there are plenty of ways. We don’t need to force our way in. When the time comes, DJI will open its doors for us itself.”

What Fang Hong valued most about Chu Changxing’s team and Kunpeng Technology was their next-generation product aimed at the consumer-grade, non-professional drone market and their plan to produce a complete drone system. Forget just pushing the price below the 5,000 yuan mark; when competing with DJI, their benchmark product could always be five hundred yuan cheaper than DJI’s. It could even be cheaper than that—they didn’t even need to make a profit.

It was just a “power of cash” cash-burning war.

Kunpeng goes all-in. DJI, are you going to follow or not?

You won’t? Well then, Kunpeng is going to devour all of your market share, you know? DJI might even be squeezed out of the consumer drone market.

And if DJI is forced to lower its prices to avoid being squeezed out, it will face a new problem: making no profit or even losing money. With no profit from their products, they will have no choice but to seek financing from the capital market.

At that point, DJI would have to open its doors to capital, and Stellaris Capital would arrive, waving wads of cash.

First, they wouldn’t let them in; later, they’d be begging them to come in.

Moreover, this was a strategy that killed two birds with one stone. A cash-burning war would mean Kunpeng Technology would need even more financing, forcing them to give up more equity in exchange. Thus, Stellaris Capital could also acquire a larger stake in Kunpeng.

When the time came, after Stellaris Capital had acquired its desired equity shares from both Kunpeng Technology and DJI Technology, it could, as a major shareholder, invite the founders of both companies over for a meal and a chat. They’d have to give that much face, right?

Then, it would play the role of peacemaker, mediating a truce between the two sides. No more vicious competition, no more price wars. Everyone should stop this cutthroat rat race. Let profits return to a normal level. Wouldn’t making the pie bigger for everyone be better?

Of course, there was a precondition for pressuring DJI into submission through a cash-burning war: Kunpeng’s products had to be technologically on par with DJI’s. If the technological gap between their core products was too large—if DJI’s technology was far superior, for instance—a price war would be meaningless.

But Fang Hong had great confidence in Kunpeng. Judging by the technological level of the prototype, it was in no way inferior to DJI’s. Chu Changxing was also an excellent founder. The current situation was that Kunpeng Technology just needed a little push, and its takeoff was only a matter of time.

Once the technological gap was closed, the only remaining variable was a clash of their “power of cash.” To put it bluntly, it would be a competition of who had more money, who could burn through it longer, and who would be the first to crack.

The moment DJI couldn’t hold out any longer and was willing to accept Stellaris Capital’s investment, the cash-burning war could end. If they stubbornly refused to the death, then they would be worn down until they collapsed, and Kunpeng Technology would take over their entire market share, replacing DJI.

Entering the villa, Fang Hong set the prototype aside and sat down on the sofa in the lounge area.

Tian Jiayi walked over and sat in an empty spot beside him. Smiling, she said to Fang Hong, “Although the company’s VC department didn’t discover Kunpeng Technology, they haven’t been idle. Just a week ago, a new project came up. The founder of a new energy technology company contacted us directly. The investment research analysis department is also focusing on this project, and their preliminary conclusion is that we can get involved.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask, “A new energy technology company? Is it ATL New Energy Technology Company, the one that makes power batteries?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Yes, that’s the one.”

Fang Hong was quite surprised to get her confirmation. It was really that company? He was certainly no stranger to it, because ATL Company was the predecessor of Ningde Shidai.

And Ningde Shidai had taken less than nine years to become capable of vying for the number one spot in the global industry.

Fang Hong immediately searched his memories from his past life. Following the original historical trajectory, the founder of ATL Company would spin off its power battery business division and establish Ningde Shidai at the end of next year, around December 2011.

Evidently, with a co-founder of ATL Company approaching Stellaris Capital at this time, and the company’s VC department and investment research team preparing to get involved, they were certainly capable.

Although they had missed Kunpeng Technology, this more than made up for the oversight.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi said, “Starting in 2008, the top levels of the government began formulating relevant policies for the new energy vehicle industry. The company’s investment research analysis department believes that now is the moment the country is vigorously promoting the development of new energy vehicles with many preferential policies, and batteries are a key component.”

Fang Hong nodded slowly. Ningde Shidai’s rise was precisely because it seized this historical opportunity at this exact point in time, a rise that was inseparable from the various government support policies in the new energy sector.

If nothing unexpected happened, the government should publish the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries next year, in 2011. This document would explicitly restrict wholly foreign-owned enterprises from producing automotive power batteries, which would win precious development time for the domestic lithium battery industry, whose technological strength was still very weak.

Moreover, this restriction not only contributed significantly to the establishment of Ningde Shidai but also allowed it to maintain a certain technological advantage within the Mainland’s lithium battery industry.

Of course, the most important factor was the massive government subsidies for the new energy vehicle industry over the past decade. His memories from his past life allowed Fang Hong to estimate that in the eight years from last year, 2009, to the future 2017, the state’s direct investment in the new energy vehicle industry would exceed three hundred twenty billion yuan, with another seventy billion yuan in cumulative purchase tax exemptions.

Calculated based on a total investment of three hundred ninety billion yuan, this was equivalent to about forty-two percent of the total sales of new energy vehicles in the country during the same period. In other words, for a new energy vehicle costing three hundred thousand yuan, the state paid one hundred twenty-eight thousand, and the consumer only needed one hundred seventy-two thousand to drive it home.

Of course, the actual situation was certainly more complex. With the state spending so much money to subsidize this emerging industry, there were more than a few who took advantage to commit subsidy fraud.

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and said, “However, President Zeng didn’t come for ATL Company this time. Since 2008, with policy support for the new energy vehicle industry, ATL’s management sensed an opportunity and decided to establish a power battery department. But due to legal restrictions, wholly foreign-owned enterprises cannot produce power batteries. So, President Zeng’s proposal is to separate the R&D department and establish a subsidiary.”

If all went as expected, this subsidiary would be Ningde Shidai.

Fang Hong smiled. “He came to Stellaris seeking cooperation. What was his pitch?”

Obviously, Tian Jiayi knew the details. She was privy to all of the company’s trade secrets because she was Fang Hong’s “shadow” at Stellaris Capital. Hua Yu held nothing back from her, and she could access all of the company’s business information.

Tian Jiayi promptly replied, “According to him, if the domestic battery market is controlled by the Japanese in the future, the fate of the country’s new energy vehicles and new energy batteries will be in their hands. Therefore, the ATL power battery department needs to be spun off and be one hundred percent controlled by domestic capital.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. One always needed a lofty concept. There was nothing wrong with saying that, of course, but the main reason was undoubtedly the legal restrictions.

…

Chapter 356: My Solution is Simple and Unadorned

This brought up the matter of the ATL Company. It was founded in 1999 by two men, Zeng and Liang, who started with soft-pack lithium batteries to avoid the fierce competition in the hard-pack lithium battery market.

Soft-pack lithium batteries were also more suitable for electronic products like mobile phones and laptops.

However, as their application expanded, it became clear that soft-pack lithium batteries were prone to swelling and bulging with repeated charging. After purchasing a patent license for polymer ion batteries from Bell Labs, ATL Company successfully overcame this fatal flaw and rose to prominence.

Starting in 2001, ATL Company also became a battery supplier for Apple.

Moreover, ATL Company was now supplying Stellar Universe Technology. That was right—Stellar Universe Technology’s first-generation product, the S1 smartphone, used ATL’s batteries. It was this connection that first brought President Zeng into contact with Stellaris Capital.

If history had followed its original course, ATL would have grown alongside Apple to become the global leader in consumer lithium batteries. In two years, its polymer lithium batteries would rank first in the world for eight consecutive years, with well-known smartphone brands like Apple, Huawei, Little Mi, Vivo, and Oppo all among its clients.

But there was a problem with ATL now: it was a company 100% controlled by Japanese capital. This was a core reason why President Zeng wanted to spin off the power battery department and create Ningde Shidai; otherwise, he would be constrained by regulations.

In its early days, ATL Company had received investment from North American capital. Its transformation into a company completely dominated by Japanese capital began with an incident in 2005. At the time, the company was thriving, but a shareholder divestment triggered a change in ATL’s equity structure.

Ultimately, the three founders’ former employer, Japan’s TDK Group, acquired 100% of ATL’s shares for one hundred million US dollars, transforming it into a wholly Japanese-owned company.

Because ATL was now a wholly Japanese-owned enterprise, it was subject to relevant regulations that prevented Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises from producing power batteries.

Therefore, the division had to be spun off.

At this point, Fang Hong asked directly, “Have the founders provided a specific solution?”

If they were sincere about collaborating, they had to lay some of their cards on the table.

Tian Jiayi nodded and explained, “Yes, President Zeng has shared his solution with Qunxing. The new subsidiary will be called Ningde Shidai. At this stage, it’s impossible to have the Japanese capital exit completely. President Zeng’s strategy is to spin it off first and then buy back the remaining shares from the Japanese capital in the future.”

After a moment of recollection, Tian Jiayi continued, “Regarding Ningde Shidai’s equity structure, President Zeng’s plan is to establish a company called Ruiting Investment, which will become Ningde Shidai’s holding shareholder. Ruiting will hold 23.33% of Ningde Shidai’s shares, and President Zeng will hold 55% of Ruiting’s shares, thereby gaining relative control over Ningde Shidai by controlling 55% of Ruiting Investment.”

Fang Hong knew that Ruiting’s 23.33% stake in Ningde Shidai was not enough to meet the threshold for control. A stake of at least 34% was necessary to gain control because it grants a crucial power: the veto.

Major corporate resolutions require a two-thirds majority to pass. A 34% stake means that if you vote against a resolution, it cannot reach the two-thirds threshold even if all other shareholders vote in favor. This is equivalent to having veto power.

President Zeng’s plan for Ruiting to hold 23.33% of Ningde Shidai was clearly below the 34% baseline. However, Fang Hong remained calm. There had to be another part to the plan. He waited for his beautiful assistant to elaborate.

Tian Jiayi continued, “He requires Stellaris Capital to hold a stake of no less than 19% in Ningde Shidai and to sign a crucial voting agreement with him.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile.

With memories of his past life, he knew that President Zeng had a very keen awareness of control. The historical trajectory had now changed, because in the original timeline, Stellaris Capital was never a shareholder in Ningde Shidai.

In the original timeline, it wasn’t until around 2015 that Ningde Shidai bought back the last 15% of shares held by Japanese capital, finally resolving the ownership issues. Long before that, President Zeng had farsightedly signed a voting agreement with the other two co-founders.

Those two co-founders held 4.59% and 10.61% of Ningde Shidai’s shares respectively. Combined with Ruiting’s 23.33%, their total stake was 38.53%, far exceeding the 34% baseline. This was how President Zeng had maintained firm control over Ningde Shidai.

Fang Hong figured that President Zeng would surely ask Stellaris Capital to sign a similar voting agreement. He looked at his beautiful assistant and asked concisely, “What are the specific terms of the voting agreement?”

As an investor, Fang Hong was never worried about founders demanding control. To a certain extent, it demonstrated that the founder was strong and capable.

As a non-bank financial company, Stellaris Capital couldn’t directly manage a company’s day-to-day operations. For that, they needed capable people. The only exception would be if they planned to seize control, strip the company of its assets for a quick profit, and then walk away, leaving a complete mess behind.

Otherwise, a capable founder was crucial to lead the company to greater strength and success. So regardless of whether the founder was aggressive or not, as long as they were capable and could grow the company, Fang Hong was happy to cede control to them. This would also allow the founder to focus on building the business without worry.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi listed the points one by one. “President Zeng’s proposed voting agreement has three key stipulations. First, at the shareholders’ meeting and on the Board of Directors, we must maintain a unanimous stance on the right to propose, the right to nominate, and voting rights. Second, in the event of a disagreement between Stellaris Capital and him, his opinion shall prevail. Third, the voting agreement will remain in effect until the day Stellaris Capital no longer directly or indirectly holds shares in Ningde Shidai. In other words, for as long as Stellaris Capital holds shares in the company, our positions must remain aligned.”

Fang Hong listened calmly. These three conditions were just as he had expected. Some parts of history had changed, but others remained the same.

With such an arrangement, assuming Stellaris Capital held 19% of Ningde Shidai’s shares and signed the voting agreement with President Zeng, combined with Ruiting Investment’s 23.33%, he would control a total of 42.33% of the voting rights, well above the 34% baseline.

Moreover, the more shares Stellaris Capital held, the more voting power President Zeng would have, thanks to the voting agreement. His say in Ningde Shidai would be firmly in his grasp.

Furthermore, President Zeng would certainly sign similar voting agreements with the other two veteran co-founders.

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and said, “The current point of contention within the company regarding this project is the voting agreement.”

Evidently, Stellaris Capital wanted to retain its voting autonomy. And if they were to get involved with Ningde Shidai, they would certainly want more than a 20% stake. Hua Yu’s view was either not to get involved at all, or to acquire at least a 34% stake to secure control.

This was because getting involved meant contending with the Japanese capital. After all, Ningde Shidai hadn’t even been established yet. The crucial point was ATL Company, which was currently a pure Japanese-owned enterprise, 100% controlled by Japanese capital.

Tian Jiayi added, “After all that, what’s your take on this project? Should we get involved with Ningde Shidai?”

Fang Hong was the big boss of Stellaris Capital. Regardless of the internal consensus, or lack thereof, once the big boss made a decision, it was final. If he didn’t weigh in, then Hua Yu’s word would be law.

“Of course we should get involved. I’m just as optimistic about the potential of new energy and Ningde Shidai,” Fang Hong said without hesitation. He glanced at his beautiful assistant and continued in a slow, deliberate tone, “But following President Zeng’s plan, just sorting out Ningde Shidai’s equity structure will take several years. It’s far too slow.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have a new idea?”

Fang Hong nodded. “That’s right. Go straight to the root of the problem. Ningde Shidai’s problem stems from ATL Company. ATL Company’s problem is that it’s currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese TDK Group.”

At this, Fang Hong turned to look at his beautiful assistant again, a smile playing on his lips as their eyes met. “My solution is simple and unadorned. Have Stellaris Capital step in and acquire ATL outright from the Japanese. Just buy it back. Once Stellaris Capital has 100% ownership of ATL Company, its status will instantly change from a wholly foreign-owned enterprise to a purely domestic one, won’t it? Solve the problem at its source, and all the subsequent issues will cease to be issues.”

…

Chapter 357: The Japanese Who Put Their Points in the Wrong Tech Tree

“A full acquisition of one hundred percent of ATL’s equity?”

Tian Jiayi was stunned by Fang Hong’s strategy. After a moment, she questioned him, “With Stellaris Capital’s current financial strength, a full buyout of ATL Company would certainly pose no financial pressure. But the problem is, even if you want to buy, the TDK Group might not be willing to sell. You couldn’t have failed to consider that, could you?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “Since you know I would have considered that, and you’re still asking, it must mean I’m confident I can make TDK sell to me. You couldn’t have failed to consider that, could you?”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

The beautiful assistant was taken aback for a second before shaking her head in exasperation. She then said, “Stop playing word games with me… How confident are you about acquiring ATL?”

Fang Hong smiled. “To be conservative, I’m at least ninety percent confident.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong’s expression turned serious. “If you pay attention to the news coming out of Japan, you’ll see that right at this moment, they’ve announced their hydrogen energy strategy. This will inevitably lead Japanese auto giants like Toyota and Honda to abandon lithium batteries and develop fuel cells instead. The hype around the hydrogen energy story is incredible right now, isn’t it? They’re even dreaming that cars won’t need gas in the future; they’ll just add water and drive. After all, water can be split into hydrogen atoms, haha…”

At this, Fang Hong let out a cheerful laugh.

This bet on hydrogen energy by the Japanese was precisely what allowed their neighbor, a latecomer by twenty years, to overtake them.

But to be fair, Japan’s lithium battery technology was strong enough to dominate the world. In 1991, Sony launched the first commercial lithium-ion batteries. After several iterations, they established the technical standards for the entire industry.

Subsequently, Japanese electronic products swept the globe, sparking a massive trend. Japanese companies, led by Sony, invested heavily in lithium battery technology. By the turn of the millennium, they held a monopoly over the global battery market, controlling over ninety percent of the market share—an absolute monopoly.

Normally, if the Japanese had continued on this trajectory, their electric vehicle companies should have easily taken the lead among all global players. Instead, they completely missed out on the new energy vehicle era.

Because they put their points in the wrong tech tree!

The decision to bet on hydrogen energy caused them to miss the lithium battery era, which in turn led Japanese traditional automakers to miss the new energy vehicle boom a decade later.

A decade later, the dominant forces in the new energy vehicle sector were the great eastern nation and America. There was basically no room for Japanese or European players, and traditional joint-venture cars were in steady retreat.

Only some fawning public intellectuals were still hyping up nonsense about how the major Japanese and European manufacturers could just swap out a battery and thrash the likes of BYD. In reality, they were all talk.

The Japanese and European auto giants missed the new energy vehicle era, and that was that. The facts speak louder than words, and their stock prices were the best reflection of this reality.

TDK’s loss of Ningde Shidai was an even better illustration. A decade later, Ningde Shidai would be hailed by countless investors in the A-share market with titles like “King Ning” and “Your Era,” its market value breaking the one trillion yuan mark and at one point peaking at nearly 1.7 trillion yuan.

Only the TDK Group truly knew the bitterness of losing “King Ning.” They probably snuck off to the bathroom when no one was looking to cry and beat their chests and stamp their feet in regret.

For the TDK Group, losing Ningde Shidai was an absolutely massive strategic blunder, one that made them want to spit blood in frustration.

At this moment, Fang Hong continued, “Besides the fact that the Japanese are ditching lithium to bet on hydrogen, there’s also, of course, our ‘power of cash.’ I’ll offer TDK a fifty percent premium. Will they sell? No? Then what about a one hundred percent premium?”

TDK had originally acquired ATL Company for one hundred million US dollars. It was certainly worth more now, but for the fabulously wealthy Stellaris Capital, it was still a small sum. There was nothing to be done about it; the company was just too rich. The money it made might as well have been blown in by a strong wind.

Fang Hong said with a smile, “This particular point in time is crucial. The country has regulations restricting the battery sector, and the Japanese have run off to play with hydrogen. If Stellaris Capital shows up now waving wads of cash to buy ATL Company, they’ll definitely be tempted.”

The timing was indeed excellent. Paired with the “power of cash,” there was a very high chance of successfully acquiring ATL.

The company truly had its own core technology. It had successfully entered Apple’s supply chain and now supplied Stellar Universe Technology. Later on, it would become the battery supplier for many renowned domestic and international mobile phone manufacturers, making ATL the world’s largest supplier of polymer batteries.

The Samsung Note 7 battery explosion incident in 2016 was a divine assist for ATL. The batteries using Samsung SDI cells exploded, but ATL’s batteries had no combustion or explosion incidents whatsoever. This not only highlighted ATL’s technical strength but also sent its reputation skyrocketing, opening up an even larger market.

According to ATL’s published financial results, its output value had doubled year after year from a few hundred million in its first year, and was expected to exceed 2.5 billion this year. With the explosion of the smartphone industry, ATL’s performance took off, and reaching an annual output value of over ten billion would only be a matter of a few years.

Leaving aside ATL’s connection to Ningde Shidai, just based on the company’s future potential, acquiring it even at a premium of several times its value would be a profitable venture.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but say, “If we can successfully acquire ATL Company, it would save us the trouble of spinning off its power battery division to create Ningde Shidai. The previous plan wouldn’t be necessary then.”

But Fang Hong said, “No, we still need to execute it. ATL is ATL, and Ningde Shidai is Ningde Shidai. ATL will focus primarily on the mobile phone battery industry, while Ningde Shidai will focus primarily on the power battery industry.”

Tian Jiayi was very confused. “You’re going to spend a fortune to buy ATL Company, only to spin off its power battery division and give up control? Wait, does this mean you’ve agreed to President Zeng’s concert party proposal?”

Clearly, the beautiful assistant could not understand his decision.

Fang Hong said slowly, “I want to use the case of Ningde Shidai to create a classic example of mutual success between venture capital and entrepreneurs, to make it a celebrated story in the VC industry. Through this, I want to tell all entrepreneurs: don’t just stare at Stellaris Capital swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole. Look at Ningde Shidai, look at Stellar Universe Technology.”

The case of Stellaris Capital swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole had caused a sensation in the venture capital world, its impact enormous. It had also frightened off many entrepreneurs.

No matter how the now-rebranded Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was reborn from the ashes, in the eyes of many entrepreneurs, Stellaris Capital had devoured Hengtong without even spitting out the bones. Not only was Wang Qingxiong left with nothing, but he also had to go to prison. His end could be described as nothing short of tragic, miserable, and bleak.

From an entrepreneur’s perspective, Stellaris Capital was definitely not to be trifled with. Taking their money was a nerve-racking, risky proposition; they were terrified of being outmaneuvered and destroyed by Stellaris Capital.

Fang Hong added with a smile, “Stellaris Capital was involved with both Hengtong Group and Ningde Shidai, but the fates of these two companies were complete opposites. As an entrepreneur, shouldn’t you reflect on why Hengtong Group was eaten clean by Qunxing, while Ningde Shidai was the exact opposite? Is Qunxing really a predatory capital that devours people whole? Or could it be that you, the entrepreneur, had problems of your own? Don’t just blame Qunxing for everything.”

Speaking of this, Fang Hong guessed that Chu Changxing’s team probably had similar concerns, which was why they hadn’t approached Stellaris Capital. After all, Kunpeng Technology had no negotiating power with investment firms, and Chu Changxing clearly had a strong awareness of control. So, he would rather let the company go bankrupt than seek investment from Stellaris Capital, lest he end up bitterly doing all the work just for someone else to reap the benefits.

Of course, Chu Changxing didn’t know yet that K-God was, in fact, the real big boss of Stellaris Capital.

The beautiful assistant propped her chin on her hand and said leisurely, “You’ve said so much, but the key is getting TDK Group to sell ATL Company to Qunxing. That’s the prerequisite. How much do you plan to offer?”

…

Chapter 358: Market Capitalization Management

Fang Hong said concisely, “Three point five billion US dollars, which is twenty-three point nine billion RMB!”

Hearing him say the number, Tian Jiayi was stunned on the spot. Before she could speak, Fang Hong cut in, “The whole point is to offer an incredibly high price right when the Japanese are giving up on lithium batteries, making TDK’s executive management feel like they’ll regret it for the rest of their lives if they refuse.”

Fang Hong added, “So, our negotiation strategy is to not play by the rules. We’ll go to them, lay our cards on the table, and say we’ll buy your ATL for twenty-three point nine billion. It’s a one-time offer. Are you selling or not? We’ll give you three days to think about it. If you don’t sell, then forget it.”

Never mind whether TDK would be stunned by this move; his beautiful assistant was the one who was stunned just hearing it.

They had bought ATL Company for one hundred million US dollars five years ago, and now someone was offering three point five billion US dollars. They’d make thirty-five times their money just by selling, and that wasn’t even counting the profits ATL Company had contributed to the TDK Group over the past five years.

The bewildered Tian Jiayi came to her senses and couldn’t help but ask, “But what if TDK Group actually refuses?”

Fang Hong replied without hesitation, “Then we won’t buy it.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

His words stunned his beautiful assistant once again. After a moment, Tian Jiayi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, her face a picture of helplessness. She said, “Come on, this is too ridiculous. Are you serious?”

Fang Hong spread his hands. “Of course I’m serious. If they don’t want to sell, are we supposed to pester them endlessly? I have a temper, you know. With twenty-three point nine billion, I could build an ATL from scratch.”

This made his beautiful assistant realize something. She said thoughtfully, “I think I understand your intention. TDK will surely think the same way. If Stellaris Capital is determined to do this—to pour twenty-three point nine billion into this industry—ATL will inevitably face immense competitive pressure.”

Tian Jiayi then looked at Fang Hong and added, “And once we’re established, they’ll definitely lose Stellar Universe Technology’s orders. We certainly wouldn’t give our orders to ATL anymore. Rather than creating a powerful potential rival, it would be better to just sell the whole thing.”

Thinking of this, the beautiful assistant gradually understood Fang Hong’s intention. It was just that his way of putting it seemed too rash and frivolous.

But this move was definitely playing dirty. Throwing so much money into an industry to fight to the death would make any competitor panic. To put it bluntly, with that much money, even a pig could make a name for itself.

This would create an expectation: if the new company succeeded, ATL’s future development would only worsen. In that case, they might as well sell it for the twenty-three point nine billion. Since they were already planning to bet on hydrogen energy, why not just take the money and leave? There was no need to get into a cutthroat competition with a madman like this. Isn’t a 35-fold return on the spot more appealing?

Fang Hong chuckled. “Making outsiders think you’re a fool with too much money is the best disguise.”

Spending twenty-three point nine billion to acquire ATL might seem like just handing over money right now, but in a few years, it would be a completely different story. ATL itself would be a profitable deal, not to mention Ningde Shidai, which would later emerge from it.

At this point, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain internally, “That’s true. Stellaris makes money so easily, it’s like it just blows in with the wind. You could give those Middle Eastern tycoons a run for their money… But I really do think you’re just a fool with too much money.”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and said nonchalantly, “Watch your mouth. Be careful or I’ll poke you with my stick.”

However, his beautiful assistant didn’t seem afraid of his threat at all. In fact, she gave him a provocative look. She truly wasn’t scared; it wasn’t as if she hadn’t experienced it before. Rather than a threat or punishment, it was more like a reward…

Just then, the house manager Yu Qiu walked past the large living room but didn’t disturb them.

Seeing this, Tian Jiayi quickly looked away, dropped her flirtatious demeanor, and returned to business. “About ATL, are you sure this is the final decision?”

Fang Hong nodded affirmatively. “It’s decided.”

Tian Jiayi chuckled. “I’m afraid Stellaris will have a hard time shaking off the ‘fool with too much money’ image from now on.”

As she said this, the beautiful assistant also made a mental note. Since the big boss of Stellaris Capital, the one truly calling the shots, had made his decision, the matter was settled. There was no need for Hua Yu and the others at the company to discuss it further; the big boss was more decisive than any of them.

All that was left to do was to execute the big boss’s will.

…

Time moved into May, and the A-share market entered its short public holiday break. After receiving Fang Hong’s decision, Stellaris Capital immediately took action, sending a business team to negotiate the full acquisition of ATL Company with TDK Group.

Fang Hong simply waited for the results.

Notably, on May 1st, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform officially launched version 1.1.82 of its mobile app, releasing versions for TOS, Android, and iOS simultaneously.

Of course, at this time, Apple’s operating system hadn’t yet been renamed iOS. That would happen when Chief Jobs announced the change at the iPhone 4 launch event.

However, Apple was also facing its own troubles, with various media outlets scrutinizing it under a microscope. The online flame wars were raging, and there were recent rumors that Chief Jobs might not personally host the iPhone 4 launch, although this hadn’t been confirmed.

Quantum Beat’s on-schedule launch of its mobile app was a clear sign of its full-scale entry into the mobile internet. Meanwhile, Xu Jingren was personally overseeing the formation of the WeChat project development team, and work on the project’s subsidiary and other matters was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Furthermore, the matter of Weibo’s subsidiary’s backdoor listing was also moving forward. The shell company, Dasheng Shares, was still operating under that name. It would take about another three months for the backdoor listing to be fully completed, with an estimated finalization around mid-August.

In other words, Dasheng Shares would be formally renamed Weibo in August of this year.

After peaking at 44.44 yuan, Dasheng Shares began to fall. Last Wednesday, it hit a recent low of 30.66 yuan per share, a cumulative drop of thirty-one percent from its highest point.

However, in the two trading days before the holiday, Thursday and Friday, it saw a two-day counter-trend rally, surging by +6.34% and +5.21% respectively. Based on the latest closing price of 35.07 yuan per share, the company’s total market capitalization was 18.552 billion yuan.

Based solely on the current market capitalization of the Weibo subsidiary, co-founders like Xu Jingren and Lou Gaoyuan now had a nominal net worth of over four hundred million yuan each.

Although the stock price of Dasheng Shares had pulled back by as much as thirty-one percent from its peak of 44.44 yuan, what retail investors didn’t know was that the capital institutions that had gotten on board in the primary market weren’t sitting idle. After acquiring their shares, they had work to do—they needed to manage the market capitalization for the company that would soon become Weibo.

Retail investors were completely unaware that Dasheng Shares was currently brewing a much larger, super primary rally. The company had resumed trading but had not yet changed its name. The timing for the official name change was not chosen arbitrarily.

Currently, these institutions were actively pushing for one thing: to get Dasheng Shares—the future Weibo—into the sample pools of the CSI 300 Index and the Shenzhen 100 Index, making it a constituent stock of both major indices.

Once it became a constituent stock of these two indices, the company’s stock would gain liquidity from passive index funds. For example, on-exchange funds like the CSI 300 ETF and Shenzhen 100 ETF would allocate to the stock, as would off-exchange ETF feeder funds and others. Although ETF funds can buy all or only some of the stocks in an index, with the main investment targets decided by the fund manager, becoming a constituent stock of these two major indices would guarantee a far greater allocation of liquidity compared to other stocks not in the index sample pools.

The constituent stocks of the indices are adjusted twice a year, on the next trading day after the second Friday of June and December each year. The purpose of the adjustment is to remove underperforming companies and add newly rising ones.

Institutional shareholders of the Weibo subsidiary, such as Zhongtai Capital, were not idle. They were striving to achieve the goal of being selected as a constituent stock for the CSI 300 and Shenzhen 100 indices by around June.

Then, they could initiate a new round of a super primary rally, driven by the combined forces of institutions, hot money, and retail investors of all sizes, and cash in on this rally on the day the company officially renames itself Weibo.

Doubling from its starting point and breaking through the previous high of 44.44 yuan was a certainty. But just how high and strong this primary rally would ultimately be would depend on the power of the trend as it played out in the secondary market.

…

Chapter 359: “Qunxing Ecosystem” Core Assets

As for how to manage the market capitalization of the Weibo subsidiary, Fang Hong didn’t provide any specific strategic requirements to the institutions.

How they handled it was their business. Fang Hong wouldn’t concern himself with how the secondary market played out, whether it surged or plummeted; he wouldn’t care, nor would he participate in the capital games of his own company’s secondary market.

Fang Hong had only one requirement: by the end of each year, the Weibo subsidiary’s PE valuation could not fall below a 70x static price-to-earnings ratio. He wasn’t concerned with how it fluctuated throughout the rest of the year.

For a growth-oriented IT internet company, a P/E ratio of 70 was not an exaggeration; after all, it wasn’t a traditional manufacturing or financial company.

Currently, Stellaris Capital was still actively pushing other projects toward IPOs. Besides the Weibo subsidiary, where the other shoe was about to drop, there was also Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, which had completed its restructuring after emerging from Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group.

This company was applying for an IPO on the ChiNext board. The process was progressing smoothly, and barring any surprises, it should be able to complete its listing by the end of the year.

For Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s IPO, the proposed issue price was 27.28 yuan per share, with a total share capital of 531.52 million shares and an IPO valuation of 14.5 billion RMB. It would issue 122.62 million shares to raise 3.345 billion yuan, accounting for 23.07% of the company’s total share capital.

Following Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was Stellar Universe Technology, which was currently at the height of its power in the smartphone industry, having debuted at its peak. The goal was to complete its listing by the end of 2012. Unlike Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, which was applying through the normal process, Stellar Universe Technology was still taking the path of a backdoor listing.

Both the Weibo subsidiary and Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group had IPO valuations in the tens of billions. The scale of these two companies was indeed not small, and they could be considered mid-cap stocks.

But compared to them, Stellar Universe Technology was an absolute behemoth. Its scale was an order of magnitude larger—a massive size in the hundreds of billions.

A target for the backdoor listing had already been selected, but Stellaris Capital had not yet made any concrete moves, not even contacting the management of the shell company. The matter was currently in a highly confidential stage.

The capital market currently valued Stellar Universe Technology in the range of 120 to 150 billion yuan, but this was based on its present value. The expectation for 2012 would be a completely different figure.

With the explosive growth of the smartphone industry in the coming years, Stellar Universe Technology’s future market capitalization was expected to surpass the “number one bank in the universe,” becoming the largest giant in the A-share market by market cap. It could even enter the top ten globally.

Fang Hong, however, had given a valuation expectation of 500 billion yuan for Stellar Universe Technology by the time of its backdoor listing in 2012, and he had already begun to carry out the relevant work based on this figure.

According to the current draft plan, after Stellar Universe Technology’s backdoor listing—completing the asset injection, additional stock issuance, and high stock dividends—the total share capital would increase to 186.5 billion shares. The private placement would raise 65 billion yuan, with the company’s overall valuation at 500 billion yuan, corresponding to a post-rights issue price of 2.68 yuan per share when trading resumed.

After this backdoor listing, Stellar Universe Technology’s stock would follow a low-pricing strategy and be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board. With such a low share price, investors would only need 268 yuan to buy one lot, allowing any retail investor to participate.

However, a low share price did not mean a low valuation.

One had to look at the company’s total share capital. At 186.5 billion shares, those who didn’t know better would think it was some major state-owned bank.

Currently, the only A-share listed companies with a total share capital exceeding 100 billion shares were the “Big Four” banks and the two oil giants—six stocks in total. In the future, with Stellar Universe Technology’s successful backdoor listing, a new member would be added to this exclusive group.

The IPOs of Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group and Stellar Universe Technology were two projects already on Stellaris Capital’s agenda. Those not yet on the agenda included Art Star Media Group, which was also slated to list on the A-share market.

In addition, the financially independent subsidiary Yixing Video would also be brought to the A-share market. Further down the line were WeChat, which had just been officially established as a project, and Kunpeng Technology, which was finalized just a few days ago.

Once this series of Stellaris Capital’s subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries were listed on the A-share market, they would form the core assets of the “Qunxing ecosystem” within the A-share market.

…

On the weekend of May 2nd, Chu Changxing’s Kunpeng Technology successfully received ten million yuan in financing from Fang Hong. The money was transferred smoothly on the same day the contract was signed.

The moment he signed the investment contract, Chu Changxing was finally able to put his mind completely at ease. There would be no more uncertainties.

After receiving the money, Kunpeng Technology would turn a new page by completing its relocation to Xincheng. The goal for the second half of the year was singular: to push for the market launch of the first-generation Kunpeng drone.

…

Monday, May 3rd. Tokyo, Japan. Around 10:00 AM local time.

News from the Greater China market reached the headquarters of TDK Corporation today. The president of TDK Group looked at the reporting secretary in shock and said, “What? A local investment firm from the Greater China market is offering 329.1 billion yen for a full acquisition of ATL?”

329.1 billion yen, excluding exchange rate fluctuations, was approximately 3.5 billion US dollars or 23.9 billion RMB.

His secretary nodded in confirmation and replied, “Yes, Mr. President. And the acquiring party has also promised a one hundred percent cash settlement.”

The president of TDK Group was shocked again. “A direct cash acquisition? What’s the background of the acquiring party?”

The secretary reported concisely, “Stellaris Capital. The records show that the company was established in August 2008. It’s a non-bank financial investment firm that has risen with astonishing, lightning-like speed in recent years. Their investment style is aggressive, and their lavish spending is shocking. They have successfully invested in companies like Quantum Beat and Stellar Universe Technology…”

The president of TDK Group had certainly felt their lavishness. They had started by offering 329.1 billion yen right off the bat to buy ATL Company.

After briefly introducing Stellaris Capital, his secretary added, “Mr. President, according to the news from the Greater China market, after making the offer for a full cash acquisition, the company stated they are willing to give us three days to consider. If the deadline is exceeded, it will be considered a rejection, and Stellaris Capital will automatically withdraw the acquisition offer. Furthermore, they stated that they will refuse any form of counter-offer.”

Hearing this, TDK’s leader was completely dumbfounded, with a string of question marks appearing over his head.

He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

It was the first time he had encountered such a situation, which made him feel inexplicably that Stellaris Capital was toying with them. The wording of the acquisition offer was simply too flippant.

After coming to his senses, the TDK Group leader reconfirmed the matter with his secretary and received an affirmative reply. Stellaris Capital was serious about the acquisition, and the terms were all real.

“Why would they target ATL?” TDK’s leader couldn’t help but ponder. They were willing to offer such an outrageous premium. He had bought ATL in 2005 for 100 million US dollars. If he sold it to Stellaris Capital, that would be an astonishing 35-fold return in less than five years.

And it was an all-cash acquisition!

In a situation like this, anyone would subconsciously conclude that ATL must have something they desperately wanted—something they coveted so much that they were willing to get it at any cost.

In that case, he couldn’t just sell it easily. He had to figure things out first.

Just then, his secretary suddenly said, “Mr. President, perhaps Stellaris Capital’s motive is related to Stellar Universe Technology’s battery supply chain?”

The TDK Group leader nodded. “That’s a possibility.”

ATL Company was currently a battery supplier for Stellar Universe Technology. The TDK Group leader had long heard of this company, which was currently embroiled in the “Plagiarism-gate” scandal with Apple, creating a huge buzz in the global tech circle.

After thinking for a while and still being unable to figure it out, the TDK Group leader immediately convened a meeting with the company’s senior executives to discuss the matter.

…

Chapter 360: A Tragic Case of “Wild Fists Beating the Master” May Unfold

Three days later, Wednesday, May 5th.

Today was the second trading day for the A-share market after the holiday. The Shanghai and Shenzhen markets plummeted again during trading hours, hitting a new low for the year. Around 11:00 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index was down by -2.27%, breaking through the 2800-point mark in one fell swoop and bottoming out at 2770 points.

However, it staged a V-shaped recovery in the afternoon, opening low and trending high. It even turned positive by the close, ending the day up +0.77 points at 2857.15. The 2800-point mark, lost during the day, was reclaimed.

Entering May, Fang Hong made no moves in his personal account. He had already withdrawn what was necessary. He couldn’t be bothered with small-cap stocks, and there was no momentum in large-cap stocks. The only way to make money was by shorting stock index futures.

The A-share market wouldn’t present an opportunity to go long until the end of June. This month, Fang Hong was mainly resting and letting his stock index futures profits grow.

Once this main downtrend wave bottomed out at the end of June, he would cash in his short positions on the index futures, reverse his position to go long, and simultaneously go long in the stock market. Stellaris Capital would also begin its operations in the A-share market then.

…

In the afternoon, Tian Jiayi returned from the office with news from TDK Group.

“There’s an update on the acquisition of ATL Company. TDK Group has responded,” Tian Jiayi said, approaching Fang Hong, who was lounging on a deck chair by the outdoor heated swimming pool. “They’re not selling!”

Fang Hong was enjoying the sight of Hu Tao and the other girls playing in the pool. Tian Jiayi continued, “Your strategy doesn’t seem to be working. If you ask me, it was quite rash.”

“Calm down, calm down.” Fang Hong shifted his gaze from the girls, picked up the iced drink beside him, took a small sip, then closed his eyes and said contentedly, “Arrange a second round of negotiations with TDK immediately. This time, we drop our offer from 23.9 billion to 20 billion. Refuse any form of counter-offer and tell them this is our final offer. There won’t be a third.”

The beautiful assistant was stunned. She had never heard of such a negotiation tactic. Logically, he should be increasing the offer. Instead, he had slashed it from the previous bid, cutting it down to 20 billion—a reduction of 3.9 billion, or 500 million US dollars.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain internally, “What kind of negotiation tactic is this? Are you just playing around?”

Fang Hong smiled with an air of ease. “That’s right, it’s a playful tactic. To them, this is a major deal, but to me, it’s something I can take or leave, something I’m doing for fun. Therefore, you are not in a position to bargain with me. Either sell it quickly, or we drop it. This is a display of strength.”

Hearing this, his beautiful assistant was momentarily at a loss for words.

Fang Hong added, “Also, make it crystal clear to them that if they refuse this time, ATL Company will be kicked out of Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain. We’ll give the orders to BYD instead. Then, reveal our hand: we will take the entire budget originally intended for acquiring ATL and invest it all into competing with them. If that’s not enough, we can double it. We’ll either support a new enterprise or partner with BYD.”

Tian Jiayi asked, “Are you sure?”

Fang Hong nodded.

Tian Jiayi replied, “Alright, I understand.”

As the beautiful assistant mentally reviewed the plan, she realized that a decision Fang Hong had made with a seemingly playful attitude might actually produce surprisingly effective results. The other party would most likely be intimidated, especially by the threat that “if it’s not enough, we can double it.”

If it were any other investment firm, they might not take it seriously.

But Stellaris Capital genuinely didn’t treat money as a constraint and had a “prior record” of such actions. Whether it was the slick moves with online film and television streaming copyrights or the handling of the Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project, everything indicated that Stellaris Capital was fully capable of pulling off something so outrageous.

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Qunxing was obscenely wealthy and actually dared to make such plays.

If they really sank 23.9 billion, or even doubled it to nearly 50 billion, into competing with ATL Company, even a pig could learn to make batteries, right?

Faced with a big shot like this who didn’t play by the rules, a tragic case of “wild fists beating the master” might just unfold.

Who wouldn’t be panicked?

If Stellaris Capital really managed to prop up a rival, the pressure on ATL Company would be immense. Since TDK was planning to shift to hydrogen energy anyway, it would be better to just package ATL and sell it to him. That would save them from having their market share stolen by a company he propped up later. A quick calculation showed that would be a much bigger loss.

Selling to Stellaris Capital was a guaranteed and massive profit. Even after cutting five hundred million US dollars, the price was still three billion US dollars. Their initial investment of one hundred million US dollars would still yield a thirty-fold return.

A moment later, Fang Hong suddenly remembered something important. He picked up his phone from the side, checked the date, and muttered to himself, “Today is Wednesday, May 5th. I almost forgot and missed a prime opportunity for a harvest…”

Fang Hong immediately got up from the lounge chair and started walking towards the villa. After a few steps, he stopped and glanced back at his beautiful assistant. “Come with me to the trading room!”

Puzzled, Tian Jiayi nevertheless followed him gracefully.

…

The two entered the second-floor trading room one after another. Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “What is it?”

Fang Hong turned his head to smile at his beautiful assistant and added, “Tomorrow, in a single day, we can easily earn ten times the amount we offered to acquire ATL Company. And ten times is a conservative estimate!”

With that, he brought up the market trends for US stocks on the overseas markets.

Standing beside him, Tian Jiayi was momentarily stunned. Ten times the offer for ATL Company? Did that mean they could make at least over thirty billion US dollars in one day?

Realizing the implications, Tian Jiayi instinctively asked, “What are you going to do?”

Fang Hong replied crisply, “Tonight, we’re going to build a comprehensive short position in the US stock market. Or rather, we’ll profit from both the longs and the shorts!”

While lounging by the pool just now, he had recalled a major historical event in the US stock market that was set to happen the next day: the thousand-point flash crash.

The Dow Jones Index would plummet about 1,000 points in just 20 minutes, with the most dramatic 600-point drop occurring within a five-minute span, before rebounding sharply.

That trading day would set the record for the largest intra-day point drop in the history of the US stock market, becoming known as the most volatile 20 minutes in Wall Street history. One trillion US dollars in market value would evaporate that day, earning it the name “Black Thursday.”

What no one expected was that the person who threw the global financial markets into chaos in a single day was a… homebody!

No one could have imagined that behind the one-trillion-dollar flash crash was Navinder Sarao, a 36-year-old genius trader, Asperger’s patient, a man with severe social anxiety, and a veteran gaming enthusiast living in a London suburb.

It was this very dude whose fraudulent short-selling contracts in the futures trading system would trigger widespread panic and cause the stock market’s flash crash.

This fact wouldn’t be discovered until five years later, in 2015, and the result would leave everyone dumbfounded.

With this otaku dude up front drawing all the fire, Fang Hong certainly wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to pick up free money. In the end, Navinder Sarao would take all the blame. Stellaris Capital would quietly make its profits behind the scenes and, with a flick of its sleeves, not take a single cloud away.

Five years later, when six plainclothes officers, two FBI agents, and two prosecutors from the US Department of Justice knocked on the door of the Sarao home, his parents were completely bewildered, having no idea what was happening.

When Sarao was called downstairs, he was just as clueless. Upon being told he was under arrest, he even asked if he could go upstairs to turn on his recorder first, as a soccer match was about to start.

It was calculated that Sarao had earned over fifty million US dollars, but he showed no signs of wealth. He still lived with his parents, drove a very ordinary car, and spent his days at home, either trading, watching sports, or playing video games.

When his neighbors learned of his exploits from television, they were astonished by his low-key lifestyle and the fortune he had amassed. The boy they had watched grow up was actually a tycoon who had roiled the global financial markets. The North American Department of Justice charged him with multiple crimes, including wire fraud and market manipulation.

However, it was later discovered that he had little interest in money and was careless with it; most of it had been swindled away by various investment firms. In the end, he couldn’t even post his own bail. At the same time, a medical evaluation revealed he had Asperger’s syndrome, which meant his actions not only had judicial immunity but were also susceptible to manipulation by others.

Ultimately, the authorities dropped the charges against Navinder Sarao and instead sentenced him to a year of house arrest.

Back in the present, Fang Hong opened another computer nearby, created a new folder, and began to list a series of instruments to intervene in that night, including stocks, futures, options, and various commodities like oil.

Which instruments to trade, how to enter, position sizes, and when to close the positions—Fang Hong laid it all out with absolute clarity.

He wouldn’t be operating in the trading room himself. He would prepare the materials, have his beautiful assistant deliver them to the company, and the company’s traders would then execute his strategy to the letter.

…

Chapter 361: Let’s Go Big Today

Tranquil Heart Residence villa, second-floor trading room.

Without a word, Fang Hong rapidly typed on his keyboard, editing the materials and arranging a series of targets for intervention.

Tian Jiayi pulled a chair over and sat beside him. She leaned in to look at his computer screen, her beautiful eyes flashing with surprise as she unconsciously read aloud, “Accenture, expected intra-day drop of -99%, stock price to bottom out at $0.01 per share; Procter & Gamble, expected intra-day drop of -36%, stock price to bottom out at $39.37 per share; Apple, expected intra-day drop of -22%, stock price to bottom out at $199.25 per share…”

The more the beautiful assistant read of the content Fang Hong was editing in the document, the more shocked she became. While she was still dazed, Fang Hong had already quickly listed more targets: Disney, expected drop of -12%; Cisco, expected drop of -12%; Nike, expected drop of 11%; Oracle, expected drop of 11%; Bank of America, expected drop of 11%; Exxon Mobil, expected drop of 11%…

Without exception, these were all globally renowned corporate giants, either world-class behemoths or leaders in their respective industries.

As Tian Jiayi came to her senses, she glanced at Fang Hong and couldn’t help but ask, “Is some major, sudden black swan event going to happen tomorrow?”

Seeing the expectations he had set for these stocks, many of which were predicted to be slashed in half, with even a company like Procter & Gamble given an expected intra-day drop of -36%, Tian Jiayi felt as if the world was ending tomorrow.

Fang Hong chuckled. “Someone is about to stir up raging waves in the global financial markets, comparable to a magnitude-9 earthquake. If all goes as expected, the US stock market alone will lose a trillion dollars tomorrow. It’s not too much for us at Qunxing to quietly pocket a few tens of billions of dollars from the sidelines!”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi’s eyes widened. “The US stock market alone will lose a trillion dollars? My God…”

After her initial shock, the beautiful assistant became very curious about the connections he had that allowed him to obtain such information in advance. However, as Fang Hong clearly didn’t intend to elaborate, she didn’t press the matter.

A trillion dollars evaporating in a single day—this figure alone made her realize the gravity of the situation. The wisest course of action was not to inquire further.

Fang Hong imported the edited document onto a USB drive. Once the data transfer was complete, he handed it to her and instructed, “This is top secret. Take it to the company and have the traders execute the strategy exactly as outlined. If anyone dares to think themselves clever and alter my strategy on their own authority, the next day, I’ll have him tied to a rock and thrown to the bottom of the river to feed the fish.”

Tian Jiayi said nothing. She looked at the USB drive he offered, took it, and nodded silently. In a sense, this USB drive was worth over thirty billion US dollars, or more than two hundred billion yuan.

After stowing the USB drive safely, Tian Jiayi left the trading room and immediately headed for the Stellaris Capital headquarters.

When the company’s traders received the strategy on this USB drive, their shock was even greater than Tian Jiayi’s. It was insane!

They couldn’t understand it, but they were profoundly shocked and dared not be the slightest bit careless.

There was another question the traders who received the strategy couldn’t comprehend: since the expected declines were so large, why were the orders limited to a 60% fluctuation of the expected drop? Wouldn’t that mean leaving the vast majority of the profit on the table?

However, although the traders at Stellaris Capital couldn’t figure it out, they executed the plan strictly. They didn’t dare entertain any clever ideas of their own. This strategy could make the company tens of billions of dollars overnight, but it could just as easily cause them to get wrecked and lose tens of billions, wiping them out completely.

In any case, they had to follow this strategy. Even if the company went bankrupt from the losses, the blame would fall on the higher-ups. It would never be their turn to be the scapegoat.

…

The next day, Thursday, May 6th.

The A-share market opened first. After opening low and rebounding to close with a strong bullish candlestick the day before, many people had been hoping the rebound would continue.

Unexpectedly, the market opened down -0.64% today. The opening price was the day’s high, and from the start, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets opened low and trended lower in a one-sided panic sell. There wasn’t even a decent rebound during trading hours.

The 2800 mark was lost again, and the downward trend accelerated in the afternoon.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had plummeted -4.11% to finish at 2739.70 points, a new low for the year. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged -5.28% to close at 10422.56 points, with the 10,000-point mark in jeopardy.

Short positions in stock index futures also continued to build. The CSI 300 Index contract had already fallen to 2967 points, an accumulated decline of 15% from its peak on the first day of listing.

The US stock market hadn’t even opened yet, but the A-shares had already collapsed.

As for the overseas markets, Fang Hong had already laid out his strategy. Tonight, he would just sit back and watch the market drama unfold, waiting for his buddy, Navinder Sarao, to make his move.

Fang Hong wasn’t worried about the US market tonight at all. Stellaris Capital’s strategy seemed incredibly risky, but it was actually a near certainty. Sarao, the homebody, wasn’t the root of the problem; at most, he was just the person who pushed over the first domino.

In reality, the situation should be viewed from two angles. While trading issues were certainly one factor, the real cause was the US stock market’s two consecutive weeks of high-volume declines, which hid the market’s underlying anxiety about the European debt crisis.

The euro had been plummeting recently, a clear sign of deepening risk-aversion. The accumulated short positions had filled the current market with intense speculative sentiment.

At the same time, major European media outlets today had exposed the massive debt exposure of Eurozone banks to Greece, Portugal, and Spain, turning the market’s previous fears into reality.

On the trading front, there was Navinder Sarao. This dude unexpectedly set a perfect tempo.

He was quite a character. After graduating from university, Sarao had worked in telesales and as a bank teller, but none of these jobs felt right to him.

In 2003, Sarao saw a job ad in the newspaper that read: “Our company is hiring futures traders. Applicants must be law-abiding, proficient in data analysis, goal-oriented, and possess a strong ability to handle pressure.”

Sarao felt he could give it a try and went for an interview. He passed several rounds, including trading model tests, data reasoning and analysis, psychological assessments, and rapid mental math, all with flying colors.

When Sarao and the other new hires joined, the company had only a dozen or so employees. Nearly all were top students, and everyone was incredibly smart; they could find hard cash in a pile of market data.

But it wasn’t long before everyone discovered that Sarao was the real genius.

This guy had absolutely no interest in socializing and barely spoke a word. In his world, it seemed as if nothing existed but the market.

Sarao primarily traded a futures contract called the “e-mini,” which tracked the S&P 500 Index. With a daily trading volume of over 200 billion US dollars on the CME Group, it was one of the most liquid products in the world.

At this company, Sarao was practically a god of “e-mini” trading. He could always make the right decisions and earn the most money.

By 2008, when Sarao left the company, he had already earned a cool four million US dollars. However, he still lived with his parents, wore ordinary sweatpants, ate McDonald’s, and spent his time at home playing FIFA or watching soccer matches. His neighbors had no idea he was a millionaire.

His colleagues couldn’t understand it either: what was the point of earning so much money if you never spent it?

But for Sarao, market trading was just a game, and the money he earned was merely the score.

Whether playing video games or trading, what truly interested him was defeating his opponents and getting a high score. He had little interest in spending his points.

After leaving in 2008, Sarao started his own company and bought a trading seat at the CME Group, preparing to go big. His strategy was high-frequency trading: using an automated program to place huge sell orders on contracts and then instantly canceling them before they could be filled. This created real-time selling pressure on the trading price, which he would then use to buy at a low price, selling for a profit after the index recovered.

He might only make a dollar or even ten cents per trade, but because the trading volume was huge and frequent, the final profit was quite substantial.

In fact, many exchanges were engaged in similar high-frequency trading, using computer programs and network speed advantages to make money quickly. This would even be upgraded a decade later with artificial intelligence for quantitative trading.

However, in comparison, Sarao’s methods were more akin to market manipulation.

To place his trading orders even faster, Sarao rented a server next to the exchange, getting a physical jump on everyone else. Even if it was only a hundred-thousandth of a second faster than others, in the world of computer automation, that meant wealth.

Relying on this method, the speed at which Sarao made money increased qualitatively. He could easily earn hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars a day.

As time passed, the Eastern Hemisphere entered the night of May 6th, while the Western Hemisphere was in broad daylight.

Today, Sarao turned on his computer as usual, ready to begin trading. He scanned the market depth and noticed that the market seemed a bit sluggish. He also observed an accumulation of bearish sentiment.

“Looks like a good day for shorting…” Sarao cracked his knuckles, his mind racing. After a moment, he said to himself, “Let’s go big today…!”

…

Chapter 362: The Day of the U.S. Stock Market Flash Crash

After finishing his warm-up, Sarao officially began trading.

As the minutes and seconds ticked by, he doubled the number of sell orders he had placed, bringing the total value of his malicious, spoofed short positions to two hundred million US dollars. He operated the trading account like a machine devoid of emotion, weaving through one small transaction after another.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Sarao executed over sixty-two thousand orders, with a total transaction value exceeding a massive 3.4 billion US dollars.

If the market rebounded, he would be instantly liquidated!

But Sarao had the aid of his program. He controlled everything, and what appeared dangerous was, in reality, steady as a rock.

Soon, he had racked up a profit of nearly one million US dollars for the day.

As time went on, around 7:40 PM London time, or 1:40 PM North American Eastern Time, Sarao’s mother called him for dinner.

He shut down his computer, ending his trading for the day.

And went to eat.

However, his numerous spoofed short positions had already triggered panic in the market. Just one minute after Sarao shut down his computer, the S&P 500 Index began to flash crash, plummeting in a straight line. Within four minutes, it had plunged -5%, and individual stocks began to crash as well.

Sarao himself had no idea that in the moments to follow, the market would face a catastrophic flash crash, nor did he imagine that he was the one who had set the tempo, the person who had toppled the first domino.

At 2:32 PM North American Eastern Time, without any warning and no significant negative news in the market, the three major US stock indices—the S&P 500 Index, the Nasdaq Index, and the Dow Jones Index—suddenly began to plummet in unison.

Meanwhile, at Tranquil Heart Residence.

It was late at night, but Fang Hong was not asleep. He was watching the overnight overseas markets. He was in Tian Jiayi’s bedroom tonight, spending the night in his beautiful assistant’s room.

Fang Hong was leaning against the headboard with a laptop on his legs, its screen displaying the intraday charts of the three major North American indices.

“It’s… it’s really crashing!!” The beautiful assistant nestled in his arms exclaimed in utter shock, watching the computer screen as the three major indices suddenly flash-crashed around 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

The Dow Jones Index, the first to crash, also fell the fastest. It plummeted 998 points within five minutes, setting a new historical record: the largest intra-day drop in the Dow’s 114-year history.

In just five short minutes, one trillion US dollars had been wiped from the market.

Tian Jiayi tilted her head up to look at Fang Hong and found him completely calm. The market’s flash crash had not caused any emotional fluctuation in him at all, as if this was exactly what was supposed to happen.

If, in the eyes of Sarao’s former colleagues, he was a god of trading “E-minis,” then at this moment, in the eyes of the beautiful assistant, Fang Hong was a god of the market itself.

He did not personally participate in the actual trading, yet he could mastermind victory in the US stock market from a thousand miles away.

As the beautiful assistant looked at Fang Hong, her eyes were filled with adoration. Although she was two or three years older than him, it didn’t stop Tian Jiayi from idolizing him.

Speaking of which, while the A-share market had been in a one-sided panic sell recently, the stock Desay Battery had moved against the broader market.

In the three trading days since the holiday, Desay Battery had produced three large bullish candles, its stock price hitting a new all-time high. The three bullish candles represented gains of +9.99% (limit-up), +7.41%, and +7.59% respectively. Tian Jiayi had bought the stock on Friday, April 16th, as Fang Hong had instructed, going all in with a 9.2 million yuan full position. She had already achieved a +64% return, profiting by 5.88 million yuan.

Her net worth had now soared to around 15 million yuan, making her a bona fide multi-millionairess, financially free.

Tian Jiayi had not sold yet, because Fang Hong had told her to wait until the stock doubled before exiting.

Given the beautiful assistant’s current level of admiration for Fang Hong, she had no doubt whatsoever when he said the stock would double.

Meanwhile, at the Stellaris Capital headquarters, the group of traders responsible for the overseas markets were all staring in shock.

Starting from 2:32 PM Eastern Time, within a short span of 13 minutes, the three major indices had flash-crashed violently. Over seventy-five thousand short positions appeared out of thin air, and no one knew what was happening.

Nobody knew who was selling. Everyone was completely bewildered.

Just then, a trader in the trading hall couldn’t help but shout, his voice trembling with shock, “My God! Accenture is crashing! Accenture is fucking crashing hard!!!”

Accenture was a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology, and operations, with digital capabilities across all of them. The company’s closing price yesterday was $42.17 per share, with a market capitalization of around 30 billion US dollars.

But at this very moment, the company’s stock price had catastrophically crashed from the $40 level all the way down to just $0.01. It flash-crashed from $40 to 1 cent almost instantly, an intra-day drop of -99.97%. A 30 billion dollar market cap had just vanished into thin air.

The long positions in it were utterly obliterated on the spot!

They did not even have time to react before the money in their accounts was reaped and swept away…

Immediately after, another trader yelled, “Procter & Gamble is crashing! Procter & Gamble is crashing! It went from $62.16 down to $39.37, a massive drop of -36.66%! Holy shit!”

Procter & Gamble was a much bigger company than Accenture. Before the flash crash, its market cap was still 170 billion US dollars. At this moment, it was only around one hundred billion, having lost over 65 billion US dollars—equivalent to two Accentures.

Just as that trader’s voice faded, another trader next to him delivered more “good news.” For Stellaris Capital, the flash crash of the US stock market was indeed good news.

“Apple’s stock price is crashing too, it’s dropped below $200, an intra-day drop of -22.16%!”

“3M Company’s stock is crashing too, from $86.59 to $67.98, a drop of -21.49%!”

“ExxonMobil is down -11%!”

“Johnson & Johnson is down a huge -7.76%!”

“Disney has plummeted -12.22%!”

“Cisco has plummeted -12.41%!”

“Nike has plummeted -10.93%!”

“Oracle has plummeted -10.92%!”

“Merck & Co. has plummeted -13.77%!”

“Bank of America has plummeted -11.46%!”

“Mastercard has plummeted -11.27%!”

“Visa has plummeted -12.72%!”

“Chevron has plummeted -10.74%!”

In the trading hall, the traders’ shouts were continuous. The scene could be described as “reports of victory pouring in,” because these stocks crashing meant Stellaris Capital was making a huge win.

“Are the positions closed out? Have the long positions been opened? Strictly follow the strategy from the higher-ups!” the head trader yelled excitedly, his palms and forehead slick with sweat. He had never experienced such a thrilling scene, let alone traded in such extreme market conditions.

Get the rhythm right, and you make a killing. But one wrong step, and the roles would be completely reversed. It was absolutely heart-stopping.

Take the Accenture stock, for example. A 30 billion dollar market cap evaporated, the price crashing from $40 to 1 cent. It was no exaggeration to say that before you could even react, your money was harvested, and your account was wiped out.

“Closed out! Long positions opened!”

Hearing this report, the head trader in charge of the entire floor breathed a silent sigh of relief. He looked again at the strategic guidance from the USB drive, and the shock in his heart grew beyond measure.

Because the way the market was moving was almost identical to the strategic data guidance in that USB drive. It would not be an exaggeration to say they had been given the script in advance.

Due to time zone differences and network latency, Stellaris Capital was at a physical disadvantage in the trading battle.

But because they were following Fang Hong’s strategy to the letter, it was like they had made their moves in anticipation. The latency issue was no longer an issue. Everyone present was utterly astounded; there had to be an incredible master within the company’s senior management, masterminding everything.

It was a god-like prediction!

Though it takes time to describe, it all happened in a very short period. Meanwhile, the market was already showing a maxed-out panic index. Fear was spreading rapidly. From Frankfurt to Tokyo, global financial markets were thrown into chaos.

Stocks, foreign exchange, bonds, futures—all major markets were plunged into brief, violent volatility.

The price of oil also began to surge, as if the end of the world was at hand.

Chapter 363: US Exchanges Scramble to Shift the Blame

At 2:45:28 PM Eastern Time, the CME Group’s emergency circuit breaker was triggered, and trading was forcibly halted.

When trading resumed, the massive short positions had suddenly vanished!

At that moment, the three major North American indices began to soar. On the trading floor, a trader yelled excitedly, “It’s rebounding! A violent rebound—!”

The scene was truly too intense; the excitement of everyone present reached a fever pitch.

A moment later, another trader, utterly euphoric, roared, “Hahaha, this is insane! We’re gonna make a killing! The short-sellers just got wiped out, and now the bulls’ profits are taking off! The combined long and short profits have already hit twenty-eight billion dollars, and it’s still climbing, still climbing! It’s about to break thirty billion! Damn it, not even a money-printing press is this fast!”

The excitement was palpable.

The profits Stellaris Capital had garnered from intervening in various instruments soon broke the thirty-billion-dollar mark.

They were making a killing!

As time went on, half an hour later, the three major North American indices had recovered most of their losses. Accenture’s stock price also shot up from $0.01 to over $35 before stabilizing.

It flash-crashed intra-day by 99.97% and then, in just about ten minutes, surged back up, rebounding from $0.01 to over $35—a 3500-fold increase.

Judging from the trading volume, some people had actually managed to buy in at the $0.01 price point.

Although it wasn’t many, trades did occur at that price, resulting in a 3500-fold return in just over ten minutes.

Now that’s a rollercoaster!

Now that’s a wild swing!

This is the definition of winners making a killing and losers getting wiped out.

At this very moment, the US stock market was putting on a show for all traders…

Procter & Gamble’s stock price rebounded to over $57, a 45 percent bounce from its low. Apple’s stock rose from $199.25 to over $240, rebounding more than 20 percent. 3M Company also recovered from its low of $67.98 to over $83, a rally of more than 22 percent…

Other stocks like ExxonMobil, Disney, Cisco, Google, Oracle, Nike, Visa, and so on all plummeted before staging a swift, violent rebound, steadily recovering their losses.

The three major indices also began to climb steadily.

This event, the largest intra-day drop in the 114-year history of the Dow Jones Index, occurred and ended in an extremely short period.

It was as if it had all been a nightmare.

But it wasn’t a dream. It was a tangible reality, and its consequences were that some made a fortune while others lost everything, some even driven to bankruptcy. The wealth of countless people had just been harvested.

Without a doubt, Stellaris Capital was one of the winners who had made a killing.

The exact losses caused by this brief but violent volatility were already difficult to calculate. The media in Europe and America was in an uproar, and various outlets rushed to be the first to report on the events in the capital markets. The news also reached China.

However, most investors in the Mainland were asleep. Aside from a few night owls, the vast majority were unaware of the flash crash that had occurred in the US stock market.

Although the three major US indices had recovered most of their losses, the fallout from the flash crash was just beginning.

Soon, rumors from multiple inside sources claimed that a trading error by a Citi trader had made the flash crash even worse.

The legendary fat-finger error?

Some media outlets reported that a trader at Citi, while executing a stock trade, had allegedly mistaken “M” (for million) for “B” (for billion), triggering at least a rapid plunge in Procter & Gamble, a Dow constituent stock, and ultimately setting off program trades.

Intra-day, Procter & Gamble’s stock price flash-crashed from $60 to $39.37. Another company, 3M, also flash-crashed from $85 to around $72. Accenture’s stock suffered a catastrophic crash, plummeting from $40 to a mere one cent in an instant.

Some argued that a trader’s keystroke error causing the market to dive was unreliable, as Citi’s total E-mini volume for the day was only nine billion dollars, a far cry from sixteen billion dollars.

But other observers held a different view, believing that there must have been more than one source for the erroneous trades.

With all sorts of news flying around, Citigroup reacted quickly, immediately issuing a statement that the company, along with other financial groups, would commit to investigating the true culprit behind the massive market volatility. However, they added that there was currently no evidence to suggest Citi was involved in the trading error.

Citi issued a flat denial!

Someone close to Citi stated that the erroneous E-mini trade originated from the CME Group.

Citi shifted the blame to the CME Group.

Seeing this, the CME Group thought to themselves, “Motherfucker, you think we can take this heat?” The CME immediately issued a statement claiming they had found no problems in their trading systems, while privately sending their kindest regards to Citi.

Soon, the NYSE and Nasdaq also scrambled to distance themselves from the matter.

The NYSE stated that it had found no technical glitches in its trading system during the crash. Nasdaq also chimed in, saying its trading system had no issues either and that the matter had nothing to do with them.

Right, no problems anywhere. Everyone’s hands are clean…

So, the question is.

Who did it?

Who was that mysterious big short-seller?

And how much money did those short-sellers make off this catastrophic crash?

As the major exchanges and financial institutions all scrambled to absolve themselves of blame, they soon found a scapegoat—program trading!

That’s right—!

It must have been program trading acting up!

A tacit consensus was quickly reached: the stock market’s flash crash was the fault of program trading!

When something goes wrong, someone has to take the fall, right?

And program trading was the perfect candidate!

However, an incident of this magnitude couldn’t simply be resolved by the major exchanges and financial institutions issuing a few denials. The situation was still developing.

Around 6:30 PM North American local time, US Treasury Secretary Geithner convened an emergency conference call. Numerous bigwigs from North American financial authorities attended, including the then-head of the Federal Reserve, Bernanke, and the then-head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Schapiro.

They gathered to discuss just one question: what the hell happened that afternoon!

From computer glitches to trader error, from a black-technology attack to terrorists, almost every possible answer was ruled out.

But this result was unacceptable to the White House. The market had lost over a trillion dollars, and they couldn’t even find the cause?

Ultimately, a special task force was temporarily formed for this matter. Its members included giants of the financial world, regulatory agencies, Nobel laureate economists, FBI agents, and twenty top lawyers.

Their mission was to get to the bottom of the incident. The task force decided to begin an extensive investigation, which included but was not limited to reviewing vast amounts of trading records and financial documents, and scrutinizing major financial entities. The scope of their investigation ranged from small brokerage firms to global pension funds.

It wasn’t until five years later that the task force finally identified Sarao, but that’s a story for another time.

But for now, the event had occurred, and no organization or individual had stepped forward to take responsibility.

But this unprecedented flash crash needed an explanation. And so began the classic phase of Monday-morning quarterbacking, as figures in Wall Street’s financial circles began pointing their fingers at a derivative instrument called “dynamic hedging.”

Unlike other derivatives, this tool was designed with a specific function: when the broader market rises, it issues buy orders; when the broader market falls, it issues sell orders.

The result was that when the market plummeted, the dynamic hedging tools unleashed a flood of sell signals, amplifying the market’s decline.

As for the trader’s fat-finger error, that could only be considered one possible factor.

To take a step back, one trader making a mistake is plausible. But for traders at multiple institutions to make the same mistake at the same time? That was impossible to justify, no matter how you tried to spin it.

…

Chapter 364: Made a Killing

The next day, Friday.

The moment Fang Hong woke up, he made a point to check the news. As expected, the US stock market’s “flash crash” was splashed across the headlines of all major domestic media outlets.

Everyone was immensely enjoying the drama.

[A depressing “Black Thursday” has arrived. The US stock market plummeted a thousand points, and the world once again turns a shocked gaze toward the United States.] — Daily Economic News

[On Thursday evening, the US stock market experienced raging waves. The “Dow Jones Industrial Average,” the beacon of global stock markets, took an unprecedented dive of nearly a thousand points intra-day. Its destructive force was comparable to a magnitude-nine earthquake.] — Global Net

[Analyzing Thursday’s thousand-point dive of the Dow: What exactly happened to the US stock market? Not even the Americans themselves can answer that question.] — Sina Finance

[Following the thousand-point plunge in the US stock market, an urgent investigation has been launched to find the epicenter. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have already begun investigating the “abnormal trading” that caused Thursday’s crash.] — New Economic Weekly

Early in the morning, various domestic media outlets were all spectating and discussing the event. All sorts of analyses and speculations were emerging one after another.

According to a report from foreign media, traders were watching the riots in Athens, Greece, on television at the time. They never could have imagined that something even more incredible was about to happen to them.

Around 2:30 AM East Asia time, the Dow Jones began a dive rarely seen in a century, at one point plummeting 998.50 points to 9,869.62, setting a record for the largest intra-day point drop. It then began to rebound, closing down 347.8 points at 10,520.32, a drop of -3.2%, its biggest decline in over a year.

The other two major indices were also affected, with the S&P 500 Index plummeting -3.24% and the Nasdaq Composite Index falling -3.44%.

At that moment, Fang Hong was eating breakfast while reading a commentary by Floyd Norris, a columnist for The New York Times. He offered his reasons for last night’s stock market crash:

[Yesterday’s panic was caused partly by investor anxiety, partly by the Greek crisis, partly by a trader’s fat-finger error, and compounded by an indifferent central bank.

These factors led to one of the wildest days in financial market history, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting nearly a thousand points and the euro plunging to a new low for over a year. Stock markets in emerging economies showing signs of overheating fell sharply (The A-share market: Please don’t drag me into this), while those in developed markets plummeted for fear of a renewed recession.

Although a significant part of yesterday’s intra-day market crash was due to a trader’s mistake—a $40 stock instantly fell to 1 cent—global stock markets were already in decline before such an error occurred.

It seems that investors’ willingness to hold assets like stocks and bonds has begun to wane, especially since many assets are already much more expensive than they were a few months ago. If investors, consumers, and businesses stage another large-scale retreat, the current global economic recovery could lose a significant amount of financing, and companies will lose a substantial number of new orders…]

Fang Hong simply smiled as he read the article. Clearly, Floyd was attributing the crash to investor anxiety, the Greek debt crisis, a trader’s error, and the European Central Bank’s indifference, which all led to yesterday’s panic selling.

It wasn’t that he was wrong, but it certainly wasn’t the whole story.

In any case, some people had made a fortune from this “flash crash,” swooping in and reaping an untold amount of wealth. Stellaris Capital was one of them. While they had made a killing, they were definitely not the biggest winners. The true big short-sellers who made a killing were hidden much deeper.

Then again, worries about the next crisis erupting in Europe had been waxing and waning for the past few months.

Europe and the International Monetary Fund had announced a rescue plan for Greece, but riots had also broken out in Greece to protest the government’s massive deficit cuts. And just yesterday, European Central Bank President Trichet stated at a press conference that the bank’s governing council had not even discussed the possibility of buying government bonds.

This disappointed some traders, who had hoped the European Central Bank would inject liquidity when the situation worsened, just as the US Federal Reserve would.

Instead, with Portugal and Spain potentially following in Greece’s footsteps, there was growing fear that Europe would repeat North America’s 2007 ordeal.

…

Affected by the overseas markets, the A-share market was hit hard again today. It opened with a gap down opening of -1.96% at 2,685.99 points, breaking through the 2,700-point mark in one fell swoop. After the opening bell, it slid further to 2,665 points, with the decline widening to the -2.70% level.

However, it soon rebounded. Unfortunately, the good times were short-lived. Just as it was about to completely close the gap, falling just short, the rebound ended. In the afternoon, it began to fall back down again.

In the end, the broader market closed down -1.87% at 2,688.38 points, hitting a new low for the year.

…

In the afternoon, Tian Jiayi returned from the office and found Fang Hong at home. With unconcealed astonishment, she looked at him and said, “How on earth did you predict this so accurately? Do you have an inside source on Wall Street?”

Fang Hong smiled and retorted, “What do you mean?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi immediately explained, “According to the latest foreign press reports, major stock exchanges in North America have stated that they are investigating the possibility of erroneous trades. On Thursday night, a group of big shots from North America’s financial circle held an emergency conference call to investigate potentially erroneous trades in several stocks.”

Tian Jiayi added, “About two hours after the market closed, the Nasdaq OMX Group announced that it would cancel all erroneous trades made between 2:40 PM and 3:00 PM. For any stock whose price fluctuated by more than 60% up or down compared to the last traded price before 2:40 PM, all trades executed within that time frame will be canceled.”

After a short pause, Tian Jiayi continued, “It is reported that Nasdaq has already canceled 10,468 trades, totaling 1.4 million shares across 236 different securities, though they haven’t disclosed the monetary value of the canceled transactions. Additionally, the New York Stock Exchange also stated that its electronic trading platform would cancel trades with fluctuations exceeding 60% during the same time period on the US East Coast.”

In short, they couldn’t afford to lose, so they refused to acknowledge the trades. Thursday’s transactions didn’t count!

When Tian Jiayi learned this news, she was once again stunned, because Fang Hong had predicted all of this as well.

His strategy had perfectly avoided the price fluctuation threshold. To put it bluntly, he hadn’t been too greedy. Otherwise, the trades would have been canceled. They ran the casino, and by virtue of being the world’s superpower, they could just decide the bets didn’t count. Even if they were being shameless, there was nothing anyone could do.

Stellaris Capital was just quietly scooping up a profit on the side, so it was best not to make a big fuss.

By avoiding the cancellation threshold, the money Stellaris Capital earned was not affected. It was the investors who bought at the rock-bottom prices who saw their extreme joy turn to sorrow. For example, those who managed to buy a stock that had crashed from $40 to 1 cent, making a profit of several thousand times in a single day, were probably already picking out luxury cars and mansions. Then came the announcement that the trades didn’t count. Who wouldn’t be dumbfounded?

As for Tian Jiayi’s suspicion that he had an inside source on Wall Street, Fang Hong offered no explanation. He just smiled and asked, “How much did we make this time?”

At the mention of this, a hint of excitement appeared on the beautiful assistant’s face. “We’ve made an absolute killing. All positions have been quickly entered and exited, and the total profit has been calculated. We made a total net profit of 32.7 billion US dollars this time. If we had aimed for the maximum fluctuation of the assets we traded, we might have made over 80 billion US dollars. Of course, if we had actually done that, we would have ended up with nothing.”

Fang Hong’s smile remained. “Not bad. Opportunities to pick up free money like this are rare.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but say again, “Such a precise prediction… I’m really starting to wonder if you have an inside source on Wall Street…”

This kind of situation, this kind of money—it wasn’t something you could earn through luck.

Nor was it something you could earn through judgment alone. The only reasonable explanation was having access to inside information ahead of time.

Fang Hong just smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

He wanted to maintain his mystique as the big boss. He knew that if his beautiful assistant was thinking this, then core executives at Stellaris Capital like Hua Yu would likely come to similar conclusions. That was a good thing. Let them guess. Having access to this kind of inside information often represented terrifying power, and this unspoken mystique would better establish his authority among his subordinates.

Finally, Tian Jiayi added, “This huge win has also caused the net value of the company’s overseas assets to soar to 77.5 billion US dollars, which is about 528.5 billion RMB. It’s all liquid funds now. How do you plan to handle these liquid assets?”

Such a massive amount of liquid funds had been withdrawn, principle and profit included. But they needed to find a good place to park it, so it wouldn’t just sit there and depreciate.

…

Chapter 365: You Can’t Just Do Whatever You Want, Even If You Have Money!

At the beginning of this year, the net value of Stellaris Capital’s overseas assets was around 24.3 billion US dollars. At the time, Fang Hong had used 20 billion US dollars with tenfold leverage to enter the foreign exchange market and go long on the US Dollar Index.

Since the beginning of 2010, the US Dollar Index had continued to appreciate and strengthen. From the entry price of 76.79 dollars, it had risen steadily. Yesterday, the US Dollar Index closed at 84.76 dollars, an appreciation of over ten percentage points.

This allowed Stellaris Capital to double its money, yielding a profit of 20 billion US dollars.

When it came to making big money steadily, foreign exchange arbitrage was still the way to go. It could smoothly accommodate enormous amounts of capital.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and then instructed, “Let’s go back to the foreign exchange market and open long positions. We’ve made a huge score just now. Let’s keep a low profile for a while. Stay out of the US stock market for now; we can go long again in the second half of the year.”

Tian Jiayi said, “The company has been making an insane amount of money in the overseas markets, but bringing it back to the Mainland is troublesome. It’s a big problem that we can’t keep it under wraps.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong said, “That’s why we need to bring in central state-owned enterprises and state-owned capital institutions into Stellaris Capital as soon as possible. Then we can connect with the big central SOEs operating overseas. We can give our US dollar liquidity to these ‘National Team’ institutions, and in return, receive the equivalent value in RMB domestically. It’s equivalent to an indirect repatriation, and it ensures complete confidentiality.”

US dollars could not be circulated in the Mainland; they had to be converted into the local currency to be used. Once Stellaris Capital was connected with the National Team institutions, this matter would reach the highest levels and be treated as a special case.

When the overseas central SOEs obtained US dollars, it was foreign exchange the country desperately needed, as the current international financial system was still dominated by the US dollar.

The nation’s development required importing vast amounts of resources from overseas, such as oil and minerals. Oil transactions, in particular, had to be conducted in US dollars. It just so happened that Stellaris Capital needed to repatriate its funds. The US dollars they held could be transferred directly to the National Team institutions overseas, and in return, RMB liquidity would be released to Stellaris Capital domestically. This would indirectly complete the repatriation of funds to meet the capital needs for Stellaris Capital’s development and layout in the Mainland.

When a business reached this scale, it could not last long without the support of national power. Even if you managed to pocket the profits, they could be stripped away by the brutal law of the jungle. The game of international competition has always, in essence, followed the law of the jungle.

Just as the outside world was still buzzing about the big news of the US stock market’s “flash crash,” a new piece of information that emerged over the weekend quickly attracted widespread attention, causing a considerable stir, especially in the investment circle.

According to inside sources, Stellaris Capital intended to spend 20 billion to acquire ATL Company!

When people in the investment circle saw this news, they were first astonished. But then they saw the acquirer was “Stellaris Capital”…

Oh, that explained it.

But it still left them feeling numb. Was Stellaris Capital insane? Did they have infinite ammo?

This was 20 billion, not two million!

Looking back, they realized Stellaris Capital truly didn’t treat money like money. Its major moves this year had been one more extravagant than the last. First, there was Jingdong, which Stellaris Capital was uniquely fond of despite the industry’s unfavorable outlook.

The investment in Jingdong was one thing, but what was truly outrageous was the strategic plan for “Jiuzhou Blue Arrow,” which Stellaris Capital had started to establish. The budget was 10 billion annually for ten years, with a total investment of no less than one hundred billion.

To industry insiders, this was truly insane.

And now they were forking out another 20 billion to buy ATL Company. If the acquisition of ATL Company succeeded, it would directly break Stellaris Capital’s record for a single investment or acquisition this year. This series of moves made many peer investment firms question their existence.

How could Stellaris Capital spend money so recklessly and never run out?

Just how much money had they made?

Regarding the source of Stellaris Capital’s funds, there was now a consensus in the industry. Everyone believed that Stellaris Capital had bought the dip in the A-share market at over 1600 points and then successfully exited at the peak by pulling out completely at 3400 points last year.

Now, in May 2010, looking at the institutional holding lists for many core assets in the A-share market, Stellaris Capital’s data was nowhere to be seen. They had clearly pulled out successfully before the market plunged, perfectly avoiding the major downturn.

Data from the third quarter of last year showed Stellaris Capital was still in the market. They held positions in most blue-chip large-cap stocks, many of which were heavy enough to place them among the top ten largest shareholders, just shy of the 5% stake disclosure threshold.

All the investment firms were utterly convinced that Stellaris Capital must have made an insane amount of money from this play in the secondary market. One could see the whole picture from a single clue by looking at their current domineeringly generous level of frantic spending. And they heard Stellaris Capital was also making huge profits in the overseas markets.

It truly made their peers cry with envy and jealousy!

And besides the secondary market, they were also winning big in the primary market. Investing in IT and the internet, Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform was currently a unicorn company in its prime.

The rise of Stellar Universe Technology was that of a super unicorn. The industry already valued the company at over 120 billion. Given the current popularity of the S1 phone, Stellar Universe Technology’s future potential was limitless. The current valuation of 120 billion was definitely not the company’s end point; it had infinite room for imagination in the future.

In addition, the acquisition of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, now Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, was also a huge money-maker.

Yixing Media Group’s series of deployments in the film and entertainment industry were also remarkable. What impressed their peers the most in this field was how Stellaris Capital deployed 3D cinemas through rapid and massive M&A, successfully seizing the 3D movie era.

Yixing Media Group was now one of the top five cinema chain giants in the country. It possessed the nation’s largest network of 3D cinemas and was still expanding at high speed. This move also allowed them to make a fortune.

This year was being called the “inaugural year of 3D cinema.” It was no exaggeration to say that right now, even the worst film could make a huge profit as long as it was a 3D movie. Audiences, eager for the novelty, didn’t care about the film itself; they went purely for the “3D visual experience.”

It was worth mentioning that the outside world finally, belatedly, understood Stellaris Capital’s intention in spending a fortune to acquire a copyrighted content library. With the establishment of the Yixing Video website, they finally got it.

Hou Junda, who was in charge of the Yixing Video website, was now so hated by his peers that they gnashed their teeth in frustration; they were thoroughly disgusted by him.

This was because Hou Junda was now relentlessly and crazily suing the other few video websites. The cease-and-desist letters and such were practically filling an entire office.

The other major video websites had no choice. When they received a letter, they had to take the video down, then re-upload it under a new “alt account.” Although online piracy was an unwritten consensus in the industry, something everyone did, any video website that wanted to be successful would certainly not brazenly admit to being a pirate site, so they were forced to react when they received a letter.

But Yixing Video’s legal team hounded them with letters every day, which dealt a huge blow to the viewing experience on the major video websites.

With the strong financial support of his wealthy backer, Hou Junda maintained a large team of lawyers. Every day, they did just one thing: cause trouble for their competitors. Leaving other things aside, this operation was a source of secret satisfaction for Director Hou.

The strategy was rather simple and unadorned: a relentless, grinding pressure that would eventually wear the competition down. It was an open gambit, simply bullying peers who didn’t have the copyrights.

The development of the Yixing Video website was also gaining significant momentum. The current number of registered users had already surpassed 65 million, and breaking 100 million this year was a sure thing.

However, the investment world was still bearish on Stellaris Capital’s copyright strategy.

They had spent a sky-high price to buy a library of over one hundred thousand film and television copyrights. Could they really recoup the cost through the Yixing Video website? After all, the difficulty of making online video websites profitable was a worldwide problem.

The foreign website YouTube also couldn’t operate independently and was acquired by Google. Otherwise, years of losses would have made its operations unsustainable long ago.

Although Yixing Video was backed by Stellaris Capital, the problem was that if it couldn’t find a path to profitability and kept losing money like this, the hole would only get bigger and bigger. Therefore, the investment circle remained pessimistic about Stellaris Capital’s strategy in this area, firmly believing it would ultimately be a business that incurred huge losses.

As for today’s news that Stellaris Capital was going to spend 20 billion to buy ATL Company, their peers also exclaimed that they couldn’t understand it. Everyone could understand buying ATL Company; the common speculation was that Stellaris Capital was doing it for Stellar Universe Technology to integrate and perfect its supply chain system.

ATL Company was currently supplying the battery modules for Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone. There was no problem with wanting to buy ATL Company, but the issue was that the 20 billion offer announced by Stellaris Capital truly left everyone speechless.

It was too expensive!

You can’t just do whatever you want, even if you have money!

Chapter 366: The Anxious President Zeng

To many investors, Stellaris Capital was practically handing money to the Japanese, a classic case of “a fool with too much money.”

Moreover, with the “hydrogen energy” narrative currently being hyped up, many believed Stellaris Capital was bound to be the next sucker after news broke that they were spending 20 billion to acquire ATL Company.

TDK Group had spent one hundred million US dollars to acquire one hundred percent of ATL’s equity five years ago. Now, they could sell it for three billion US dollars, conveniently dumping this burden onto Stellaris Capital while they pivoted to research in the hydrogen energy sector.

The current sentiment was that “hydrogen energy” was the future, and lithium-ion energy was already obsolete. Japan, a leader in the field, had already given up on it and embraced “hydrogen energy.”

And yet Stellaris Capital was treating it like a treasure? If lithium-ion truly had a future, why would the Japanese, the best in the business, abandon it? What was buying ATL at this juncture if not becoming a bagholder?

To spend a staggering 20 billion on a pile of assets with no future that were bound to depreciate—it truly was a case of a fool with too much money.

When the news broke, many so-called experts and industry insiders wrote long-winded posts online “advising” Stellaris Capital to pull back while they still could and avoid being the bagholder.

Shortly after the outside world learned that Stellaris Capital was about to splash out a massive 20 billion to buy ATL Company, President Zeng, one of ATL’s founders, was first shocked, then panicked.

The news made him feel like he had been backstabbed by Stellaris Capital. He had never imagined they would go straight for an acquisition of ATL, and at the insane price of 20 billion, no less.

At that price, even President Zeng wanted to sell, though he didn’t have the authority to do so.

But when President Zeng considered the possibility of TDK Group actually selling ATL to Stellaris Capital, where would that leave him? Wouldn’t his plan to spin off the power battery division to establish Ningde Shidai be completely ruined?

From then on, Stellaris Capital would call all the shots. What would be left for him?

When President Zeng saw the news, he was both bewildered and furious. He immediately called Hua Yu, and the moment the call connected, he unleashed a barrage of questions.

He really couldn’t hold it in.

“…Calm down, President Zeng. The rumors about acquiring ATL Company are not baseless, but this doesn’t hinder our cooperation,” Hua Yu said, sipping his tea in his office as he spoke on the phone.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” came President Zeng’s puzzled voice from the other end of the line.

“Heh heh…” Hua Yu chuckled and said bluntly, “I’ll be straight with you. Even if we acquire ATL, we will still spin off its power battery division to establish Ningde Shidai. Furthermore, we will proceed according to the plan we previously discussed. You will be in charge of Ningde Shidai, and Qunxing will not seek control.”

“Huh…?” President Zeng was utterly astonished by what he heard over the phone, wondering if he had misheard. He was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered, hurrying to ask, “President Hua, you’re not joking, are you?”

After spending a fortune of 20 billion to buy ATL Company, they were still willing to spin off the power battery division and even hand over control?

For a moment, President Zeng was completely thrown.

Once Stellaris Capital acquired ATL Company, the nature of the company would change completely, transforming from a one hundred percent foreign-owned enterprise to one hundred percent domestically owned.

It would no longer be subject to relevant legal restrictions. Stellaris Capital could essentially do as it pleased, and even President Zeng, as one of the company’s co-founders, would have no room to object.

He had lost control of ATL Company long ago and had become a minor shareholder. Even if Stellaris Capital kicked him out of the company, there was nothing he could do.

Kicking out a founder was not something Stellaris Capital hadn’t done before. The founder of Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, the predecessor to Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group, had been kicked out. Through Stellaris Capital’s maneuvering, he was not only driven out with nothing but also ended up in prison—a truly tragic and miserable end.

Therefore, when Hua Yu said the original plan would remain unchanged, President Zeng was genuinely caught off guard. He felt like Stellaris Capital was toying with him, and their acting wasn’t even polished; it was too perfunctory.

Hua Yu responded with a calm smile, “Stellaris Capital is an investment firm. Getting personally involved in operating a company doesn’t fit our corporate positioning; it would be putting the cart before the horse. And for Ningde Shidai to succeed, it needs a founder like you, President Zeng.”

By ceding control to the founder, President Zeng could let go of his reservations and have no worries for the future. He wouldn’t have to fear being kicked out by capital investors after building up the enterprise, allowing him to focus all his energy on making the company bigger and stronger.

Hua Yu added, “For Ningde Shidai, Stellaris Capital only wants one right: priority in financing.”

This priority right was to ensure that Stellaris Capital’s equity in Ningde Shidai would not be diluted. If the company needed money and sought financing, Stellaris Capital would have the first right of refusal. They would have to take Qunxing’s money first, unless Stellaris Capital chose to waive its right.

This would effectively protect Stellaris Capital’s interests in Ningde Shidai. Even in forgoing control, it didn’t mean Stellaris Capital would have no say at all.

There was another way for Stellaris Capital to maintain its influence over Ningde Shidai: by controlling the upstream and downstream links of its industry chain. This would force the founder to consider Stellaris Capital when making decisions; otherwise, the supply chain could be put in a chokehold, which would be very painful.

After a moment, Hua Yu continued, “Similarly, if Stellaris Capital successfully acquires ATL Company this time, we intend to re-hire you and the other founders to continue managing the company.”

Letting the company’s founders continue to run it was the most a sensible choice, at least much better than hiring professional managers from outside. Fang Hong was very confident in President Zeng’s abilities.

At this moment, President Zeng was finally convinced that what Hua Yu said wasn’t just a persuasive pitch; Stellaris Capital genuinely intended to do this. He had previously thought Stellaris Capital had backstabbed him, but the outcome was completely unexpected. The anger he had been bottling up had nowhere to go, and his temper vanished in an instant.

And so, the phone call ended with a pleasant conversation.

Now, President Zeng was even more eager for Stellaris Capital to successfully acquire ATL Company. That way, Ningde Shidai would also receive full support from ATL during its startup phase.

After ending the call with Hua Yu, President Zeng immediately took action, providing some assistance for Stellaris Capital’s acquisition of ATL.

…

Two days later, on Tuesday, May 11th.

At noon, Tian Jiayi returned from the office with the latest news on ATL Company.

In the study on the second floor of the villa, Tian Jiayi handed the documents she was holding to Fang Hong and said, “We have a response. TDK Group has decided to agree to sell ATL Company to Stellaris Capital for 20 billion, but they require a cash settlement. Our company’s business negotiation team already signed a draft agreement with TDK Group yesterday.”

The core leadership at TDK Group had held several meetings to discuss the matter and finally decided to sell!

In any case, Japan was now pivoting towards “hydrogen energy.” Even if Stellaris Capital’s offer was negotiated down to 20 billion, it was still an incredibly tempting price. Under normal circumstances, it was unlikely anyone would be willing to pay so much.

ATL Company’s total assets were certainly not worth that price at present. As for its future valuation potential, that was just an expectation. And since the Japanese were moving into “hydrogen energy,” it was clear they were not optimistic about the lithium-ion sector, which meant ATL’s future prospects were definitely discounted.

Now, Stellaris Capital was willing to pay 20 billion to buy the company, and it was a cash acquisition, meaning the payback would be extremely fast.

Rather than refuse and risk Stellaris Capital furiously throwing over 20 billion into the industry to compete head-on with ATL, TDK thought it over and decided it was better not to play that game. Selling to Stellaris Capital was the best choice. They could take the money, make a huge profit, and exit. There was no downside.

At least from the perspective of this point in time, it was a huge win.

…

Chapter 367: A Lightning-Fast Deal, Both Sides Afraid the Other Would Renege

Fang Hong opened the documents and saw that it was a memorandum of understanding.

Tian Jiayi immediately said, “TDK Group has decided they are willing to sell, but whether the commerce departments in North America and Europe will approve this acquisition is still unknown.”

This involved the issue of antitrust laws, which prevent mergers between large companies from creating an excessive market share that could lead to a monopoly. According to the antitrust laws of various countries, if both parties in an acquisition have business operations in that country, they require approval from the local antitrust authorities.

ATL Company was already a leader in the industry with significant overseas operations, such as supplying to Apple. Many ordinary people might not know the company, but the batteries in their phones were very likely produced by ATL Company.

If they were to force the acquisition through without the approval of other countries, they would be banned from entering those markets.

At this, Fang Hong said dismissively, “I don’t care if they approve or not. We have to have ATL. If the Europeans and Americans don’t agree, we’ll just give up the overseas markets. The domestic smartphone industry is bound for an explosive boom in the next few years. ATL can survive just fine on the Mainland market alone, and even live very comfortably.”

In a few years, with the massive boom in the smartphone industry, ATL Company could generate revenues of thirty to forty billion yuan a year from the Mainland market alone, with annual profits of four billion being no problem at all.

Given these prospects, paying twenty billion for it now was an absolute killing. And that’s not even counting Ningde Shidai, a company with a market capitalization in the trillions that was incubated from ATL Company.

“Just wait. TDK definitely thinks they’ve made a killing right now and are probably secretly laughing at Qunxing. But in a few years, when TDK looks back on this deal, they’ll regret it so much they’ll be coughing up blood,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

TDK was constrained by its historical limitations, but as a reincarnator, Fang Hong didn’t have such constraints.

Thursday, May 13.

Two days later, the executive teams from Stellaris Capital and TDK Group appeared at ATL Company. Stellaris Capital sent Zhao Sheng, a member of its Board of Directors, to personally lead the team.

This morning, the two parties held a joint press conference to formally announce they had reached a deal for ATL Company. They signed the agreement publicly, with Stellaris Capital paying twenty billion to acquire one hundred percent of TDK Group’s shares in ATL Company.

Just a week ago, TDK Group had reached an internal consensus to sell. Two days ago, the parties had just signed a draft agreement. Today, the formal agreement was signed. The speed of this transaction could only be described as lightning-fast.

Clearly, both sides were afraid the other would back out and rushed to sign to let the other shoe drop on this deal.

At the same time, both sides believed they were about to win big. TDK Group was happy to get the cash, and Stellaris Capital was happy to get the asset. And secretly, they were both calling each other idiots.

But the media and industry insiders were collectively stunned. The efficiency was so fast it caught everyone off guard. They hadn’t even had time to react, and some were still discussing the reliability of the rumors.

And today it was finalized just like that?

This deal involved a sky-high price of twenty billion, making it the largest deal in the Mainland this year. But… wasn’t it a bit too reckless?

If they hadn’t witnessed the results announced at the joint press conference with their own eyes, no one would have believed it. Even if an acquisition was going to happen, shouldn’t it take at least half a year, even for a fast one? Two or three years wouldn’t be surprising at all.

For such a massive deal to be completed in such a short time was the truly surprising thing, because there was no precedent for it.

After the press conference, the media rushed to report on it. Industry insiders were dumbfounded, and the investment circle was also caught off guard.

One moment of inattention, and it was done. Everyone was still trying to process it!

After five years, ATL Company, once a one hundred percent Japanese-capital-controlled enterprise, had made a lightning-fast turnaround, transforming back into a one hundred percent domestic-capital-controlled enterprise.

Now, Stellaris Capital had earned the title of “master of antics” in the eyes of industry insiders. To many in the investment circle and the industry, Stellaris Capital really knew how to stir things up.

They loved to make big news out of nowhere, and they had already done so several times this year.

First, they smashed two billion into Jingdong’s C1 round of financing, setting a record for the largest single financing round in the domestic internet sector this year. Then came the establishment of the private commercial aerospace company, Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, with a planned annual R&D budget of ten billion. And now, they’ve lavishly spent twenty billion to buy one hundred percent of ATL Company’s shares from TDK Group.

Each one was a major story worthy of the headlines, and each move was more domineeringly generous than the last. The impression Stellaris Capital gave to the outside world was that they had unlimited funds.

However, as the news fermented, the ATL acquisition led many to mock Stellaris Capital, saying it lived up to its reputation of being “a fool with too much money.” They laughed at Stellaris Capital for perfectly embodying the trope of the landlord’s foolish son.

The move to spend a staggering twenty billion to buy ATL was derided by many, who called Stellaris Capital a “huge sucker.” The Japanese capital had made a killing; TDK Group had turned a one hundred million dollar investment five years ago into a three billion dollar reward, winning big.

Everyone was hyping up the hydrogen energy story. For Stellaris Capital to spend a fortune on a company with no future like ATL was seen as incredibly stupid.

However, some were studying the deal seriously. Compared to the sensationalist articles written by outsiders for clicks, true experts didn’t believe Stellaris Capital was actually a case of “a fool with too much money.”

If they were as foolish as the public claimed, a complete sucker, how could they have risen so quickly in such a short time?

Stellaris Capital’s willingness to pay twenty billion at least showed that they believed the company’s value was far greater than twenty billion. It was just that few people could figure out what value Stellaris Capital saw in ATL.

But regardless, the deal was done. The entire transaction and handover of work would be completed in the next two to three months.

By then, ATL Company and TDK Group would have absolutely no connection to each other.

Just one day after Stellaris Capital held the joint press conference for the ATL acquisition, major negative news about ATL emerged.

On Friday, May 14, Apple suddenly notified ATL Company that they were being kicked out of Apple’s supply chain. From now on, Apple’s electronic products would no longer be supplied with batteries from ATL.

The news quickly spread through insider channels, and various media outlets rushed to report on it, continuing to gossip about the unfolding drama.

Now, many who enjoyed a good spectacle were reveling in their misfortune. Stellaris Capital had just taken over ATL Company only to lose a major client—a truly inauspicious start. They had really taken on a heavy burden this time.

ATL’s major competitors were thrilled.

No one expected Apple to jump out at this moment and kick ATL out of its supply chain. But on second thought, while it was unexpected, it was also logical.

Apple and Stellar Universe Technology were now bitter enemies, and Stellar Universe Technology’s largest shareholder was Stellaris Capital. Now, Stellaris Capital had acquired one hundred percent of ATL Company’s shares from TDK Group.

ATL had become an accomplice of its sworn enemy. The more Apple thought about the news, the angrier they got. They couldn’t let their archrival make money off them, so their anger was naturally directed at ATL.

So they kicked them out. There were alternatives, after all. There were at least three companies in the world with technical capabilities on par with ATL’s, such as using Samsung batteries as a substitute.

At this time, the Samsung battery explosion incidents had not yet occurred, and the major brand of Samsung was well-recognized in the industry.

Chapter 368: Pushing for ATL’s ChiNext Board Listing

Tranquil Heart Residence, afternoon.

When Tian Jiayi arrived home and entered the villa, she saw Fang Hong in the living room and gracefully walked over to him. “Have you seen the latest news? Apple has kicked ATL Company out of its supply chain. This is probably directly related to our acquisition of ATL.”

Apple had announced it was terminating its partnership with ATL Company due to internal adjustments, making no mention of the acquisition by Stellaris Capital.

But some things were understood without being said.

This was clearly retaliation.

“Apple’s move carries just a ton of resentment, haha…” Fang Hong joked with a laugh. Tian Jiayi sat down beside him, glanced at him, and said, “You don’t seem worried at all. The outside world isn’t optimistic about ATL’s future, especially now that it’s losing a major client like Apple.”

“What the hell do those outsiders know?” Fang Hong said dismissively. He then continued, “ATL has its own core technology and competitiveness, plus it has a massive market. There’s no way it’ll starve.”

It had lost Apple as a client, but hadn’t it gained Stellar Universe Technology?

Besides, Fang Hong wasn’t worried in the slightest. He knew that once Chief Jobs was gone and Cook took over, Apple would most likely seek out ATL as a supplier again. This would be especially true in a few years after the Samsung battery explosion incident, which would make ATL’s products look even more appealing by comparison.

Cook was the “King of Performance.” After he took over, Apple was constantly criticized for being less innovative with each new generation, yet its financial performance improved year after year. There was no way he would turn his back on money.

As long as ATL Company’s products were competitive enough, Apple would eventually come knocking to reestablish their partnership.

Seeing that Fang Hong was not at all concerned about these issues, Tian Jiayi trusted his judgment. She changed the subject, “Now that the acquisition of ATL Company is complete and Stellaris Capital is the actual controller, it no longer has any foreign capital component. Are you planning to list the company?”

The beautiful assistant had predicted that he would most likely list ATL on the A-share market. As she expected, Fang Hong nodded. “Let’s move forward with ATL Company’s IPO plan. Get it onto the ChiNext board, and aim to complete the listing within the next year.”

ATL Company had been profitable for many consecutive years, so it certainly met the listing standards of the A-share approval-based system. The only reason it couldn’t list before was that it was 100% owned by foreign Japanese capital.

But things were different now. Having been fully acquired by Stellaris Capital, it was now a purely domestic enterprise. The final obstacle to ATL’s listing on the A-share market had vanished.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and said, “Let’s give it a PE valuation of 37 times.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was stunned. “A PE valuation of 37 times? Doesn’t that mean we’ll incur a loss of fifteen point five billion upon listing?”

At that PE level, ATL Company would be valued at around four point five billion. While this was reasonable for the company’s current worth, the problem was that Stellaris Capital had paid twenty billion in hard cash to acquire it.

This would result in an immediate unrealized loss of fifteen point five billion.

Fang Hong was unconcerned, smiling as he said, “Within five years, this company’s market capitalization will definitely exceed one hundred billion. Besides, this also helps lower Stellaris Capital’s asset scale on our balance sheet. Keep it low-key, low-key.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain internally on the spot, “And you call this low-key?”

Fang Hong simply smiled without saying more. The main reason was that the A-share market had not yet opened up to foreign investment; the so-called Northbound funds wouldn’t exist until 2015.

Therefore, before 2015, there was no risk of quality assets being bought out at the bottom by foreign capital. By 2015, propelled by that epic bull market, ATL’s asset price would have surely been pushed to an extreme high.

At that point, foreign capital would either have to chase the highs and risk being trapped at the peak, or simply watch from the sidelines and sigh. Even if they managed to get in and out quickly, they certainly wouldn’t make much money. Just consider it their reward for providing liquidity to the market.

In any case, foreign capital would never get their hands on the shares at a rock-bottom price.

As for domestic institutions or retail investors, it would all come down to their luck and fortune. A quality asset was being put on the secondary market, and at a very cheap price. The shares were being thrown out there—let them all play the game!

As the beautiful assistant took notes, she asked, “Regarding the IPO, what percentage of the total share capital will the new shares make up?”

Fang Hong replied systematically, “We’ll raise one point five seven five billion, which will account for thirty-five percent of the total share capital. At the same time, have our friends from Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital come in to properly manage ATL’s market capitalization.”

The collaboration with these domestic institutions was going quite well, and they could now be considered a community of shared interests. Their cooperation had been quite pleasant so far.

Stellaris Capital would share some of the profits with these partners. In return, they were expected to manage the market capitalization of the “Qunxing ecosystem’s” target stocks in the A-share market. While they weren’t market makers in name, they were effectively fulfilling that role.

Fang Hong added, “Set the issue price at eleven point five zero yuan per share.”

Tian Jiayi noted down his decision. To list on the ChiNext board, ATL would have to go through the normal IPO process, as a backdoor listing was not an option.

However, its path to listing should be smooth. The company had excellent metrics, it was in the tech sector, and it had Stellaris Capital actively backing it.

The core asset targets of the “Qunxing ecosystem” were all actively being pushed toward public listing: the Weibo subsidiary, whose restructuring was nearing completion; Ruihe Pharmaceutical, which was awaiting its review meeting; Stellar Universe Technology, which was already on the schedule; the newly acquired ATL; and others still in the planning stages, like Yixing Video and Yixing Media.

The matter with ATL was essentially a case of the other shoe to drop; barring any unforeseen circumstances, there would be no more surprises. Fang Hong turned his attention away from the company. The decisions had been deployed, and all that remained was to patiently wait for the company to develop and grow.

…

When the weekend arrived, Fang Hong was idly browsing Weibo when he noticed that many of his fans and stockholders were discussing a particular matter.

It turned out that Chu Changxing had publicly announced on his personal Weibo that he had successfully secured a ten million angel investment from K-God. The news was now drawing considerable attention, and fans were surprised that K-God was actually starting to get involved in the primary market.

Looking at the fan comments, Fang Hong saw that many people were leaving messages under Chu Changxing’s blog post and tagging @K3478. Curious, he opened Chu Changxing’s Weibo profile and sure enough, there was the blog post, published several days ago. The original text read:

[The most impossible thing became possible. Kunpeng Technology, on the verge of collapse, received a generous investment of ten million from K-God. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. The future is yet unknown, but hope is never extinguished. I will stay true to my original mission and strive forward.]

Fang Hong read the blog post and then scrolled down to the comments section. There were two or three hundred comments. Chu Changxing’s Weibo account had just over one hundred thousand fans, and he had gained one hundred thousand of them in the last few days alone because of this post, which made him the first person to receive an investment from K-God.

In the comments, Chu Changxing was interacting frequently with his fans. Many of the messages asked about K-God—what he looked like, whether he was handsome, where he lived, if there were any real-life photos of him, and so on.

Clearly, most of these fans also followed K-God and were likely his hardcore fans.

From the comments, it was clear that what everyone wanted to know most was information about K-God, especially what he looked like.

In his interactions with fans, Chu Changxing did not reveal any of Fang Hong’s specific details—not even K-God’s name, let alone a photo. However, he did lay the praise on his wealthy backer on thick.

He gushed about how shocked he was when they first met, how K-God’s good looks were worth a billion, how his charisma was pricelessly approachable, how his decisiveness was unhesitatingly lavish, and how his eloquence was brimming with a billion-fold talent… and so on and so forth, piling on the billion-dollar praise.

At that moment, Fang Hong was left speechless as he read through the interactive comments. He silently clicked the follow button, then retweeted Chu Changxing’s blog post with a simple, two-word comment of his own:

[Keep it up!]

…

Chapter 369: Too Many Submitted Projects

When Fang Hong reposted Chu Changxing’s Weibo, Chu’s exposure skyrocketed. After all, K-God’s Weibo account now boasted over twenty-eight million fans, making him the undisputed number one financial Big V blogger in the country. In the eyes of the public, he was already a super-tycoon with a net worth in the tens of billions.

Moreover, he was the youngest billionaire. Everyone knew K-God was still a university student, making him one of the youngest billionaires in the country, and even the world. His influence was naturally immense.

The repost brought a massive amount of traffic to Chu Changxing, and his fan count surged.

It also made more people aware that K-God was genuinely making moves in the primary market. His first investment was ten million yuan, an incredibly generous amount. Even well-known VC firms typically offered around a million yuan for angel investments, with two to three million being on the higher end and five million being the absolute limit.

K-God’s opening move was a cool ten million—truly magnanimous.

Now, no one had any doubts. When he had previously posted on Weibo about dabbling in the primary market, most people had assumed he was joking. Few took him seriously, but it turned out he was for real.

The case of the near-bankrupt Kunpeng Technology receiving a ten-million-yuan angel investment from K-God greatly encouraged many other entrepreneurial teams struggling through difficult times.

As a result, the private messages in Fang Hong’s Weibo backstage exploded. They were flooded with all sorts of proposals and project introductions from people seeking his financial support, all hoping to become the next lucky one like Chu Changxing.

At that moment, Fang Hong was sitting in the living room, scrolling through Weibo on his laptop. He saw his beautiful assistant coming up from the gym on the floor below. Just as she was about to head upstairs to her bedroom to shower and change, Fang Hong called out to her, “Come here, sweetie. I have a mission for you.”

Seeing all the investment proposals in his private messages from various unknown individuals, Fang Hong knew he could never go through them all himself. Over 99% of them were bound to go nowhere, and he had no intention of wasting his time looking at them one by one.

Besides, 90% were probably junk projects, a complete waste of time. But he couldn’t rule out the possibility of finding a hidden gem like Kunpeng Technology.

So, Fang Hong came up with a solution that addressed both issues.

Dressed in tight-fitting workout clothes, Tian Jiayi gracefully walked over, her curiosity piqued. “What is it?”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant, who was glistening with sweat, and pointed at the screen with a smile. “This Weibo account of mine is receiving a large number of project submissions. I want you to pick a few capable people from the company’s Investment Research Department to screen them for promising projects. Filter them out, organize the good ones, and submit them to me.”

He would have people below him do the initial filtering.

This way, Fang Hong wouldn’t have to waste his own time going through them individually. Since the vast majority were junk, this preliminary screening would significantly increase the probability of discovering good projects, while also saving him time and effort.

Once the initial filtering was done, Fang Hong would review the selected projects himself and then decide whether or to invest.

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi asked, “Is this for the company, or in your personal capacity?”

If it was in his personal capacity, it would mean using company resources for his personal benefit, which was technically a violation, even though no one would likely say anything.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and said, “Let’s treat it as personal for now. Just have the company bill it as an investment advisory and consulting service for me. I’ll pay the consulting fee at the market rate. That way, it won’t be a violation.”

Tian Jiayi had no counter-argument. She nodded and said, “What’s the account and password?”

Fang Hong quickly told her his personal Weibo account password, adding, “Oh, right, you don’t need to give the password to them. Just for you to know. You can log in periodically, export the submitted projects from the backstage, and hand them over to the Investment Research Department for screening and analysis.”

After all, this was his private account, not a public company resource. It was best to avoid any potential mishaps.

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Got it. Anything else?”

Fang Hong waved his hand. “That’s all.”

But his beautiful assistant didn’t leave. Instead, she moved closer and whispered, “Tonight…”

The moment she spoke, Fang Hong knew what she was going to say. He calmly cut her off. “You’re a step too late. I have a date with Yu Qiu. You’ll have to save it for another day.”

Hearing this, the beautiful assistant cooed, “Can’t we just… do it… and then talk?”

Fang Hong said with a straight face, “Favors must be spread evenly for the sake of harmony. I suggested you all play together, but you refused. How long are you going to keep teasing me? The double-slit experiment is such an interesting game…”

Evidently, Fang Hong didn’t want to use force. He felt a sense of accomplishment only when they agreed willingly. However, he had never stopped trying to coax and persuade them, though none of them had fallen for it so far.

“In your dreams…”

Tian Jiayi shot him a playful glare before gracefully turning and leaving the living room, heading towards her bedroom upstairs.

In truth, Fang Hong was seeing the trees but not the forest. The reason they refused to play games like the “double-slit experiment” wasn’t primarily a psychological barrier. Having come this far, mental hurdles were no longer an issue.

The real primary factor was their concern that Fang Hong wouldn’t be able to handle it and would fall ill from overexertion. No matter how young he was, he was outnumbered and couldn’t withstand it. If his health collapsed, everyone’s happiness would be gone.

After all, they didn’t know that Fang Hong had a system that could repair his body at any time. So, for the sake of long-term happiness, they refused to agree.

They were truly thinking with a broader perspective.

Time moved to Monday, May 17th.

On the first trading day of the new week, following a weekend of heavy losses in overseas markets like the US stock market and various pieces of negative news from regulators, the A-share market plunged once again.

In the morning, the Shanghai Composite Index gapped down to 2663.88 points, a drop of -1.21%. The market then trended downwards for the entire day, without a single decent rebound. The bulls were utterly crushed.

Fifteen minutes into the afternoon session, the Shanghai Composite Index broke below the 2600-point integer mark, with its intra-day losses widening to -3.59%. The Shenzhen Component Index also fell below the critical 10,000-point integer mark. Wails of agony were heard everywhere across the two markets.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had plummeted -5.07% to close at 2559.93 points, losing 136.7 points in a single day. The Shenzhen Component Index crashed -5.79% to close at 9731.72 points, shedding 598.42 points in one day.

Stock index futures also plummeted, with the main CSI 300 Index futures contract closing at 2719 points, down -4.97% for the day.

Over the past two months, more than 90% of investors in the A-share market had suffered massive losses, their accounts a sea of red. The first wave of investors who bought the dip when the index broke 3000 points were trapped. Those who bought at 2900 points were trapped. Those who bought at 2800 points were trapped again. And those who bought at 2700 points were still trapped. When the index hit 2600 points, investors thought it couldn’t possibly go any lower. But today’s massive bearish candle trapped the army of dip-buyers at 2600 as well.

People were frantically buying the dip, but the market seemed to have no bottom. Those who tried were undoubtedly in despair.

Investors felt that the A-share market was a lost cause and needed a complete reset.

The market’s performance this year had long since entered a so-called technical bear market, meaning the index had fallen by more than -20%. The year-to-date decline had already reached -21.98%. Measured from the high of 3478 points, the total decline had reached 23.4%.

At this time, K-God was truly deified in the hearts of investors. His Weibo handle, “K3478,” had become an iconic symbol in the minds of countless stockholders. Whether it was true or not, investors now unanimously believed that “K3478” meant “Short at 3478,” as in, be bearish on the market when the index reaches 3478 points.

What truly shocked the investors was that K-God had reached this conclusion last year when the broader market was still hovering around 2000 points. It was no wonder he had been able to achieve that terrifying ten-thousand-fold return in October and build a net worth of tens of billions in less than two years.

Investors could only worship him. In the hearts of the over one hundred million stockholders in the A-share market, K-God was the true incarnation of the Stock God.

Chapter 370: Time for the Company to Get to Work in the A-share Market

Today’s market crash was caused by the plunge in the US stock market, but the primary factor was news from the regulators.

Over the weekend, relevant authorities from the regulators had stated that they were not suspending main board IPO approvals.

Back on May 13th, the previous Thursday, rumors had circulated that due to market pressure and the frequent occurrence of new stocks dropping below their IPO prices, the management was going to suspend main board IPOs.

But over the weekend, a relevant official from the regulators came out to deny the rumor, clarifying that this was not the case.

To put it plainly, new stock issuance would continue as usual!

The market had rebounded last week precisely because of the rumor that IPOs would be paused to give the market a breather. But now, the news was that there would be no slowdown; what needed to be issued would be issued.

Fine!

The market didn’t waste any time complaining. At the open, it just kicked its legs up and dropped dead for all to see.

In terms of individual stocks, Dasheng Shares, the target for Weibo’s subsidiary’s backdoor listing, was also hammered down to its limit-down, closing at 30.74 yuan. This brought it back to the 30 yuan price range, with a market capitalization of 16.2 billion.

However, this did not hinder the restructuring process of Weibo’s subsidiary.

The major institutions responsible for the company’s market capitalization management were all working hard, actively pushing for Dasheng Shares to be included as a constituent stock in the CSI 300 Index and the Shenzhen 100 Index when they adjusted their samples in the second half of the year.

That would be happening next month.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

When Tian Jiayi returned from work and entered the living room, she ran into the house manager, Yu Qiu, who stopped her and said, “Bro Hong asked me to tell you to go to the study to see him as soon as you got back.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright, I’ll head over now.”

After a brief exchange, Tian Jiayi went upstairs. Instead of returning to her bedroom, she walked directly to the study. The door was open, and upon entering, she saw Fang Hong sitting at his desk, editing documents on his computer.

She noticed that Fang Hong was extremely focused when he worked. Although he orchestrated things from behind the scenes, he still spent several hours a day keeping up with the company’s situation. Tian Jiayi also had to report to him about the company’s affairs every day when she came home.

Fang Hong was a hands-off boss, but this was conditional. He had to know the company like the back of his hand. Only with this prerequisite could he be a qualified hands-off boss—doing nothing, yet knowing everything.

Only by having a firm grasp of the company’s real-time situation could he prevent his subordinates from daring to deceive him. Otherwise, if he continued being a hands-off boss like this, he wouldn’t even know when he was turned into a figurehead by those under him.

As for his university classes…

Fang Hong was skipping class eighty percent of the time, and what surprised his beautiful assistant was that he still never failed a course.

“Right, you can’t judge this guy by normal standards…” Tian Jiayi muttered to herself. Composing herself, she walked over to Fang Hong and said, “Yu Qiu said you were looking for me. What’s up?”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant, stretched lazily, and said unhurriedly, “It’s time for the company to get to work in the A-share market.”

Having just finished editing the document, Fang Hong glanced at the printer and added, “Go get some A4 paper.”

Tian Jiayi turned and went to a cabinet on the other side of the room, took out a stack of blank A4 paper, and placed it in the printer. Fang Hong immediately started printing the file. As the pages came out one by one, Tian Jiayi grabbed an empty folder to organize the documents. At the same time, she looked at Fang Hong curiously. “The broader market index is only at 2,550 points right now. Weren’t you bearish down to around 2,300 points? You’re entering the market already?”

Fang Hong explained methodically, “Stellaris Capital’s current fund size is on a completely different level than a year ago. We have to start with left-side trading. Otherwise, if we wait for the market to bottom out before making a move, wouldn’t we just be pumping up the price for others when we start right-side trading? Besides, many assets are about to bottom out. The core assets have already reached excellent entry points.”

Moutai had fallen to 125 yuan, and Vanke A, which had fallen from a high of 14.97 yuan, had plunged another 5.34 percent today, with its price now down to 6.92 yuan. It had long been slashed in half.

“How much capital are you planning to deploy this time?” the beautiful assistant asked as she stood by the printer, organizing the printed documents.

Fang Hong replied, “Let’s say one hundred billion. After pledging for leverage, it should be around one hundred and fifty billion in total. Any more than that and the market won’t be able to handle it.”

An injection of a hundred billion in off-market liquidity into the secondary market could truly push the index up with ease, at least sparking a powerful rebound in the short term.

This was no joke. Moreover, there were many other institutions with off-market liquidity. Stellaris Capital wasn’t the only smart money in the market; there were plenty of capable players out there.

Leaning back in his chair, Fang Hong said with a smile, “The target is to inject one hundred fifty billion of liquidity into the secondary market to hold stocks over about thirty trading days. We’ll focus on core assets, with an average daily inflow of five billion in liquidity.”

Tian Jiayi pondered, “Thirty trading days… that means we’ll complete the deployment before the first half of the year concludes.”

Fang Hong nodded.

They would start entering the market in mid-to-late May. The first-quarter reports had already been released. After Stellaris Capital finished its deployment, the funds would be fully in the market just as the first half concluded, right before the start of the second half.

And with the arrival of July, this timing perfectly aligned with the half-year report pre-disclosure period.

When various listed companies disclosed their latest shareholder changes, investors across the market would see Stellaris Capital’s massive holdings, which would undoubtedly provide a huge boost to market confidence.

The smart money that had accurately bought the dip at over 1,600 points and perfectly exited at the peak of over 3,400 points was back in a big way!

It would signal that the market had stabilized.

After all, the confidence boost for the market’s bulls from such a large institution throwing in hundreds of billions in hard cash could not be ignored.

While organizing the documents, Tian Jiayi also glanced at their contents. They detailed the stocks in various sectors that Stellaris Capital planned to invest in, with a primary focus on core assets.

“The allocation for the military-industrial sector is as high as thirty billion this time?” A hint of surprise flashed in Tian Jiayi’s beautiful eyes. She couldn’t help but turn to Fang Hong and ask curiously, “Are you that bullish on the military-industrial sector for the second half of the year?”

Allocating so much capital to a single sector, accounting for 20% of the company’s total liquidity, made it the most heavily weighted sector. It was no exaggeration to say they were going heavily into defense stocks.

Moreover, this was almost the limit of what the military-industrial sector could hold. The sector’s market cap was a few hundred billion, and after excluding some stocks they weren’t optimistic about, there wasn’t much left. They also couldn’t hold more than the 5% stake disclosure threshold for any single stock, otherwise it would be difficult to exit.

Therefore, thirty billion was basically the maximum this sector could currently absorb; they couldn’t add any more.

Fang Hong nodded and said, “Although the economic recovery trend is good, the management’s continuous macroeconomic control measures will still affect the market’s bullish sentiment. In such a situation with many market uncertainties, the military-industrial sector, with its relatively strong certainty, is often more likely to gain market recognition. Furthermore, the defense sector is not short of catalysts, such as industry consolidation and support for emerging strategic industries.”

Tian Jiayi looked at him thoughtfully. “So, you’re saying the current economic environment is still complex, and with the impact of the European debt crisis, the market faces a series of uncertainties. Based on past experience, during such periods, the market does indeed tend to prefer sectors with relatively fewer uncertainties, like agriculture, medicine, and military industry.”

As one of Fang Hong’s people, Tian Jiayi’s professionalism was growing stronger. She also knew that in the first half of last year, the military-industrial sector had experienced a crazy rally. Defense stocks represented by Yizhong Binguang Optoelectronics saw enormous cumulative gains.

The main catalysts were asset injection restructuring, high bonus issues, and the trend of armaments informatization and digitization.

In addition, the collective rise of defense stocks had other supporting factors, such as the 60th National Day military parade and aircraft carrier plans.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Will the military-industrial sector in the second half of this year have catalysts similar to those in the first half of last year?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “Smart. The current situation has similarities to early 2009. First, there are many future uncertainties and significant disagreements on macroeconomic controls. For example, is the economy overheating, or is the recovery still fragile? Are the property market regulations a directional indicator? How will inflation evolve?”

Fang Hong continued, “Second, the market’s preferences are unstable. Over the past few months, small-cap stocks have seen large cumulative gains. Coupled with factors like the introduction of stock index futures, there’s a need for a shift in market style. The numerous market uncertainties make investors lean towards opportunities with stronger certainty, which undoubtedly provides the necessary conditions for a rise in the military-industrial sector.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but nod. A smile bloomed on her face as she said, “Now that you put it that way, it really makes sense. The small-cap stock I bought on your advice, Dongfang Yuhong, surged by more than two hundred percent in the first half of the year. Desay Battery, which I bought recently, is already up 50 points. Small-cap stocks have indeed risen rapidly in the first half. And Dongfang Yuhong has plummeted recently. Luckily, you told me to sell.”

This also indicated, to some extent, that a shift in market style was underway.

Dongfang Yuhong began to plunge after hitting its limit-up on April 26th. It fell 4.5 percent the next day, followed by three consecutive limit-downs. Amid today’s market crash, the stock fell another 8 percent, with its cumulative decline now exceeding 40 points.

The beautiful assistant’s admiration for him grew. He could always make the right decisions and earn the most money. No wonder he spent money like water; his money came too quickly.

…

Chapter 371: A Preview of the Year’s Top Monster Stock

After a moment, Fang Hong continued instructing his beautiful assistant, “Our country’s military spending grows steadily each year, so this sector’s growth is definitely stable and less affected by the macroeconomy. In the medium to long term, our national defense expenditure is only 1.4 percent of GDP, leaving significant room for improvement. This represents organic growth.”

Tian Jiayi nodded thoughtfully. Fang Hong looked at her and added, “Furthermore, the extrinsic growth from industry consolidation is also worth noting. Moves towards consolidating military-industrial assets are not uncommon. For example, the earlier consolidation of the Chang’an Auto Group can be seen as a bellwether for accelerating military-industrial restructuring. Besides them, other state-owned enterprises are also showing signs of speeding up their integration.”

“As for the Aviation Industry Group, the future consolidation plan is to form relevant subsidiaries based on business segments for strategic and specialized restructuring. The group has made a clear commitment to achieve public listings for all its subsidiaries within three years and a complete group listing within five. This is the second year since that promise was made, so the listings of each subsidiary are worth watching. All in all, extrinsic asset injections can also greatly enhance the offensive potential of the military-industrial sector.”

A short while later, all the materials were printed, and Tian Jiayi organized them into a folder.

“Right, be careful with these six or seven military-industrial stocks, like Hongdu Aviation, Zhonghang Precision Machinery, and Chengfei Integration. Tell the company’s traders not to buy these few,” Fang Hong said after some thought, marking the seven stocks.

“What’s wrong?” Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask.

“Because my personal account will also be allocated these military-industrial stocks. If the company’s funds pile in as well, we’ll definitely have to make a stake disclosure. The market caps of these stocks are too small. Zhonghang Precision Machinery’s is less than 1.7 billion, Chengfei Integration’s is less than 1.8 billion…” Fang Hong explained, but then quickly added, “You can buy Hongdu Aviation, though. That stock has a relatively large market cap.”

Hongdu Aviation’s current market capitalization was around ten billion, making it a smaller mid-cap stock. Stellaris Capital’s institutional funds could buy about 300 million, and Fang Hong planned to put in about 150 million from his personal account.

This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about hitting the disclosure threshold.

At that moment, an idea struck Fang Hong. He turned to his beautiful assistant with a smile and said, “Seeing your outstanding performance recently, the Boss will help you achieve the title of a hundred-millionaire rich woman ahead of schedule. How about it? Do you want this reward?”

The beautiful assistant’s eyes sparkled. Placing the folder on a nearby desk, she suddenly walked to the door. But instead of leaving, she locked the study from the inside. Then, she gracefully sauntered back, spun around, and sat on Fang Hong’s lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she met his gaze and said with a coquettish smile, “You’re playing dumb…”

Fang Hong instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and chuckled. “Tomorrow, sell Desay Battery and buy this military-industrial stock, Chengfei Integration. I’m extremely bullish on this one. There’s a high probability it will go wild, maybe even rise fivefold.”

“Fivefold?” The beautiful assistant, sitting astride him, widened her eyes in astonishment. She didn’t doubt Fang Hong’s words, but after her initial shock, she smiled charmingly and said, “My floating profit on Desay Battery, which you told me to buy, is about fifty percent. If I sell it tomorrow, I’ll have around 13.7 million yuan. Even with a fivefold gain on Chengfei Integration, that would only be just over eighty million. Still not a hundred million.”

Fang Hong smiled. “Don’t be impatient. I’ll just give you another stock tip later, and you’ll cross the hundred-million mark. Your boss has it all planned out for you. After you sell Chengfei Integration, you can flip that into Zhonghang Precision Machinery and make another one and a half times your money… Oh? Wouldn’t that mean you’d make two hundred million? Lucky you.”

It was worth mentioning that Chengfei Integration was a major monster stock he remembered vividly from his past life. According to the original historical trajectory, the company’s performance for the entirety of 2010 wasn’t the most outstanding, but its ferocious surge in the third quarter earned it the title of the number one “monster stock” in the Year of the Tiger.

Chengfei Integration’s wild run was a case of “lithium” dreams becoming reality. If all went as expected, the company would announce on July 6th its plan for a private placement of 106 million shares at no less than 9.70 yuan per share, aiming to raise up to 1.02 billion yuan to invest in Zhonghang Lithium Battery Co., Ltd. for its lithium-ion power battery project.

Spurred by this news, Chengfei Integration’s stock price embarked on its “monster journey” with a series of consecutive limit-ups and green days. It went from obscurity to being far ahead of the pack, from a “bull stock” to a “monster stock.” No one could even say for sure if Chengfei Integration had driven the lithium battery concept, or if the lithium battery concept had made Chengfei Integration’s fortune.

But the numbers alone were enough to astound anyone in the stock market. If history followed its original course, the stock would rocket from a low of 8.45 yuan per share on May 21st to a peak of 52.29 yuan on September 9th. Chengfei Integration would achieve a historic gain of +518% in just 59 trading days, hitting its limit-up 13 times and being subjected to special trading suspensions by regulators five times.

At this point in time in Fang Hong’s previous life, Chengfei Integration was the number one monster stock of 2010.

Now, however, Fang Hong’s appearance had brought a Weibo subsidiary to the A-share market. The epic, super primary rally that Dasheng Shares was brewing would make it the most powerful contender against Chengfei Integration for this year’s top monster stock.

In the latter half of the year, after Chengfei Integration’s performance concluded, Zhonghang Precision Machinery would take the stage, taking over as the sector’s “second-generation monster.” The original historical trajectory had Zhonghang Precision Machinery announcing a restructuring plan on October 22nd, intending to acquire multiple assets from its actual controller, Zhonghang Industry, through a private placement.

As an originator of the restructuring wave among military-industrial enterprises, the result of Zhonghang Precision Machinery’s half-month trading suspension was nine consecutive opening limit-ups, a perfect sugar coating on the military-industrial restructuring bombshell.

Restructuring stories were arguably the biggest positive news in the A-share market, perhaps with no exception. Even the most garbage stock was guaranteed to at least double from its bottom if it was involved in a restructuring narrative.

Not to mention, Zhonghang Precision Machinery’s restructuring story hadn’t even started yet. In the first half of the year, the Weibo subsidiary’s backdoor listing had resulted in Dasheng Shares being injected with its assets. On the day it resumed trading, the opening price alone brought a +430% gain, and it later rose to 44.44 yuan, accumulating a maximum gain of 5.8 times since resuming trading.

Meanwhile, back in the study, the door had been locked by the beautiful assistant. With no one else around, she let go of all inhibitions. Sitting astride him, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong with a playful grin and asked, “Got the goods?”

Fang Hong replied in all seriousness, “I do.”

Tian Jiayi said with a beaming smile, “Then I want a billion!”

Fang Hong chuckled in response. “Whoa, asking me for a billion right off the bat? You’ve really got the guts to ask for that much. Although my reserves are plentiful, the problem is, even if you don’t have a clue how much you can take, I’ve already explored your depths countless times. I could give you a billion, but you wouldn’t be able to handle it all!”

The beautiful assistant replied with a nonchalant look, “Whether I can handle it isn’t decided by words. I think you’re just bluffing because you don’t have the goods, right?”

Fang Hong was not pleased to hear that. He immediately shot back, “If you’re going to put it that way, then even though I know you’re deliberately provoking me, I have to open the position today and let you witness what abundant reserves truly mean.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Hong gave her perky and bouncy derriere a light pat, signaling for her to get ready. “Open the position yourself,” he said calmly, straight to the point. “Take as much as you want. How much you can get depends on your own ability.”

Tian Jiayi was not one to be outdone. “You’re the one who said it, right? Then I won’t be polite!”

With that, the beautiful assistant immediately opened the position herself to take the goods.

As time went on, Tian Jiayi, who had boasted about wanting a billion, made a flurry of aggressive moves with her hands. But in the end, once the position was opened and less than 300 million in selling pressure was released, she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to ask for the rest in two days. A classic case of someone who loves to play but can’t keep up.

…

Chapter 372: Whether He’s Satisfied Is His Business; Whether We Reform Is My Call

The next day, Tuesday, May 18th.

In the villa’s dining room, Fang Hong was having breakfast with Tian Jiayi, He Xuan, Yu Qiu, and the other ladies.

“I’m off to school,” He Xuan said, quickly finishing her meal before getting up and leaving Tranquil Heart Residence to drive to her university. Hu Tao and the others also finished eating soon after, and before long, only Fang Hong, Tian Jiayi, and Yu Qiu remained at the table.

“Oh, right. When you get to the office, give Chenghui a heads-up. Tell him to buy twenty million worth of Hongdu Aviation stock. The plan is to sell once it doubles,” Fang Hong said to Tian Jiayi as he ate his breakfast.

It was about time to give Cao Chenghui a “bonus.” He had been parachuted in to take charge of Art Star Media Group, and his performance had been excellent. Judging from Tian Jiayi’s daily reports, the big boss was very satisfied with his number one employee.

He was competent, and more importantly, he was socially savvy. No boss would dislike a subordinate like that.

However, Fang Hong’s words came as a great surprise to Tian Jiayi. She looked at him, astonished. “Are you serious? He gets that kind of treatment?”

The beautiful assistant had always thought she was the only one who received such perks. She never expected Cao Chenghui to also get a wealth code and receive special treatment. Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “Besides him, who else in the company gets this kind of treatment?”

Fang Hong answered concisely, “Besides you, it’s just him.”

Seeing his beautiful assistant’s curious and puzzled expression, Fang Hong explained methodically, “Chenghui was the first person to follow me; you could call him Stellaris Capital’s first employee. Putting him at Art Star Media was a way to help him build his track record. So far, the kid hasn’t disappointed me.”

Fang Hong added, “He’s an important piece in my grand plan. His role as head of Art Star Media is temporary. Once he has accumulated enough qualifications for a promotion, I’ll nominate him to the Board of Directors of Stellaris Capital to become a member of the core leadership.”

The house manager, Yu Qiu, remained silent at the side, but she was listening intently. Fang Hong didn’t mind her hearing, as he had already conquered the beautiful house manager in both heart and body.

At that moment, Yu Qiu’s eyes shimmered with admiration. The simple statement, “He’s an important piece in my grand plan,” was delivered so calmly, yet it exuded the powerful aura of a superior. Her admiration for him deepened, and she felt increasingly willing to be his woman.

“You’re being too good to him,” Tian Jiayi said in surprise.

“He has to be able to handle the responsibility to deserve it,” Fang Hong said calmly. “The main reason for nominating Chenghui to the board is that I intend to adjust the management structure of the company’s core leadership. I plan to adopt the rotating system that Huawei uses.”

This statement surprised Tian Jiayi even more. Fang Hong continued, “As the saying goes, ‘Running water never goes stale, and a constantly-used door hinge never rusts.’ The current composition of Stellaris Capital’s core leadership is unbalanced. It’s almost entirely made up of people from the Huayang-affiliated circle, and the nominal head of the company is Hua Yu. That’s not appropriate.”

Tian Jiayi grew thoughtful, then looked at Fang Hong. “You want to use Cao Chenghui as a catfish to disrupt the current dominance of the Huayang-affiliated executives in the core leadership?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Exactly.”

Tian Jiayi thought for a moment more. “If you implement a rotating system, will Hua Yu be unhappy? I’m worried this change might cause instability in the company.”

“Whether he’s satisfied or not is his business; whether we reform is my call,” Fang Hong said calmly. “Besides, you’re underestimating Hua Yu. And even if Hua Yu doesn’t see the big picture, his father, Hua Yongming, is a very shrewd man. Don’t worry, switching to a rotating system won’t cause any major turmoil. The transition will certainly be a smooth one.”

There was something his beautiful assistant didn’t know, but Fang Hong was well aware that the Hua family now saw him as a powerful benefactor to whom they could cling. Hua Yongming knew about the influence of Fang Hong’s grandfather, and Fang Hong’s own abilities were plain to see.

Moreover, one of Fang Hong’s most fundamental principles for employing people was that they had to genuinely respect and submit to him. He wouldn’t use anyone who didn’t, no matter how talented they were. Only by submitting to him would they accept his decisions and execute them perfectly.

Evidently, Hua Yu was already completely convinced of Fang Hong’s capabilities.

Seeing his confidence, Tian Jiayi believed him as well. She smiled and said, “In that case, after the company switches to a rotating system, does that mean I’ll have a chance to be the head of Qunxing?”

Fang Hong smiled back, glanced at his beautiful assistant, and said, “Theoretically, yes. But being my shadow in the company is far more influential than being the rotating chairman.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi thought for a moment and suddenly understood. Anyone could be the rotating chairman, but not just anyone could be Fang Hong’s “shadow.” That alone held more weight than the chairman role.

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Tian Jiayi nodded to herself. She put down her utensils, took a napkin, and added, “I’m done. I’m heading to the office.”

Just as she stood up, Fang Hong reminded her, “By the way, the size of your funds is getting substantial now. When you invest in Chengfei Integration, don’t use your personal securities account. After all, you’re nominally an Executive Vice President of Stellaris Capital. Open a new account in your parents’ names or another relative’s.”

Tian Jiayi smiled and nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

As Yu Qiu watched Tian Jiayi leave, only she and Fang Hong remained. She turned to him and said, “Fess up. Did you secretly offload your position last night?”

Fang Hong looked at the beautiful house manager, stunned. “Uh… You noticed a detail like that?”

Yu Qiu pursed her lips and huffed, “The trading volume has clearly shrunk. In the past, when we reached the high-volume stage, it would take eight or nine consecutive surges to finish, and each surge was as powerful and explosive as a skyrocket. But yesterday, after only four or five surges, it was over. And the release was a bit weak—a clear sign of insufficient reserves… So, tell me, who was it with?”

Fang Hong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Ahem… Who it was with isn’t important. What’s important is that I understand your needs. If the volume shrank, I’ll just replenish it for you, won’t I? Don’t panic, don’t rush. Let me save some up especially for you. When the time comes, I’ll not only replenish the volume but give you double the amount.”

Hearing that, Yu Qiu said with satisfaction, “Now that’s more like it!”

After breakfast, Luo Lan and Yifulei came to clear the table, and Fang Hong headed to the second-floor trading room.

…

As the A-share market’s opening time approached, Yifulei, Hu Tao, and the other ladies followed Fang Hong into the second-floor trading room. Today was the day not only for Stellaris Capital to open new positions but also for Fang Hong to start going long with his personal securities account.

The next phase was to go all-in on longing the A-share market. Fang Hong had already closed out all his stock index futures positions the previous day, Monday. He had made a total profit of around 730 million from stock index futures, and the total asset size of his personal and institutional accounts had now reached 11.5 billion.

Over the past month or so, the A-share market had plummeted into a technical bear market, but Fang Hong’s accounts were completely unaffected. He had earned over 1.5 billion against the market trend.

With about twenty minutes left before the opening call auction, Fang Hong looked at the ladies and began assigning trading strategies. “Hu Tao, you’ll be in charge of buying Chengfei Integration. A total of 60 million should be enough. The stock’s current trading volume is low, so just buy around 5 million worth each day. Take ten to eleven trading days to build the full intended position.”

Hu Tao pursed her pretty lips and nodded.

The trading volume for Chengfei Integration was indeed very sluggish. The sentiment hadn’t picked up yet. During yesterday’s market crash, the stock was pushed to its limit-down, with its price hitting 9.42 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was less than 30 million, and on previous trading days, it had been just over 10 million.

With such low volume, even a plan to buy 5 million a day would require breaking the orders down into small orders of less than 100,000 to accumulate shares. Otherwise, a direct 5 million buy order could instantly push the stock up five percent, and it wasn’t impossible for it to even hit the limit-up.

Fang Hong added, “Additionally, I’m giving you Zhonghang Precision Machinery, Weifu High-Tech, Wanfeng AutoWheel, and Vatti Corp.”

Hu Tao nodded again.

Fang Hong then turned to the Lin sisters. “Open positions in Sany Heavy Industry, Fangda Carbon, Huaxin Cement… These ten target stocks are for you two.”

Lin Yan and Lin Yun nodded in unison. “Okay, leave it to us!”

Fang Hong continued to give out instructions to the ladies before the market opened, assigning them their trading tasks for the day.

Of the fifteen medium-to-long-term targets he previously held, some had been liquidated, like Dongfang Yuhong, while others were still in his portfolio, such as Dahua Technology, Gold Mantis, and Goertek.

This new round of opening positions was expected to involve a total of 47 target stocks. With ten billion in capital, diversifying across many stocks was necessary to go for a full position.

However, with a team of women assisting him in his trading, Fang Hong felt no pressure acting as a “fund manager.” He didn’t have to worry about being unable to manage positions in several dozen stocks at once.

…

Chapter 373: The Boss Is Giving Out Wealth Codes Again

Many of the new trend stocks Fang Hong chose to open positions in this time were set to go wild in the short term, and the scale of their rallies was not small. Some of these monster stocks were incredibly strong. For example, Chengfei Integration was expected to have a main uptrend wave in the third quarter with an anticipated return of +470%, while Zhonghang Precision Machinery had an expected return of +260%.

Besides these two monster stocks from the military sector, there were several other major ones. The logic for getting involved was simple: they were all major monster stocks from 2010 that had left a deep impression on Fang Hong in his past life.

Taiyuan Corundum was the third monster stock he entered. It was also a stock that would explode in the second half of the year. This stock was fundamentally a bull stock. Against a backdrop of bleak fundamentals, its major outbreak would occur on October 21st. In the twenty-five trading days between August 21st and November 19th, its price soared by a maximum of 140%, its performance completely independent of the broader market.

Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals was the fourth monster stock he targeted.

Although the company’s performance was mediocre and its half-year report was unremarkable, its small stock capitalization made it an easy favorite for short-term hot money. After news related to “super bacteria” broke, its product, colistin, was said to be effective against it, and the stock price began to rally. Under the relentless speculation of hot money, the stock price once surged by +160% in a short span of twenty-two trading days. From Fang Hong’s entry point, he anticipated a twofold return.

New Hope was the fifth monster stock he bought into.

The explosive rise of this stock in the second half of the year was also due to the restructuring concept. If nothing unexpected happened, it would announce an asset swap plan on September 13th, injecting assets worth 7.81 billion yuan, which was equivalent to 1.69 times the company’s consolidated net assets from the previous year. After the asset swap was completed, the company would leap to become the largest listed agricultural company by market value in the A-share market. Spurred by this news, the stock would hit the one-word limit-up for six consecutive trading days, with its price increasing by 167%.

Hengxing Technology was the sixth monster stock he targeted.

This stock’s current performance was dismal, having fallen by more than 40 percent. However, it would begin a volatile climb in the second half of the year, with cumulative gains reaching as high as 2.4 times. Yet, behind this explosive price surge, the company’s information disclosures were a complete blank, which quickly earned it the reputation of a “monster stock.” The reason it went wild was a rumor in late July about the “trial production of a solar polysilicon cutting steel wire project,” which rapidly made it a hot topic in the market.

There were many other stocks that would go wild in the second half of the year. With the advantage of his past life’s memories, it wouldn’t be difficult for Fang Hong to sweep up all the monster stocks. However, he chose not to do so, deliberately letting some of them go.

Because it would be too outrageous.

If you had a position in every single monster stock in the market, others would find it utterly ridiculous. It might even lead to genuine suspicion that he had the ability to predict the future.

Even a Stock God wouldn’t be that ridiculously accurate.

After opening these new positions, Fang Hong still planned to post his holdings on Weibo to expand his influence and accumulate Reputation Value. So, for the sake of caution, he had to give up some money-making opportunities. After all, you could never earn all the money in the world.

…

Meanwhile, Tian Jiayi arrived at the company. Upon reaching her office, she casually made a call to Cao Chenghui. The call connected shortly, and a voice came through: “President Tian, what are your orders?”

The voice on the other end was unmistakably Cao Chenghui’s.

Hearing his response, Tian Jiayi seemed to understand why Fang Hong had promoted him. His first sentence was, “What are your orders?” even though they weren’t in a superior-subordinate relationship.

A person like that could easily get by anywhere; he was socially savvy and capable.

Clearly, Ah Hui was treating her with the status of the “boss’s wife.” He naturally had that much discernment and emotional intelligence, and thus showed her great respect.

In Cao Chenghui’s eyes, you could offend anyone in the company, even Hua Yu, but you must not offend Tian Jiayi. Pillow talk was the most dangerous thing of all.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi replied, “President Fang asked me to pass a message to you. He wants you to prepare 20 million yuan today to invest in Hongdu Aviation. Cash out the profit and exit once it doubles.”

On the other end of the line, Cao Chenghui was overjoyed. The boss was giving out wealth codes again! Although he rarely saw the boss anymore, the boss had clearly not forgotten his number one employee.

Cao Chenghui made no effort to hide his excitement and delight. A stream of over-the-top compliments poured out of him before he ended the call and immediately set aside his work.

The market was about to open. He skillfully opened his trading software and logged into his personal securities account. The account wasn’t actually his; it was opened using his wife’s ID.

“Hongdu Aviation…” Cao Chenghui switched to the stock and examined its K-line chart. The stock had started its rise from a low of 8.99 yuan when the market bottomed out at around 1660 points. For over a year, it had been in a strong continuation of an uptrend.

The military sector had performed very strongly last year, and Hongdu Aviation had hit a price of 40.40 yuan on April 21st, forming a double top. From its bottom, its cumulative gain had reached about 3.5 times.

The current high was the 40.40 double top, and the stock had recently corrected, falling by over 21 percent.

From the K-line chart, Hongdu Aviation’s trend showed signs of breaking down. The technicals also indicated a bearish alignment of the moving averages, a MACD death cross, and so on. Moreover, it had already risen more than threefold.

The vast majority of retail investors would not dare to get involved.

However, Cao Chenghui wasn’t worried at all. Regardless of the stock’s technicals or chart patterns, as long as it was a pick from the big boss, a braindead buy-in was all that was needed. Then, he would just wait to count his money as it doubled.

Was this even a stock pick? No! This was a wealth code!

As the market opened at 9:30 AM, Cao Chenghui prepared to enter the stock. Hongdu Aviation had plummeted by over 6 percent yesterday, but today it opened slightly higher by +0.22%. After five minutes of sideways trading around the opening price, the stock suddenly dived straight down to 30.43 yuan, an intra-day drop of 4.34 percent.

Seeing this, Cao Chenghui quickly bought in. The moment the price hit 30.43 yuan, he immediately purchased 5 million yuan’s worth. The price then rebounded sharply to -1.92 percent but soon began to fall again. Cao Chenghui continued to buy in, but noticing the significant impact his funds were having on the intra-day price, he chose to break his orders into smaller lots.

The big boss had given a clear figure of 20 million yuan, so Cao Chenghui would invest exactly 20 million—no more, no less. He strictly followed the big boss’s instructions. He would only decide the amount himself if no specific figure was given.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence, second-floor trading room.

When the market opened, Fang Hong had already assigned the stocks to Yifulei and the other girls. They were now executing trades according to his strategy.

Hu Tao was preparing to buy into Chengfei Integration. The stock opened lower today at 9.26 yuan, down -1.70%. Soon after the open, it turned positive. Just as Hu Tao was about to place an order for a few hundred thousand yuan to accumulate shares, the stock’s intraday line shot up vertically, hitting the limit-up in seconds.

Someone had directly ignited a skyrocket, sending the stock rallying to 10.36 yuan in less than five seconds, a +9.98% gain that triggered the limit-up.

Hu Tao’s face went blank for a second. She turned to Fang Hong and said, “Bro Hong, Chengfei Integration is at its limit-up. What do I do?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately switched to the stock’s intraday market data to take a look. It had indeed hit the limit-up. Limit-down yesterday, limit-up today.

After a moment, Fang Hong stared at the intraday volume,愣了一下, then muttered to himself, “Could this be Little Sweetie’s doing…?”

Hu Tao asked, “Should I still queue up to buy?”

Fang Hong glanced at the market data, then facepalmed and shook his head with a laugh. There was no doubt anymore, and no need to ask Tian Jiayi. He could already tell from the market data that this was his beautiful assistant’s handiwork.

She probably made an impulsive move, couldn’t be bothered to split the order, and without much thought, just slammed the entire 13.7 million yuan order at the limit-up price and left it at that.

No wonder it hit the limit-up in seconds. In the previous few trading days, Chengfei Integration’s total daily trading volume was only a little over ten million yuan. The total transaction value that pushed it to the limit-up today was just over 18 million.

Fang Hong glanced at Hu Tao and said, “Forget it. We won’t buy this stock today. We’ll buy tomorrow. Go handle the other targets first.”

Hu Tao nodded. “Okay~”

Fang Hong looked back at Chengfei Integration’s intraday market data and mumbled to himself, “I should have reminded her with more specific instructions…”

But it wasn’t a big problem. There was no way it would have consecutive limit-ups. Plus, if it closed at the limit-up today, it should appear on the Dragon-Tiger List. When people saw that the top buyer’s seat accounted for nearly 70% of the stock’s entire daily volume, it was guaranteed to get smashed tomorrow.

Although the amount of capital wasn’t huge, relative to this stock’s current situation, it was a very heavy sedan chair. Few would dare to lift such a heavy sedan chair; it wasn’t as if K-God himself, with all his influence, had arrived.

The funds already in the stock would likely worry that this large sum of money entering today might flee tomorrow. The market wouldn’t be able to withstand such massive selling pressure, so they would surely get out first. Therefore, after hitting the limit-up, the stock was bound to fall back down tomorrow.

After all, the stock’s recent trend was a main downtrend wave. Without the stimulus of major positive news, the conditions for initiating a main uptrend wave were not yet met.

…

Chapter 374: I Thought You Were a Good Guy, Turns Out You’re a Scoundrel

Over the next few trading days of the week, the A-share market’s performance was lackluster, with a preponderance of negative news.

On the news front, a story broke just after the market closed on Tuesday that the regulators had clarified the standards for filing and prosecuting cases of illegal disclosure, market manipulation, and insider trading. They also stated their intention to crack down on insider trading and “rat trading” activities, vowing to intensify their investigation efforts.

In the long run, this was a step toward improving market mechanisms. But in terms of short-term sentiment, it was negative for the market and would likely trigger a panicked exodus of some insider funds.

Then, the next day, the China Financial Futures Exchange disclosed that it had restricted the opening of positions for clients suspected of violations. The market surged higher that day before falling back; the market index touched the 2600-point mark and then retreated.

By Thursday, the market rebound was over, and the broader market index fell by 1.23%.

When it rains, it pours. That evening, more deeply negative news came from overseas markets. The US stock market, the beacon of global stocks, plummeted, with the Dow Jones Index tumbling 3.6 percent in a single day.

Influenced by overseas markets, the A-share market opened on Friday and immediately laid down flat. During the call auction, the broader market index was easily broken through the 2500-point mark, gapping down to open at 2492.57 points, a 2.48% drop, setting another new low for the year.

Many investors couldn’t hold on any longer. This godforsaken A-share market seemed to have no bottom, and many began to bite the bullet and sell at a loss, exiting the market.

But today’s market trend made the investors who sold off at the morning open extremely frustrated. After a significant gap down opening in both markets, the index only pulled back slightly before rebounding all the way up, opening low and trending high in a strong, volatile uptrend throughout the day.

After the afternoon session began, the rebound continued until it was trading in the positive. Such a massive gap down was completely recovered within the day. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had turned positive, rising 1.08% to close at 2583.52 points.

Those who had sold at a loss in the morning felt like dying. Their mood for the entire weekend was ruined.

…

As the weekend arrived, a piece of major news broke: the second round of the Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue would begin in the capital next Monday and last for two days. Nearly fifty officials from over forty departments on both sides would participate.

This event was of great significance to the global economy and was receiving close attention from all parties.

On Monday, May 24th, the A-share market gapped up at the open and continued to trend higher.

The market had initiated a direct short squeeze!

It was still unknown what major positive news would come out of the dialogue.

But the market was already reacting in advance, and with a short-squeeze-style surge. The strategy was to push prices up first. If good news came out, those without shares would rush to snap them up, at which point the existing holders could dump their shares on them, cashing in on the positive development.

If bad news came out, they would have to sell even more aggressively. This was called front-running an outcome that fell short of expectations.

By the close, the broader market index had surged by 3.48% to close at 2673.42 points. Not only did it reclaim the 2600-point mark, but it also closed the regulatory gap created by the crash on May 17th.

In two days, the index had soared by 191 points. With two consecutive long positive candles, the index had rallied a total of 7.71 percent from its lowest point.

The investors caught in the short squeeze were miserable. Those who had sold at a loss when the market broke 2500 points were infuriated by the sight of these two long bullish candles. As the saying goes, one strong rally can change the whole outlook. After these two major upswings, it felt like the sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and the great A-share market was back in business.

In the final few trading days of May, the A-share market fluctuated sideways, consolidating within a platform between 2600 and 2650 points.

During these few days, Fang Hong was not idle either. He directed the maids to continue building positions and accumulating shares in the predetermined target stocks. This time, he entered a total of 47 different stocks.

He had basically assembled a whole basket of stocks, acting like a fund manager without being one.

The stocks with the potential for strong gains didn’t have large market caps and couldn’t accommodate large amounts of capital. Stocks like Chengfei Integration and Zhonghang Precision Machinery had total market caps of only 1.7 to 1.8 billion yuan. Even buying up to 4.99% of a company’s total share capital wouldn’t amount to 100 million yuan in investment, whereas Fang Hong’s current capital had reached a staggering 11.5 billion yuan.

Therefore, he could only increase the number of stocks in his holdings to compensate for the inability of any single stock to accommodate such a large volume of capital.

While Fang Hong’s personal account was systematically entering the market, Stellaris Capital was also actively opening long positions, betting on the market’s performance in the second half of the year.

…

Time moved to May 31st, the last trading day of the month. The A-share market closed with a major drop. The broader market index panic sold, falling 2.40% to close at 2592.15 points. The 2600-point mark was lost once again, and all of the previous week’s rebound was erased.

Today, however, Fang Hong was not paying much attention to the A-share market, because he was busy watching the drama of the “3Q War” unfold.

This was arguably the biggest event in the domestic internet industry circle this year. If 2009 was the year of the “Weibo War,” then this year definitely belonged to the ongoing “3Q War.”

Previously, the business dispute between Stellar Universe Technology and Apple had been a hot topic, but its popularity had since waned. That’s how it is in the internet age; even the biggest stories eventually fade. Once the hype dies down, besides the parties involved, the onlooking netizens, for whom it’s none of their business, quickly forget and move on to the next juicy story.

And the current hot topic was the “3Q War,” which continued to ferment, attracting onlookers from all walks of life.

Fang Hong was naturally no stranger to this spectacular case of unfair competition in the internet industry. The so-called “3Q War” was the dispute between Qihoo 360 and Tencent. As the Mainland was on the cusp of the mobile internet era, this war could be said to have had an extremely profound impact on the domestic internet industry.

The war stemmed from mutual attacks between the two sides, both vying for their own interests. From this year until 2014, a series of internet battles unfolded, eventually leading to litigation.

Both companies were currently the two largest client software providers in the country.

Tencent, using QQ as its foundation, expanded in all directions, getting its hands into everything, crazily copying others. With its powerful market share and massive user base—with almost everyone having an account—it continuously expanded and devoured various niche sectors of the internet.

Qihoo 360, on the other hand, was famous for its security software. Its strategy of making 360 Security Guard permanently free allowed it to capture a majority of the security market share in a very short time, becoming the second-largest client software in the Mainland market after Tencent.

Originally, the two companies developed in their respective fields without incident.

But early this year, Tencent extended its reach into the security market, launching QQ Doctor 1.0 beta, which was just a small tool for scanning and killing Trojans.

When the version was later updated to 3.2, QQ Doctor’s interface and functions closely resembled those of 360. At the same time, Tencent announced it would give away a six-month subscription to Norton Antivirus software and promoted it aggressively during the Chinese New Year.

360 quickly recognized the threat posed by QQ Doctor. Some employees on vacation were urgently recalled to deal with the sudden crisis. Thanks to their rapid response and the fact that QQ Doctor itself was an immature product rushed to market, many users began uninstalling it. Its market share quickly dropped below 10%, and 360 breathed a sigh of relief.

But just today, on May 31st, Tencent quietly upgraded QQ Doctor to version 4.0 and renamed it QQ PC Manager.

The new version merged QQ Doctor and QQ Software Manager, adding functions like cloud-based Trojan scanning and plugin cleanup. It basically covered all the mainstream functions of 360 Security Guard, and its user experience was extremely similar to 360’s, catching both 360 and Kingsoft, who were currently locked in a bitter feud, completely off guard.

The dispute, which was thought to have subsided, had been rekindled.

By September of this year, after having forced users to install QQ Doctor during the Chinese New Year, Tencent launched its second large-scale forced installation, and it would start automatically upon system boot. Relying on these dirty, rogue-like tactics and QQ’s enormous user base, QQ PC Manager posed a direct existential threat to 360’s position in the security field.

The conflict between the two sides was rapidly escalating to a fever pitch.

…

At the Quantum Beat headquarters, in the CEO’s office.

“Boss, isn’t it a bit… much, for us to be secretly fanning the flames and stirring up sentiment on both sides like this?” Xu Jingren looked at Fang Hong in astonishment. The latter had just arrived at the company a short while ago, and his focus was squarely on the ongoing “3Q War.”

“This is business competition. To strengthen ourselves, we must leverage every available factor to expand our own advantages. As long as the law does not forbid it, anything is fair game,” Fang Hong said calmly, then added, “Of course, we must handle it with care. Although what isn’t prohibited by law is permitted, we can’t act recklessly. We must be mindful not to go too far.”

Xu Jingren nodded. There was nothing wrong with that statement.

Fang Hong smiled and said, “We can’t just be onlookers enjoying the drama. By having Weibo seize this hot topic, we win. By tying up Tencent’s energy here, it works to our advantage when we launch WeChat, letting us launch a sneak attack right under their nose. We’ll make a killing. So, we must fan these flames and fully embrace the mentality of an onlooker who enjoys the chaos.”

This kind of flip-flopping, secretly fanning the flames on both sides to manipulate public opinion, and then launching a sneak attack from behind, was a classic scoundrel move. It was playing dirty.

But as long as you could win, who cares about playing by the rules!

Imagine young Ma, engaged in a fierce battle with the Pontiff in Red on the front lines, and at a critical stalemate, he receives an urgent dispatch from his subordinates: Bad news, Ma! Quantum Beat has suddenly appeared on the battlefield to attack our base! Their advance troops have already charged the high ground and are about to destroy the core!

Tencent had always been the one launching sneak attacks on others. To be on the receiving end for once would surely infuriate them. You, Xu Jingren, with your honest-looking, thick-browed face, playing so dirty at such a young age.

I thought you were a good guy, but it turns out you’re a scoundrel. How dare you launch a sneak attack on your senior?

WeChat was scheduled to launch around October in the second half of this year. In the coming age of the mobile internet, this product was more than capable of threatening the core territory of Tencent’s base in the social media domain.

…

Chapter 375: Don’t Cower, Just Do It! Go All-In, and Be Done With It!

With a young Ma battling the Pontiff in Red in the “3Q War,” Quantum Beat was undoubtedly poised to profit from the conflict.

Setting aside WeChat, the heavyweight social product of the mobile internet era, Quantum Beat’s own Weibo platform could cash in big on the hype surrounding the “3Q War.”

The Pontiff in Red had unleashed over forty posts on Weibo, exposing the long-standing grudge between 360 and Kingsoft. Kingsoft immediately issued a strong response, and the ensuing war of words and legal battles between the two companies raged on.

At that moment, Tencent’s move caught the Pontiff in Red completely off guard.

As the incident escalated to a fever pitch, by the end of the year, Weibo was almost completely flooded with news and comments about the “3Q War.” For Weibo, watching other people’s messy drama was bringing in a ton of traffic for its own platform.

Simply put, they were making a killing!

Fang Hong spent a little over half an hour at Quantum Beat before leaving the company. Xu Jingren had already begun to fan the flames, secretly playing the scoundrel. He was happy to stir the pot, and the operation was quite simple: leverage the platform’s advantages to amplify the “3Q War” hype, secretly boosting its traffic to give it greater exposure.

Then, he’d spend a little money to hire some paid commenters to secretly bait both sides and stir up trouble. The goal was to muddy the waters; the more chaotic it became, the better.

It was worth noting that the internet scene this year was extraordinarily lively, and the online video sector was no exception. Fang Hong had noticed that both bilibili and iQiyi had launched one after another, but Stellaris Capital had already incubated its own Yixing Video website.

As for bilibili and iQiyi, he had no intention of investing in them.

If the two companies managed to survive and successfully list in the US as they had in his previous life, Fang Hong would still get involved with their stocks through the secondary market.

He would definitely still make money from them.

Especially bilibili, which at its peak a decade later, would soar to a market value of thirty-six billion US dollars, equivalent to over 230 billion yuan. However, in the year that followed, bilibili’s stock would plummet below its issue price, crashing more than ninety-four percent from its historic high, leaving only a fraction of its value.

The reason bilibili was able to pull off such a super run, aside from the flood of global liquidity under America’s unlimited quantitative easing a decade later, was the story of bilibili itself. The core of it was that the video website’s user base was predominantly young people.

Youth represented the so-called future consumer expectations. Although they had no money to spend now, once they entered the workforce and earned an income, these young people, who had become loyal users, would be the key to bilibili’s monetization.

This story captivated the market and investors, propelling bilibili’s stock price ever upward.

But what investors didn’t anticipate was that young people would start to “lie flat” and stop consuming. Coupled with multiple factors like the black swan event of the pandemic, and the competitive friction between China and the US that suppressed US-listed Chinese stocks, bilibili’s stock price went into a nosedive.

However, for Stellaris Capital, it was entirely possible to make a profit of at least tens of billions of yuan from the company’s stock in the secondary market.

As for making a strategic investment, Fang Hong had no plans to do so. He already had the Yixing Video website under his umbrella, and there was no need to waste resources. He just needed to build up Yixing Video.

…

After leaving Quantum Beat, Fang Hong, finding himself with some free time and in a good mood, attended two classes at Xincheng University before heading home.

In the afternoon, while enjoying a spa treatment from Lin Yun in the therapy room, Fang Hong picked up an S1-Plus phone, opened the Weibo app, and logged into his account.

The app had been online since May 1st and had been updated with a new version just last week, with continuous improvements being made.

Suddenly, Fang Hong looked at Lin Yun and said, “Stop messing around for a second and bring me the laptop.”

Lin Yun quickly wiped the warm essential oil from her hands, went to get him a laptop, and then resumed her mischievous antics.

Fang Hong had intended to post on Weibo from his phone, but he needed to include screenshots of his stock positions, which was more convenient on a PC. Today was Tuesday, June 1st. The A-share market had closed down another 0.92% on the first day of the month, after having dropped by more than two percent intra-day.

Starting from Tuesday, May 18th, over the course of eleven consecutive trading days, the plan to build a long position in the A-share market for Fang Hong’s personal account was complete. The size of his personal account wasn’t in the same league as Stellaris Capital’s, so building his position was naturally much faster.

Just as he was about to edit his Weibo post, Fang Hong couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. His gaze shifted from the screen to Lin Yun. “Using your hands is one thing, but your mouth, too? You’re going to break my train of thought.”

Lin Yun gave him a mischievous smile and said provocatively, “Is this all it takes…?”

Fang Hong glanced at her. “Oh? I gave you a little slack, and you’re already getting a big head? Go ahead then. Let’s see if you don’t wear yourself out.”

Not to be outdone, Lin Yun retorted, “Who’s afraid of who? I bet you won’t last more than five minutes.”

As soon as she said it, her competitive spirit ignited, and she rose to the challenge.

Fang Hong remained calm and unfazed. He gathered his thoughts, turned his attention back to the screen, and began composing his Weibo post:

[The performance of the A-shares this year is the worst globally. It’s hard to put into words. Does this market prove ‘if you don’t manage your wealth, your wealth won’t care for you,’ or is it ‘if you don’t manage your wealth, your wealth won’t leave you’?]

[Personally, I’ve been busy with my graduation thesis and haven’t traded much, so I luckily avoided the major crash. Although the first half of the year was a bear market for the index, small-cap growth stocks have performed quite strongly. It was basically a win-by-doing-nothing situation, so my luck wasn’t bad.]

[I have some free time recently and have started paying attention to the market again. With one month left to conclude the first half, I think the second half of the year looks promising. I’ve made some adjustments to my holdings. I’m mainly bullish on the military-industrial sector and have bought quite a few target stocks there. The new energy sector also looks very good.]

[To practice what one preaches. If I’m bullish on it, I act on it.]

Fang Hong finished editing the text, attached the screenshots of his holdings, and then found a meme online. He added his own text to the image: [Don’t talk to me about technical analysis. Same old saying: don’t be a coward, just do it. Right now, full position, go all-in and be done with it. Win, and it’s clubs and models; lose, and it’s back to the salt mines.]

After a quick review to ensure there were no mistakes, he published the post to his Weibo account.

Soon after the post went live, it was swarmed by fans who viewed and forwarded it. Many stock-trading chat groups began to buzz with discussion. The market’s unilateral main downtrend wave recently had killed the mood in many groups, as people who were losing money didn’t feel like talking.

But with the release of K-God’s new post, many of these dead groups burst back to life.

Fang Hong refreshed the page. The comment section of his latest blog post was already filled with replies.

[Marking my spot on the first page!]

[Got it, time to go all-in… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[K-God is at full position! Looks like the market is really about to bottom out. Let’s go, guys, all-in!]

[Don’t be a coward, just do it! Just go all-in!]

[Win, and it’s clubs and models; lose, and it’s back to the salt mines!]

[Holy crap? What’s going on with K-God? He’s holding over forty stocks? I’m floored. Can he even manage all that? He’s really starting to act more and more like a fund manager… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Don’t worry, he can definitely manage it. K-God must have a team of personal traders assisting him. Did you forget he has an institutional account?]

[Took a look, and sure enough, Dongfang Yuhong is gone. I knew K-God had already sold.]

[Of course he sold. And I bet K-God got out before the big crash.]

[A huge wave of K-God Concept Stocks is here! New wealth codes are up for grabs, if you’ve got the guts. Just look at the previous 15 mid-term stocks. If you had bought them the day after K-God’s post, even the worst performer doubled in price. Don’t wait until they’ve already doubled to ask if you can still get in!]

[I’m getting on K-God’s ride, even if it means taking a loss! Don’t ask questions. The only answer is to go all-in!]

[Over 40 stocks, my head is spinning.]

[Go for the military-industrial sector! Didn’t you see K-God specifically highlighted it? That means he’s the most bullish on this sector. Just pick a military stock from his list of 40 and go all-in!]

[Uh… oh yeah, that’s right!]

[Got it, going all-in on Hongdu Aviation tomorrow!]

[I’m going all-in on Zhonghang Precision Machinery!]

[Chengfei Integration looks good. I’ll throw in thirty percent of my position tomorrow to help pump up the price for K-God!]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m going to lose all my money.jpg!]

[“Nice”! I can’t believe K-God is also in my Weifu High-Technology stock. Just waiting to get rich now.]

[What the hell, don’t get so carried away, you guys! Are you all crazy? I’m scared!]

[K-God’s market influence is truly terrifying!]

…

Chapter 376: Being a Little Bolder is Better Than Anything

The moment Fang Hong posted this Weibo update, publicly revealing his latest portfolio data, it triggered a heated discussion among countless retail investors. It wasn’t just the comment section under his post that was buzzing; stock trading groups and forums were also alight with debate.

The popularity of the forty-seven stocks he held also surged significantly, a testament to the terrifying power of K-God’s influence.

The comment section was filled with people howling about going all-in. While most of it was likely just talk, Fang Hong’s Weibo account had over twenty-eight million fans. Even if only five percent of them truly followed his lead and copied his homework, that would still be a force of over 1.4 million investors.

Assuming each of these 1.4 million investors followed with an average of ten thousand yuan, the total amount would be over fourteen billion yuan in liquidity. Such a massive volume of capital could easily push any stock to its limit-up.

It could even push the number one bank in the universe to its limit-up.

This was why any stock that appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List with K-God’s name on it would, without exception, surge high at the open and hit the limit-up in seconds the next day. Many of them would even open at the limit-up price.

Liquidity is the most fundamental driver of stock price appreciation.

Even the figure of 1.4 million people copying his homework was an extremely conservative estimate. In reality, it was no exaggeration to say that K-God’s influence could mobilize fifty billion yuan of market liquidity.

This was because there were simply too many investors in A-shares. With a base of over one hundred million stockholders, it meant that roughly one out of every thirteen people in the country was an investor.

As a retail investor who had started with less than sixty thousand yuan, and a university student who was about to graduate this year, K-God had managed to stand out from the crowd of hundreds of millions. The name “K-God” was bestowed upon him by the investors of the A-share market, and his legendary rise in the turbulent stock market was nothing short of astonishing to ordinary investors.

To consistently make money while being in the “eye of the storm” that is the A-share market, to stand as firm as a mountain amidst the roiling tides, to see his assets grow steadily, and to even become the “stabilizing force” that stirred the winds and clouds—even a top-tier figure like Buffett, whose wealth was comparable to a nation’s, had never been so warmly welcomed by the vast majority of investors as K-God was.

Unlike the lofty and untouchable “Stock God” title of Buffett, titles like “K-God” and “Grandmaster”—especially “Grandmaster”—carried the weight of collective admiration from countless retail investors who had elevated him to that status.

The root of such overwhelming popularity was simple: anyone who dared to follow the trend and copy his homework had basically made money. Being able to profit from you was more important than anything else.

[K-God, the military-industrial sector already had a huge run in the first half of last year and continued to rise until it hit a new historical high this April. The sector has more than tripled. Since the whole market started to correct in April, the military-industrial sector hasn’t fallen much compared to other sectors. Even the banking sector has fallen more than it has. Can the military-industrial sector still rise? I’m actually worried it might have a delayed drop later…]

[Yeah, I’m a bit scared to chase it, it’s too high!]

[If the military-industrial sector is going to have another big rally, wouldn’t it soar to the heavens? I don’t really get it. Besides, the earnings of military stocks are too opaque, and I can’t make sense of their fundamentals. I wonder what K-God’s logic is for being bullish on this sector…]

While browsing the comments, Fang Hong saw the discussion about the military-industrial sector, clicked on it, and posted a reply: [Discussing the fundamentals or earnings of the military-industrial sector is meaningless. Military-industrial target stocks are related to national defense and are mostly confidential. Even institutions can’t get in to do research. As for why I’m bullish, there’s only one reason: just look at the annual military expenditure. Two years of growth, and it has even maintained a double-digit growth rate. Think about that carefully.]

After Fang Hong posted his reply, a large number of comments quickly appeared below it.

[Holy shit! K-God’s perspective is so unique. How did I not think of such a simple truth?]

[Thinking about it carefully, it really makes sense. If you have to talk about earnings, the continuous growth in military spending can be indirectly interpreted as growth in the earnings of military-industrial enterprises.]

[That’s right. If military spending is constantly growing, then military-industrial companies will definitely get more orders, so they won’t be doing poorly. The reverse is also true. If military spending doesn’t increase or is reduced, their orders definitely won’t be great either.]

[As expected of K-God. I suddenly feel that all those lengthy research reports written by institutional analysts, which look so professional, are actually less insightful than K-God’s simple, unpretentious sentence that gets straight to the core logic of this sector.]

[Say no more. I’m going all-in on Hongdu Aviation when the market opens tomorrow. Damn it!]

After Fang Hong updated his Weibo, one of his many followers, Spicy A-shares, also saw it.

However, he didn’t see it on Fang Hong’s Weibo feed because he hadn’t checked Weibo that day. He only found out because people were talking about it in some of the stock trading groups he was in. He then logged into Weibo to see for himself.

“Dongfang Yuhong is really not on K-God’s holding list anymore!” Spicy A-shares carefully examined the portfolio chart Fang Hong had posted in his update today. There were a total of forty-seven target stocks revealed, so many that his eyes glazed over.

He checked it three times to confirm that Dongfang Yuhong was gone.

At that moment, Spicy A-shares couldn’t help but sigh and mutter to himself, “If only I had sold Dongfang Yuhong when it hit its first limit-down!”

After the stock had hit its limit-up on April 26th, setting a new historical high, it turned and fell 4.5 percent the next day. On the third day, due to negative news about a senior executive’s resignation, the market smashed the stock to an opening at limit-down.

But after opening at limit-down, the board was pried open during trading hours. It wasn’t sealed at the limit-down for the entire morning session, so anyone who wanted to sell could have gotten out at any time. Spicy A-shares had originally wanted to sell, but he hesitated for most of the day. By the afternoon, when he finally decided to take profits, it was too late. The stock was completely sealed at the limit-down, and he couldn’t get out.

On the fourth day, Dongfang Yuhong opened deep underwater at -6.65%. This time, Spicy A-shares didn’t hesitate and immediately sold during the opening call auction. That afternoon, the stock was sealed at the limit-down again, and it continued to trend lower, accumulating a total loss of over forty percent.

Spicy A-shares had once held a floating profit of over +178% on this stock, earning around 178,000 yuan. By the time he finally took profits, it was at +123%. In just three days, his profit had a drawdown of fifty-five percentage points.

“Fortunately, I didn’t sell Goertek and Gujing Gongjiu. K-God is still holding them, so I’ll hold my position!” Spicy A-shares said to himself. Seeing that these two stocks were still in K-God’s portfolio, he decided to continue holding them.

His position in Gujing Gongjiu, which he had bought following the trend, currently had a floating profit of over eighty percent. Goertek had already tripled in value. His total assets had grown from the 300,000 yuan he started with when copying homework to the current 658,000 yuan. His account’s total return was +119%; he had already doubled his money by copying K-God’s homework.

“Since K-God is so bullish on the military-industrial sector, I’ll pick a stock from there…” Spicy A-shares mused while looking at Fang Hong’s Weibo account. About a third of his stock account was in cash, precisely the funds he had freed up from Dongfang Yuhong, principal and profit included.

After selling Dongfang Yuhong, he hadn’t opened a new position in another stock, nor had he added to his other two holdings.

Today, K-God had revealed so many stocks on Weibo. Spicy A-shares felt it was time to make a move. K-God’s wealth code had been issued again; there was no reason not to act.

The next day, Tuesday, June 2nd.

Spicy A-shares, the retail investor, woke up early. As soon as nine o’clock arrived, he turned on his computer and logged into his trading software.

Yesterday, he had planned to use his idle cash to buy a military stock and once again hold a full position with three stocks. But after thinking it over, he came to a new decision.

Since K-God was super bullish on the military-industrial sector and had allocated a significant portion of his portfolio to military stocks, Spicy A-shares decided, after much deliberation, to adopt a more aggressive strategy. He would sell his two stocks, Gujing Gongjiu and Goertek, and then go all-in on the military-industrial sector.

“Damn it, I have to be bolder. Maybe I can achieve financial freedom through K-God,” Spicy A-shares said with a hint of defiance as he sat in front of his computer. Last night, he had been pondering an issue related to K-God.

Spicy A-shares suddenly felt that with K-God’s influence growing larger and larger, a time would come when everyone knew that copying K-God’s homework was a surefire way to make a killing. At that point, K-God’s stock picks might not be so effective anymore, or he might even retire and stop revealing his hand.

Because once a money-making model becomes known to the vast majority, and countless people rush in, it often ceases to be profitable.

Therefore, Spicy A-shares felt he should go big while the K-God effect was still potent. He would worry about the future later. For now, the priority was to make money. Being a little bolder was better than anything.

After weighing his options, Spicy A-shares decided to sell his other two stocks and follow K-God with a full position in military stocks, betting on a huge win. He set his stop-loss at a thirty-point floating loss. After all, he had more than doubled his money by copying K-God’s homework. Even if his position was slashed in half, at worst he would just lose the money he had made through luck; his principal would definitely not be at risk.

The profit of over one hundred percent he had made by following K-God provided a solid safety net, giving this dude the confidence to pursue such an aggressive strategy.

Chapter 377: They’re All Fucking Crazy, Is This K-God’s Influence?

As the A-share market entered the call auction phase, our dude Spicy A-shares decisively sold his holdings in both Goertek and Gujing Gongjiu.

Although he couldn’t buy during the call auction, by the time it ended at 9:25 AM, both stocks had been successfully sold. The funds were credited to his account, available for use on the same day.

“Holy crap, is K-God this powerful? Are K-God Concept Stocks this terrifying?” After selling his two stocks, Spicy A-shares switched to another watchlist and was stunned by the soaring prices of the stocks within.

This particular watchlist contained exactly forty-seven stocks—the very ones K-God had revealed in his holdings on Weibo the day before. Spicy A-shares had already added all forty-seven to a separate list yesterday.

Now, with the call auction over, all forty-seven stocks were in the red, with six of them opening at an absurd one-word limit-up. The others that didn’t open at the limit-up still saw huge gap ups. Even the weakest performer, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals, opened 4.02% higher. The scene was an immense shock to Spicy A-shares.

These stocks belonged to different sectors. For them to open like this, there was only one possible explanation: they were all K-God Concept Stocks, also known as Metaphysics Concept Stocks!

Retail investors had started howling and rushing in during the call auction.

“Holy shit, they’ve pushed it up so ruthlessly! I wanted to buy Hongdu Aviation the most, and it’s opening at a one-word limit-up? Damn it, I haven’t even gotten on board yet!” Spicy A-shares cursed, getting anxious as he looked at the stock.

Yesterday, he had already selected three targets from K-God’s military-industrial concept stocks: Hongdu Aviation, Zhonghang Precision Machinery, and Chengfei Integration.

This time, his strategy was not to diversify but to go all-in on a single stock.

His top choice was Hongdu Aviation, followed by Zhonghang Precision Machinery, and then Chengfei Integration. But the awkward situation now was that both Hongdu Aviation and Zhonghang Precision Machinery had opened at their one-word limit-up price. Even Chengfei Integration had gapped up by 7.23 percent.

“Forget it, I’ll buy Chengfei Integration!” After a moment of frustration, Spicy A-shares immediately placed an order to go all-in with 650,000 on this stock. He even placed the order at the limit-up price. It wasn’t 9:30 AM yet, the official open, but orders could be placed.

Seeing the momentum, he felt that Chengfei Integration would also hit the limit-up, so he had to buy quickly and at the limit-up price. If he didn’t buy today, he might have to chase a higher price tomorrow.

The minutes ticked by, and the clock struck 9:30 AM. The A-share markets officially entered the continuous auction phase.

Spicy A-shares stared intently at Chengfei Integration. After the market opened, the stock’s intraday line shot straight up without any pullback. His eyes widened, and he instinctively exclaimed, “Damn it, it hit the limit-up in seconds? Holy shit!”

After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly checked his order status, only to roar in frustration, “Shit! It didn’t go through? It really didn’t go through? No way! No way! I fucking placed the order at the limit-up price before the market even opened, and I still didn’t get in? Crap!”

Spicy A-shares was both anxious and furious. Of the three military-industrial concept stocks he had chosen from K-God’s holdings, two opened at a one-word limit-up, and the one that gapped up immediately hit its limit-up, all before his order could be filled.

He hadn’t managed to buy a single one of the three. It was infuriating!

Two minutes after the open, just as Spicy A-shares was fuming, he suddenly heard a “ding-dong” from his computer.

His face lit up with joy. It was the alert he had set for a successful trade.

“Haha, it went through! I thought I wouldn’t be able to buy in today. Damn it!” Spicy A-shares looked at his account again. The holdings list showed he had bought a full position in Chengfei Integration, with an average price of 10.46 yuan, which was the stock’s limit-up price for the day. He had bought it on the board.

Just as he was celebrating, another minute passed, and he noticed Chengfei Integration’s volume was increasing at its limit-up price. Soon, at 9:34:08 AM, the limit-up board broke, and the price began to plummet, diving seven percent in a straight line.

Spicy A-shares sucked in a cold breath, staring at the screen in utter shock. “No way! What’s happening? Can’t they even seal the board?”

At that moment, Chengfei Integration’s intraday line was fluctuating wildly. Spicy A-shares switched to his watchlist and saw that Hongdu Aviation and Zhonghang Precision Machinery, the two that had opened at their one-word limit-up, had also had their limit-up boards broken.

“Shit, shit, shit! I should have waited and bought Hongdu Aviation!” Spicy A-shares was filled with regret. He was already fully invested in Chengfei Integration, having bought it at its limit-up price, and couldn’t make any more moves today.

By now, his unrealized loss was already six or seven percent, an instant paper loss of over forty thousand yuan.

Five minutes after the market opened, Chengfei Integration, which had fallen from its limit-up, began to rally straight up again. Two streams of hot money had entered, igniting the stock’s price.

Around 9:36 AM, Chengfei Integration’s price rallied to 10.49 yuan, a gain of +9.99%, hitting the limit-up again. This time, it sealed the limit-up board tightly with buy orders worth 130 million yuan.

Seeing Chengfei Integration hit the limit-up again, Spicy A-shares felt an inexplicable sense of relief. When the price had plunged, he was a little panicked but not terribly so, because K-God provided him with moral support.

Without K-God’s spiritual backing, if he had bought this stock on his own, gone all-in at the limit-up price only to see it break and dive so violently, he would have been scared senseless, if not dead on the spot.

Of course, if he were buying on his own, he would never have dared to chase the rise and go all-in.

“Hongdu Aviation and Zhonghang Precision Machinery are about to hit the limit-up again too. I can’t believe Chengfei Integration was the first to do it. Could it be stronger?” Spicy A-shares mumbled to himself as he watched the stocks on his watchlist.

By 9:40 AM, both Hongdu Aviation and Zhonghang Precision Machinery had completed their second rally to the limit-up, forming T-shaped candlesticks on their charts.

As time went on, Spicy A-shares witnessed an even more astonishing scene. K-God’s forty-seven publicly declared stocks began to rally one after another, all seemingly charging toward their limit-up prices.

Half an hour after the market opened, Spicy A-shares looked at the price action of the forty-seven stocks on his watchlist and was completely flabbergasted. “Oh my god, this… this, this… Has everyone gone mad? This, this, this…”

Chengfei Integration rallied to 10.49 yuan, up +9.99%, and hit its limit-up; Zhonghang Precision Machinery rallied to 12.40 yuan, up +10.03%, and hit its limit-up; Hongdu Aviation rallied to 35.63 yuan, up +10.00%, and hit its limit-up; Taiyuan Corundum rallied to 9.02 yuan, up +10.00%, and hit its limit-up; Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals rallied to 15.33 yuan, up +9.97%, and hit its limit-up…

Looking at the list of forty-seven stocks, Spicy A-shares was utterly dumbfounded, exclaiming in disbelief, “They’re all fucking crazy! All 47 stocks hit their limit-up! Is this K-God’s influence? Holy shit, this… K-God is a badass!”

At this very moment, the major stock forums and chat groups had erupted. Hot money traders were stunned, and even many institutional funds were astonished.

K-God’s terrifying influence had once again shattered their understanding. Everyone knew how influential K-God was in the market, but no one had ever imagined it would be this extreme.

This was a scene that no hot money trader or institution had ever witnessed before—an unprecedented, spectacular sight of a massive army of retail investors flocking together on an epic scale, driving all forty-seven stocks to their limit-up.

Today, all so-called fundamentals, earnings aspects, thematic aspects, and technical aspects of these stocks were rendered useless, because none of those indicators could explain this kind of price action.

The reason for the powerful limit-up rally was mind-boggling: it was simply because K-God had bought these stocks.

The market’s narrative this morning was one of thousands upon thousands of retail investors howling as they charged in. If the stock they wanted to buy hit its limit-up and became unavailable, they would immediately turn to buy another one that hadn’t. The buying priority for most retail investors was similar to that of Spicy A-shares; those who planned on copying homework had already chosen several stocks yesterday and ranked them. If they couldn’t buy their top choice, they would move to the next best, and so on.

In short, no one wanted to miss out on the rally.

And so, these forty-seven stocks put on a spectacular show, hitting their limit-ups one after another. Half an hour after the open, they all hit their limit-up and never broke the board again. If anyone dared to sell, an endless army of retail investors would rush in to snatch up the shares at the limit-up price.

Today, these forty-seven stocks were undergoing a massive short squeeze, driven by absolute bullish force.

Meanwhile, in the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong had also witnessed this scene. He was somewhat surprised but remained calm. It was certainly absurd, but in the Chinese A-share market, it also seemed quite normal. At least, Fang Hong didn’t find it that absurd.

This was the A-share market, after all, where metaphysical trading was rampant. During the Lunar New Year, there were even “Zodiac concepts” that would get hyped up. Some stocks would skyrocket during that period simply because their names overlapped with the zodiac animal of the year. It was just that ridiculous.

In the Year of the Ox, they would hype up Jinnu Chemical; in the Year of the Rabbit, they would hype up Dehua TB. The reason for the massive surge was that the stock’s name corresponded to the zodiac year, and that was enough for it to skyrocket and double in price. Metaphysical trading—the A-share market was just that magical sometimes.

…

Chapter 378: [Attention from the Village Chief]

In the magical A-share market, anything and everything can be speculated on. The absurd scene of 47 stocks hitting their limit-up today wasn’t actually that absurd. After all, Metaphysical trading is a real thing, and some have made a fortune with it.

Ultimately, it all boils down to cash being king. As long as there’s liquidity and funds showing favor, stocks can hit their limit-up.

Whether speculating on Zodiac concept stocks or K-God Concept Stocks, the fundamental logic is that a group of funds in the market has reached a tacit consensus. It’s the same principle behind the annual speculation on Zodiac stocks around the New Year.

The collective surge of the 47 stocks in K-God’s portfolio to their limit-up today follows the same principle. The idea that stocks picked by K-God will soar has become an unspoken consensus in the market. To put it bluntly, people believe they will rise—and not just a few people. They are willing to bet hard cash on it.

Even a piece of crap gains value if enough people believe in it.

In a speculative atmosphere, your own belief doesn’t matter. What matters is whether your counterparty believes.

Everyone knew that over 90% of this was driven by short-term speculation, but there was no denying that the stocks were soaring. Those who dared to bet all made a killing, and the retail investors who watched from the sidelines were green with envy.

Come on, why not join in…

You resist the temptation once, twice, three times… but in the end, you can’t resist it the Nth time.

Without a doubt, the collective limit-up of these 47 stocks was driven by retail investors flocking together—an epic rally that created a tide of limit-ups. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of retail investors participated, forming a united force of unprecedented scale.

Even some of the hot money and large institutional funds couldn’t be called the main players here. This time, the army of retail investors played the role of the absolute bullish main force. The explosive sentiment was plain to see. Any short-sellers who bet against these 47 stocks today got their heads bashed in by the bulls.

Every person who sold these 47 stocks today missed out on further gains.

The scene reminded Fang Hong of the GameStop saga from his past life in the US stock market, where retail investors had also crushed the major players. In terms of market sentiment, the two events were different tunes played with equal skill.

There were actually quite a few contributing factors. The market had been lousy for the past two months, and everyone’s portfolios were bleeding. Retail investors were lost, feeling that any stock they bought would result in a loss. They couldn’t find a direction and lacked the confidence to act.

K-God, without a doubt, had shown them the way. Moreover, following his plays had never led to a pitfall; there was always a premium the next day, and some stocks even went wild.

Another crucial factor was that, against the backdrop of a broader market decline, K-God’s 15 mid-term stocks had all bucked the trend, doubling or even multiplying several times over in a powerful rally.

All these factors combined can ultimately be summarized in one word: Confidence!

Pure confidence!

Confidence is the prerequisite. With confidence, one dares to step in with hard cash, thus creating today’s spectacular and historically unprecedented retail investor rally in the A-share market.

In one fell swoop, they pushed 47 stocks to their limit-up, shocking funds across both markets.

Furthermore, it influenced the sentiment of the entire market. After a low opening, the broader market index staged a rebound. The military-industrial sector became the star of the show today, with a wave of stocks hitting their limit-up.

Everyone knew why: K-God was bullish on the sector and had invested hard cash into numerous military-industrial stocks, prompting tens of thousands of retail investors to pour in.

K-God single-handedly carried the entire military-industrial sector and even influenced the market sentiment of the A-shares today. All investors, from retail to hot money, had to admit it, however absurd and exaggerated it seemed.

But that’s how events unfolded, leaving everyone speechless.

The retail investors were truly fearless today, filled with the confidence K-God had given them. They didn’t even mind being trapped in a losing position, willing to tolerate a certain level of unrealized loss and hold on for a while, because K-God had said these were mid-term holds, not ultra-short-term trades.

Confidence is something you can’t see or touch, but it truly exists, and it profoundly affects the market’s direction.

Sometimes, the saying “confidence is more precious than gold” is not without reason.

…

Under these circumstances, Fang Hong—or rather, K3478—successfully caught the attention of the “village chief.” Around 3:30 in the afternoon, the official Weibo account of the CSRC quietly followed the K3478 blogger.

The village chief was in a bit of a bind. Fang Hong, or K3478, had achieved an almost godlike influence over the A-share market. Nothing like this had ever happened before; not even the Chief of the Suicide Squad had wielded this much market influence.

And what was particularly troublesome was that Fang Hong hadn’t violated any regulations.

There’s no rule saying an investor can’t share their positions. What’s more, institutions are required to disclose their holdings every quarter.

While there was no violation, he was undeniably influencing market sentiment—a fact no one with half a brain could dispute.

But that wasn’t the biggest headache. The real problem was Fang Hong’s timing, which was absolutely on another level. With the market in a slump, here was someone going long with hard cash. It wouldn’t be appropriate to crack down on him now.

Most importantly of all, the regulators knew that a corporate behemoth was slated to list on the A-share market soon: the Agricultural Bank of China. Its IPO would inevitably drain massive amounts of liquidity from the market, far surpassing last year’s listing of China State Construction.

To put it in perspective, when China State Construction went public on July 29th last year, raising over forty billion, the A-share market plunged five percent that day, at one point dropping by more than seven point five percent during trading.

And the upcoming Agricultural Bank of China IPO was expected to raise nearly seventy billion.

In the current sluggish market, the regulators had no idea what would happen when this nearly seventy billion yuan bombshell was dropped.

The only certainty was that the market would almost certainly plummet on the day the news was announced. As for the specifics, the market’s behavior on the day China State Construction went public last year was a chilling reference—an intra-day plunge of over seven percent, a crash-level event.

Moreover, yesterday was the official launch of the ChiNext Board Index. The ChiNext board itself had opened last October, but the launch of its index meant that the A-share market now had a new major index alongside the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component Indexes, starting at a base value of 1000 points.

With Fang Hong making his move at this particular time, the regulators mulled it over and concluded that turning a blind eye was the best course of action. After all, there were no clear violations. At the same time, however, they realized that his jaw-dropping market influence could no longer be ignored. He had truly reached a point where he could turn stone into gold.

The 47 stocks that hit their limit-up today, combining their trading volume with the capital in the limit orders, accounted for over seventeen billion yuan. A single Weibo post from Fang Hong had directed the flow of over seventeen billion yuan.

The total trading volume in both markets shrank further today to 127.5 billion. Roughly speaking, that meant he influenced around thirteen percent of the total volume, and the effect on the day’s market trend was undeniable.

In truth, Fang Hong had timed his Weibo post perfectly. As someone who had been reborn, he knew that the Agricultural Bank of China behemoth would be listing on the A-share market in July.

In the end, after some deliberation, the village chief made a single move: he followed the K3478 account. That was it. Nothing more.

Actually, that was enough!

The implicit message was perfectly clear: We’re watching you. So, you’d better tone it down!

…

Around 5:00 PM, a retail investor unexpectedly discovered that among the handful of accounts followed by the CSRC’s official Weibo, there was a familiar ID: the K3478 blogger.

Good grief!

The investor was stunned. He quickly took a screenshot and posted it in a chat group he belonged to. The group instantly erupted!

[Whoa, so K-God is finally on the village chief’s radar?]

[For real?]

[Totally real! Go see for yourself if you don’t believe me!]

[It’s actually real? Holy shit—!]

[Holy shit—!]

[This…]

[What’s going on?]

[Is K-God so badass now that he’s getting special attention from the village chief?]

[It’s all your fault! The commotion you guys made today was seriously outrageous. You attracted the entire market’s attention, and now K-God is being watched by the village chief… [laughing-crying facepalm emoji]]

[Maybe the village chief is calling K-God right now to express his “concern,” hahaha!]

[But I still have to say it, K-God is incredible!]

[Today’s market action was truly awesome. The scene of 47 stocks hitting their limit-up… not only did I get to witness it, I got to participate. I’ll have bragging rights for years, haha!]

[Yeah, it was insane. Never seen anything like it. I was dumbfounded watching it intra-day.]

[Definitely learned something new today. So damn fierce. Just pulling, forcing it up, holding the line, holy shit! Using the most simple and unadorned method to crush all the short-sellers. This is the first time I’ve felt so hyped trading stocks!]

[The army of retail investors finally gets a day to hold their heads high! So awesome!]

[The major players are shivering in fear; they don’t dare make a move. If they dare to dump, the market dares to buy. They’ll absorb anything that’s thrown at them.]

[Logically speaking, with such great sentiment, it’s a perfect opportunity to sell off.]

[Sell my ass! Selling today isn’t selling off, it’s selling too early! These are K-God’s mid-term picks, at K-God’s cost basis. Sell? There’s definitely a bigger rally coming. Even if there isn’t, there will be a premium tomorrow. The retail investors who missed out will be desperate to buy tomorrow, we can just dump on them then… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[True, jokes aside, the major players are getting squeezed, but we’re all delighted to see someone else pumping up the price for us!]

[Let’s just see how long this wave can last.]

…

Chapter 379: Just Fucking Do It! If Stock Trading Isn’t Thrilling, Even Making Money Is Pointless!

After the market closed, the news that K3478 was being followed by the “village chief” sparked heated discussions and jokes in the stock trading circle. Fang Hong didn’t check Weibo today, so he was unaware of the matter.

However, despite the broader market being unremarkable today, the market atmosphere was wild, creating a huge sense of divergence. On one hand, the broader market struggled to close in the green. On the other, the forty-seven stocks in K-God’s newly revealed position all hit their limit-up collectively.

K-God’s market influence once again redefined the market’s perception. In the A-share market, his influence in the minds of hundreds of millions of retail investors had reached an unprecedented height, definitely surpassing that of the Chief of the Suicide Squad.

To a certain extent, he had even outdone the Stock God Buffett. It was truly a case of whatever stock he picked, that stock would skyrocket.

Compared to his previous appearances on the Dragon-Tiger List, which involved a single stock surging, this instance was on a completely different level. This time, forty-seven stocks hit their limit-up collectively. The difficulty and the amount of capital required were in a totally different league.

In the minds of the hundreds of millions of investors in the A-share market, K-God had clearly become a legend in a league of his own, even a kind of totem of faith.

…

The next day, Thursday, June 3rd.

In today’s A-share market, the broader market index was volatile during trading hours. It opened slightly higher in the morning before plunging, then fluctuated upwards, only to plunge again in the afternoon.

As for individual stocks, after hitting their limit-up yesterday, K-God’s forty-seven stocks began to diverge today, separating the weak from the strong.

It was unrealistic for all forty-seven stocks to hit a collective limit-up for a second consecutive day. The current market liquidity was limited, and at its core, the game was still driven by short-term speculative sentiment.

If there really were another wave of forty-seven stocks hitting their second consecutive limit-up, the “village chief” would definitely not tolerate it.

But even so, the result still exceeded market expectations, because eleven stocks still managed to hit their second consecutive limit-up today.

Originally, everyone had expected that five or six of the forty-seven stocks would advance to a second limit-up while the rest would diverge, and that the stocks in the second limit-up echelon would be mainly from the military-industrial sector.

Indeed, the military-industrial sector was stronger today. Hongdu Aviation, Zhonghang Precision Machinery, and Chengfei Integration all achieved a second consecutive limit-up. As for the junk stocks in the military-industrial sector that had followed the trend yesterday, they quickly fell back after today’s divergence.

…

Friday, June 4th.

The sentiment surrounding the forty-seven stocks in Fang Hong’s position began to wane. The approaching weekend was one factor. Another was that after three days of euphoria, the retail investors, after getting carried away for two days, had cooled down considerably.

Because if some people made money, others inevitably lost it.

Many people thought that two or three of the forty-seven stocks would hit a third consecutive limit-up today. But as it turned out, of the eleven stocks that had successfully hit their second limit-up yesterday, all of them failed to achieve a third today. Chengfei Integration had a strong and rapid surge to its limit-up in the morning and was thought to be the last survivor, but it took a sharp plunge in late trading.

After the close, Chengfei Integration reversed from its limit-up to end the day down by -3.58%.

Sentiment rose quickly, but it receded even faster.

When Fang Hong saw the performance of his forty-seven stocks today, he was very satisfied with the trend, even though his profit had drawn down by four to five hundred million.

If the euphoria had continued, Fang Hong would have had to sell off his shares to suppress the price himself, without the “village chief” even needing to intervene.

This was because it wasn’t time to start the main run-up yet, especially for monster stocks like Chengfei Integration and Zhonghang Precision Machinery.

K-God’s influence was powerful, but it wasn’t enough. This involved not just one or two stocks, but dozens. It needed the stimulus of bigger positive news, such as a narrative of asset injection and restructuring.

If the rally started now, it wouldn’t achieve a high-level, large-scale market run. Instead, it would prematurely exhaust the expected gains for the second half of the year. This would mean that when major positive news actually came out later, the stock would struggle to climb due to the immense resistance from bagholders. Even if a rally did start, it would be difficult to achieve a larger-scale move.

…

In a certain stock trading group with just over two hundred members, the skilled retail investor “Go with the Flow” was also present. He hadn’t participated in the K-God Concept Stock frenzy these past few days. Today, he had once again bought into Dasheng Shares.

On May 17th, when the broader market index plummeted five points, he had entered this stock with half his position at its limit-down price. At that time, Dasheng Shares was also dragged down to its limit-down, with its price crashing to around 30 yuan.

And today, as Dasheng Shares plunged -6.59% to close at 30.65 yuan, the skilled retail investor “Go with the Flow” once again threw in the other half of his position, going all-in.

With about twenty minutes left until the market close, Go with the Flow took a screenshot of the intraday chart showing his entry point where he had committed his other half-position and posted it in the group. It quickly sparked a heated discussion.

[Damn, 6666…]

[Go with the Flow: Pushed Dasheng Shares to a full position. My fate is in my own hands, not heaven’s. Bought.jpg]

[A full position of over twelve million, all in on one stock? Awesome, awesome!]

[Master Zhuliu, you’re a ruthless one!]

[Assets in the tens of millions. He must be the most badass in this group!]

[My stock accounts combined aren’t even a fraction of what the master has…]

[I followed Master Zhuliu and bought Dasheng Shares when it hit its limit-down a few days ago. It rebounded from 30 yuan to over 35 yuan, a 16-point gain, but I didn’t sell. Now it’s almost back to my cost price. I should have day traded it.]

[Did Master Zhuliu day trade?]

[Go with the Flow: No T. T my ass. Right now, I’m only buying this stock, not selling. The more it drops, the more I buy!]

[Wow? You’re that bullish on Dasheng Shares?]

[@Go with the Flow, tell us guys the truth. Can we make money on this stock?]

[Smirk.]

[Go with the Flow: Get rich. Just wait for it to double and strike it rich… (husky.jpg)]

[For real? It can double? Wouldn’t that be over thirty billion? Master Zhuliu, what’s the logic behind this stock?]

[Go with the Flow: For real. Stop asking for the logic. I’ve said it many times. Don’t ask. If you’re asking, the answer is ‘do it’. And ‘do it’ means ‘go all-in’!]

[Go with the Flow: It’s a rare gem in the A-shares market. Is a valuation of over thirty billion really that high? This is the largest Weibo platform in the Mainland. Besides, the hype when Dasheng Shares resumed trading wasn’t the climax. This stock still needs a collective climax. The resumption was just a warm-up at best.]

[Go with the Flow: Dasheng is one of the few high-certainty opportunities in the A-shares market, a money-making rally. If it dares drop below 30 yuan, I’ll go big with a leveraged position using financing!]

[Let’s go!]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m going to lose all my money!]

[Just fucking do it! If stock trading isn’t thrilling, even making money is pointless!]

[Following the great god Zhuliu with twenty percent of my position. Waiting to eat meat, hehehe…]

…

In the last ten minutes or so before the close, many members in the group followed the car and bought into Dasheng Shares. The more Go with the Flow looked at this stock, the more he liked what he saw. It had the logic, it had the expectations. All it needed was a catalyst to start its run.

Seeing how incredibly bullish Go with the Flow was, many people in the group couldn’t help but follow his lead to some extent. This was especially true for some of the long-time group members who had watched him grow his capital from around eight or nine hundred thousand to over twelve million in the past two years. In fact, his asset explosion had come from making a huge killing on Dasheng Shares right when it resumed trading.

Everyone was quite impressed by his “ruthless” style. On the day Dasheng Shares resumed trading, under those circumstances, he had dared to commit half his position to that single stock right at the opening auction. After the stock plummeted intra-day to a temporary halt, crashing to 25.25 yuan, he even dared to go all-in with his remaining half, hitting a full position on that one stock with ferocious determination!

The result was a huge win. That single-stock play brought him millions in profit in just a few trading days.

To be able to grow from less than one million to over ten million, everyone was both envious and impressed. After all, multiplying your capital by ten is impossible without real skill.

It had to be said that ninety percent of retail investors in the market lose money and are the ones who get fleeced. But there are indeed aces among retail investors. Many of the famous hot money big shots today also started out as small retail investors.

You could say that every retail investor harbors a dream of one day evolving into a new generation of hot money traders.

As time went on, Dasheng Shares saw a rebound rally in the next two trading days. It rose +1.93% on Monday, June 7th, and surged +7.94% on Tuesday, with the price pushing up to 33.73 yuan.

As the saying goes, one big bullish candle can change your whole outlook. This surge attracted many group members to follow the trend and chase the highs.

However, in the following few trading days, Dasheng Shares’ movement became increasingly convoluted. Three days later, the price hit 34.98 yuan before falling back down. It then began to correct downwards again, re-testing the support at the 30 yuan level.

This put those in the group who had chased the high in an awkward position. If they had known, they should have waited. It would have been better to buy on the next pullback to the 30 yuan level.

However, some people in the group were gradually losing confidence. The 30 yuan level for Dasheng Shares indeed had strong support; it had touched the level four times now and failed to break lower. But its movement was getting weaker, and the trading volume was getting lower.

Most importantly, each rebound rally was weaker than the last. The highest point it reached was 44.44 yuan, the next high was 39.79 yuan, the one after that was 36.56 yuan, followed by the recent rebound to 34.98 yuan before falling back again.

While the lows weren’t making new lows, the highs weren’t making new highs either. The trading range was narrowing, and the trading volume was weak, shrinking from over 1.6 billion on the day it resumed trading to just over one hundred million now—a decrease of nearly tenfold.

Basically, none of the people in the group who followed Go with the Flow were making money. They either didn’t sell during a rebound and saw the price fall back, or they chased the highs and were now trapped with a loss of around ten percent. The stock price was just moving sideways at the 30 yuan level.

It wouldn’t go up, but it wouldn’t go down either. This made many of the followers feel tortured, especially those who were trapped with losses of over ten percent.

…

Chapter 380: [Major Positive News, Major Positive News]

The time was late in the month, on the afternoon of Thursday, June 24th.

“Ruihe Pharmaceutical has passed the review committee. If all goes smoothly, it should be able to list on the ChiNext board in August.” Tian Jiayi, having returned from work, brought Fang Hong this piece of news during her daily report.

Compared to the listing process in the US stock market, this wasn’t particularly fast, but for the A-share market, it was already incredibly quick. A whole slew of companies might wait in line for one or two years and still not manage to get listed.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s IPO will issue 122.62 million shares, bringing the total share capital to 531.52 million shares. The issue price is 27.28 yuan per share. The IPO shares will account for 23.07% of the total share capital, giving the company an overall valuation of 14.5 billion yuan. This IPO will raise 3.345 billion yuan, with Xinhong Securities as the lead sponsor and underwriter.

Fang Hong nodded.

Tian Jiayi continued, “Additionally, there’s new progress on the Weibo shell company. The latest adjustments to the constituent stock samples of the CSI 300 Index and the Shenzhen 100 Index show that Dasheng Shares has entered the sample pools for both indices. The news has already been announced, so you should know by now.”

Thanks to the active promotion by several domestic institutional shareholders of the Weibo subsidiary, the shell company, Dasheng Shares, had finally become a constituent stock of the two key indices.

Fang Hong nodded again. “I’ve seen the announcement.”

The various business ventures of Stellaris Capital had been progressing quite smoothly recently. The Weibo shell company, Dasheng Shares, had been included as a constituent stock in two key indices, and Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s application for a ChiNext board IPO had also been approved.

The time it took to list varied depending on the stock and the board, but it generally did not exceed six months, with most listings occurring within two to three months.

…

Meanwhile, in the stock trading group of the skilled retail investor Go with the Flow, the members who had followed his trade had been quiet for the past few days. None of them had made much money, and some were even stubbornly holding on to losses of over ten percent.

Moreover, the stock had closed down again today by -1.40%, with the price settling at 29.89 yuan, having already broken below the 30 yuan mark.

The group had been very quiet for a few days. It was clear that many people had followed the trade, and they had all taken a hit.

But just after the market closed today, at this very moment, the group’s popularity surged once again.

[Major positive news, major positive news! Dasheng Shares has been selected for the CSI 300 Index and Shenzhen 100 Index constituent stock sample pool!]

[Where did you hear that?]

[Is it real?]

[Holy crap, it actually made it into these two indices?]

[The sky has cleared, the rain has stopped. Is our suffering finally over?]

[@Go with the Flow, Dasheng Shares is now a constituent stock of the CSI 300 and Shenzhen 100. What's your take?]

[Go with the Flow: Get rich!]

[Crap, damn it, I’m so pissed! I sold at a loss today, fuck!]

[Buddy, you basically gave up right before dawn!]

[Chased the high at 34.35 and I’m still trapped, but thank god I held on!]

[This has to hit the limit-up tomorrow!]

[Hold on tight, we’re taking off!]

…

At this moment, it wasn’t just the holders in this group who were excited. The stock forum for Dasheng Shares was also buzzing with discussion about its inclusion in the CSI 300 and Shenzhen 100 indices, and the stock’s popularity began to rebound.

On Friday, June 25th, the last trading day of the week arrived as scheduled.

During the call auction, Dasheng Shares gapped up significantly by +5.68% to 31.59 yuan. The atmosphere in Go with the Flow’s trading group was exceptionally lively today, with all sorts of praise for “Master Go with the Flow” flooding the chat.

A few group members who had sold at a loss yesterday got squeezed out and couldn’t stand it anymore, jumping back in during the call auction.

Go with the Flow had been hyping this stock relentlessly, from May until now. He was arguably the first person on the entire internet to promote it. Moreover, he himself had gone all-in with hard cash. Crucially, the successful inclusion in the two major indices yesterday had made even the previously skeptical group members waver again.

This stock might just be heading for a massive rally.

However, as the market opened at 9:30, the intra-day movement of Dasheng Shares caught everyone off guard. The few guys who had chased the high during the call auction were especially dumbfounded.

Because Dasheng Shares took a sharp plunge right at the open, without even a momentary upward surge.

It sold off right from the open!

At the close, Dasheng Shares was down slightly by -0.70%, with the price at 29.68 yuan and a trading volume of 188 million yuan.

After gapping up so much during the morning auction, it ended up closing in the red. The mood in the group was a perfect example of joy turning into sorrow.

[Sold at a loss yesterday, chased the high at the auction today, and now I’m trapped with another six-point loss. Damn it, I got trapped again! What is this crap? I’ve lost 20 percent on this damn stock back and forth these past few days, fuck!]

[Even such major positive news can’t move it. This stock is truly done for.]

[I got out during the morning auction, broke even. I’m done. This stock is too draining. It was all for nothing.]

[See that high of 34.98 yuan? That’s where I went all-in… [crying.jpg]]

[You’re down 15 percent and still not selling? Even this huge positive news couldn’t lift it. It’s hopeless!]

[Not selling! I’ll be stuck at a high price, but I’m holding on stubbornly!]

[Age eighteen. Cause of death: Went all-in.jpg]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, did you sell? If you're out, I'll sell at a loss tomorrow too. If not, I'll keep holding on.]

[I’m out anyway. I don’t think this stock is going anywhere. It already ran up from 6.52 yuan, a huge rally is probably impossible now.]

[Go with the Flow: Sell my ass. If it drops any further, I’m ready to go all-in on margin. Stop asking if I’m selling or if it’s going to rise. I’m not recommending stocks, make your own judgment. I’ve said it countless times, I’m all-in anyway. You guys do as you please!]

[Damn it, I’m not selling! I’ll hold on stubbornly and advance and retreat together with Master Go with the Flow!]

[@Go with the Flow, be careful that going full margin doesn't slash your account in half and send you back to square one... [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Go with the Flow: Just sit back and watch me double my money… [smug.jpg]]

…

On Monday, June 28th, Dasheng Shares closed in the red again, falling slightly by -0.46% to 29.54 yuan per share on a shrinking volume of 90 million yuan.

Another batch of people in Go with the Flow’s group who held Dasheng Shares sold at a loss today.

However, Go with the Flow remained unmoved, steadfastly maintaining his full position. He was now at a small unrealized loss of two percent, but he wasn’t panicking at all. He firmly believed in his judgment, trusted his own analysis, and practiced the unity of knowledge and action.

Notably, after the market closed today, Chengfei Integration released an announcement that it was suspending trading due to a major event.

Rumor had it that a restructuring was coming!

In late trading today, funds had been snapping up this stock, pushing it higher. It rallied from near the zero-axis line to finally close up +4.74% with a strong bullish candlestick. The closing price was the day’s high, and it had also reached a point near its previous high.

Spicy A-shares, who was all-in on this single stock, was thrilled to see the post-market news. Ever since K-God had revealed his hand and the stock hit two consecutive limit-ups, it had started to pull back, and Spicy A-shares’ position had been in a state of unrealized loss for a time.

But seeing this news today, with Chengfei Integration set to resume trading by July 6th at the latest and rumors of restructuring, Spicy A-shares was ecstatic. His admiration for K-God had reached the point of prostrating himself.

No matter what, when trading resumed, it was highly likely to get a one-word limit-up, allowing him to win effortlessly.

…

The next day, Tuesday, June 29th.

The A-share market opened, with the three major indices starting flat. The first hour of trading was very stable and uneventful, even boring.

But after 10:30, the market began to weaken, with the indices drifting lower and lower.

Around 11:00, the decline started to accelerate.

At noon, a bombshell piece of news was released. The Agricultural Bank of China announced that, based on preliminary price inquiries and considering the issuer’s fundamentals, the valuation of comparable companies, and market conditions, it had decided on a price range of 2.52 to 2.68 yuan per share for its initial public offering of A-shares.

The announcement stated that this price range corresponded to a 2009 P/E ratio of 13.57 to 14.43 times, and a projected 2010 P/E ratio of 9.87 to 10.50 times.

If the Agricultural Bank of China priced its IPO at the upper end of the range and fully exercised the over-allotment option for both A-shares and H-shares, the A-share issuance would reach 25.57 billion shares, and the H-share issuance would expand to 29.22 billion shares. The expected funds raised would be 68.5 billion yuan, making it a true “world’s largest IPO,” surpassing the total funds raised by the number one bank in the universe, ICBC.

As soon as the news broke, when the market opened in the afternoon, the three major A-share indices collectively took a sharp plunge.

Evidently, although the final issue price range for the Agricultural Bank of China was slightly lower than market expectations, the prospect of such a large-scale siphoning of liquidity in the current sluggish market had provoked “public outrage.” This caused the market to dive immediately upon the news, with the indices plummeting without a single rebound.

The trading range platform built on the 2500-point support level was broken through in one fell swoop, setting a new low for the year.

Misfortunes never come singly. Bank stocks, which had been bucking the trend for days, also fell, dashing hopes of market stabilization. The scarcity of funds in the market further triggered the successive collapses of high-valuation stocks, dealing a heavy blow to market sentiment.

At 1:49 PM, amid the market’s flash crash, Dasheng Shares was also dragged down. Its latest price hit 26.58 yuan, its price dropped by -10.03%, sealing it at the limit-down!

…

Chapter 381: Everyone’s Numb

In the afternoon, the A-share market was a sea of sorrow. The Shanghai Composite Index had already widened its decline to -3.66 percent, triggering a stampede-like exodus from the market.

And Dasheng Shares hitting its limit-down sent the group chat Go with the Flow was in into an uproar.

This limit-down being slammed shut left a few group members who had chased the high at 34.98 with an immediate unrealized loss of 24 percent. They were completely numb—not from winning big, but from losing big.

The chat was now filled with cries of anguish.

[Are they morons? The market volume has shrunk to this pitiful state, and they still force an IPO. I’m speechless!]

[They’re siphoning off nearly 70 billion in liquidity at once. Yesterday, the entire trading volume for the Shanghai Composite was only 46 billion. They really don’t care about market conditions, do they? I’m done with this crappy A-share market.]

[I’m out, I’m out. I lost twenty points on Dasheng Shares, and I was already down 30 points before this. My portfolio’s been slashed in half this year. It hurts so much. I’ll quit this trash A-share market for good once I break even.]

[Master Go with the Flow’s ride has blown a tire and collapsed!]

[I told you all this stock had weakened long ago. I told you to get out a few days ago. If you didn’t, you have no one to blame but yourselves. Wrong is wrong, and history has proven my judgment correct. What future user growth expectations, what netizen growth expectations, what number one Weibo platform…]

[@Cloud Walker, I've had it with you. How can there be such a boring person in this group? Everyone's already miserable from taking a loss, and you're here showing off or kicking us while we're down? What's with the snide remarks? If you talk so big and are so badass, you take charge of this group today.]

[If you want the group members to call you awesome, then lead everyone to make a profit and eat meat.]

[Cloud Walker: Eat meat in this market? You’ve got to be kidding. Staying in cash is a win.]

[@Go with the Flow, give it to me straight, man. Can we actually make money on this Dasheng stock?]

[Cloud Walker: Don’t worry, bro. You’ll definitely lose. If it was a winner, would they have told you about it? [Funny Face emoji]]

[Just shut up! No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk!]

[Cloud Walker: Uhh… I was just joking. Was that really necessary? No need, no need…]

[Someone’s prying open the board on Dasheng Shares! It’s broken the limit-down!]

[Sold. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get out today, but I didn’t expect the limit to break. I’m taking the loss and getting out.]

[Someone just threw over twenty million yuan at the limit-down price to break it.]

[Ugh… and it’s sealed at limit-down again!]

[Glad I got out!]

…

While a few group members were bickering in the chat, at around 2:00 PM, Go with the Flow, who had been silent all this time, suddenly dropped two screenshots into the group. One was a screenshot of his buy order for Dasheng Shares on the minute chart, and the other was a screenshot of his holdings.

[Go with the Flow: Went all-in on full margin at the limit-down. Maxed out 2x leverage with 24 million and went for it!]

[Holy shit?]

[????]

[???]

[6666666666666…]

[So badass! Master Go with the Flow, you’re truly a ruthless person!]

[Holy crap, Master Go with the Flow was the one who broke the limit-down? I’m floored. How can anyone be so aggressive?]

[Putting everything else aside, I truly prostrate myself in admiration of Master Go with the Flow’s courage. I have to ask, how many people would dare to do that!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, you bought my blood-soaked shares.]

[Go with the Flow: Then correct your mistake and buy them back. Just wait to get rich!]

[@Go with the Flow, No, no way. I really can't handle this volatility. I'm not cut out to make this kind of money. I'll just watch you get rich, Master.]

[Go with the Flow: Alright then, I guess I’ll have to tearfully accept your bloody shares and get rich.]

[I did a few reverse day trades and lost a whopping 30 points. I’m playing dead now!]

[Go with the Flow: Those who can hold on will surely see huge profits. The dawn is not far away. This stock is set for a major rally in the second half of the year. I’ll put it out there plainly, no ambiguity. I am bullish. There will absolutely be a fiery primary rally. Those who sell at a loss at this point are just waiting to slap their thighs in regret later.]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, it looks like your attempt to break the limit-down failed.]

[Go with the Flow: It doesn’t matter. Today’s limit-down was a mistake caused by the broader market sentiment. But that’s actually a good thing. It flushed out the despairing sellers. With shares this cheap, it’d be an insult to my passion for it if I didn’t go full position on full margin and slam into it. Just do it!]

…

Go with the Flow hyped this stock like crazy in the group. He could even be said to be the first person on the entire internet to hype this stock, and he hyped it the most ferociously. His actions were just as ferocious, going all-in on a single stock with a full position and 2x leverage on full margin.

However, almost no one in the group was following him now. At most, there were a few people who were trapped from before, now playing dead.

Although they didn’t say anything, many in the group were secretly waiting to see Go with the Flow fail. The person who had been making snide remarks in the group earlier was even secretly hoping for him to get a margin call.

It was worth noting that after Go with the Flow went all-in with 2x leverage on full margin, his average cost basis had reached the 28.52 yuan range, and he held a full position of around 12,200 lots.

By the market close, Dasheng Shares was down 10.03 percent at its limit-down, closing at 26.58 yuan. The total trading volume for the day surged to 325 million yuan, with a total market capitalization of 14 billion yuan.

As for the indexes, all three major stock indices plummeted today. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged -4.27 percent to close at 2427.05 points, another new low for the year. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged -5.03 percent to close at 9508.91 points, breaking below the ten thousand-point mark and also hitting a new low for the year. The ChiNext board Index plunged -7.54 percent to close at 913.31 points, falling below its initial base value of one thousand points to yet another new low.

The total trading volume for both markets was 135.5 billion yuan.

At around 4:30 PM, today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Dasheng Shares was conspicuously on the board. The top buyer’s seat showed a net purchase of over 24 million yuan, accounting for about 60 percent of the funds on the buy-side of the list.

When the group members saw this, they all knew that the top buyer’s seat belonged to Go with the Flow, as the amount matched perfectly.

…

In the following few trading days, the A-share market continued its downward trend. On Wednesday and Thursday, the broader market fell by -1.18 percent and -1.02 percent respectively, with the index closing at 2373.79 points, losing the 2400-point mark. During the same period, Dasheng Shares followed its limit-down with further declines of -1.05 percent and -1.52 percent. Trading volume in both markets continued to shrink.

Even many of the 47 stocks that Fang Hong was known to hold hit new lows, with a number of them in a state of unrealized loss.

Investors felt that the A-share market was beyond saving and had to be completely reset.

On Friday, the market index opened flat and weakened throughout the morning. It then accelerated its dive after the afternoon session opened. At around 1:40 PM, the index panic sold down to 2319.74 points, with the decline widening to the -2.26 percent level. The 2300-point mark was also in jeopardy.

However, after bottoming out at 2319.74 points at 1:40 PM, the market initiated a strong, deep V-shaped rebound, rallying shakily higher through late trading to close up.

Others didn’t know, but Fang Hong knew that 2319.74 points was the bottom for the next year. However, his personal account was already all-in, and Stellaris Capital’s position had also been mostly filled to the expected 150 billion yuan by yesterday. Starting from May 17th, it had taken a long 30-odd trading days to complete the entry of the main funds.

After the close, the Shanghai Composite Index chart showed a “golden needle hitting the bottom” pattern. It turned around to close up +0.38 percent at 2382.90 points.

What was most interesting was the intra-day movement of Dasheng Shares today. The stock’s biggest intra-day loss was -2.51 percent, with its lowest price of the day at 25.25 yuan. In the afternoon, it rebounded along with the broader market index and also managed to close in the green, ending up +0.58 percent at 26.05 yuan per share. The trading volume shrank to 110 million yuan, with a total market capitalization of 13.78 billion yuan.

The interesting thing about this stock was its intra-day low of 25.25 yuan, which was exactly the same as the lowest price it hit on the day it resumed trading.

Not long after the market closed, Go with the Flow started chatting and hyping it up in the group.

[Go with the Flow: It’s confirmed, the 25.25 price level is the bottom. The main force must have OCD. We have a matching bottom. It can’t go any lower. If you haven’t bought yet, buy now!]

[Master, stop hyping this stock. It’s hitting new lows every day. I don’t dare to buy!]

[Glad I didn’t buy!]

[It’s dropped from 44.44 to 25.25, a 43-point drop. It’s basically been slashed in half.]

[I’m stuck at a high of 34.98, trapped with a 25-point loss. Still playing dead and not moving. Even three limit-ups won’t get me back to breakeven. I’m not asking for much, just let me break even by the second half of the year.]

[I don’t wanna play anymore, give me back my money.jpg]

[Go with the Flow: Sigh~ This is the target I’ve had the most confidence in in my ten years of trading. You could say it’s the stock I’m most sure about. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be hyping it this hard. You don’t want these shares at a rock-bottom price; you’d rather wait until a short squeeze to panic-buy. I’m even tempted to add another level of leverage.]

[Master, you might really be wrong this time.]

[Either way, I’m not touching a stock that keeps hitting new lows. Don’t fight the trend!]

[Master Go with the Flow, you’re not trying to sell at a loss and have the group members take over your mess, are you… (Funny Face emoji)]

[With Dasheng Shares’ current trading volume, if Master Go with the Flow wanted to exit his 36 million plus position, wouldn’t he slam it down to another limit-down… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Go with the Flow: I’ll give them to you when you all come chasing the highs. You want my shares now? In your dreams… [Panda Head emoji]]

[Too scary, too scary, too scary!]

…

Chapter 382: Secretly Promoting Someone Isn’t the Goal, It’s a Means

The way Dasheng Shares was performing—the more it was hyped, the lousier it got—meant that fewer and fewer people in the group chat believed him. Go with the Flow was well aware of this. He also knew that several people in the group were waiting to see him eat humble pie and fail spectacularly with Dasheng Shares.

[Flow, no offense, just curious. I don’t get why you’re hyping this stock so hard. You’ve been at it for over two months. Are you afraid your groupmates won’t make money? You’re so enthusiastic that it’s scary. You’re hyping it so hard, no one dares to jump in… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Go with the Flow: Should I hype your stock instead of my own? If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can you expect others to? People who hype a stock without buying it themselves are the ones with ulterior motives. I’ve already said I’m all-in; the rest of you can do as you please. Only those who are prescient and buy early deserve to make huge profits. Those who are slow on the uptake can only watch from the sidelines.]

[Go with the Flow: I know some people in this group are waiting to see me get proven wrong, eat humble pie, take a huge loss, and even see my full margin position get liquidated and send me back to square one. But I don’t care. Dasheng Shares will definitely make me rich. My aggressive hyping now is also a slap in the face to those waiting to laugh at me. That’s right, I won’t wait for it to take off before I come back to rub it in. That’s too low-class.]

[Go with the Flow: The point is to lay it all out here before it even starts moving. Everyone in this group has a chance to get rich, including those who want to see me fail. Then, when they don’t buy, and they see me make a killing later, they’ll be slapping their thighs in regret, wondering why they didn’t follow. They’ll shed tears of remorse and won’t even be able to say a single word against me.]

[Holy shit, that’s savage, Master! What a brilliant move. A big shot indeed.]

[[Scared emoji]]

[[Funny Face emoji]]

[You truly are a master who understands stocks. You play the expectations. Pump it first, then cash out when the positive news drops. Master Flow even manages to slap faces in advance, based on future expectations. Hahaha!]

[Brilliant!]

[Top-tier understanding!]

[I just want to beat you all to death, or be beaten to death by you all.jpg]

[As expected from someone who has mastered the art of going all-in. You leave yourself no way out.]

[Go with the Flow: With no way out, the only way is forward. Don’t worry, I’m guaranteed to win. Of course, I won’t mock those people when the time comes, because I’ve already done my mocking now. Later will just be the fulfillment of that taunting expectation.]

[Hahaha!!]

[Go with the Flow: That’s the first reason. The second is that I genuinely hope everyone in the group can make money and eat meat together, so we can all chat and have fun. The purpose of playing stocks is to make money; everything else is nonsense.]

[Go with the Flow: The third reason is, if you won’t get on board even after I’ve hyped the stock to this extent before it takes off, then don’t come asking me later: “Hey Flow, can Dasheng Shares still go up? Can I still chase it?” Don’t ask. I won’t answer again! Judge for yourself, make your own decisions, and be responsible for your own profits and losses.]

[So true, haha!]

[Master Flow, be careful someone doesn’t leak the group chat logs.]

[Go with the Flow: I don’t care. Share them, post them wherever you want. If I were worried about that, I wouldn’t have said all this in the group.]

[Master, you’re on a leveraged position. Aren’t you afraid the major players will see your hand and target you for a margin call?]

[Go with the Flow: The major players aren’t that stupid. Where is the liquidation line for my margin account? Would they dare to push the price down that far? If they do, I’ll sell my house and car and go all-in!]

[Master is so dominant!]

[Dammit, Master Flow, I admit you’ve convinced me! You’re so damn confident, it’s left me stunned! Holy shit! Say no more, I’m going all-in on Dasheng Shares tomorrow. If you dare to bet your entire fortune, why should I be scared with my couple hundred thousand? If it hits the limit-down, you’ll lose over three million, while I’ll only lose thirty thousand. My loss would be a win compared to yours. I’m doing it!]

[Go with the Flow: Then you’re going to get rich!]

[I’m following too!]

[After Master Flow has been hyping it for over two months, even saying he was bullish since it resumed trading, it would be wrong not to follow. I’m putting in a 20% position tomorrow. Dammit!]

[Get rich!]

…

There were over two hundred people in the group, and the most active ones were all clamoring to follow Master Flow into Dasheng Shares. Some of them had genuinely decided to take the plunge, while others were just hyping it up for fun. The latter were the majority.

Soon after, someone in the group quietly took screenshots of the chat logs and posted them online, forwarding them to other trading groups or leaking them on stock forums.

When other investors saw it… wow!

Who was this Go with the Flow? So confident, to the point of being arrogant!

His statements in the group were sharp and overly self-assured. Moreover, he had backed it up with hard cash, going all-in on margin with a position of over thirty-six million. His conclusions were never ambiguous. This attracted a lot of onlookers, and the chat logs were quickly forwarded by investors all over.

Overnight, Go with the Flow became famous in the investment circle.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“Interesting…” Fang Hong was sitting in the living room, gossiping. He was, in fact, reading about Go with the Flow. While browsing the news today, he had unexpectedly seen comments about a major investor who had gone all-in on margin with over thirty-six million in Dasheng Shares, being extremely bullish.

Dasheng Shares was the backdoor listing target for his own Weibo subsidiary. This piqued Fang Hong’s curiosity, so he took a specific look and ended up catching up on all the gossip.

So this was what had been happening in the investment circle lately. Go with the Flow had become famous because of the leaked group chat logs.

“There really are some aces in the market,” Fang Hong said to himself with a smile. He had also read the contents of the leaked chat records and found that this Go with the Flow guy had truly bet on the right horse.

Moreover, judging from the leaked records, there was no way this person could be shaken off, nor could he be washed out in a shakeout.

The institutional shareholders who were supposed to act as market makers for the Weibo subsidiary wouldn’t waste their time trying to deal with his thirty-odd million. For these major institutional players, they had already accumulated enough shares.

A position of over thirty million wasn’t that much, really. It was trivial, and there was no need to force a shakeout if he wouldn’t budge.

Just then, Tian Jiayi returned from the company and came into the living room. Sitting down next to Fang Hong, she said, “The major institutional partners for the Weibo subsidiary gave us a heads-up today. They didn’t say it explicitly, but they implied they’re ready to get the market moving. They want Quantum Beat to cooperate by releasing some positive news to create synergy with the market.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded. “Alright, I’ll talk to Xu Jingren later.”

Not only had this suddenly famous Go with the Flow bet on the right horse, but his timing was also perfect. A thought suddenly struck Fang Hong. If he were the one managing the market capitalization for the Weibo subsidiary and launching this rally, this person could actually be used.

He had just become famous in the circle, and his leaked chat logs were quite arrogant and confident. They could just ride the momentum and “promote” him. Instead of suppressing or targeting him, they could launch the rally directly and let him become famous overnight.

In doing so, the words he had spoken and the content of those chat logs would, in a sense, become a market expectation.

Capital in the market would trade based on his expectations, creating a resonance. This would give the market a unified force, allowing the market itself to push the stock price up, which would save even more worry, effort, and cost.

If his target price for exiting happened to align with theirs, no problem. If he cashed out his profits and exited early before the rally reached its goal, they could simply continue to push the price up. This would be called exceeding expectations, further strengthening the market.

Making Go with the Flow famous wasn’t the goal; it was a means to save on market capitalization management costs. It was just that Go with the Flow happened to be in the right place at the right time, and as a result, he would reap enormous benefits and ride the wave of profits.

However, Fang Hong thought about it and decided against it. He didn’t plan to communicate this impromptu idea to his major capital partners. He maintained a principle of non-interference and non-intervention regarding the Weibo subsidiary’s stock price in the secondary market.

He had only asked the institutions to handle the market capitalization management. As for how they did it, that was up to them.

Even the request for market capitalization management wasn’t made directly by Fang Hong; he had given it through hints, essentially maxing out his risk control awareness.

The institutions naturally understood. In principle, if they didn’t do it, Fang Hong couldn’t do anything to them, as there was no specific binding agreement. It was a kind of gentleman’s agreement.

But they would definitely do it. If they didn’t, they could forget about getting a piece of Stellaris Capital’s future pies. For instance, those institutions were salivating over the Stellar Universe Technology stake that Stellaris Capital held. Profit was the best motivator.

But as if on the same wavelength, the trading team at Zhongtai Capital had the exact same idea. They planned to use the opportune fame of Go with the Flow.

This would also focus the market’s attention and the gazes of retail investors on him, while the capital institutions actually running the show could remain hidden behind the scenes, unnoticed.

…

Chapter 383: The Major Players Are Lurking Right Beside Me!

Once Zhongtai Capital’s trading team had this idea, they immediately began to flesh it out. They sent a few people to scour the internet, trying to find the group “Go with the Flow” belonged to so they could infiltrate it with sock puppet accounts.

The objective was simple: by joining the group, they could get Go with the Flow’s analysis firsthand. Moreover, once inside, they could act as fellow group members and guide him through chat conversations, then manipulate the market trends to match his predictions.

Since they planned to make him famous for their own needs, as long as it stayed within an acceptable framework, they would let him write the script, and major players like Zhongtai Capital would be responsible for acting it out.

As for whether Go with the Flow would develop delusions of grandeur or get a big head because of this, Zhongtai Capital couldn’t care less. From start to finish, they would never let him know that a capital firm was secretly giving him a push from behind the scenes.

Capital arrives quietly, achieves its goals, and departs just as quietly, without leaving a trace.

Only a very small number of people would ever know the truth.

Around 10 AM on Saturday, Zhongtai Capital’s sock puppets successfully located the discussion group Go with the Flow was in and joined as fellow investors. They even used three or four different accounts, adding extra ones out of fear that a single account might be overlooked and denied entry.

At this very moment, Go with the Flow himself had no idea that he was about to get a secret boost from a major capital firm.

The two hundred-odd retail investors in this group would probably never dream that something so outrageous was happening right under their noses. Man! You might not believe this, but the major players are lurking right beside me!

…

Over the weekend, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

In the afternoon, Tian Jiayi was in the villa’s gym. Fang Hong was there too, and the two were working out together.

She took a short break, grabbed a bottle of water, and took a sip before looking at Fang Hong with a smile. “I heard some interesting news today. In the last two days, an investor with the online alias ‘Go with the Flow’ has unexpectedly gone viral in the A-share investor community. And his fame is related to Dasheng Shares, the target for our Weibo subsidiary’s reverse merger. He went all-in on margin on Dasheng Shares and is incredibly bullish about it.”

At this point, Tian Jiayi added, “When I first saw this, my immediate reaction was that it had to be a relative of one of our partner institutions who got an inside tip, or maybe someone from our own company violated regulations.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t say anything; he’d already known about Go with the Flow since Friday.

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and said, “But after thinking it over, I dismissed that guess. If someone really had inside information, they should be making a fortune in silence. Being so high-profile would be foolish. Even if the relatives of our staff or partner institutions were foolish, their contacts shouldn’t be. They would have repeatedly warned them to make their money quietly.”

Fang Hong, who was lifting dumbbells, said concisely, “That’s right.”

Just then, Tian Jiayi looked at him with a knowing smile. “What’s interesting is that I learned today that Zhongtai Capital’s trading team plans to make use of this person.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong stopped and looked at his beautiful assistant with curiosity and interest. “How so?”

Tian Jiayi quickly gave him a summary of the situation—how Zhongtai Capital planned to use “Go with the Flow” by giving him a push to achieve their own market capitalization management objectives.

Evidently, the major partner institutions shared information with Stellaris Capital. At the very least, they had informed Stellaris of what they intended to do.

Finally, Fang Hong couldn’t help but laugh. “Ha, they thought of the same thing I did. But I didn’t expect them to actually go and lurk in his group. That’s interesting.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but comment, “This retail investor really hit the jackpot. I guess this is what they mean when they say fortune comes knocking and you can’t even stop it.”

Fang Hong casually took the half-empty bottle of mineral water from her hand, took a drink, and tossed it aside. He said unhurriedly, “If the wealth he possesses is on a scale that exceeds his current ability to handle it, that fortune could just as easily become a curse. Good fortune can hide a lurking disaster, and disaster can harbor good fortune.”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong glanced at Tian Jiayi and added, “He has no idea that a capital firm is secretly pushing him from behind the scenes. Let’s assume his own ability would only have allowed him to double his money on Dasheng Shares, but with capital’s help, he managed to triple it. Could he mistakenly attribute the hidden assistance from capital to his own skill, thereby overestimating his actual ability and making flawed strategic decisions in the future? What if that flawed strategy turns out to be fatal, leaving him unable to recover and completely crushed? It’s all possible.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but nod. “That makes sense.”

However, the beautiful assistant immediately looked at Fang Hong with a bright smile and asked, “The stocks you had me buy caused my net worth to skyrocket into the tens of millions, and soon it’ll be over a hundred million… What’s the number you think I can handle?”

Fang Hong replied calmly, “It doesn’t matter. I can handle you.”

Tian Jiayi instantly shot him a glare. The way he said “handle” clearly had indecent, suggestive undertones.

The beautiful assistant then curiously retorted, “What about you? I’m quite curious. What’s the number you think you can control?”

Upon hearing that, Fang Hong said with a smile, “When I, Fang Hong, manage wealth, of course the more billions the better.”

Tian Jiayi pouted slightly but said nothing. For now, there was really no way to argue with the guy.

Fang Hong suddenly said, “Right, have someone get me one of those sock puppet accounts lurking in Go with the Flow’s group. I want it by tomorrow.”

Hearing this, his beautiful assistant had no idea what he wanted to do, but she nodded in reply. “I’ll ask Zhongtai Capital for one later. What do you want it for?”

She couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

Fang Hong replied without a second thought, “To watch the show, of course.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

After a moment of speechlessness, the beautiful assistant shook her head. “You’re really something else.”

Fang Hong stretched and said nonchalantly, “It’s been two weeks since I graduated from university. Everything at the company is progressing steadily. There’s not much for me to do.”

Tian Jiayi suddenly said with a mischievous grin, “Well, you could do me.”

Man! Fang Hong froze on the spot, turning his head to meet her gaze. His beautiful assistant was looking at him with a wide smile, not saying another word. After a moment, Fang Hong said concisely, “Then let’s do it. No time like the present.”

…

Monday, July 5th.

Today, the A-share market opened with the three major stock indices gapping down at the call auction. After the market opened, they fluctuated underwater.

At this moment, Fang Hong was logged into a QQ account. It was a sock puppet account that Tian Jiayi had gotten from Zhongtai Capital, one of the accounts lurking in “Go with the Flow’s” discussion group. Fang Hong was also lurking in the group, purely to watch the drama unfold.

The two hundred-plus retail investors in this group would never have dreamed that not only were major players secretly lurking and observing them, but damn it, even K-God himself had shown up.

It was beyond ridiculous!

It was a good thing they didn’t know. If they found out, they’d have bragging rights for a lifetime.

Today, Dasheng Shares opened high at 27.15 yuan during the call auction, up +4.20%. Within five minutes of the market opening, the stock’s intraday line shot up to over eight percent. The activity level in the group rose just as sharply as the stock price.

At this moment, the heated discussion about the stock was also soaring.

[Holy shit, what’s up with Dasheng? Doesn’t it usually follow the market index? The market is so lousy today, why is this stock so strong?]

[Looks like it’s heading for the limit-up, doesn’t it?]

[Unity of knowledge and action! Like I said the day before yesterday, even if I take a loss, I’m following Master Go with the Flow!]

[Jumped in right at the opening bell. Nice!]

[Went all-in at the call auction. You guys do you!]

[Ten years a wage slave, still just a pawn; one all-in bet and you live like a king!]

[Guys, seriously, don’t buy. I’m afraid you’ll make money.]

[So painful. I hesitated on Friday.]

…

Just as the group members were getting excited, Dasheng Shares surged to around eight percent, hovered there for two minutes, and then promptly plummeted. Around 9:45 AM, the stock price hit a low of 25.94 yuan, turning negative after having been up by more than 8%.

The people in the group who had jumped in today had been cheering just moments ago. Now, with this complete reversal, none of them were calm.

[???]

[Major Players: Commencing sell-off.jpg]

[Damn you, Dasheng! You have balls! Trapped your grandpa at the top again! This is the third time, counting the last two.]

[Major players, you’re ruthless! Fuck——!]

[Another batch trapped…]

[Bro, lend me some money to go all-in. If I win, I’ll pay you back double. If I lose… we’ll just be friends.jpg]

[Age at death: 18. Cause of death: Went all-in.jpg]

[Same old saying: don’t be a coward, just do it! Go all-in with one’s entire position! All-in! All-in! All-in!]

[@Go with the Flow, Dasheng is in danger! Save us!]

[Emotional trading is really a bad idea. I got carried away. Selling at a loss tomorrow!]

…

Chapter 384: Dawn is Near; Look Up and See Only the Rising Sun

Fang Hong, who was lurking in the group chat and enjoying the show, had only one word to describe his feelings as he read the messages: fun!

Two words: pure entertainment!

This was the kind of daily drama A-share investors loved to see.

Just then, “Go with the Flow,” who had been tagged by several group members, surfaced.

[Go with the Flow: I’m honestly done with you people. Always making a fuss. All smiles when it’s up, cursing a blue streak when it’s down. Your mood swings are more volatile than the intraday line. Not many retail investors dare to touch this stock right now. I’ve hyped it up so much, yet few in this group have gotten in. From this small sample, you can get a sense of the bigger picture. Do you really think today’s intraday movement was caused by retail investors? It’s obviously the result of big money testing the waters!]

[Go with the Flow: Besides, the fact that the opening auction exceeded expectations today was a sign of strength in itself. In the first five minutes of trading, the broader market opened low and trended lower, while Dasheng opened high and trended higher. It used to follow the broader market, but today it suddenly didn’t. That already shows it’s trying to decouple.]

[So, what happens if it decouples from the broader market?]

[Go with the Flow: Do you even have to ask? The volume has picked up quite a bit today. It could take off at any moment. No, I believe Dasheng Shares will definitely make its move this week. Just you watch!]

[Go with the Flow: I’m done talking. I’m going to continue buying the dips. Going to add a bit more leverage and increase my position by a few million.]

…

About five minutes later, Dasheng Shares consolidated in a narrow range near the zero-axis line for five or six minutes. Go with the Flow quickly took a screenshot and posted it in the group: [Practicing what I preach. Bought over four million in batches. Total position is now at forty million.]

[Awesome, awesome! Master Flow is a real beast!]

[As they say, fortune favors the bold. Go for it—!]

[Tell me the truth, bro. Can this stock actually make money?]

[Go with the Flow: Don’t worry, bro. It’s a guaranteed profit. A surefire win. I’ve already called the market makers. In two minutes, they’re going to ignite the rally and seal the limit-up… ([Husky emoji])]

Something ridiculous was about to happen, and it would leave even Go with the Flow stunned for a good while.

…

Meanwhile, in the trading room of Zhongtai Capital’s trading team, a large screen was prominently displaying the chat window of the group Go with the Flow was in.

Seeing Go with the Flow’s joking remark, the head of the trading team turned to two traders and said, “See the script? Make it happen!”

A trader asked, “Should we attack the limit-up price directly?”

The team head replied, “Not so fast. We need to let the volume build a little more. We’ll shoot for the limit in late trading. For now, let’s push it up seven percent.”

…

A few seconds later, the intraday line for Dasheng Shares, which had been consolidating narrowly near the zero-axis line, suddenly shot up rapidly, accompanied by a surge in volume. Single transactions of 800,000, one million, three million, 2.2 million, 2.9 million… A total volume of thirteen million was quickly released, and the intraday line rocketed to the +7.26% level.

Group members quickly started posting screenshots and messages.

[Holy shit, is it really rallying?]

[Master Flow is incredible! Wait, you didn’t actually call the market makers, did you?]

[Go with the Flow: Just experience… ([Smile emoji])]

[Ah, this…]

[Fuck, fuck, fuck! I didn’t dare to buy when it was underwater, and now I don’t dare to chase it!]

[Go with the Flow: Five minutes ago, I said I was buying the dip and adding four million to my position. I even posted a screenshot in the group. Those who bought are making huge profits.]

[Master, you’re a badass!]

[@Master Flow, tell me the truth, bro. Are you in bed with the market makers... (smirking face)]

[That’s too awesome! The price shot up as soon as you said it!]

[Is it possible that Master Flow is one of the market makers… ([Shiba Inu emoji])]

[Honestly, Flow has gone in with forty million. He must be a major player!]

[I’m in too! If we’re going down, we’re going down together!]

[Go with the Flow: It’s pretty much certain that 25.94 was today’s low.]

[Nice! Thanks, @Master Flow! I got in near the zero-axis line. Already up seven percent.]

[Go with the Flow: Let me clarify one thing. I hype up stocks, that’s true, but I’m not recommending that any of you buy this. I’m just sharing my own trades and opinions in the group. If you act on this information, you’re responsible for your own profits and losses.]

…

As time went on, after its initial surge, Dasheng Shares began to consolidate in the 6% to 7% range.

Some people in the group still wanted to buy, but they were hesitant at the current price, hoping for a pullback before entering. Yet, Dasheng Shares simply refused to fall.

It was an agonizing wait!

After the market opened in the afternoon, Dasheng Shares continued to trade sideways above the intraday average price line, which was up by more than six percent.

Some in the group couldn’t wait any longer and chased the high, while others gave up when they saw it wouldn’t drop, preferring to miss out on the rally rather than chase it.

Time ticked by. Around 2:22 PM, the head of Zhongtai Capital’s trading team looked at the market data for Dasheng Shares and decisively issued a trading order: “Ignite it! To the limit-up board!”

Around 2:23 PM, a large order of 3,000 lots appeared on the buy side for Dasheng Shares, placed directly at the limit-up price. The intraday line shot straight for the limit.

Just as it touched the limit-up price of 28.66 yuan, it instantly dropped back by about one percent. At the same time, the trader from another institution also issued an order: “Post a 10,000-lot lead order to seal the limit-up board!”

The market capitalization management team for Dasheng Shares, the target for Weibo subsidiary’s backdoor listing, consisted of more than just Zhongtai Capital; several institutions were involved. They had already coordinated over dinner the previous weekend.

Was this against the rules?

It was hard to say.

In this market, there were far too many players who played a much wilder game. By comparison, they were considered quite well-behaved.

But one thing was certain and undeniable: the advantages of big money were on full display. Whether in terms of information, capital, or other aspects, small retail investors simply couldn’t compare. Their disadvantages in this market were obvious. Snatching a piece of meat from a wolf’s mouth was truly difficult, and the risks were considerable.

At that moment, as the large order of 10,000 lots, worth over twenty-eight million, forcefully took the lead in sealing the limit, the price of Dasheng Shares once again charged towards 28.66 yuan, rising +10.00% to seal the limit-up board tightly.

Around 2:25 PM, a news flash popped up on all the major market tracking software:

[Dasheng Shares hit its limit-up board in afternoon trading, with a current turnover of 457 million yuan.]

As the stock hit its limit-up, the group Go with the Flow was in became even more lively. Many people who rarely spoke were baited out.

[It’s hit the board! Holy shit!]

[I didn’t get in! I was waiting for it to pull back to the average price line. Fuck!]

[It actually hit the limit!]

[Go with the Flow: Awesome. Over 800,000 lots in limit orders on the board, representing over 2.3 billion yuan in capital. It’s guaranteed to open at the limit-up price tomorrow. I’m sorry to say, but anyone who didn’t get on board today has missed their chance. The rally has begun!]

[No way! It’s going to open at the limit-up?]

[Holy fuck, did I sell too early?]

[I haven’t gotten on board yet! Market makers, break the limit-up board! Let me get on! I want on!]

[Every cloud has a silver lining! I even held on through the limit-down on June 29th. Time to eat meat!]

[I’ve been stuck at the high of 34.98 until now. I still need two more limit-ups just to get close to my cost basis. Am I really going to break even this quickly?]

[Go with the Flow: You’re in the stock market just to break even?]

[You’re in the stock market just to break even? (Copied by group member)]

[You’re in the stock market just to break even? (Copied by group member)]

[You’re in the stock market just to break even? (Copied by group member)]

…

After 3:00 PM, the A-share market closed as scheduled. The broader market index closed with a Doji bullish candle, but it was a bearish K-line disguised as a bullish candle, closing down -0.80% at 2363.95 points.

As for individual stocks, Dasheng Shares remained sealed at its limit-up for the rest of the day. It closed at 28.66 yuan, up +10.00%, with a trading volume of 494 million yuan—a limit-up on massive volume. Its total market capitalization was 15.161 billion yuan.

Around 4:40 PM, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, and Dasheng Shares was on it.

The Dragon-Tiger List showed a total buy-in of 78 million yuan. The top buyer’s seat alone accounted for over 33 million yuan. The top three buyer seats all displayed “For institutional use only.” The fourth buyer was a hot money trader known for chasing the first limit-up board. He wasn’t very famous, but the data showed he bought in for 7.8 million yuan.

The fifth buyer’s seat was none other than the securities branch office where Go with the Flow had his account, showing a purchase of around 4.3 million yuan.

After the Dragon-Tiger List data came out, Go with the Flow took a look and quickly screenshotted it, posting it in the group:

[Go with the Flow: What an all-star cast. We’re safe!]

[Badass!]

[The institutions are buying like crazy at the bottom. It really is going to open at the limit-up tomorrow!]

[Go with the Flow: Congratulations to everyone who got on board today. Dawn is near; look up and see only the rising sun!]

[Master, you’re a poet! That ‘sun’ is a clever pun!]

[I gave up right before dawn. Fuck!]

[Time to eat meat!]

[Hahaha, no way! Am I dreaming? I went all-in during the opening auction. Am I about to get rich?]

[Fuck, fuck, fuck! I shouldn’t have day traded. I sold it and missed the fucking gains. I was planning to buy it back in late trading, but who knew it would shoot straight for the limit? And even then, it didn’t give me a chance to chase the board, sealing it with 800,000 lots!]

[So painful. I sold at a loss of over ten percent at 26 yuan. I don’t want to talk about it.]

[Look up and see only the rising sun. Master Flow is awesome!]

[Go with the Flow: My account finally turned positive. I’m now at a floating profit of 1 percent. Most of the people in the group who got in today should have a lower cost basis than me, right?]

[My cost basis is 25.95, floating profit +10.44%.]

[My cost basis is 25.58, floating profit +12.04%.]

[My cost basis is 27.11, floating profit +5.71%.]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, how high do you think this rally will go? What's the target price?]

[Go with the Flow: It’s definitely going to break its all-time high. As for how much higher it can go, we’ll have to take it one day at a time!]

[Break its all-time high? You mean it’s going to go above 44.44 yuan? Doesn’t that mean at least five more limit-ups?]

[Missing out on this rally feels awful. Watching you guys make money is more painful than losing money myself!]

[Fucking market makers and their late-trading sneak attack.]

…

Chapter 385: A Feast for Holders, A Lament for Those Who Missed Out

“One strong rally can change the whole outlook.” These words were vividly demonstrated in the group after Dasheng Shares hit its first limit-up board.

The group members were now all praising Go with the Flow, instantly turning into his die-hard fans. All it took was a single limit-up board.

Go with the Flow had been hyping this stock up for a long time. He started buying into it in mid-May, and at that time, many in the group believed him.

But Dasheng Shares’ subsequent weakening trend caused the group members to lose faith one after another. Only Go with the Flow continued to hype the stock as always, insisting that a main uptrend wave was inevitable.

However, everyone kept taking losses, and fewer and fewer people believed him.

But when today’s limit-up board appeared, the eight hundred thousand lots of limit orders made the first board incredibly strong. The post-market Dragon-Tiger List lineup was also exceptionally impressive, and everyone truly believed it would open at its limit-up price tomorrow.

At this point, the group members gradually came to believe that Dasheng Shares was truly heading for a main uptrend wave.

But only now did they realize that the last chance to get on board was before the limit-up was sealed. After that, the car doors were welded shut—not even a bacterium could get in. There were no more chances to get on board; they could only watch its entire journey with a sigh.

The group members who were on board were now overjoyed, feeling refreshed and delighted. As the saying goes, a happy occasion lifts the spirits.

Meanwhile, those who hadn’t gotten on board were definitely feeling terrible. They were too ashamed to @Go with the Flow and ask if they could still get in or chase the rise now. After all, he had been hyping it in the group for over two months and had said long ago not to ask him these questions after the rally started if they didn’t buy in before.

At this moment, someone in the group started calling out the person who had been bearish earlier. He hadn’t left the group, so a member directly @’d him.

[@Cloud Walker, Dasheng Shares is about to take off. Looks like you're about to eat your words... [Funny Face emoji]]

[Hahaha, you’re so mean. We all know it, why’d you have to say it out loud? Don’t hit a man in the face, and you’re doing it right in front of him. That’s too much, man, too much!]

[He’s playing dead, haha!]

[Cloud Walker: Even though I ate my words, I’m very happy… [Husky emoji]]

[Uh…]

[Bro, you have strange tastes. Are you a masochist?]

[Cloud Walker: I went half-position on Dasheng Shares at 25.35. To be precise, 5.4 tenths of my position. I couldn’t be happier to eat my words… [Panda Head emoji]]

[???]

[???]

[???]

[Impossible, I don’t believe you. You’re just being stubborn.]

[Cloud Walker: Why would I lie to you? Fine, I’ll take a screenshot… Here. Bought 12,000 shares, average cost 25.35. I’m up 13 points today, with a profit of 39,600 yuan.]

[Damn—!]

[Damn—!]

[Damn—!]

[Go with the Flow: @Cloud Walker, I'll give you a solo '6'.]

[Cloud Walker: @Go with the Flow, Let's get rich, get rich, get rich!]

[Damn it, that was such a plot twist it damn near threw my back out. What a sneaky bastard! You were badmouthing it on one hand and then secretly went half-position on the other. You fooled all of us!]

[Cloud Walker: Not at all. I was really bearish at first. But after Master Go with the Flow hyped it for months until my ears grew calluses, I thought it over. I realized he had a point, admitted he was better than me, and corrected my mistake in time by buying in.]

[Go with the Flow: @Cloud Walker, you deserve to make this money.]

[An affirmation from Master Go with the Flow… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[I’m begging you guys, please stop making money. Damn, just make enough to get by and then quit. You’re taking all the money from the market.]

[Damn, you guys all got on board? I’m an idiot… [Panda on Fire emoji]]

…

Around eight o’clock that evening, some major positive news was released.

Quantum Beat officially released an announcement disclosing that its subsidiary, Weibo, had surpassed two hundred million registered users. Nearly seventy million new posts were being generated daily, with 32% of users logging in and using Weibo via mobile terminals, a share that was seeing significant growth.

According to the announcement, some provinces had nearly twenty million netizens, and over 70% of them used Quantum Beat’s Weibo platform to browse information and interact with other users.

Clearly, Quantum Beat’s decision to release the announcement at this time was because Fang Hong had coordinated with Xu Jingren to support the market capitalization management operations on the capital markets side.

As expected, after this announcement was released, the popularity of Dasheng Shares—the target for Weibo’s backdoor listing—climbed rapidly that night. It had already accumulated significant buzz from hitting its limit-up today.

…

The next day, Tuesday, July 6, the A-share market opened.

Dasheng Shares opened at 31.53 yuan during the call auction, hitting the limit-up price right from the start, marking its second consecutive limit-up day.

Looking back now, the limit-down that Dasheng Shares suffered on June 29, when it was dragged down by the news of the Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO, was a classic golden opportunity. Its drop below 30 yuan over the past few trading days was a typical bear trap—the final dip before the takeoff.

After the market opened at 9:30, a massive 2.5 billion yuan in capital orders completely sealed Dasheng Shares’ limit-up board.

Not long after the market opened, Go with the Flow surfaced in the group with a message: [With 2.5 billion yuan in limit orders, the car doors are welded shut. Not even a bacterium can get in. Let’s count the boards and get rich!]

The group members quickly jumped in to discuss it, with the holders being the most excited.

[The car doors are welded shut. Not even a bacterium can get in. Let’s count the boards and get rich!]

[The car doors are welded shut. Not even a bacterium can get in. Let’s count the boards and get rich!]

[The car doors are welded shut. Not even a bacterium can get in. Let’s count the boards and get rich!]

[We caught the main uptrend wave following Master Go with the Flow this time. Consecutive limit-ups mean huge profits. This feels amazing!]

[Master Go with the Flow is awesome (voice cracking)——!]

[Break the board for me! I haven’t gotten in yet, damn it!]

[What were you doing earlier… [Onlooking Smile emoji]]

[To be honest, if you failed to get on board with Dasheng Shares and make a profit, there’s nothing to say. It’s 100% your own fault. Master Go with the Flow basically spoon-fed you, and if you still couldn’t eat, what can I say? You deserve to not make money.]

[Stop scolding me, stop scolding me! Just break the board and let me in, I’ll do anything!]

[That’s me you’re talking about. I actually managed to lose 20 points on this stock. Died just before dawn, sigh…]

[Go with the Flow: Quantum Beat released major positive news. How many limit-up boards are two hundred million registered users worth? [Curious emoji]]

[K-God’s leading stock strategy mantra: The first board sets the trend, the second confirms the leader, the third becomes a monster. If there’s a third, there’s a fifth. So, at least five boards. Wait, five boards isn’t even enough to break the previous double top high of 44.44.]

[Be bolder! A 100% gain, ten consecutive one-word limit-ups!]

[If it really hits ten boards, I’ll wake up laughing from my dreams!]

[Ten boards is too exaggerated, but doubling in price during this main uptrend wave shouldn’t be a problem.]

[My heart aches. The opportunity was right in front of me, and I watched it slip away. Is this fate?]

[The institutions are disgusting. They don’t even give us a chance to chase the rise, just seal it shut. When the board finally breaks, they’ll just be offloading their shares and trapping people. Will they even be able to sell everything?]

[If you didn’t buy in advance, you can only watch it go. I’m so envious of the bros on board. They’re getting rich with Master Go with the Flow.]

[Honestly, Master Go with the Flow’s prediction this time was god-tier!]

[Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen someone like Master Go with the Flow who was bullish more than two months in advance and wasn’t the least bit ambiguous about it—just crystal clear.]

[It makes sense that he’s been able to amass assets in the tens of millions.]

[The A-share market is about to see the rise of another top hot-money player. I’m going to hype Master Go with the Flow to the moon!]

…

Some rejoiced while others grieved. This phrase was the most accurate description of the group right now.

It was a feast for the holders and a lament for those who had missed out.

This was especially true for the people in this group. Missing out on this stock filled them with immense regret, because the opportunity had been right in front of them for over two months. Yet, they failed to seize it. This feeling was a mix of regret and anger, and the more violently Dasheng Shares rose, the worse they felt.

It was worth mentioning that another person was extremely excited today: that buddy, Spicy A-shares.

Today, July 6, was the day Chengfei Integration resumed trading. Currently, the stock ranking first in popularity across both markets was none other than Chengfei Integration. Dasheng Shares was not at the top of the popularity list but in second place.

Chengfei Integration also opened with a one-word limit-up upon resuming trading today. This target stock also had bombshell positive news. Thanks to an asset restructuring announced during its trading suspension, Chengfei Integration had invested in a top domestic lithium battery research institution, Zhonghang Lithium Battery Company.

In the A-share market, an asset restructuring is practically equivalent to the stock price doubling.

This was the era of “with lithium, you can conquer the world.” The country was also actively encouraging a multi-pronged approach to developing the new energy vehicle industry. That’s right, the state had already been vigorously promoting new energy around 2010, and had even started planning for it much earlier.

Without this foresight and strong support, how could it have been possible, ten years later, for the latecomer to surpass the old-timer and dominate the new energy industry of the Japanese?

Chengfei Integration was perfectly positioned to ride this wave. As new energy vehicles became a national strategic emerging industry, inside sources revealed that the state had set new medium-term development goals for the auto industry. The plan was to use two “five-year” periods to bring the overall level of domestic automotive technology, including both traditional and new energy vehicle technologies, up to advanced international standards.

However, it was noteworthy that although Chengfei Integration hit a one-word limit-up today, it did not seem to be favored by institutional investors. Of course, that didn’t stop the company from opening with a one-word limit-up upon resuming trading.

Spicy A-shares had previously gone all-in on Chengfei Integration and was now ecstatic, filled with extreme admiration for K-God.

…

Chapter 386: Holy Shit, This Guy’s an Expert!

In today’s market performance, the broader market also saw a long positive candle. The Shanghai Composite Index closed with a significant gain of +1.92% at 2409.42 points, reclaiming the 2400-point mark.

Over the next three trading days that concluded the week, the market continued its upward rebound. On Wednesday, the broader market rose again by +0.49%. Thursday saw a pullback of -0.25%, and on Friday, it closed with another long positive candle, soaring +2.31%. The index ended the week at 2470.92 points.

As for individual stocks, the last three days showcased a “battle of the two titans,” with Dasheng Shares and Chengfei Integration vying for the position of market leader.

On Wednesday, Dasheng Shares hit a one-word limit-up, closing at 34.68 yuan per share, a +9.99% increase, successfully hitting its third consecutive limit-up. Chengfei Integration gapped up to its limit-up, closing at 13.90 yuan per share, a +9.97% increase, hitting its second consecutive limit-up.

On Thursday, Dasheng Shares hit a one-word limit-up, closing at 38.15 yuan per share, a +10.01% increase, successfully hitting its fourth consecutive limit-up. Chengfei Integration gapped up to its limit-up, closing at 15.29 yuan per share, a +10.00% increase, successfully hitting its third consecutive limit-up.

On Friday, Dasheng Shares hit a one-word limit-up, closing at 41.97 yuan per share, a +10.01% increase, successfully hitting its fifth consecutive limit-up. Chengfei Integration gapped up to its limit-up, closing at 16.82 yuan per share, a +10.01% increase, successfully hitting its fourth consecutive limit-up.

These two stocks became the brightest stars in the market this week, their explosive rallies driven by a shared core logic: asset restructuring.

Dasheng Shares achieved five consecutive limit-ups in five days this week, accumulating a gain of over +61%. This included four consecutive limit-ups on shrinking volume. On each of these days, the trading volume did not exceed 20 million yuan. All shareholders were reluctant to sell their shares, and there was virtually no selling pressure on the market. Even on its fifth limit-up day, the stock was sealed tight with no sign of breaking the limit-up board, indicating a high probability it would continue to open at its limit-up price next week.

Chengfei Integration achieved four limit-ups in five days this week, for a cumulative gain of over +46%. It was four instead of five because trading was suspended on Monday. On Friday, it reached its limit-up on shrinking volume, suggesting that sellers were few and further limit-ups were expected.

Besides the common logic of asset restructuring, there were also differences between the two stocks.

Dasheng Shares was a typical institution-backed stock. It appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List twice this week due to its consecutive one-word limit-ups, and the data showed that it was exclusively institutions driving the price up, with no one else involved.

Chengfei Integration, on the other hand, did not attract the favor of institutional investors. Its four consecutive limit-ups this week were driven by hot money and armies of retail investors having a field day. It rose through a series of limit-ups with high turnover. On Wednesday, the turnover rate was 21%; on Thursday, it reached a staggering 41%; and on Friday, it was 22%.

Compared to Dasheng Shares, which hogged all the profit by sealing its doors shut with one-word limit-ups and giving no chance for those who missed out to get on board, Chengfei Integration offered an opportunity to buy in every day. Anyone who dared to jump in could get a piece of the action.

Precisely because Dasheng Shares was hogging the profits, many investors were more optimistic that Chengfei Integration would emerge victorious in this competition. After all, a stock that opens at its limit-up price often plummets the moment it breaks the board, trapping anyone who buys in. Very few would dare to take over. In contrast, Chengfei Integration’s rally, built on high-turnover relay limit-ups, was considered relatively safer. Plus, K-God provided a confidence boost for this stock.

Therefore, everyone was more optimistic that Chengfei Integration could defeat Dasheng Shares and emerge victorious in this “clash of titans” to become the overall sentiment leader of the market.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa, in the study on the second floor.

“All the data on the Agricultural Bank of China’s A-share listing is out. The total funds frozen for online and offline subscriptions amounted to 480 billion yuan, far below the market’s expectation of over a trillion. The online subscription success rate is about 9.29%, the second highest since the ‘new-old separation’ reform in the A-share market in June 2006.”

Having returned home, the beautiful assistant was now reporting the relevant data on the Agricultural Bank to Fang Hong. As an institutional investor, Stellaris Capital had participated in the company’s IPO, and its subscription amount was by no means small.

Tian Jiayi added, “Its extremely high subscription success rate reflects the market’s widespread concern that the Agricultural Bank will drop below its IPO price.”

Fang Hong said, “The listing of the Agricultural Bank is the result of support from all sides. Institutional investors have also shown their political awareness. The bank reined in its own gluttonous appetite, and the market has reluctantly given its approval. It won’t drop below its issue price at launch; it should hold up for at least a month or two.”

The Agricultural Bank of China was scheduled to list on Thursday, July 15. The broader market happened to be bottoming out at that moment, and the index had actually started a decent rebound rally.

At this point, Fang Hong added, “Stellaris Capital will also help stabilize things in the secondary market. Let’s prop up the price around its 2.68 yuan issue price. We subscribed for 4.5 billion yuan; let’s budget another 4.5 billion for supporting the market.”

As an institutional investor, Stellaris Capital had earned quite a lot from the A-share market. When it was time to contribute, they couldn’t be insensible. They had to demonstrate the awareness expected of an institutional investor. Only with such awareness could one thrive. Spending a few billion to prop up the market—to call it small change would be a bit arrogant for Stellaris Capital, but it was a medium matter at best. In any case, it wasn’t a big deal.

Those without such awareness would not only fail to thrive but might even get disciplined.

This money used to prop up the market wouldn’t just evaporate. After all, they were buying shares in the bank, holding assets. At most, it meant 9 billion yuan of liquidity would be locked up here with relatively low returns; investing that sum in other equity assets would yield more.

But the asset price wouldn’t plummet either. Bank stocks aren’t that volatile. If they held the stock until the major bull market of 2015 before selling, they could still expect an average annualized return of 20%, which wasn’t low for such a large amount of capital.

With the Agricultural Bank of China’s debut on the A-share market on July 15, all of the country’s major commercial banks were now publicly listed.

However, as someone who had been reborn and possessed the advantage of foresight, Fang Hong knew that the authorities would approve a refinancing plan totaling 287 billion yuan for the ‘Big Four’ banks—ICBC, CCB, BOC, and BoCom—later this year. The funds would be used to replenish their capital to meet the requirements of massive credit expansion and capital adequacy ratios.

Two years ago, Ping An of China’s proposed 120 billion yuan financing plan had triggered a market crash. But Ping An’s plan back then was dwarfed by the ‘Big Four’ banks’ plan this year.

After the strong rebound in the second half of this year, the A-share market would begin a long and arduous bear market. This refinancing plan was clearly one of the significant factors driving the A-shares into that decline. Fear and turmoil in the capital markets were inevitable.

But Fang Hong had already made up his mind. Stellaris Capital would have to demonstrate its awareness then as well. After all, the money was earned from the A-share market, so it could be treated as money earned in the A-share market being spent in the A-share market. Even after spending this portion, the remainder would still be the lion’s share.

Only with the right awareness could one make more money in the A-share market.

For this 287 billion yuan refinancing plan, Fang Hong decided that Stellaris Capital would subscribe to 30 billion yuan of it. We, Stellaris, will take on over a tenth of the entire refinancing plan.

What does it mean to show an institutional investor’s awareness? This was awareness—max-level awareness.

…

As the weekend arrived, Dasheng Shares had completed a run of five consecutive limit-ups. Its stock price was nearing its all-time high, with a breakout imminent, and market attention was soaring rapidly.

Over the weekend, as numerous investors were browsing financial news on their trading apps, they came across a headline: Nearly 70 institutions flocked to Quantum Beat for research.

This news was very exciting for shareholders of Dasheng Shares. Moreover, the stock had appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List twice recently, and the data showed that it was exclusively institutional trading seats pushing the stock to its limit-up.

The news about institutions flocking to Quantum Beat for research wasn’t false; a large number of them had indeed visited.

After all, many of the well-known internet companies in the Mainland had gone public overseas. Quantum Beat’s subsidiary, Weibo, a leading company in its industry segment, was pursuing a backdoor listing on the A-share market, making it arguably the first truly famous internet enterprise on the A-share market.

Many investors had complained that all the good internet companies went public overseas, preventing Mainland investors from enjoying the capital dividends of the internet industry’s growth. Now, one had finally come to the A-share market.

Another factor that couldn’t be ignored in this institutional flocking was that Dasheng Shares, which would be renamed Weibo in the future, had already been included in the constituent stock pools of the CSI 300 Index and the Shenzhen 100 Index.

Without a doubt, the constituent stocks of these two major indices were key targets for institutions. Many ETF fund managers and public fund managers, both on and off the exchange, had already added Dasheng Shares to their allocation lists.

Over the weekend, almost all the news related to this stock was positive.

And the surge of consecutive limit-ups from Dasheng Shares also caused “Go with the Flow,” an A-share retail investor, to rise to fame within the stock trading circle.

If, before Dasheng Shares’ first limit-up, his popularity was due to the playful mockery his sharp and confident comments attracted, then after the stock hit five consecutive limit-ups, investors exclaimed in awe: Holy shit, this guy’s an expert!

…

Chapter 387: Gaining Great Renown

Dasheng Shares’ five consecutive limit-ups in five days last week made the already popular Go with the Flow even more famous. Over the weekend, many investors were discussing him.

People’s reactions shifted from amusement to astonishment, making them sit up and take notice.

After all, he was the first person on the entire internet to tout Dasheng Shares before its five-consecutive-limit-up rally. Not only was he the most aggressive promoter, but he was also the most aggressive trader, going all-in with a full position and full margin, leveraging his account up to 40 million.

Before the rally started, he was met with considerable ridicule and teasing, becoming a source of amusement for everyone.

But now, he was without a doubt the retail investor who had made the most money. With Dasheng Shares soaring through five consecutive limit-ups, his account’s floating profit reached over 19 million. Going all-in with a full position on full margin had brought him a +158% return on investment in just five days.

This profit was truly the envy of many. A lot of people were kicking themselves for not following his trade before the rally began. Those in his group who had missed out, watching the opportunity to get rich slip through their fingers, were filled with regret, feeling like they could punch themselves.

As his fame continued to grow over the weekend, his various analyses of Dasheng Shares—or rather, Weibo—began to spread by word of mouth among investors.

Things like Dasheng Shares’ scarcity in the A-share market would trigger a buying frenzy, the expected growth rate of domestic netizens, the anticipated future user growth for Weibo, the “strong get stronger” principle in the internet industry…

People started passing around these so-called logical analyses.

When Go with the Flow’s analyses and views were first spreading, few paid attention. No one believed him, especially when the stock was falling.

But now that it had hit five consecutive limit-ups and was highly likely to hit a new all-time high when the market opened on Monday, more and more people were starting to believe his logical analyses.

It perfectly illustrated the principle: if you can make a big profit, whatever you say is right.

…

Monday, July 12th.

The first trading day of the week arrived as scheduled. Around 9:00 AM, with about ten minutes to go before the A-share market’s call auction, Fang Hong once again logged into his alt account and lurked in Go with the Flow’s group chat to take a look.

At this moment, the two hundred-plus members of the group were chatting heatedly. Over the past week, the activity in this group had far surpassed what it was before July, and the enthusiasm remained high even during the weekend.

After all, thirty to forty people in the group had followed Go with the Flow into Dasheng Shares. Last week’s five consecutive limit-ups meant these followers had all made a huge profit, and they were the most active members in the group.

By now, Go with the Flow was the undisputed number one big shot in the group. Those who had clung to his coattails and profited handsomely from Dasheng Shares were ecstatic. Those who had missed out were determined to follow the Master on his next pick.

[The casino’s about to open, logging in.jpg]

[@Go with the Flow, Master Flow, over the weekend I saw a lot of people on the stock forums hyping up Chengfei Integration. Seems like everyone is more bullish on Chengfei Integration beating Dasheng Shares to become the overall leader. What are your thoughts, Master?]

[Yeah, they’re all saying Dasheng is an institutional stock where they hog all the profit. The moment it breaks the limit-up board, it’s a trap. It can’t have a major rally. A limit-up with high turnover like Chengfei Integration has the makings of an overall leader.]

[Whatever, my cost basis for Dasheng Shares is just over 26 yuan. I’m just holding. If Master Flow doesn’t sell, I’m not selling either. With a profit cushion of several limit-ups, I won’t even panic if it hits the limit-down.]

[Go with the Flow: It’s right to be bearish on Dasheng. If everyone is bullish on Chengfei Integration, then it’s definitely not the real leader.]

[Master’s insight is on another level.]

[Go with the Flow: What’s Chengfei Integration’s story? Restructuring? Dasheng’s response is, sorry, I have that too, and my story is more compelling. Does Chengfei have the scarcity that Dasheng has? Not at all! Dasheng is currently a one-of-a-kind stock in the A-share market. It’s the only awesome domestic internet company on the A-shares; the others are all on the US stock market or H-shares. All in all, Dasheng’s story has much more room for imagination.]

[Makes sense!]

[But Chengfei Integration is also a stock K-God is bullish on. We’ve all seen how terrifying K-God’s influence is.]

[Speaking of which, I don’t really get why K-God isn’t getting into Dasheng Shares.]

[Where did you hear he wasn’t?]

[His Weibo! He said a long time ago, before Dasheng even resumed trading, that he wouldn’t participate in this stock.]

[Go with the Flow: I wouldn’t dare to be bearish on a stock that K-God favors. It’s not that Chengfei Integration is bad, but that Dasheng Shares is better at this particular time. In any other period, Chengfei might not have any rivals and would be the undisputed leader. But unfortunately, it’s competing on the same stage as Dasheng, so it’s bound to be overshadowed. At best, it can only be the runner-up leader. Just watch and see if you don’t believe me.]

[So, Chengfei Integration was just born at the wrong time?]

[Go with the Flow: If I were the main force behind Chengfei Integration, I’d choose to temporarily avoid Dasheng’s momentum. I’d consolidate for a while, and once Dasheng’s show is over, Chengfei can take the stage. Wouldn’t it be great to be a ‘second-generation monster stock’ inheriting Dasheng’s legacy? Once Dasheng’s rally is done, the funds coming out of it can pile into Chengfei. By then, Dasheng won’t be able to steal its thunder. Without a rival, wouldn’t the sky be the limit?]

[Got it, going all-in on Chengfei Integration at the open!]

[Hey, that makes sense! I missed out on Dasheng, so I’ll get into Chengfei!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master Flow, are you going to get into Chengfei Integration?]

[Go with the Flow: Right now, I’m not looking at any other target. Unity of knowledge and action. I’m only looking at Dasheng, only trading Dasheng. In K-God’s words, have a broader perspective!]

[Only look at Dasheng, only trade Dasheng, broader perspective!]

[Only look at Dasheng, only trade Dasheng, broader perspective!]

[Only look at Dasheng, only trade Dasheng, broader perspective!]

…

“This dude is really something else…” Lurking in the group under his alt account, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. After watching for a while, he closed the chat window. Although the A-share market was full of chumps, there was no denying that it was also brimming with talented individuals and skilled traders.

After all, with a base of over one hundred million investors, even a tiny probability multiplied by such a massive number would still yield a significant figure.

As time ticked by, the results of the A-share market’s call auction were released.

The three major stock indices were mixed, while on the individual stock front, the two most popular stocks were Chengfei Integration and Dasheng Shares. The former currently ranked first in popularity, with Dasheng Shares close behind.

It wasn’t surprising that Chengfei Integration topped the popularity charts, as it was a battleground for hot money and retail investors, with few institutional players involved.

Dasheng Shares, on the other hand, had its doors welded shut by institutions. Forget retail investors, even hot money couldn’t get in, unless they had潜伏intervened and ambushed it before the first limit-up board, like Go with the Flow had.

As for the call auction performance of these two stocks today, Chengfei Integration opened at 17.86 yuan, a high open of +6.18%, while Dasheng Shares once again opened at its limit-up price with shrinking volume, marking its sixth consecutive limit-up in six days—five of which were limit-ups from the open.

Just a minute after the call auction ended, various trading apps pushed out notifications:

【Dasheng Shares opens at limit-up. The stock has hit six consecutive limit-up boards in six days, with a cumulative gain of over +77%, reaching a price of 46.17 yuan and a new all-time high. Its current market capitalization is 24.423 billion yuan.】

Immediately after, another notification popped up:

【[Announcement] Dasheng Shares: Abnormal Stock Trading Volatility Announcement. The cumulative deviation value of Dasheng Culture Media Co., Ltd.’s closing price has exceeded 20% over two consecutive trading days. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s “Trading Rules,” this constitutes abnormal stock trading volatility. The company’s stock will be suspended from trading for one hour starting from the market open on the morning of July 12, 2010, and will resume trading at 10:30 AM.】

Dasheng Shares’ sixth limit-up board triggered its second abnormal volatility halt. The first one was triggered last Thursday on a limit-up open.

However, judging from the last temporary halt, it had no effect whatsoever. After the one-hour intra-day suspension, the stock remained firmly sealed at its limit-up price upon resuming trade, without breaking the board at all.

At 10:30 AM, Dasheng Shares’ temporary halt ended. After trading resumed, its price was frozen at 46.17 yuan, not moving an inch, still firmly sealed at its limit-up price.

While Dasheng Shares was temporarily halted for abnormal volatility, its neighbor Chengfei Integration, after opening high, continued to trend higher in the first ten minutes of trading. Its price touched 18.50 yuan, sealing its limit-up and marking its fifth consecutive board. Although the limit-up board broke later, it did not plummet. Moreover, it successfully hit the limit-up again right as Dasheng Shares’ halt ended.

On the daily K-line, Chengfei Integration formed a large bullish marubozu candle.

As the two most recognizable high-flying stocks in the market, Dasheng Shares had achieved six consecutive limit-ups, while Chengfei Integration, not to be outdone, had also achieved five. The drama of these two titans vying for the status of overall leader remained a close contest. For now, it was impossible to tell who would advance, and it was still unknown who would emerge victorious.

…

Chapter 388: Limit-Up All the Way, Don’t Stop!

By the market’s close, the broader market index had finished up +0.80%, closing at 2490.72 points. It had briefly touched the 2500-point mark intra-day, but unfortunately, it surged higher then fell back. The 2500-point level, which had been a platform support level in June, had now become a resistance level.

The next day, Tuesday, July 13th.

The market showed no intention of breaking through the 2500-point mark. At the open, the broader market index gapped down by -0.88%. After opening, it opened low and trended lower, with its intra-day decline once widening to two percentage points.

Fang Hong had little to do recently and was enjoying a leisurely and comfortable life. Stellaris Capital was running smoothly in all aspects. His daily routine consisted of listening to his beautiful assistant’s work reports and managing his personal securities account in the secondary market. He wasn’t even doing any ultra-short-term trading; he had allocated his tens of billions in funds across forty-seven stocks and hadn’t touched them since.

He had also successfully graduated from university about a month ago. Now, whenever he had free time, he would engage in “deep discussions” with the girls at home, and he would also lurk in Go with the Flow’s group to spectate. Life was quite pleasant.

Although his net worth had long placed him among the ranks of the super-rich, and his money was just a string of numbers, what was the use? He couldn’t spend it all in this lifetime, or even in several lifetimes.

As the big boss behind Stellaris Capital, he had a team of elites handling their respective duties and leaders managing the various subsidiaries. He didn’t need to show up to meet clients or boast at forums.

K-God’s life was just that simple and unadorned.

The entire third quarter was expected to be quite relaxed, with no major events.

At this moment, Fang Hong, with nothing better to do, was once again lurking in Go with the Flow’s group, observing secretly from a god-like perspective. Just after logging into his alt account and opening the group chat window, he saw that Go with the Flow had just sent a message.

[Go with the Flow: The index is undergoing a deep correction today, but Dasheng Shares is ignoring it and has opened at its limit-up again. This is its seventh board. Next door, Chengfei Integration opened high but is experiencing a stagnant price on high volume. It’s almost impossible for it to hit the board again today. We can confirm its attempt at a sixth board has failed, and its streak is broken. Dasheng Shares’ promotion to Overall leader is pretty much confirmed today!]

[Awesome!]

[Dasheng is the Overall leader, limit-up all the way, don’t stop!]

[Another boring day. Logged in, opened my account, and sure enough, no pleasant surprises. It hit the limit-up again… (yawn.jpg)]

[Damn, he successfully flexed!]

[A friend of mine was about to buy a heavy position in Dasheng when it dropped to around 26 yuan. I was shocked when I found out and convinced him to sell immediately. Thankfully, he listened to me and got out with a few points of profit on the first limit-up board. Otherwise… he would have gotten rich!]

[That’s freaking hilarious hahaha!]

[Friend: Come here, I want to show you something big!]

[Friend: We’re through! I disown you!]

[Please, you guys, stop making money! You’ve earned enough to live on. You’re taking all the money from the market!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, how many more boards do you think this stock has? Should we sell when it breaks the limit-up or keep holding with a long-term view?]

[Go with the Flow: I don’t predict, I only follow. Take it one day at a time. If an intra-day sell signal I recognize appears, I’ll sell. If not, I’ll hold!]

[Long-term view!]

[No wonder his name is Go with the Flow… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Just hold, and you’re golden!]

[Don’t predict the peak, the sky is the limit!]

[I was stuck at 34.98, and I thought it would take at least half a year to break even. I never imagined that not only would I break even, but I’d go from a floating loss of 27 points to a floating profit of 45 points. It’s like a dream.]

[My cost price is 25.39, and I’ve exactly doubled my money today. I’ve caught the first stock that doubled in my life, and I went in with a half position! Thanks, Master Go with the Flow! I’m making a killing on this huge-profit play, haha!]

[My cost is 28 yuan, and I’m up 80 points. It’s a shame I only bought a thirty percent position, but I’m still very satisfied!]

[Masters, please stop flexing! Think about how we group members who missed out feel… [Facepalm emoji]]

[I can’t pretend anymore, I’ll just say it… I’m so jealous I’m crying wuwuwu.jpg]

[Missing out on this rally really hurts!]

[Dammit, I can’t take it anymore! I missed out big time. I’m going all-in on Chengfei Integration!]

…

The chat group was exceptionally active. The dozens of group members who had invested in Dasheng Shares were happily posting screenshots of their positions and returns. Every single person holding the stock was seeing huge profits.

Even the guy with the highest cost basis among them, who was stuck at 34.98 yuan, was up 45 points. Other members were up sixty, seventy, eighty percent, and some had even doubled their money.

Although Go with the Flow’s average cost price wasn’t the lowest in the group, his absolute profit and rate of return were the highest. Not only was his capital the largest, but he was also the only one who had used more than two times leverage.

Currently, his account’s floating profit had reached 31.66 million yuan, a return of +263.83%, more than a 2.6-fold increase.

…

At the market open on Wednesday, July 14th, the market, after a day of correction, began to rebound. Both markets opened high and trended higher in the morning. The Shanghai Composite Index’s gains once widened to 1.79%, reaching a high of 2494 points. However, the pressure at the 2500-point mark above was already immense. It subsequently surged higher then fell back, ultimately closing with a +0.82% gain.

The funds were clearly hesitant to push higher. Besides the platform resistance level at 2500 points, there was another factor that couldn’t be ignored: the behemoth Agricultural Bank of China was set to list on the A-share market tomorrow, Thursday.

It was inevitable that the market would fear the siphoning of liquidity caused by this giant’s IPO.

In terms of individual stocks, Dasheng Shares was the undisputed victor. Today, Dasheng Shares was already absurdly strong, opening at 55.87 yuan in the call auction, another one-word limit-up. This was the stock’s seventh consecutive one-word limit-up and its eighth consecutive board in eight days.

Since its first limit-up board, its cumulative gain had reached +114.47%. Since it started rising from the 25.25 yuan price level, it had surged by a cumulative +121.26%.

With half an hour left until the market closed, Go with the Flow surfaced in the discussion group and sent a message.

[Go with the Flow: Dasheng Shares has overcome several important hurdles today. First, it’s very difficult for a high-flyer to advance to its eighth board, but Dasheng did it effortlessly with a one-word limit-up. Second, Chengfei Integration was sent to the penalty box, so it’s no longer a threat.]

[Go with the Flow: If even Chengfei Integration isn’t a match, the other junk stocks are not even worth mentioning. Dasheng has no rivals now; all that’s left is for it to surpass itself. Although it achieved this by hitting seven consecutive one-word limit-ups and eating “alone,” which would normally make it difficult for a stock like this to become a leader, this very fact demonstrates its uniqueness. Because today, a positive sign appeared. Do you guys know what it is?]

[What is it?]

[I don’t know. I just close my eyes and copy the homework.]

[Huh? Master, why did you forward this Weibo post from K-God?]

[Go with the Flow: Everyone, take a look. K-God, as the grandmaster of the leading stock strategy, believes that the greatest truths are the simplest. He summarized a leader’s four basic attributes: Altitude, Influence, Capacity, and Proactiveness. Not only did Dasheng Shares completely crush Chengfei Integration, but there was also an encouraging phenomenon today: other stocks in its sector finally started to move!]

[Go with the Flow: Dasheng Shares now possesses three of the four attributes: Altitude, Proactiveness, and Influence. Altitude: a streak of eight boards, the highest-performing stock in the entire market. Proactiveness: it was the first to hit its limit-up and started its run before the broader market, with its first board on July 5th. Influence: its junior partners have started to follow. Today, three junior partners followed it to their limit-ups, and the entire media sector has been lifted.]

[Go with the Flow: Dasheng Shares now has only one last mystery to solve: Capacity! A true leading stock must be able to accommodate the inflow and outflow of large funds. Its daily trading volume must absolutely be in the ten-digit range, easily hitting one to two billion yuan or more. It hasn’t broken the limit-up board yet, so we can’t tell, but its leader-like quality is already undeniable. Right now, it has altitude, it has proactiveness, and it has the influence to carry its sector!]

[Master, this analysis is solid!]

[Keep hitting the limit-up, don’t stop!]

[In short, it all boils down to one word: Get rich!]

[Get rich!]

[Get rich!]

…

Chapter 389: Making Money is Simpler Than Drinking Water

The time was Thursday, July 15.

Today, the A-share market welcomed a colossal beast: the Agricultural Bank of China was officially listed.

The market trend today was no surprise to most people. The three major stock indexes of both Shanghai and Shenzhen markets opened lower. What was surprising was that after the open, the market dove for a few minutes before rebounding. Around 10:20 AM, the broader market had climbed from a one percent loss all the way to a gain of over 0.6 percent.

However, it subsequently fell back after the surge, and the dive accelerated in the afternoon.

The most popular stock on both markets today was, remarkably, Dasheng Shares. The stock opened at 61.46 yuan, unbelievably hitting the limit-up right at the open yet again, leaving investors utterly dumbfounded.

One had to crane their neck at a ninety-degree angle just to see the heights Dasheng Shares had reached.

Since its first limit-up, its cumulative gains had reached +135.93%. Since its initial rise from 25.25 yuan, the cumulative gain was +143.40%. Nine consecutive limit-ups in nine days, eight of which were straight one-line limit-ups. Its total market value also broke a new historical high of over 32.5 billion yuan.

Go with the Flow had already made a huge name for himself in the A-share trading circle, all because he was the first person online to hype this stock like crazy before it took off.

At this moment, the chat group Go with the Flow was in was buzzing with discussion.

[This is too badass. Damn, it’s the first time I’ve been scared by a stock’s rise!]

[Nine consecutive positive days, the Nine Yang Divine Art is perfected!]

[It really is clear skies ahead wherever you look!]

[Every morning at 9:30, I get online, take a look, and yup, another limit-up. Time to clock off for the day!]

[I’m making a killing! Dasheng is awesome! Master Go with the Flow is awesome!]

[I’m a bit surprised the broader market only fell this little.]

[It’s down 1.87% and you call that little? I’m talking about the index, bro!]

[No, I know. What I mean is, with a behemoth like the Agricultural Bank of China listing today… just think back to when China State Construction went public last year. The market got slaughtered by five points, and at one point intra-day it was down more than 7.6 points. It was a bloodbath. The Agricultural Bank IPO is a much bigger liquidity syphon than Construction was. I thought the index was heading for a five-percent drop today, but it’s not even down two points.]

[Who cares? I’m just chilling on my effortless limit-up days in Dasheng Shares. Nothing going on outside matters to me.]

[Go with the Flow: This is normal. The market has already priced in the negative news from the Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO. That 4.27 percent market plunge on June 29th also wrongfully dragged Dasheng Shares down to a limit-down, creating a golden opportunity. Today’s IPO is just the other shoe dropping. The broader market should be oversold.]

[Go with the Flow: For those who missed out, late trading today is a good entry point. If it drops tomorrow, you can continue to add to your position.]

[Master, any stock recommendations? @Go with the Flow.]

[Go with the Flow: I’m in a full position with Dasheng and haven’t bought any other stocks. I’m only watching Dasheng right now!]

[Chengfei Integration really did open lower and underwater today. The master is truly badass. From what I’ve seen, besides K-God, you’re the most incredible person I’ve witnessed.]

[I feel like he’s no less impressive than K-God.]

[Go with the Flow: Although I think I’ve got some skill, comparing me to K-God makes me feel completely unworthy. He is a god! A god who can turn stocks to gold just by mentioning them! A god who picked 47 stocks that all hit their limit-up the next day! A god who turned one thousand into ten thousand in a month and made tens of billions in less than two years! I’ve been grinding in the A-share market for ten years and only broke the ten million mark this year. You’re benchmarking me against K-God? You can’t kill me with praise like that…]

[Master, you’re being modest. In my opinion, being so certain about Dasheng Shares before it took off was like a stroke of divine genius.]

[At least in my eyes, you’re both god-like existences!]

[Agreed!]

[+10086!]

…

The members in the group were now showering “Go with the Flow” with praise, especially those who had followed his trade and made a huge profit. They were not stingy with their compliments.

As Dasheng Shares continued to rise, Go with the Flow’s reputation in the stock trading circle soared in tandem, much like the stock’s consecutive limit-up price. The chat screenshot that had previously been leaked, which could have been a jinx, had now become the best evidence of his prescient and sharp judgment, setting him apart from almost everyone else. It was his moment to shine.

Although the A-share market index was lousy in this Year of the Tiger, not living up to the “majestic as a tiger” expectations investors had at the start of the year, the performance of individual stocks was spectacular. Bull stocks emerged one after another, each with its own unique strength.

It had to be said that there were indeed many bull stocks this year. A well-known internet company’s backdoor listing created Dasheng Shares’ nine consecutive limit-ups, with no signs of stopping. Rare earth restructuring led to Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ price more than tripling. Military-industrial restructuring resulted in Zhonghang Precision Machinery’s nine consecutive limit-ups. A three-billion-yuan super-large order gave Gold Mantis both endurance and explosive power, making it the undisputed “long-term bull” stock. A flood of large orders in polysilicon new energy sent Jinggong Science & Technology soaring far ahead of the pack. Under the lithium battery restructuring, Chengfei Integration, a hotbed for skilled retail investors, was also going wild. A super-large order combined with high stock dividends caused Beijing Orient Landscape’s rally to accelerate…

There were truly too many bull stocks this year. If a stock hadn’t at least doubled, it couldn’t even call itself a monster stock or a bull stock.

When bull stocks emerge in droves, they often create aces as well. Many unknown retail investors ascend to become hot money players by catching a key stock in a critical rally, causing their capital to grow exponentially.

From the looks of it, the newly famous “Go with the Flow” was one of them. His play on Dasheng Shares was undoubtedly the battle that would make his name in the A-share market.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence.

“Stellaris Capital’s deployment in the A-share market is complete. The actual scale of liquidity that has entered the market is around 152.2 billion yuan,” Tian Jiayi was giving Fang Hong her daily work report. “Additionally, it has been confirmed that Dasheng Shares will be officially renamed Weibo on August 20th. The date of the name change has not yet been publicly disclosed.”

Fang Hong nodded.

Tian Jiayi continued, “The company’s half-year report came out today.”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “Read it to me.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi took a document from her briefcase, opened it, and said, “Thanks to the massive profits from the US stock market flash crash, the company’s revenue for the first half of the year was 285.743 billion yuan, exceeding last year’s total annual revenue. The net profit was 85.71 billion yuan, with period-end net assets of 631.852 billion yuan and total assets of 847.461 billion yuan. The debt scale is 215.609 billion yuan, bringing the company’s debt ratio to 25.44%. Our liquid cash reserves are 188 billion yuan, an increase of 60 billion from last year…”

Stellaris Capital’s performance in the first half of the year was explosively good. The profit statement still exceeded eighty billion yuan even after Fang Hong had intentionally insisted on suppressing the financial figures. Moreover, the debt scale had actually decreased by about ten billion yuan compared to last year, and the debt ratio had dropped from around 43% to about 25%.

The company was making money too fast for its debt level to keep up.

Listening to his beautiful assistant’s brief report on the key figures, Fang Hong couldn’t help but tap his forehead and sigh to himself, “188 billion yuan… The more money we have, the more we spend, and the more we spend, the more we make. How am I supposed to spend it all? This is so frustrating.”

At his words, the beautiful assistant stopped speaking. She glanced up at Fang Hong and, seeing his vexed expression, shot him an annoyed look. “Such a smug, punchable expression. I really want to take a picture and post it online.”

Fang Hong crossed his legs, spread his hands, and smiled. “What can I say? Sometimes you can choke on water, but making money is simpler than drinking it.”

His beautiful assistant shook her head, not bothering to engage with him. She handed him the file in her hand. “See for yourself.”

Fang Hong set aside his teasing mood, took the material, and glanced through it. At the same time, he said with a smile, “Since we have so much money, let’s speed up the Eight Major Strategic Investment Directions in the tech sector.”

In the year 2010, Stellaris Capital’s half-year performance was absolutely staggering. Fortunately, the company was not publicly listed and did not need to disclose its financials.

The outside world knew Stellaris Capital was incredibly wealthy, but they had no idea just how wealthy.

Stellaris Capital was truly rich now, but it wasn’t necessarily true that the money was impossible to spend. In fact, spending it was quite simple: just throw it at cutting-edge technology applications.

After a moment, Fang Hong thought for a bit, then looked at his beautiful assistant and said, “Draft a proposal first. We’ll establish a natural science foundation dedicated to investing in frontier science, things like particle colliders, large observatories, space telescopes, new materials science, space exploration, Mars exploration, moon exploration—basic research or large-scale engineering projects that require massive investment. We’ll specialize in cracking these tough nuts and fully max out our ‘fool with too much money’ aura.”

Fang Hong’s words seemed nonchalant, projecting the image of a fool with too much money to outsiders. But this was a forward-looking strategy from a much broader strategic perspective. If they truly accomplished all of this, it would mean Stellaris Capital would have enlisted countless top-tier scientific researchers, scientists, and engineers from various fields.

Breakthroughs in fundamental science are the foundation for upper-level technological applications. By gathering all this talent from various fields under its wing, when the time comes to translate application-level technology into commercialized products, they will all belong to Stellaris.

That was the real ultimate monopoly!

…

Chapter 390: That’s Not Being a Fox, That’s Wisdom

“You… You really plan to do this?” Tian Jiayi was stunned by Fang Hong’s decision. After a moment’s pause, she couldn’t help but say, “What you’re talking about… that’s the government’s job.”

Fang Hong spread his hands. “The government wants to do it, but where would the money come from? The state has too many expenses, and the funds allocated to scientific research, especially basic research, are even more limited. Most of the money is invested in applied fields that can yield quick results.”

The beautiful assistant looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Fang Hong added, “Technology is the primary productive force. We can’t wait for the state to pave the road for us before we start walking. By the time the road is paved, there won’t be any opportunities left for you. It’s precisely because the state doesn’t have the energy to do these things right now that Qunxing has its chance.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi knew he had truly made up his mind. She nodded, “Alright, I’ll go make the arrangements.”

Just then, Fang Hong looked at her and said, “For this natural science fund, remember to have a high-level leader from the relevant department be named as a nominal head. They must have their name on it.”

Tian Jiayi looked at him in confusion, asking doubtfully, “Is that really necessary?”

Fang Hong glanced at her with a faint smile and said calmly, “No, it’s absolutely necessary. Without that prerequisite, I’d rather not do it at all.”

Completely baffled, Tian Jiayi asked, “Why?”

Fang Hong pondered for a moment, then met her gaze and said, “If you go and do it all by your enthusiastic self, it’s one thing if you fail. But if you succeed, do you really think the leaders will be happy? If you do a better job than the projects the leaders are heading, you’ll make them lose face and put them in an awkward position. Not only will the leaders not be happy, but they’ll look even grimmer. Then you can just wait for them to make things difficult for you.”

Upon hearing his explanation, the previously bewildered Tian Jiayi had a sudden realization. She couldn’t help but nod and say, “That makes sense. You’ve thought it all through.”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Exactly. So, if our natural science fund achieves outstanding results, it will be due to the wise leadership of our superiors that such an accomplishment was possible.”

Tian Jiayi understood his meaning and couldn’t help but smile. “This way, the greater the achievements of the natural science fund, the happier the leaders will be. After all, they’re just a nominal head and don’t have to do anything. If we fail, they won’t have to take the blame or be held responsible, but if we succeed, they get a share of the credit… You really know the ins and outs of this. You’re so young, yet you operate with the cunning of an old fox, even more so than the actual old foxes.”

Fang Hong smiled calmly. “That’s not being a fox, that’s wisdom.”

Only his body was young. Tian Jiayi didn’t know that the soul within this body possessed a wealth of social experience she could never imagine. But of course, as a man, he would remain a youth until the very end.

Tian Jiayi said, “I’ll go get things arranged and draft a proposal for your approval.”

…

The next day, Friday, July 16th.

On the last trading day of the week, the broader market opened lower. The overall leader, Dasheng Shares, once again opened at its limit-up price of 67.61 yuan, marking its ninth consecutive day of opening at the limit-up price and its tenth consecutive limit-up board in ten days.

Since its first limit-up board, the stock had accumulated a gain of over 159 percent. From its lowest point, the gain was over 167 percent. If calculated from its pre-backdoor listing price of 6.52 yuan, the cumulative gain was over 936 percent. If someone had held the stock since before its trading suspension for the backdoor listing, their returns would be close to ten times their initial investment.

The strength of Dasheng Shares left all investors dumbfounded. It had achieved ten consecutive limit-ups without breaking its streak, reaching a height that no other monster stock had managed this year. It was absurdly strong.

At that moment, with nothing else to do, Fang Hong logged into his alt account again and opened a chat window. It was the discussion group where Go with the Flow was. The chat was currently buzzing with activity.

[Ten consecutive limit-ups! My god, it’s blowing my mind again and again!]

[Dasheng Shares’ market cap is already 35.7 billion!]

[This thing is really heading for the moon. The sky is the limit.]

[I finally understand what ‘don’t predict the peak in a rally, don’t predict the bottom in a fall’ truly means.]

[Go with the Flow: Ten straight limit-ups. Including the margin account, my cumulative profit is +461%. The day I clock off is the day it opens. Dasheng hits the board, I clock off… (happy.jpg)]

[Dasheng hits the board, I clock off!]

[Dasheng hits the board, I clock off!]

[Dasheng hits the board, I clock off!]

[Awesome! At the beginning of the month, Go with the Flow’s account had 12 million. In just a few days, it’s over 67 million. A full position with full margin on ten consecutive limit-ups has netted him over 55 million. He’s totally taken off!]

[It’s true. This is how many hot money masters do it. They catch one crucial major rally and just take off!]

[I’m honored to witness the rise of a top-tier hot money trader!]

[Sigh, the more I look, the worse I feel. I spat out the meat that was handed to me. Missing out on Dasheng Shares has ruined my mood for the entire second half of the year.]

[Same here, missed a chance to get rich. I can’t even hold on when it’s a chance to win effortlessly. I really am a chump!]

[Missing out on a rally is excruciating. Master, give us a mysterious code... @Go with the Flow!]

[Go with the Flow: Before Dasheng took off, I was hyping it in the group almost every single day…]

[I was wrong, I was wrong, sob sob sob… Please give us another one. I don’t know what to buy. Master, can you give a specific code?]

[Go with the Flow: You can follow K-God on Weibo. Get what I mean?]

[Huh? Why follow K-God? I don’t get it. Master, can you be a little clearer?]

[Bro, your lack of comprehension is touching. Go with the Flow has already made it so obvious. Do you really need him to spoon-feed you?]

[I can’t take this anymore. The master told you to follow K-God’s Weibo. K-God revealed a hand of 47 mid-term targets a while ago. If you don’t know what to buy, just go pick a few from K-God’s 47 targets. Understand now? The god has already filtered the one thousand six or seven hundred stocks in the market down to 47 for you. What more do you want? Honestly, no offense, but with your reaction time and comprehension, you’re really not cut out for stock trading, especially not short-term trading!]

[Uhhh…]

[This group is mostly for short-term traders. Only Go with the Flow has held Dasheng Shares for a bit longer. Be cautious if you’re following his trades.]

…

At this very moment, the group members had no idea that the “K-God” they were talking about was lurking among them, secretly spectating. When Fang Hong saw the chat messages from several members complaining about another, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

In a way, this was a microcosm of the larger picture. Perhaps this was why over 70 percent of investors in the A-share market lost money.

Take that group member, for instance. A high-EQ way to put it was that he had a proactive and eager heart. A low-EQ way was to say he was a classic case of being terrible but still wanting to play. Such retail investors were not a minority in the A-share market. No wonder the market makers and major players couldn’t harvest them fast enough.

There were just too many chumps!

However, this guy was quite lucky. This group not only had a high-level player like Go with the Flow, but most of the other members were also quite enthusiastic and helpful.

And indeed, the guy later went to look for K-God’s 47 mid-term targets. He chose two and decisively entered positions during late trading. One of them happened to be Chengfei Integration.

Although money earned by luck can eventually be lost through skill, one first has to be lucky enough to earn the money. Otherwise, when you’re losing money through skill, you’ll be losing your principal.

As time passed, around 10:30 AM, an hour after the market opened, Dasheng Shares had only seen a turnover of just over 27 million yuan, with about 22 million of that coming from the call auction alone. But right then, a large sell order of 5,300 lots, totaling about 35 million yuan, was executed.

Immediately after, sell orders continued to pour in, and the buying limit orders began to dwindle. The volume bars on the intraday chart below started to explode.

Go with the Flow’s discussion group, which had quieted down, sprang back to life.

[Dasheng! Dasheng!]

[Is Dasheng about to break its limit-up board?]

[The volume is exploding! Holy shit, it’s already over 500 million! The limit orders are almost gone. It’s going to break!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, Dasheng is about to break!]

[The limit-up board broke!]

[The streak ends at ten…]

[Is this finally the end?]

…

Around 10:31 AM, Dasheng Shares’ tenth limit-up board broke, accompanied by a staggering massive volume of trades.

Soon, the stock price began to dive from the limit-up price, plummeting in a straight line to a low of 64.48 yuan, with its gains narrowing to +4.92%. It was a dive of about five percentage points.

However, after hitting 64.48 yuan, it didn’t stay there for even two seconds before rapidly rebounding to the +8.85% level. The intraday line shot up before it could even leave a mark at the 64.48 yuan price point, giving the impression that it was about to hit the limit-up again.

About five seconds later, Dasheng Shares’ price rallied to 67.61 yuan, up +10.01%, hitting the limit-up board once more. But it only held for three seconds before falling back to the +5.79% level. Similarly, the intraday line came back down without leaving a mark on the board.

At the same time, the trading volume exploded. The turnover had now reached a colossal 1.1 billion yuan.

As the minutes ticked by, Dasheng Shares’ intraday line began to fluctuate violently up and down. As time progressed, the line formed a converging triangle pattern. As it reached the end of the triangle, it plunged sharply again to 64.49 yuan. Just as it was about to set a new intraday low, it was pulled back up to the six percent level.

The number of comments in the stock’s discussion forum surged noticeably. Various chat groups were all screenshotting the moment Dasheng Shares’ limit-up board broke. The group where Go with the Flow was had also erupted, with shareholders tagging him one after another.

Among the dozens of shareholders in the group, some began to sell their shares and take profit after the price dove from the limit-up. Others continued to hold, waiting for Go with the Flow to say something before deciding whether to take their profits.

…

Chapter 391: The Master is a Freaking Genius

As the morning session took a break, Dasheng Shares’ gains settled at the +6.08% mark. At the same time, its trading volume had reached a massive 1.847 billion yuan, surpassing the stock’s full-day trading volume of 1.655 billion on the day it resumed trading.

When the market reopened at 1:00 PM, Dasheng Shares continued to fluctuate within a range of four to seven percent. The trading volume had slowed down relatively, but half an hour into the afternoon session, the full-day volume had already broken through the two billion yuan mark, placing it among the top stocks in both markets by daily trading volume.

Around 1:57 PM, Go with the Flow finally surfaced in the group chat.

[Go with the Flow: A single break from the limit-up board and you’re all panicking like this? You bought your shares at the bottom. If you were one of the people who bought at the limit-up today, I could understand. But your holdings have already doubled. I don’t see what you have to panic about. So what if it hits the limit-down?]

[Facepalm emoji]

[Facepalm emoji]

[Facepalm emoji]

[But it’s a massive volume of over two billion, I’m a bit scared, Master!]

[I saw it was about to break the board and ran. I’m satisfied with more than doubling my money and getting out!]

[Taking profits is always the right move.]

[Go with the Flow: What the hell is there to panic about with this volume? After hitting nine one-word limit-ups, it releases this much volume. You think retail investors are buying? Would retail investors dare to buy? And besides, it’s still holding steady five or six points in the positive and can’t seem to drop.]

[Go with the Flow: Not every stock tops out on massive volume. If today was the peak for Dasheng, the volume wouldn’t exceed one billion at most, because retail investors wouldn’t dare to buy shares that have broken the board after such a massive run-up. Only when the price gets slashed in half will tons of retail investors think it’s cheap and try to buy the dip. On the other hand, with such high volume today and the price not dropping, and since it’s not retail investors buying, it means large funds are absorbing the shares. The institutions must be buying like crazy.]

[Go with the Flow: Today’s volume is the final test for Dasheng as the leader—its capacity. In my judgment, the current volume is fine. It has shown its capacity, but the volume isn’t astronomical. Later, it will either consolidate or refuel in mid-air for another rally. Today is a case of ‘when it should be weak but isn’t, it is strong.’ Sell? What the hell are you selling for? I’m betting Dasheng hits the limit-up again in late trading!]

…

Meanwhile, in a trading room at Zhongtai Capital, the head of the trading team responsible for Dasheng Shares was looking at a chat window on a large screen. It was none other than the chat window of the group where the alt account ‘Go with the Flow’ was active.

Seeing the chat content, the team leader suddenly smiled. The script had been delivered. He immediately turned to the trading floor and gave an order, “Two thirty million orders to ignite Dasheng Shares directly!”

The next moment, on Dasheng Shares’ intraday chart, the intraday line shot up from +6.87% like a skyrocket, going straight to the limit-up board.

It hit the limit-up almost instantly. On the one-minute volume bar, a volume of 197 million was instantly generated with a pop. Evidently, at the moment it hit the limit-up, besides the two thirty-million-yuan ignition funds, many other large accounts also jumped in to seal the limit-up again.

The specific time it hit the limit-up again was 2:01:29 PM. Afterward, the limit-up board was sealed tight by about 100,000 lots of buy orders, representing over 700 million yuan in limit orders.

It sounds slow in the telling, but it all happened in one or two minutes. When it hit the limit-up again, it took less than three seconds to get there.

At this moment, the chat group where Go with the Flow was exploded.

[Holy shit! Dasheng really hit the limit-up again!]

[Awesome, awesome! Master Go with the Flow is a freaking genius! This analysis is absolutely top-tier.]

[Go with the Flow: Uhh, it hit the limit-up again before I even finished speaking… [Laughing through tears emoji]]

[Holy shit, it sealed up too fast, I couldn’t get in.]

[Fuck, fuck, fuck, I sold when it dived about five points. Feels like I sold too early. It hit the limit-up again so fast I couldn’t even buy back in.]

[Dasheng is invincible! Is this the overall leader?]

[The Master’s words are law! Awesome (voice cracking)——!]

[[Go with the Flow: A single break from the limit-up board and you’re all panicking like this.jpg]]

[Nice screenshot, saved… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Go with the Flow: This re-sealing is incredibly decisive. The major players have lofty ambitions. They’ve opened up their long-term view!]

[My heart aches, I missed out again!]

[My heart aches, I sold too early!]

[At least you sold too early after making over 100% profit, you should be content. I watched the whole thing from the sidelines. So tragic!]

[I lost money on this stock and I haven’t even said anything…]

…

At the market close, Dasheng Shares rose +10.01% to its limit-up, its tenth consecutive day. It formed a T-shaped candlestick, with the stock price closing at 67.61 yuan. The full-day trading volume was 2.627 billion yuan, and its total market capitalization was 35.765 billion yuan.

When the board broke today, most of the dozens of people in Go with the Flow’s group who were copying his trades sold off. Only six or seven people were still holding.

And the people who had been watching from the sidelines didn’t get in today either. They were afraid of the high price. It sucks not having an initial position.

The speed at which it hit the limit-up in the afternoon was too fast; it was too late to try and get in. Unless they had acted right when Go with the Flow sent his first message, but no one had dared to back then.

Now they could only kick themselves in regret.

In the afternoon, today’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released. Thirty-two stocks made the list, and Dasheng Shares was prominently among them.

The data showed that the top five buyers purchased a total of 455 million yuan, accounting for 17.34% of the total trading volume. The first, second, and fourth largest buyers were all “For institutional use only” trading seats. The third and fifth were two renowned hot money funds. These five trading seats bought 208 million, 83.58 million, 59.96 million, 55.80 million, and 47.34 million yuan respectively.

Among the sellers, the top four seats were also all “For institutional use only,” and the fifth was a major hot money player.

The top five sellers sold a total of 175 million yuan, accounting for 6.67% of the total volume. The net difference between buys and sells was +280 million yuan.

On today’s Dragon-Tiger List, the net purchase by major players reached a massive 280 million yuan, with the number one buyer alone snapping up over 200 million. This Dragon-Tiger List was as stacked as ever.

…

After the weekend, the A-share market opened on Monday, July 19th.

The broader market index opened below the 2400 point mark, starting low at 2399.58 points, down -1.02%. As for individual stocks, Dasheng Shares, the stock with the most sentiment right now, opened high at 70.29 yuan, up +3.96%. After nine consecutive one-word limit-ups, it finally didn’t open at its limit-up price.

At the 9:30 AM open, many retail investors scrambled to buy Dasheng Shares, including quite a few from Go with the Flow’s group.

About a minute after opening, the stock surged to 71.43 yuan, increasing its gain to +5.65%. The retail investors who were frantically rushing in didn’t yet know that 71.43 yuan would be the intraday high for the day.

The stock price fell as soon as it touched 71.43 yuan and quickly pulled back below its opening price for the day. The gain narrowed to around three percentage points, and then it began to weaken through fluctuations. The support on the market was actually still quite good.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index, after a one-minute pullback at the open, began to rebound upwards.

For those who bought into Dasheng Shares today, the subsequent market trend became increasingly painful because Dasheng Shares did not continue its rally as they had expected.

The index, on the other hand, opened low but continued to strengthen, even turning positive for the day about half an hour after the open. Then after a slight pullback, it continued to climb higher, exhibiting a one-sided rise throughout the day.

Near the end of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index peaked at 2482 points, a gain of 2.42 percentage points. The broader market opened low and trended high with a big gain, but Dasheng Shares was on the other end of the seesaw, with a strong start and weak finish.

The investors who bought this stock today were utterly frustrated.

After the close, the Shanghai Composite Index surged +2.11% on increased volume, closing with a long positive candle at 2475.42 points. The market showed a broad rally.

In contrast, the sentiment king Dasheng Shares closed with a slight loss of -0.06%, ending at 67.57 yuan on a shrinking volume of 1.523 billion yuan.

On Tuesday, the broader market continued to rally on high volume, another day of big gains. It reclaimed the 2500 point mark in one go, closing up +2.15% at 2528.73 points. But Dasheng Shares opened low, fluctuated widely, and closed with a Doji candlestick. It closed down -1.95% on a slightly increased volume of 1.675 billion.

For the remaining three trading days of the week, the market trends for both the index and the sentiment king Dasheng Shares surprised investors. First, it was a surprise that the index had five consecutive positive days this week. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +0.26% on Wednesday, +1.07% on Thursday, and another +0.35% on Friday, finally closing at 2572.03 points.

But while the broader market index was rallying all the way up, Dasheng Shares actually went sideways. The 71.43 yuan price hit on Monday remained its current historical high. However, Dasheng Shares did record three consecutive positive days, closing up +1.62%, +1.20%, and +2.45% respectively, ending Friday at 69.80 yuan. The trading volume during these three days didn’t show any significant increase or decrease, with volumes of 1.447 billion, 1.565 billion, and 1.284 billion respectively.

This week’s performance, contrasting Dasheng Shares with the broader market’s five consecutive positive days, left many investors who had high hopes for it deeply disappointed. Many investors left comments in the discussion forums saying the major players were secretly selling off their shares using the positive market trend as cover, calling the sentiment leader an infuriating leader. They complained that buying this stock was a complete waste of this week’s great market rally.

…

Chapter 392: You Gotta Have Faith in the Leader!

The date was Monday, July 26th.

On the first trading day of the new week, Dasheng Shares opened low by 0.87% at 69.19 yuan. For the past few trading days, the stock had struggled to stay above the 5-day moving average, and today, it promptly plummeted after the market opened.

This time, not only did it fall below the 5-day moving average, but it continued to drop, testing the 10-day line.

About ten minutes after the open, the intraday line for Dasheng Shares dropped to 64.75 yuan, extending its decline to -7.23%. It looked like it was heading for its limit-down, and many funds fled in a panic.

The stock had risen from 25.25 yuan, and such a steep drop terrified many of the retail investors holding it.

Meanwhile, in the chat group where Go with the Flow was active, the members were getting restless.

[@Go with the Flow, Master, are you out yet?]

[I’m so nervous!]

[I held it for five days and lost 11 percent. Dammit, when I don’t buy, it goes on a crazy run of limit-ups, but the moment I do, I get trapped.]

[This is torture.]

[Go with the Flow: Don’t ask. If you have to ask, the answer is ‘have a broader perspective!’]

[I feel like this stock has peaked.]

[Go with the Flow: If it had really peaked, the sell-off would’ve started last week. You people have absolutely no faith in the leader!]

[Damn! I jumped in with a half position when it was down 7%. To hell with it, if I’m going down, I’m going down with the leader!]

[I sold at break-even. It’s fine for Master Go with the Flow to have a long-term view with his initial position, especially with such a low cost price. My cost price is too high; I just can’t afford to have that kind of perspective.]

…

After touching the 10-day moving average with a decline of over 7 percent, Dasheng Shares stopped falling. The index had also adjusted downwards in the morning, but when the market reopened in the afternoon, it began to rebound. At the same time, Dasheng Shares slowly oscillated higher.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index had posted its sixth consecutive bullish candle, closing up +0.65% at 2,588.68 points.

Dasheng Shares closed down -1.67% at 68.64 yuan, with a full-day turnover of 1.624 billion yuan, a slight increase in volume from the previous trading day. The stock had plunged more than 7 percent intra-day, and there was a phenomenon of shares being snapped up near the end of late trading.

…

The next day, Tuesday, July 27th.

Today, both markets opened low and entered a phase of narrow consolidation.

The call auction result for Dasheng Shares was a low open of -2.88% at 66.66 yuan. Many people started selling the moment they saw this number. But after the market officially opened at 9:30, the subsequent trend of Dasheng Shares had those who had fled during the call auction slapping their thighs in regret once again.

The stock opened low and trended high right from the start, rallying with continuously increasing volume. It turned positive in less than two minutes and was still climbing.

About five minutes after the opening, Dasheng Shares was up more than 4 percent, with its rally estimated to have reached 71.43 yuan, setting a new all-time high.

After consolidating for about fifteen minutes, it rallied again, with its gains widening to 8 percent.

By 9:27 AM, Dasheng Shares hit 75.50 yuan, sealing the limit-up board tightly with a +9.99% gain. The limit orders on the board reached over 50,000 lots, representing about 370 million yuan in sealed bids.

As soon as the limit-up was sealed, Go with the Flow sent a message in the group.

[Go with the Flow: Limit-up. The second wave is about to start!]

[Master is awesome!]

[I chased it mid-rally. Fortune favors the bold!]

[I’ve noticed this stock seems to play seesaw with the broader market. When the broader market was surging, it stayed flat. Today, the market is lousy, and it shoots for the limit…]

[Go with the Flow: My gains have expanded to +554%, and my account is now at 78.52 million. Can Dasheng get me to 100 million in one go?]

[Badass!]

[The Master is really making a killing this time!]

[A profit of over 66.5 million. My god, those returns are explosive!]

[It has to hit 100 million!]

[I sold at break-even yesterday. So lonely. Shedding tears for my lack of a broader perspective… (crying.jpg)]

[(Go with the Flow: You people have absolutely no faith in the leader.jpg)]

…

On Wednesday, July 28th, the broader market surged again by +2.26% on heavy volume, decisively retaking the 2,600-point mark to close at 2,633.66 points. Just when everyone thought Dasheng Shares and the market index were on a seesaw, it hit its second consecutive limit-up and another all-time high, with a trading volume of around 2.8 billion yuan for the day.

On Thursday, July 29th, Dasheng Shares hit its limit-up again, with its price reaching a new all-time high of 91.36 yuan. The second wave rally had produced three consecutive limit-ups, and the trading volume for the day shrank to around 2.1 billion yuan.

The powerful three consecutive limit-ups maxed out the popularity of Dasheng Shares, making it second to none in the A-share market. Meanwhile, Chengfei Integration was still consolidating, avoiding the spotlight and not daring to make a move.

On Friday, the last trading day of the week, Dasheng Shares surged 6 percent in the morning, hitting a new high of 96.86 yuan. This main uptrend wave, which started from 25.25 yuan, had now accumulated a gain of +283.60%.

However, it failed to secure its fourth consecutive limit-up today. After surging 6 percent, it fell back. The intraday volatility range reached 11.60%, and it ultimately closed in the red, ending the day down -1.55% at 89.94 yuan. The trading volume also hit a massive all-time high, reaching 3.147 billion.

Dasheng Shares closed in the red from a high, but Go with the Flow still hadn’t sold. He was still holding on with his broader perspective!

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“How high are they planning to push it?” Fang Hong asked his beautiful assistant, referring to the market capitalization management of Dasheng Shares. Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “To a market cap of around one hundred billion.”

Fang Hong looked surprised. This was essentially cashing in on the subsidiary’s projected growth for the next five years within a single month.

However, his surprise was fleeting. He didn’t comment on it, nor did he have any objections to his partners’ methods. After all, when entrusting them with the market capitalization management of his own subsidiary, they also had their costs. They would especially need liquidity to prop up the market when the stock price eventually declined. But they obviously wouldn’t let themselves lose money; they had to make a profit to be willing to do the job.

Their only option was to harvest more from this rally. Part of it they’ll pocket as their own profit, and another part will be used to prop up the company’s stock in the future.

There wasn’t much to say, as Stellaris Capital hadn’t spent a single cent of its capital in the secondary market.

Fang Hong did some calculations and muttered to himself, “A market cap of around one hundred billion… the stock price would have to peak around 190 yuan…”

Anyone who ended up holding the bag at that peak price would have to wait until the epic leveraged bull market of 2015 to break even—exactly five years later, which would perfectly write off the five years of priced-in growth.

As for those holding the bag at the peak, it would, unsurprisingly, be mostly retail investors.

Profit and loss share the same source. If someone makes money, someone else must lose it. It’s a practical reality that the market can never let everyone win.

Overall, these partner institutions weren’t being too excessive. The truly excessive ones would cash in on ten years of growth in a month. That would truly be a cosmic peak.

…

After the weekend, a new month began.

On Monday, August 2nd, the market ushered in the first trading day of the month. The A-share market opened and showed a trend of oscillating upwards. After closing in the red from a high last Friday, the popular leader Dasheng Shares opened low by -2.92%.

In the morning, Dasheng Shares opened low and trended high. Twenty minutes after the open, it turned positive and started to rise, but after just a minute or two, it surged higher then fell back.

About half an hour into trading, Dasheng Shares accelerated its dive.

Two minutes later, all major trading software apps pushed out a news alert:

[Dasheng Shares falls -10.00% in early trading, hitting its limit-down.]

In the chat group where Go with the Flow was, members were now spamming messages, many of them tagging him. As Dasheng Shares plummeted, the group members holding the stock all fled in panic to lock in their profits.

Dasheng Shares’ second wave rally had resulted in three consecutive limit-ups, so most people in this group had a decent profit cushion. Even at the limit-down price, they still had considerable profits. Most who participated in the second wave made money.

However, about three minutes after hitting the limit-down, the board was pried open. The stock then hovered near the limit-down price, with occasional upward rebounds that were quickly pushed back down. Still, it never completely sealed the limit-down again.

At this moment, the chat group was buzzing with activity.

[Limit-down. It’s finally over!]

[I sold yesterday. Got dogshit lucky and dodged the limit-down.]

[After the open, it surged and turned positive, but then I saw it couldn’t push higher, so I cashed out immediately. Not bad, sold above the opening price.]

[I didn’t sell at the absolute peak, but I still made twenty percent. I’m satisfied!]

[Go with the Flow: You all ran?]

[Yep, ran.]

[+1!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, you haven't run yet?]

[Go with the Flow: Broader perspective!]

[Holy shit! You’re still not selling?]

[Awesome, awesome. It’s making me want to buy back in.]

[Go with the Flow: My cost price is 28.35, why should I run? For others, the higher it goes, the greater the risk. But for me, it’s the exact opposite—the higher it goes, the lower my risk. With my cost price at 28.35, what the hell do I have to be afraid of? The overall leader doesn’t trap people; you can always get out. Even though it was pushed down to its limit today, it’s only weakening, not broken. With my cost price, why can’t I gamble on it turning from weak to strong tomorrow and starting a third wave rally?]

[The way you say it makes me want to jump in!]

[Dammit, I’m buying back in. Let’s do it!]

[It’s the overall leader. You gotta have faith in the leader!]

[I’m already back in. Time to use the idiot’s strategy!]

…

Chapter 393: One Wave Higher Than the Last

By the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.33%, closing at 2672.52 points. Dasheng Shares, however, did not close at its limit-down. It ended the day at 81.60 yuan, down -9.27%, with a total turnover of 2.792 billion yuan.

Seeing that the stock hadn’t been sealed at its limit-down in late trading, many in the group chat bought back in. They had been timid when Dasheng Shares was below 30 yuan, but now that it was above 80, they were striking with heavy fists.

For the next four trading days of the week, the broader market entered an adjustment phase. It had risen for the entire month of July, climbing from around 2300 points to over 2670—a rather powerful rebound.

Dasheng Shares, however, detached itself from the market’s adjustment trend. After a huge negative candlestick that nearly hit the limit-down, it turned from weak to strong the very next day, Tuesday, completely recovering with an engulfing pattern that covered Monday’s massive bearish candle. It even touched the limit-up intra-day, and though it failed to seal it, the stock still closed with a significant gain of 8.57%.

On Wednesday, Dasheng Shares surged again by +8.41%, with its intra-day price hitting a new all-time high of 97.29 yuan.

On Thursday, it continued its climb, closing up +4.20%. The spotlight today, however, was stolen by its neighbor, Chengfei Integration. After trading sideways at a high level for fourteen trading days, the stock broke through with a limit-up today.

Come Friday, Chengfei Integration hit another consecutive limit-up, its price soaring to 25.31 yuan. Meanwhile, Dasheng Shares also made another push, surging +9.99% to hit its limit-up with a massive volume of 3.248 billion yuan. Its stock price reached 110.07 yuan, bringing its market capitalization to a height of 58.2 billion yuan.

Chengfei Integration seemed to want to challenge the leader, but the two were in completely different leagues. The total trading volume of Chengfei Integration’s two limit-ups combined was less than 550 million yuan. Dasheng Shares’ volume in the first five minutes of morning trading alone surpassed 500 million. For Chengfei Integration to take the top spot, its only chance was if the leader collapsed on its own; it was impossible for it to outmaneuver Dasheng Shares.

Although Dasheng Shares’ third wave of ascent only included one limit-up, its four consecutive positive days at a high level were still outrageously strong. Its popularity shot through the roof. This third wave was different from the previous ones, especially the first, which was a case of hogging all the profit. During this third wave, everyone had a chance to get on board; as long as you dared to chase the highs, you could get your hands on some shares.

When the board first broke during the first wave, most retail investors didn’t dare to take over. During the second wave’s three consecutive limit-ups, they were questioning their existence. But by this week’s third wave, after it hit a new high, the retail investors who had been questioning their existence finally chose: if you can’t beat them, join them.

Over the five days this week, those who wanted in could get in, and those who wanted out could get out. The overall leader didn’t trap anyone. The amplified profit potential attracted a large number of retail investors, and naturally, its popularity soared to the heavens.

On Monday, August 9, Dasheng Shares opened slightly lower by -1.31% at 108.62 yuan. After a brief surge, it began to dive. Around 9:52 AM, the stock price dropped to a low of 102.88 yuan, a decline of -6.53%, right around the 5-day moving average.

However, it soon began to rebound. This was the mark of an overall leader; when the price fell to the 5-day moving average, a flood of people would jump in to scoop it up. The buying support was incredibly strong.

By the end of the day, Dasheng Shares’ decline had narrowed to just -1.46%, closing at 108.46 yuan. Its total market capitalization was 57.375 billion yuan, and its daily turnover was 2.25 billion yuan, a decrease of about 1 billion yuan from the previous Friday.

On Tuesday, August 10, Dasheng Shares opened down -1.71%. But today, its performance was exceptionally strong. After the open, it surged with a massive increase in volume without any pullback. Looking at the daily K-line chart, today was a full bullish candle with no lower shadow.

Dasheng Shares’ price rallied with volatility throughout the day. Its intraday line was one wave higher than the last.

Around 10:19 AM, Dasheng Shares’ intraday line rallied to 119.31 yuan, rising +10.00% to hit the limit-up. Today’s trading volume also exploded to a massive 4.178 billion yuan. The stock price set another all-time high, and its market capitalization reached 63.115 billion yuan, approximately 9.2 billion US dollars, not accounting for exchange rate fluctuations.

Go with the Flow still hadn’t sold. The longer the stock rose, the more firmly he could hold it.

Today’s limit-up put Dasheng Shares on the Dragon-Tiger List again. The buy-side featured three hot money players and two “For institutional use only” seats. The data showed a net buy-sell difference of +322 million yuan, maintaining the trend of net inflow from major players.

It was worth noting that after its consecutive limit-ups and a period of consolidation, the second wave of its rally was driven by a collaboration between hot money and institutions. Now, the third wave had clearly become a joint effort, with hot money, institutions, retail investors, and other capital all pushing upwards together.

In fact, during the consolidation period after Dasheng Shares’ ten consecutive limit-ups, institutions had been constantly building a position around the 70 yuan mark. Even now, institutions were still rushing to get in.

Its status as the overall leader was undisputed. It now had the height it needed, and it had the capacity. Today’s trading volume had already broken 4 billion yuan, no worse than some blue-chip stocks with market caps in the hundreds of billions. Even many large-cap stocks didn’t have this kind of liquidity.

On Wednesday, August 11, the trend for Dasheng Shares was once again to gap down and trade lower. After a panic sell-off of about -5%, it began to rebound again, as a ton of capital rushed in to buy the dip.

Buying the dip on this stock when it was deep underwater had rarely been a mistake, so plenty of people were willing to do it.

Sure enough, the stock later rebounded and rallied. Not only did it turn positive for the day, but about half an hour into the afternoon session, the price surged to 125.29 yuan, an intra-day gain of five percent.

However, after rising about five percent, the upward momentum weakened due to heavy selling pressure. People were constantly selling.

At approximately 2:07 PM, Go with the Flow sent a message to his chat group:

[Go with the Flow: I’m out. Sold in batches over twenty-some minutes to liquidate everything. Average Price was 124.52 yuan. I thought about just smashing the market, but I didn’t. Every cent you earn in this kind of rally is meat cut from someone else’s body. To smash the pot right after eating the meat would be bad karma.]

Upon seeing this message, others in the group who held the stock also hit the nuke button to liquidate their positions and get out. Of course, while the A-share market had the concept of “broader perspective” at this time, the term “nuke button” didn’t exist yet. The phrase “broader perspective” itself had only become popular in the trading circle after K-God mentioned it on Weibo.

The so-called nuke button meant placing a sell order at the limit-down price to front-run everyone else. However, even with the group members hitting the nuke button, it didn’t cause a major fluctuation in the stock’s price, firstly because the stock’s current trading volume was enormous, and secondly, the total capital of everyone in the group combined wasn’t that much.

Group members started showing off their profits. The vast majority of people in the group had made money from this main uptrend wave of Dasheng Shares. Everyone was thrilled, laughing and celebrating. Making a big profit was, of course, a reason to be happy.

[Dasheng Shares is awesome! I seriously missed out on the first ten limit-ups, but I jumped in on the first limit-up board of the second wave. Held with a broader perspective and got out today. Made over 65 percent, I’m content.]

[I made 70 points, but unfortunately, my position wasn’t large. Only went in with a little over a thirty percent position. Still too cowardly.]

[I went in with a half position at a cost of 26 and got out with Master Go with the Flow today. Made a killing with +376%! My account, which was slashed in half, is now in the green and I’ve made a huge profit.]

[I messed around day trading and ended up losing money. If I had just held on and sold today, I could have made sixty-seven percent. Instead, I only made forty.]

[Making forty percent in a month is still great. You should be happy with that.]

[Watching you all make money is more painful than me losing money. You guys have taken all the money from the market. Damn!]

[I saw a screenshot in another group, not sure if it’s real or fake. The person’s cost price was only around 7 yuan. Damn it, he made over 16.7 times his money!]

[Someone said he bought it before it resumed trading and just held. He’s been holding with a broader perspective and still hasn’t sold.]

[Impossible, absolutely impossible. It’s either a photoshopped image, or he reduced his position, which is why his cost price is a little over 7 yuan. Damn, if I kept a ten percent position, my cost could be even lower than his.]

[Who knows? Anyway, that screenshot is being passed around in several groups.]

[@Go with the Flow, show us your profits! Let us see!]

[Master Go with the Flow must have made over a hundred million this time.]

[Definitely over a hundred million!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, hurry up and show us! I'm gonna take your screenshot to other groups to flex... [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Go with the Flow: Cost price of 28.35, average selling price of 124.52, for a return rate of +339%. Factoring in about 2x leverage, the actual return rate is +1130.50%. This wave on Dasheng Shares brought in a profit of 107.66 million yuan, so I earned just over 100 million. Add in the principal, and it’s almost 120 million… [Grinning emoji]]

[666666!]

[Earning over a hundred million in a month, terrifying!]

[This is too exaggerated, I don’t dare take this to show off… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Master, why did you take profit today?]

[Go with the Flow: I’ve already made 100 million, shouldn’t I be content? How it moves from now on has nothing to do with me. Even if it surges, I can only watch from the sidelines. I made my breakthrough this year by catching this key rally in Dasheng Shares. I’ll take a few days off to digest it.]

[Witnessing the rise of a hot money legend with my own eyes!]

[Hope the master doesn’t leave the group~]

[Go with the Flow: I won’t unless something comes up.]

Chapter 394: Officially Renamed Weibo

When the group members saw that the master wasn’t leaving the group, everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief for some reason.

As time went on, Dasheng Shares began to pull back steadily toward the end of the trading day, eventually closing with a slight gain of +0.33% at 119.70 yuan, with a full-day turnover of 5.014 billion yuan.

The next day, Thursday, Dasheng Shares opened flat. During trading hours, it surged as high as +5.30%, with its price hitting a new all-time high of 126.05 yuan. However, it plummeted in the afternoon, ultimately closing down -3.55% at 115.45 yuan.

The afternoon dive was triggered by an earnings screenshot that was circulating widely in the trading circle. It was none other than Go with the Flow’s screenshot, showing a wild profit of over 100 million yuan. Dasheng Shares hadn’t appeared on the Dragon-Tiger List the previous day; otherwise, he would have undoubtedly had a trading seat on it.

Rumors spread like wildfire online that Go with the Flow had already taken his profits and fled. The spread of this news caused Dasheng Shares to plummet in the afternoon, affecting market sentiment.

His exit yesterday suggested he was not optimistic about the future market trend.

After all, this was the person who had been hyping up this stock before it even started its run. Since the stock began its ascent from 25.25 yuan, the entire main uptrend wave had already produced a maximum gain of +399.20%, nearly a fourfold increase. Moreover, since resuming trading, its cumulative gain had reached +1916.80%, an increase of more than 19 times.

The master who had made a killing of 100 million yuan on this stock had already fled, and many investors followed suit with panic selling.

As the news fermented, on the following day, Friday, August 13th, Dasheng Shares was affected by Go with the Flow’s exit. Compounded by the fact that it was a Friday, the stock gapped down significantly by -6.17% during the morning call auction, opening at 108.32 yuan. After the market opened, it headed straight for the limit-down.

At around 9:42 AM, the intraday line for Dasheng Shares dropped to 103.91 yuan, hitting the -10.00% limit-down and staying there.

As the end of the trading day approached, just when investors thought Dasheng Shares would close with its first limit-down since the primary rally began, the stock’s limit orders of over 400 million yuan were pried open in the last 15 minutes of trading, and it began to rebound.

Investors were astonished. It still didn’t die? Was this the overall leader?

After the market closed, Dasheng Shares was down -7.76%, closing at 106.50 yuan, with a massive volume of 5.528 billion yuan for the day.

Over the weekend, the name “Go with the Flow” became a hot topic in the stock trading circle. Making a wild profit of 100 million yuan on Dasheng Shares allowed him to make his name in a single battle in the world of the A-shares. If not a household name, he had at least become widely renowned.

The name “Go with the Flow” also became his pseudonym in the A-share market. In the future, his trading seat would appear multiple times on the Dragon-Tiger List, even specially marked with the “Go with the Flow” tag.

…

In the following week, Dasheng Shares recovered and rose again, embarking on a fourth wave of gains that far exceeded market expectations.

On Monday, August 16th, Dasheng Shares surged by +8.52%, directly forming an engulfing pattern that repaired the previous Friday’s gap down, with a trading volume of 3.917 billion yuan for the day.

That evening, around 8:00 PM, Dasheng Shares released an “Announcement Regarding the Change of Company Name and Stock Ticker.”

According to the announcement, with the approval of the CSRC, the company’s major asset restructuring through the issuance of shares to acquire 100% of Weibo’s equity had been completed. The company had transitioned into the IT and internet industry. To better adapt to the company’s future development needs and strategic planning, the company decided to change its name and stock ticker.

Upon the company’s application and with the approval of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, starting from August 20, 2010, the company’s stock ticker would be changed from “Dasheng Shares” to “Weibo,” while the company’s stock code would remain unchanged.

Stockholders holding the stock saw this news and knew that by Friday, the stock would no longer be called Dasheng Shares.

…

On Tuesday, August 17th, Dasheng Shares closed up +0.47%, with a turnover of 3.615 billion yuan.

On Wednesday, August 18th, Dasheng Shares rose +4.81%, with a turnover of 4.371 billion yuan.

On Thursday, August 19th, Dasheng Shares climbed +5.62%, hitting an all-time high of 130.42 yuan during the day and closing at 128.52 yuan per share. The full-day turnover was 4.243 billion yuan, bringing its total market capitalization to 67.987 billion yuan.

On Friday, August 20th, when some investors opened their trading software and typed the letters “DSGF” for “Dasheng Shares,” the autocomplete feature displayed: Weibo (Dasheng Shares).

Pressing the enter key took them directly to the intraday chart for “Weibo.” Alternatively, typing “Weibo” or the original stock code would also lead to the same page.

Now, the stock was officially renamed “Weibo,” and the name “Dasheng Shares” was officially a thing of the past.

This morning, Weibo opened high at 131.65 yuan during the call auction, a +2.43% increase. After the market opened, Weibo’s price continued to open high and trend higher without any pullback.

At around 10:37 AM, major trading software platforms pushed a breaking news flash:

[Weibo’s stock price has surged +10.00% to its limit-up, hitting a new all-time high of 141.38 yuan. Its market capitalization is 74.79 billion yuan, with current turnover exceeding 5 billion yuan.]

After hitting the limit-up in the morning, the stock remained sealed there until the market closed. The trading volume for the day ultimately reached a massive volume of 5.852 billion yuan, also the stock’s largest single-day trading volume to date.

At this moment, Fang Hong was also paying attention to Weibo. The stock’s popularity in both markets was currently unrivaled, and the comment section below was exceptionally lively.

[This is insanely bullish!]

[A marubozu limit-up, it’s about to accelerate. Already in with a half position… (greedy.jpg)]

[This main uptrend wave has surged 4.6 times. Since resuming trading at 6.52, it has already skyrocketed more than 20-fold. This is crazy!]

[The higher it goes, the more I’m afraid to buy. The more I don’t buy, the higher it goes. Sigh…]

[I’m impressed. It’s really used up the next ten years’ worth of gains in just one or two months.]

[I admit Weibo is great, but is it really worth over 70 billion?]

[This valuation isn’t really high for an internet company. The growth expectations are right there for everyone to see.]

[No matter what, I firmly believe that no stock rises forever. Those chasing highs should be careful!]

[If you catch an internet growth stock like this, you can get rich instantly.]

[Isn’t that what Go with the Flow did? He made a killing of a hundred million and just shot up!]

[I finally understand why retail investors charge into this market one after another, even though over 70% of them are chumps…]

[The Chinese have a strong gambling nature.]

[Wrong. For a gambler, nationality doesn’t matter. Why trade stocks? Because if you succeed, especially with small capital achieving stable compound interest, it basically means you no longer have to worry about money. That’s the charm of stock trading. In some ways, it’s relatively fair. The failure rate for starting a business is over 95%, and the successful 5% still rely on resources, background, and connections, things that are very difficult for ordinary people to obtain. In stock trading, you only need to manage yourself. You don’t need a store, rent, utilities, or labor costs. If you hone your skills and control your emotions, you have a chance to win a place in the trading market.]

[That sounds pretty reasonable. I almost believed it.]

[Often, the hardest person to manage is yourself, which is why most people in the stock market are just giving away free money.]

[No matter what you do, whether it’s starting a business or trading stocks, only a small minority succeeds…]

…

Fang Hong watched for a while before closing Weibo’s intraday chart. The stock’s limit-up today was a celebration of its name change. The retail investors enthusiastically discussing it in the comment section didn’t know, but he knew that over the next month or so, Weibo would enter a correction phase.

This gluttonous feast of capital had temporarily come to an end, but it wasn’t over yet, as the current peak was only a temporary one for the next month or two.

As expected, it would soon undergo a very brutal deep correction that would last until the end of September. After returning from the National Day holiday in October, it would then be pushed higher again to cash in on the 100 billion yuan market capitalization target, at which point the stock price would surpass 190 yuan.

The current price level was just a temporary peak. The high point created by the doubling rally after October would be the true major five-year peak. Anyone unfortunate enough to be left holding the bag at that point would either have to sell at a loss or wait until the great bull market of 2015 to break even.

For the past two months, Weibo had thoroughly stolen the show in the A-share market. Because the company was a subsidiary under the “Qunxing ecosystem,” Fang Hong could only passively witness the entire process. He had not participated in it.

However, although he hadn’t participated in the market’s overall leader of the past month, the 47 medium-term stocks Fang Hong had invested in were all rising with the market, especially Chengfei Integration.

Today, while Weibo hit its limit-up, Chengfei Integration also hit its limit-up again. Its stock price had reached an all-time high of 35.86 yuan. Also a restructuring concept stock, it had risen from 8.45 yuan and had now more than tripled.

Weibo had reached a temporary peak. If nothing unexpected happened, Chengfei Integration would enter an accelerated rush to the peak next week, and it was almost time for Fang Hong to cash out of the stock. Most of the 47 medium-term targets he held were scheduled to begin their acceleration phase in the fourth quarter.

According to the original historical trajectory, Chengfei Integration was the undisputed number one bull stock of 2010. But now, because Fang Hong had brought Weibo to the A-share market, the number one bull stock of the year was undoubtedly Weibo. Its main uptrend wave from 25.25 yuan alone had resulted in a 4.6-fold increase, and it had risen 20-fold since resuming trading after the backdoor listing.

With Weibo holding the top spot, Chengfei Integration was now in second place.

…

Chapter 395: Two Submitted Projects on Reversing Aging

Chengfei Integration wasn’t that it wasn’t a wild stock; it was just that Weibo, which had started its run at the same time, was simply more dazzling.

In fact, the village chief had already made several moves against Chengfei Integration. After the market closed today, news came out over the weekend: Chengfei Integration was once again hit with a special trading suspension by the CSRC and locked in the penalty box for a week!

This was the stock’s fourth special trading suspension since its price began to climb from 8.45 yuan. It even prompted the exchange to issue a “ban on speculation” on Chengfei Integration to several major brokerages, but the more they banned it, the more frenzied the trading became.

Unlike Weibo, which was hotly pursued by institutions, Chengfei Integration was not favored by institutional investors. It was practically a “retail investor” camp, with retail investors and some hot money driving the speculative frenzy.

This left the many retail investors involved in Chengfei Integration feeling quite resentful and complaining bitterly. After all, its neighbor, Dasheng Shares’ Weibo, had been hyped to the moon. It had risen over 4.6 times from its 25.25 yuan launch price and over 20-fold since resuming trading at 6.52 yuan. If any stock deserved to be in the penalty box, it was Weibo.

Why on earth wasn’t Weibo locked away? Was it just because institutions were piling in to buy it up, while Chengfei Integration had to go to the penalty box because it lacked institutional players?

…

The following week, Weibo’s upward trend began to peak.

On Monday, although Weibo hit a new intra-day high of 144.21 yuan, it closed down -4.15% on shrinking volume, with a closing price of 135.51 yuan and a daily turnover of 4.959 billion yuan.

The next day’s trading was the most classic. After opening slightly higher in the morning, the stock began another strong surge around 11:00 AM. By the morning session’s close, it had formed an engulfing pattern over the previous day’s bearish candle, closing with a strong bullish candlestick.

After the market opened in the afternoon, Weibo’s price continued to surge. At around 1:27 PM, it soared to an all-time high of 147.10 yuan, with its gains widening to about 8.55%, looking as if it was about to hit the limit-up with an engulfing pattern.

But the good times didn’t last. Three minutes later, around 1:30 PM, the stock peaked at 147.10 yuan and began to surge higher then fall back. By the market close, its gains had narrowed to just +0.27%, with the final price fixed at 135.88 yuan.

On the daily K-line, Weibo formed an extremely long “upper shadow line” and also saw a super massive volume, with a total turnover of 7.418 billion yuan for the day, ranking first among all individual stocks in both markets.

But the sentiment had turned!

On Wednesday, Weibo opened deep underwater at -4.69%. The stock closed at 122.29 yuan, hitting the limit-down at -10.00%. The daily volume shrank to 5.042 billion yuan. It was the first limit-down since its rally began.

However, the overall leader was still the overall leader. Even at a high-level limit-down, it didn’t trap investors with consecutive limit-downs opening at the limit. Anyone willing to take a loss could get out the next day.

On Thursday, Weibo even formed a Doji candlestick K-line, closing up +0.92% with a turnover of 3.573 billion yuan. During trading hours, it briefly surged to near the previous day’s opening price. In other words, investors who had bought in the day before not only had a chance to exit but were even given an opportunity to sell at a break-even price.

Those who stubbornly held on through Thursday were set to take a huge loss on Friday. On the last trading day of the week, Weibo fell -10.01%, closing at limit-down again at a price of 111.06 yuan, with a total turnover of 3.997 billion yuan.

With this limit-down, Weibo’s market capitalization shrank to 58.75 billion yuan. At its peak, when the price was 147.10 yuan, its market cap had reached 77.8 billion yuan. In just four short trading days, 19 billion yuan in market value had evaporated.

Of those who played the stock this week, the short-term traders sold at a loss, muttering curses. Some of the retail investors who had followed the trend and were now catching a falling knife either sold at a loss or were stubbornly holding on, unable to let go.

This was nothing unusual. Similar situations occurred during the cooling-off period of other bull stocks in the A-share market. The people who held the bag were the ones to pay the bill for everyone else’s party.

For those left holding the bag, the silver lining was that they were holding the overall leader’s stock. They weren’t annihilated by a consecutive limit-down A-share sell-off that slashed the price in half. There had been opportunities to cut losses before both limit-downs were sealed. Even those who bought on a limit-down day had a chance to exit during the next day’s surge; some who risked scooping up shares at limit-down could even make a profit the following day.

…

Saturday morning, in Tian Jiayi’s room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Last night, Fang Hong had spent the night here.

“The people I assigned to you from the Investment Research Department have analyzed the project submissions on your Weibo account. They’ve ultimately selected two projects you might be interested in.” Dressed in a sexy slip dress, Tian Jiayi got out of bed, walked to the nearby desk, and picked up a file to hand to him.

“Just two?” Fang Hong took the file. With so many submissions in his Weibo inbox, for them to approve only two either meant the Investment Research Department staff were slacking off or they were being overly critical. He suspected it wasn’t the former.

Fang Hong opened the file and glanced through it. After a moment, he couldn’t help but feel surprised. “Both are related to research on reversing aging…”

One project was a research topic from a team at Huanan University, and the other was from a team at Zhejiang University. Both projects were in the field of biotechnology, and both focused on reversing aging, but they approached it from two distinctly different angles.

Reading the report, Fang Hong murmured to himself, “Interesting.”

Still in her slip dress, Tian Jiayi sat down at her vanity table and began to comb her hair while looking in the mirror. She glanced at Fang Hong’s reflection in the corner of the mirror and said, “From what I’ve gathered, the research teams for these two projects aren’t just some makeshift teams of university students. They are project topics led by several relatively well-known biologists in the industry…”

At this point, the beautiful assistant looked back at Fang Hong and added, “Logically speaking, Zhejiang University, at least, shouldn’t be that short on funding, right? Do they really need to ‘scam’ a stockholder like you for research funds?”

She used the word “scam” teasingly, but there was some truth to it. Fang Hong interacted with the public online through his virtual identity as the blogger K3478. As far as anyone knew, he was just a stock trader who happened to have made a tad bit of money.

Still reading the file, Fang Hong replied without looking up, “Now that you put it that way, I’m even more interested. Those who are serious about their research often can’t get funding because they don’t have the energy to deal with all the social intricacies. Anyone with the energy for that basically has no time to bury themselves in research, so they can’t produce real results. They can only rely on persuasive pitches and throw something together to muddle through. After all, it’s hard to justify taking the money and producing nothing.”

That was the reality.

This was the case unless one reached the level of an academician. In the Mainland’s research institutions, funding was tied to professional titles, which forced scholars to compete for promotions and run themselves ragged, inevitably affecting their research.

If they succeeded in getting the title and the funding, that was one thing. If they failed, their projects were basically dead in the water.

Just then, Tian Jiayi averted her gaze and said, “If you don’t invest in these two projects, I reckon they’re basically done for. The fact that they’re trying to find investors through a channel like Weibo suggests at least two things: first, they’re truly broke, and second, no one else is optimistic about their projects.”

Fang Hong closed the file and set it aside, smiling. “I’ll log in later and send a message to these two teams. I’ll set up a remote video conference to chat with them, get a better understanding, and then decide whether to invest and how much.”

With that, Fang Hong also got up, ready to leave the room. But just then, his beautiful assistant gracefully walked over to him, a charming smile on her face. “You must have saved up close to a hundred million overnight, haven’t you? Clear it out before you go.”

She blocked his path. Fang Hong sighed. “You really know how to exploit someone. You’ve truly learned the greed of a capitalist.”

Tian Jiayi glanced at the window, where the morning light streamed into the room. She turned back to Fang Hong with a seductive smile. “You can reach places where even sunlight can’t penetrate.”

It was getting late, so Fang Hong didn’t waste any more time. “As you wish.”

…

Chapter 396: Video Conference

Afterward.

Around 10 AM, Fang Hong logged into his personal Weibo account, K3478, and sent a reply to the two teams.

In his message, Fang Hong expressed great interest in their research topics and proposed a remote video conference to learn more about their work.

In less than an hour, both project teams had replied, both utterly surprised.

They had already given up all hope, as they had sent their proposals to Fang Hong about a month ago. By now, they were planning to shelve their projects indefinitely, or even scrap them entirely.

To their astonishment, a message arrived today. Both teams replied as soon as they received it.

Around 11:40 AM, Fang Hong exchanged a few more brief private messages with the two teams, scheduling the video conferences for the next day. The meeting with the Zhejiang University team was set for the morning, while the call with the Hua University team was scheduled for the afternoon.

Having confirmed the specific times for the video calls, both teams put aside their current work for the day to prepare. This was what mattered most—it was their last chance to keep their projects from being shelved.

If they couldn’t secure funding from Fang Hong tomorrow, it would all be meaningless.

…

The next day, Saturday morning.

In the study on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong sat before his computer. It was approximately 10:50 AM, and he was connecting to a video call with the team from Zhejiang University.

After a few clicks, Fang Hong adjusted the camera, checked the screen to make sure his feed was working properly, then switched the main display to the other party’s window, shrinking his own to a corner.

A moment later, the video connection was successfully established.

Fang Hong saw the feed from the other side. A man over fifty years old sat in front of the camera, with three young people standing behind him. He asked a young man beside him, “Are we connected?”

A young man behind him replied, “Yes, Professor Zhu.”

Fang Hong remained silent, observing the bespectacled man on the screen. Hearing him addressed as “Professor,” he figured this must be the project lead. The young people were likely his students or team members. The most telling feature was the man’s hairline—the tell-tale hairline of a formidable intellect.

However, everyone has their specialty, and it seemed this professor wasn’t very familiar with video conferencing software.

After a moment, Fang Hong saw the young man beside the professor look at the camera and speak. “Hello, Mr. Fang. Can you hear me?”

They had exchanged simple introductions during their contact the previous day, so Fang Hong had given them his name. He nodded and replied simply, “I can hear you. Good morning.”

A moment later, the young man’s voice came through. “Good morning, Mr. Fang. Allow me to introduce you. This is Professor Zhu Yingdong, the founder and head of our project. My name is Lu Guangqi, and we are Professor Zhu’s graduate students.”

Seeing the face of the blogger K3478 for the first time, everyone on the other side, including Zhu Yingdong, was shocked. Although they knew he was young and had only just graduated this year, seeing him in person was still a startling experience.

Zhu Yingdong, in particular, had mixed feelings.

After all, the person on the other side of the screen was younger than the graduate students on his own team. He had been reluctant to have this meeting, especially since the other party was of a younger generation. He found it a bit difficult to stomach; in his eyes, Fang Hong was practically a child. It left a slightly bad taste in his mouth, but he had no choice if he wanted the project to move forward.

After Lu Guangqi’s brief introduction, Fang Hong smiled unhurriedly. “Hello, Professor Zhu.”

On the other end of the video call, Lu Guangqi fell silent, and Zhu Yingdong offered a simple greeting in return.

After a few pleasantries, Fang Hong cut straight to the chase. “I’ve looked over your project proposal. Integrating photosynthesis into animal cells… I must say, your research is incredibly bold and imaginative. The materials were brief, so I’d like to hear about your research in more detail.”

Fang Hong’s tone and demeanor caused Lu Guangqi and the others a flicker of surprise. The composure he displayed through his words and actions seemed at odds with his age.

Perhaps it’s the confidence that comes with a net worth of tens of billions, they thought, providing their own answer to their astonishment.

Professor Zhu also got straight to the point. “Our research team has implanted thylakoids, which are involved in photosynthesis in vegetables, into senescent mammalian cells. We’ve managed to rebalance the intracellular energy metabolism and restore vitality to these aging cells in a short period. We are currently preparing a paper on our findings for submission to Nature magazine.”

Fang Hong nodded without speaking.

Zhu Yingdong adjusted his glasses. Worried that Fang Hong might not understand, he added some basic background knowledge. “The human body is composed of various cells. Once a cell’s anabolism is disrupted, it can no longer function normally and begins to senesce. If we can restore the cell’s functional systems, we may have a chance to reverse the aging process in damaged cells.”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “Is that the starting point of your research?”

Zhu Yingdong nodded. “Correct. Therefore, we needed to find a suitable and normally functioning energy production line. Plant photosynthesis, which has evolved over billions of years in nature, came into our view. The internal membrane system of the chloroplast, the thylakoid, is a powerful energy factory. We just need to extract it, place it in mammalian cells, and add a little light to enhance the cells’ anabolism.”

Seated at his computer, Fang Hong rested his chin on the back of his hand and looked at the screen. “I’m no expert in biology, but I have some basic knowledge. Shouldn’t an animal’s immune system identify the thylakoids as foreign substances and eliminate them? The so-called immune rejection.”

Zhu Yingdong explained methodically, “The approach our research has taken does indeed seem a bit unconventional. A crucial issue is figuring out how to make plant components survive in such an extreme environment.”

Fang Hong nodded. “That’s what I’m curious about.”

Zhu Yingdong said, “Our idea is to wrap the plant thylakoids in the animal’s own cell membrane, using this layer of camouflage to sneak them inside the cells.”

“Interesting,” Fang Hong said, surprised.

Zhu Yingdong continued, “The specific method involves using cell membrane nano-coating technology. We have already conducted some experiments, injecting thylakoids into the damaged cartilage of lab mice. These artificial organelles quickly penetrate the cell membranes and are evenly distributed throughout the cartilage within twenty-four hours. We then use light to activate the thylakoids.”

Fang Hong nodded without a word.

A moment later, Zhu Yingdong said through the video, “The experimental results show that the anabolic level of the light-stimulated thylakoids increased significantly. The arthritis in the lab mice also showed marked improvement. The cartilage cells were rejuvenated from a state equivalent to a 60-year-old human back to that of a 20-year-old…”

As time went on, Zhu Yingdong gradually forgot he was talking to a young man. Getting into his element, he began to animatedly sell the grand vision. “This technology not only has excellent clinical potential in the medical field but also has the opportunity for wide-ranging applications in energy, materials, and other areas. It may allow us to find brand-new strategies for treating human diseases from the survival mechanisms of plants that are billions of years old…”

Time flew by, and the video call had unknowingly lasted for fifty minutes. Fang Hong had also gained a deeper understanding of their project’s progress. Just then, Hu Tao came into the study and said in a soft and cute voice, “Bro Hong~, lunch is ready. Come eat first, you can get back to work later.”

On the other end of the video call, Lu Guangqi and the others saw Hu Tao appear in the frame and heard her voice. They were all stunned, mainly because her maid outfit was completely unexpected.

“Got it,” Fang Hong said, glancing back at Hu Tao. He added, “I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Mmm~, hurry up, then~” Hu Tao giggled sweetly, nodded, and left the room. Fang Hong turned back to the camera, looking calmly at Lu Guangqi and the others. “As for commercializing this research project and turning it into a tangible product… to be honest, that’s a long, long way off…”

At that moment, Lu Guangqi and the others snapped back to reality. Hearing Fang Hong’s words, they sighed inwardly. Just as we thought, there’s no hope!

They had no rebuttal to his statement. Turning scientific research into a commercial application was indeed not something that could be done overnight. They couldn’t even guarantee it was possible.

After a moment, Fang Hong’s tone suddenly shifted. “But, I’d like to invest some money in this research project and see how it goes.”

Huh?

Everyone was taken aback. After confirming they hadn’t misheard, Lu Guangqi and the others’ eyes instantly lit up, and a feeling of excitement began to build within them.

Zhu Yingdong quickly asked, “Mr. Fang, are you truly planning to support our research?”

…

Chapter 397: The Solution

Upon hearing Fang Hong say he intended to invest some money, Lu Guangqi and the others were ecstatic. Their sorrow turned to joy, the excitement almost written on their faces. Zhu Yingdong, however, remained relatively calm.

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “Let’s do it first and see. What if it succeeds?”

Zhu Yingdong, his spirits greatly lifted, replied, “Thank you so much for your support!”

He had never imagined they would be able to secure funding from Fang Hong. After a moment, Fang Hong asked in a serious tone, “Does this project of yours belong to the university, or is it your own independent project?”

Hearing this, Zhu Yingdong couldn’t help but reply with a smile, “If it belonged to the university, this conversation probably wouldn’t be happening. The funding was never approved. All the expenses for the research so far have come from my own savings.”

Fang Hong nodded in understanding. “I see. How about this, Professor Zhu? I’ll invest an initial 30 million in your team’s project.”

At these words, Zhu Yingdong and the graduate students he had brought with him were stunned. “You’re investing 30 million?” Zhu Yingdong exclaimed in shock. “No, no, we don’t need that much money. Our research isn’t actually that expensive. Five million would be more than enough.”

They never imagined that Fang Hong would not only be willing to fund their project but would offer 30 million right from the start. It truly shocked them.

Fang Hong held up a hand to the screen. “Professor, please let me finish. Since your research project is independent, my involvement as an investor changes things. You think five million is enough because you’ve been using some of Zhejiang University’s resources. To avoid unnecessary intellectual property disputes in the future, your project should be made completely independent, with all rights clearly established.”

Fang Hong continued systematically, “You’ll need to purchase new lab equipment, right? And you’ll need a facility? That all costs money. Five million might not be enough to cover it. I’ll invest 30 million. With a budget of 10 million a year, that should be enough for three years, don’t you think?”

Zhu Yingdong quickly replied, “Yes, that’s definitely enough. It’s enough for five years, even.”

He suddenly realized that although Fang Hong was young, his thinking was incredibly thorough—and clearly something he had just come up with on the spot. This left Zhu Yingdong quite surprised.

Professor Zhu’s face was flushed, his spirits exceptionally high. Fang Hong continued, “Here’s the plan. I’ll send a few people to Zhejiang University to meet you with the funds and a contract. I intend to establish a company. The 30 million will be deposited into the company’s account, and your entire project will be transferred under this company’s name.”

Fang Hong added, “You, Professor, will have full authority over the research project. Control over the company’s funds will be given to you, but there must be a clear, traceable record of cash flow. Your team will hold 50% of the company’s equity—how you divide that amongst yourselves is an internal matter. I will take the other 50%. If the project fails in the future, the company will be bankrupted and dissolved on the spot. If it continues to make progress and breakthroughs, I will provide further financing for the company and new funding for the research.”

Finally, Fang Hong looked at Zhu Yingdong on the screen and said, “Professor Zhu, if you accept this proposal, I will arrange for people to come over in the next few days to actively move things forward.”

On the other end, Zhu Yingdong replied without hesitation, “I accept.”

Fang Hong wasn’t surprised at all by his quick acceptance. If he didn’t accept, the project would die prematurely. Nodding, Fang Hong said with a smile, “Excellent. Professor Zhu, please leave an address and your contact information. My people will be in touch with you soon.”

Zhu Yingdong turned to Lu Guangqi and instructed him to send their contact information and address to Fang Hong later. At the end of the video call, Fang Hong added, “Professor Zhu, after the agreement is signed, please announce this matter publicly. I believe there are many other research teams facing similar difficulties, and I hope that when they see this, they will also reach out to me.”

Zhu Yingdong nodded repeatedly with a smile. “That’s no problem. Your support for scientific research is a wonderful thing for the academic community. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have helped publicize it.”

Finally, Fang Hong added, “One more thing. Please do not reveal any of my personal information. To the public, you can just refer to me by my Weibo blogger handle, K3478. I don’t wish to be unduly disturbed.”

Zhu Yingdong nodded again. “No problem.”

After exchanging a few more words, the call ended. Fang Hong left his study to have a meal. On the other end, after the call was over, Zhu Yingdong’s graduate students, who were also members of the project team, including Lu Guangqi, erupted in cheers on the spot.

Lu Guangqi exclaimed excitedly, “I can’t believe we settled it in less than an hour! And for 30 million! We won’t have to worry about funding for the next five years.”

Another graduate student added, “And as long as we make progress within five years, he’ll invest more. We’ll definitely make progress in five years!”

Zhu Yingdong got up from his computer, looked at Lu Guangqi, and said, “Go send Mr. Fang our contact address.”

Lu Guangqi nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, Professor!”

…

During afternoon tea time, Fang Hong was in his second-floor study on a video call with the team from Hua University. Tian Jiayi was also in the room, though she remained off-camera.

Onscreen, the team leader, a Ph.D. named Yue Lang, was introducing his project to Fang Hong. “We use genetically modified mitochondria to convert light energy into usable chemical energy. We’ve managed to extend the lifespan of nematodes by more than 30%, reversing the aging process…”

Fang Hong noticed that both Yue Lang’s team and Zhu Yingdong’s team were using the same attribute in their research on reversing aging—light energy!

The difference was that Yue Lang’s team was starting with mitochondria.

Yue Lang continued on the screen, “Mitochondria are the power plants of the cell. They use glucose to produce an energy unit called ATP, which is adenosine triphosphate. This universal high-energy phosphate compound serves as the most direct source of energy in living organisms, providing power for many key cellular functions, such as muscle contraction.”

“When mitochondria synthesize ATP, they store electrochemical potential energy on the inner mitochondrial membrane. When the concentration of protons on either side of the inner membrane is asymmetrical, it creates a mitochondrial membrane potential—an electrical potential difference across the membrane. Our latest research indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the core factors causing aging, and this potential difference decreases with age.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask, “Does that mean if we find a way to increase this membrane potential, we can reverse aging?”

Yue Lang’s voice came from the video feed. “That’s the very question we’re trying to prove. It’s why we started this research. Our team genetically modified the nematodes used in our experiments, causing them to express a light-activated proton pump from fungi. This way, when the nematodes are exposed to light, the proton pump can directly transport particles across the membrane, using light energy to charge the mitochondria.”

Yue Lang continued with clear logic, “This modification increased the membrane potential and promoted ATP synthesis. The lifespan of the modified nematodes increased by about 30% to 40%. Although this technology cannot yet be used to directly help human cells reverse aging with light energy, it is significant for understanding the complex processes within mitochondria. Perhaps we have found a new way to treat related diseases and slow down aging.”

At this point, Yue Lang added with a wry smile, “According to our plan, the next step would be to conduct further experiments using human cells or rodent cells, but our funding is insufficient to support further research…”

Fang Hong listened without a word, nodding silently. He couldn’t help but mentally compare the two teams’ approaches to anti-aging research. He wasn’t an expert in this field, so he couldn’t judge which direction had more potential, if they both did, or if neither did.

Relatively speaking, however, he was more inclined toward Yue Lang’s project. There was no other reason than this: if Zhu Yingdong’s team’s idea was correct and they could transfer the ability of photosynthesis to humans, wouldn’t that be the path to becoming the Hulk?

Finally, Fang Hong said with a smile, “A very imaginative project, Dr. Yue Lang. I’ll invest an initial 50 million. If there’s progress later on, I will continue to add to the investment.”

At these words, Yue Lang’s team on the other end of the video was first shocked, then thrilled.

This far exceeded their expectations. They had originally hoped for 20 million, and even 10 million would have been acceptable. They never expected Fang Hong to make the first offer, and for it to be 50 million.

What they didn’t know was that Fang Hong placed greater importance on another external factor: gene editing!

Yue Lang’s team might not have realized this themselves, as the term “gene editing” was not yet in vogue. But as a transmigrator, Fang Hong understood that if Yue Lang’s research continued to advance, it would most likely have to touch upon this field eventually.

Gene editing was a highly controversial field, even a taboo.

But humanity eventually broke through this ethical taboo and opened that door. Fang Hong knew that in just five years, someone would illegally perform gene editing on human embryos and implant them, resulting in two volunteers becoming pregnant, one of whom would give birth to twin girls.

Regardless, that door was ultimately opened by humanity. Although editing the human genome remained forbidden, gene-editing technology gradually developed in other fields.

When the whole world is working on it, do you get involved or not? That is the question.

Fang Hong’s answer was simple: Get involved!

If you don’t, others will. When they use it against you, and you have nothing to counter with, you won’t even know what hit you.

…

Chapter 398: Buy the Copyright for This Novel Series

Fang Hong planned to invest fifty million yuan in Yue Lang’s team. Unlike Zhu Yingdong’s independent project, Yue Lang’s team had initially received some funding from their university, but that support was later cut off.

After further discussion, the two sides reached a consensus. As before, Fang Hong would establish a company to house the investment funds and the project.

Fang Hong would still hold 50 percent of the equity, while Hua University would hold 30 percent, and Yue Lang’s team would take the remaining 20 percent. Yue Lang had no objection to this arrangement; in fact, he would have been willing to continue his research without any equity at all, a point he made clear during his conversation with Fang Hong.

However, Fang Hong was firmly against it. It was evident that while Yue Lang might be an authority in his field, he was a layman in other matters.

You might be willing to go without, to scorn wealth, but what about your team? Do you think they feel the same? Especially the younger members of the team, some of whom don’t even own a home yet.

Furthermore, if they were to feel disgruntled later or leave with their research to start their own venture, it would inevitably create problems for you. It was sure to be a hassle.

Tying their interests together with financial incentives was the most direct and least troublesome method.

As for Hua University, a 30 percent stake was a good deal. The project was about to be scrapped, so why wouldn’t they welcome an outside investor?

If Hua University didn’t agree, Fang Hong’s approach was simple: he would just walk away.

Alternatively, if the university disagreed but Yue Lang was willing to resign from his position and come out, Fang Hong could also directly fund him to continue his research.

After ending the video call with Yue Lang’s team, Fang Hong turned to his beautiful assistant, who had been sitting beside him in silence, and gave his instructions. “For these two teams, I want you to start arranging the funds and contracts. Send someone to get in touch with them.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright, leave it to me.”

Unlike the predictable success of the drone project at Kunpeng Technology, led by Chu Changxing’s team, which was set to launch its first-generation product in another two months, these two anti-aging biomedical research projects were far more challenging. A breakthrough might not even be achieved in ten years.

In fact, Fang Hong was fully prepared for the tens of millions he was investing to go down the drain. He had no hope of seeing any commercial results within a decade. So why invest at all? The answer was simple: at the very least, he would be building up a reserve of technology and talent. It wouldn’t be a total loss.

After all, both projects were housed within companies, and Fang Hong held control. He secured half the equity in the first round of investment; another round of refinancing would grant him absolute control.

When it came to this type of investment, Fang Hong never looked at the short term. He always considered them on a time scale of ten, or even twenty, years.

In short, his investment philosophy in fields like this was that if there were no breakthroughs, so be it. But if a breakthrough did occur, Stellaris Capital would be guaranteed to have a seat at the table, perhaps even leading the entire industry.

He had plenty of money, so he wasn’t worried about a few million going down the drain.

If they did achieve results that could be commercialized, it would be a massive win.

A short while later, Yifulei came to the study. She looked at Fang Hong and said, “Bro Hong, Mr. Cao has arrived. He’s waiting in the living room downstairs.”

The Mr. Cao she mentioned was Cao Chenghui, whom Fang Hong had called that morning to come over.

After informing him, Yifulei left the room. Tian Jiayi also left the study. Fang Hong went to his bookshelf, scanned the titles, and pulled out two books. He then walked out of the study and headed downstairs.

Cao Chenghui, who was waiting in the living room, soon saw the big boss descending the stairs, followed by Tian Jiayi.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Cao Chenghui quickly stood up as they approached. However, Fang Hong casually raised a hand and gestured downward. Halfway up, Cao Chenghui sat back down. Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi then took their seats.

“Boss, what are your instructions?” Cao Chenghui asked immediately. The big boss had summoned him personally, so he assumed it was for something important and had dropped everything to come at once.

Just then, Fang Hong placed the two books he had brought down on the table and pushed them toward Cao Chenghui. “Have you read these two books?” he asked.

Tian Jiayi glanced at them curiously. Cao Chenghui picked one up, looked at the title, and said instinctively, “The Three-Body Problem… A sci-fi novel?”

The two books Fang Hong had brought were indeed the epic sci-fi novels The Three-Body Problem and The Three-Body Problem: The Dark Forest. The third installment, The Three-Body Problem: Death’s End, had not yet been published, but it was coming soon. If history unfolded as it should, it would be released in November 2010, just two months from now.

A moment later, Cao Chenghui looked up at the big boss and shook his head. “I haven’t. Boss, I’m not a fan of science fiction.”

Fang Hong glanced at the book in his hand and said, “I recently read this sci-fi trilogy. It’s an excellent piece of work, and the third part is about to be published. It’s nothing short of a world-class sci-fi masterpiece. I want you to go and buy the copyright for this series.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Chenghui immediately replied, “No problem.”

At the same time, Ah Hui couldn’t help but inwardly grumble. He had thought the big boss had something important to discuss, but it turned out to be just this? Just this? A trivial matter like this could have been handled with a single phone call.

Fang Hong continued in a calm, unhurried tone, “The film and television adaptation of this sci-fi work must be treated with the utmost importance. If the Art Star Media Group I envision is to one day challenge Hollywood, Chinese cinema can’t rely on a few films like A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop. You could make ten thousand movies like that, and the Americans wouldn’t be scared. They might even watch them with a sense of novelty, review them, and maybe even toss you a few awards if they’re in a good mood. But if you make one top-tier sci-fi blockbuster like The Three-Body Problem or The Wandering Earth that exports our own values, they’ll be scared to death.”

What he had thought was a minor task was now being framed at such a high level. Cao Chenghui was taken aback but immediately grasped its importance.

Fang Hong added, “I’ve done some preliminary research. The film rights for the Three-Body Problem IP were sold last year for 100,000 yuan. I want you to find the buyer and acquire the rights, no matter the cost.”

Thinking about The Three-Body Problem series, Fang Hong mentally slapped his thigh. He had forgotten!

It had only just come to mind recently.

Otherwise, he would have had Cao Chenghui buy the copyright last year.

But it wasn’t a huge problem. He had plenty of money, and the power of cash could solve it. The Three-Body Problem was a series he had to acquire. It not only had immense potential commercial value but also held value in exporting cultural ideas. The projected commercial value of a Three-Body Problem cinematic universe was enormous. If successfully created, it could generate a cultural industry chain worth tens of billions.

However, now was not the right time. For one, the special effects technology was not yet up to par. For another, the nation’s comprehensive national strength needed to rise further.

Science fiction films were different from other genres. Their success was heavily dependent on a country’s comprehensive national strength. To put it in down-to-earth terms, if a movie like this were made now, even the Chinese people themselves wouldn’t believe they had the capability to save the world. It would feel too fake and would inevitably be rejected.

This film series would have to wait at least another five to eight years. By then, the level of special effects would have advanced, the nation’s strength would have grown, and the Chinese people, especially the younger generation, would have an unprecedented level of confidence.

That would be the opportune moment to launch The Three-Body Problem cinematic universe project. From a business perspective as well, the market would need five to eight years to build a solid foundation.

After all, for a sci-fi film to truly benchmark against Hollywood’s industrial standards, the cost would be immense—at least 700 million to one billion RMB in production costs. To recoup that through the box office would require earnings of 2.1 to 3 billion, and that would only be breaking even.

In the current Mainland film market, the highest-grossing film was Avatar, released at the beginning of the year, which had earned 2.016 billion RMB. This was the absolute limit of the Mainland market, and it was only achieved because Fang Hong’s existence had spurred the Art Star Media Group to accelerate the construction of 3D screening rooms.

If The Three-Body Problem were released now, the Mainland market’s audience size would be nowhere near enough to cover the production costs. And the international market was essentially a non-starter, because the United States would never give a blockbuster like this significant screen scheduling, not even if it could make them money.

Hollywood blockbusters had the support of the global market, but for a long time to come, Chinese films could only rely on the Mainland market. From a business perspective, it would be difficult to sustain a film with a one-billion-level production cost for the next five to eight years because it simply wouldn’t be able to recover its costs.

Compressing the production budget would mean compromising quality, which would ultimately lead to failure.

After 2017, the Mainland film market would be large enough to support a big-budget production of one billion yuan. The market size would be there. Fang Hong, with his prescient knowledge, knew that in 2017, Wolf Warrior 2 would rake in a staggering 5.6 billion at the box office. This meant that by that point in time, the Mainland market would be large enough for a sci-fi blockbuster with a one-billion-yuan production cost to not only break even but also be profitable.

But for now, it was impossible. The only thing to do was to buy the IP, hold onto it, and slowly begin pre-production. After all, Avatar took nearly ten years from preparation to release.

The film adaptation rights for The Three-Body Problem had been bought last year by the wife of a Mainland director. After reading the novel, she was deeply captivated and decided to buy the film rights to have her husband direct it and make a name for himself.

She found the author of the work, Da Liu, and made a token offer of 100,000 yuan.

Da Liu worked at a state-owned enterprise, earning a monthly salary of 4,000 yuan. His previous novella, The Wandering Earth, had earned him a manuscript fee of 2,800 yuan. How many words would he have to write to earn 100,000 yuan? Without much thought, Da Liu readily agreed.

If history had followed its original course, the couple who bought the rights would have sold them ten years later for a huge profit of 120 million yuan, making a killing before gracefully exiting the stage. The buyer would have been the boss of Youzu, who paid over one hundred million for it.

But now that Fang Hong was intervening, there would certainly be no role for Youzu to play.

…

Chapter 399: Bake a Pie and Let Everyone Smell the Aroma

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong looked at Cao Chenghui and gave his instructions in a methodical manner. “It’s not just The Three-Body Problem we need to buy back. Yixing Media is to buy all of this author’s other short and medium-length novels. And to be clear, I don’t just want the film and television rights. I want the complete rights—film, television series, web series, animation, comics, audiobooks, merchandise, and everything else.”

His words surprised not only Cao Chenghui but also Tian Jiayi, who was standing nearby.

“Understood!” Cao Chenghui nodded immediately.

Fang Hong continued, “Don’t be stingy with the copyright fees. Offer two million yuan apiece for his medium-length novels, fifty thousand for his short stories, and ten million for his full-length novels like Ball Lightning. As for The Three-Body Problem trilogy he sold for one hundred thousand yuan, offer him ten million for each book to make up for it. This will show Yixing Media’s respect for great work.”

Hearing the big boss’s words, Cao Chenghui was stunned.

The beautiful assistant sitting next to Fang Hong was also surprised. After a moment of thought, she asked curiously, “Is this strategy of yours meant to replicate what you did with online streaming rights for film and television—to raise the entire industry’s valuation?”

Other than that, she couldn’t fathom why Fang Hong would make such an exorbitant offer. It was practically like rushing to hand someone money.

But Fang Hong shook his head and said, “No, these are two different things. Science fiction has almost no foundation in the Mainland; it’s a niche within a niche. By buying all of this author’s sci-fi works at a premium of over a hundred times their value, my biggest goal is to stimulate this market. You have to show people that there’s profit to be made. Only then will more people throw themselves into creating science fiction stories with the greatest enthusiasm.”

In essence, he was baking a pie for the sci-fi fiction community, showing everyone that writing sci-fi could make them hundred-millionaires, thereby igniting their creative passion. A single flower does not make a spring; a hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden.

At this, Cao Chenghui couldn’t help but say, “Boss, if we’re spending this much, I think it would be better for the company to just hire people to write for us.”

Fang Hong glanced at him and said coolly, “An industrial, assembly-line process will never produce world-class work. I don’t want mediocre, assembly-line products. I want a world-class masterpiece like The Three-Body Problem.”

Cao Chenghui immediately chimed in, “The boss hits the nail on the head, getting right to the heart of the matter.”

Fang Hong ignored Ah Hui’s flattery and continued with his instructions. “I’ve looked into the works under this author’s name. Currently, he has sixteen short stories, sixteen medium-length novels, and seven full-length novels, including the final book of the soon-to-be-published Three-Body Problem trilogy. I want you to acquire them all.”

“Understood!” Cao Chenghui nodded.

Beside them, Tian Jiayi thought for a moment and said, “If you count The Three-Body Problem, which he already sold, the copyright fees for the seven full-length novels will be seventy million yuan. The sixteen short stories will be eight hundred thousand, and the sixteen medium-length novels will be thirty-two million. That adds up to one hundred ten million. You really are a fool with too much money!”

As she spoke, Tian Jiayi shook her head as if at a loss for words.

Cao Chenghui remained silent, but he paid extra attention to the beautiful assistant’s last sentence. Their relationship was clearly extraordinary. Only someone at the level of the “boss’s wife” would dare to speak to the big boss like that.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but shoot a meaningful glance at his beautiful assistant. Whether she intended it or not, the last sentence of her remark had the effect of indirectly demonstrating her unusual relationship with him in front of an outsider like Cao Chenghui.

However, Fang Hong didn’t mind. He smiled and said, “One hundred ten million to buy the full rights to all of this author’s works? I’m making a killing, not getting wrecked. You have to take the long-term view.”

“I trust your long-term view,” Tian Jiayi said without hesitation. “But I also believe our company will never be able to shake off the ‘fool with too much money’ label.”

“It doesn’t matter. In any case, Chenghui is the head of Yixing Media, so when people talk, they’ll be saying he’s the fool with too much money,” Fang Hong said with a chuckle, crossing his legs. Hearing this, Ah Hui laughed along and added, “Let others laugh at Qunxing for being too crazy; I laugh at them for failing to see the truth. How could an ordinary person ever comprehend the boss’s vision and perspective?”

Fang Hong smiled. “That’s enough. Save the energy you’re using for flattery for your work.”

Cao Chenghui stood up. “Boss, if there are no other instructions, I’ll take my leave.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Go on.”

After leaving the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Cao Chenghui began to carry out Fang Hong’s instructions. He took this matter very seriously, especially given the importance the big boss placed on it.

Cao Chenghui directly assigned Yixing Media’s second-in-command, Yang Guang, to personally secure the rights to The Three-Body Problem. The budget was more than sufficient. He was also tasked with approaching the author to buy out all his other works in a massive one hundred ten-million-yuan package deal.

…

The next day, Monday, August 23rd.

The A-share market began its first trading day of the new week. After a 1.70% correction on the previous trading day, the index opened slightly higher today.

As for individual stocks, Weibo, which had hit the limit-down on Friday, opened sharply lower at 103.65 yuan in the call auction, down 6.67%. Just last week, the stock’s price had once surged to 147.10 yuan.

It had risen fast and was falling even faster. At this rate, it felt like even the 100-yuan mark was in jeopardy.

Just two minutes after the call auction results came out, “Go with the Flow” surfaced in his chat group. He directly posted a screenshot of Weibo’s order book and sent a message: [Going to grab some of this in a bit!]

[Master is still going for Weibo?]

[This stock has already dropped nearly 30 points. Is there still a rally left?]

[Got it, going all-in right now… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[The drop is too scary. Even the overall leader can’t handle it!]

…

As the market opened at 9:30 AM, the three major indices traded in a narrow range. After its low open, Weibo’s stock price shot up within the first minute, quickly narrowing its decline to the -2.17% range.

About two minutes in, Go with the Flow decisively placed a 50 million yuan order to actively push the price up. The timing of his large order was perfect, directly igniting the bulls’ sentiment on the market depth chart. The stock price began to climb steadily, quickly turning positive.

Around 9:33:30 AM, Weibo’s stock price pulled back to today’s zero-axis line but soon surged upward again.

It was no exaggeration to say that Go with the Flow’s 50 million yuan played a strong supporting role in reviving Weibo’s sentiment today. At this moment, the stock’s intraday line continued to climb steadily. About twenty minutes after the market opened, the stock price had already risen by more than 7 percent.

The chat group was also buzzing.

[Go with the Flow: Pushed 50 million yuan at -2.37% underwater. A little over a 40% position. Once I confirmed it was gaining strength, I went big!]

[666666…]

[Master is a true beast!]

[I saw Master’s message before the market opened and jumped in right away. Already made a huge 12-point profit. Feels good.]

[Master, why did you buy Weibo again today? @Go with the Flow.]

[Is it going to start flying again? Is the overall leader really that powerful?]

[Go with the Flow: Today’s auction opened low, but it opened at a very good position. Go look at the past overall leaders recognized by the markets. Generally, after they peak and drop about 30 percent in the short term, capital will come in for some bottom fishing to bet on a rebound. These are profit-taking opportunities with a relatively high degree of certainty!]

[There’s a theory like that? What’s the logic?]

[Go with the Flow: Don’t ask about logic. Just know that the probability of making a profit is greater than taking a loss, so you just do it. Bet on the high-probability event. However, the prerequisite for this kind of play is that it must be the recognized overall sentiment leader of the current market. If you try this with a typical monster stock, you’re more likely to take a loss than make a profit. And if you step on a big landmine, you won’t get out without getting slashed in half. You’ll drive a BMW in and ride a bicycle out.]

[Learned something new.]

[Taking notes: Bet on a rebound when the overall leader drops around 30%.]

[Go with the Flow: Even if you’re wrong on a bet with the overall leader, you can still sell at a loss the next day. That’s because the leader has a ton of retail investors holding the bag, and the sentiment is still there. It’s not like those junk monster stocks where if you’re wrong, you can’t even get out. They’ll just lock you in with consecutive limit-downs until you’re dead.]

[Go with the Flow: You know why I dared to push a large position today?]

[Got my stool, ready for the lesson.]

[Go with the Flow: Because next door, Chengfei Integration is in the penalty box. It won’t be released until next Monday. Over the weekend, everyone was bearish, saying Chengfei Integration’s trading halt would drag down the sentiment for other high-flyers. But what happened to the high-flyers in today’s auction? Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals, with five limit-ups in six days, opened up +2.35%. Leading Technology also opened up +1.88%. With the overall leader Weibo opening so low, there were definitely going to be a ton of people scrambling for it. I was a bit more cautious and waited for confirmation within the first five minutes. Once it was confirmed, I went for it!]

[Master’s understanding is on another level. So strong!]

[Learning from Master’s thought process.]

[Go with the Flow: K-God is the real giant, ahead of the entire market. We’re all slow on the uptake, while the chumps are just oblivious. The 47 targets like Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals, Chengfei Integration, and Hongdu Aviation are either monster bull stocks in a trend or monster stocks with consecutive limit-ups.]

[K-God is truly a god-like existence. No one can argue with that.]

[Sigh, I still don’t get why K-God didn’t trade Weibo. It makes no sense. The grandmaster of the leading stock strategy didn’t go for the overall leader. I don’t understand. With K-God’s skill, there’s no way he couldn’t have caught Weibo.]

…

Chapter 400: We’ll Cultivate a New Generation Ourselves!

As time went on, the index traded within a narrow, boring range, but the performance of individual stocks today was spectacular.

Around 9:55 AM, Weibo continued to rally on high volume, charging straight for the limit-up price. At the same time, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals’ stock price also shot up toward the limit-up board, its gains exceeding 9.36%, making a strong bid to outmaneuver Weibo.

However, it failed.

At precisely 9:55:21 AM, with its price already up 9.25%, a massive order of 273 million yuan suddenly slammed into Weibo’s intraday chart, instantly pushing it to the limit. The volume bar for that minute quickly surpassed 519 million yuan. Limit orders worth 1.1 billion yuan rapidly stacked up on the board, sealing the limit-up tightly. Weibo’s surge also drove a rally in the media sector.

About two minutes later, major trading apps sent out notifications:

[Weibo hits the limit-up in early trading, share price reaches 122.16 yuan, current trading volume exceeds 5 billion yuan.]

Around the same time, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals failed in its attempt to hit the limit and subsequently plummeted. By about 10:05 AM, the stock had dropped to 17.40 yuan, with its gains narrowing to +4.76%, and its intraday line fell below the intraday average price line.

However, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals rebounded afterward. By about 10:25 AM, the stock had climbed to 18.27 yuan, hitting the limit-up with a +9.99% gain. There weren’t many limit orders on the board, but it was a limit-up nonetheless, achieving a second consecutive limit-up from a high position.

Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals was definitely a monster stock. The company had no real performance to speak of, and its half-year report offered no highlights. But due to its small market capitalization, it was favored by short-term hot money. On the news front, its stock price began to strengthen after the “super bacteria” news broke on August 11th and hit the limit-up on August 13th.

Afterward, due to the significant short-term gains, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals had to publish an announcement regarding unusual stock trading volatility. However, the announcement did not contain the explanation about “super bacteria” that investors were hoping for. On August 16th, 17th, and 18th, the stock hit the limit-up again. On the 19th, Lianhuan Pharmaceuticals issued a clarification regarding the “super bacteria,” but the speculative fervor of the hot money did not subside.

You say there’s nothing to it? The investors say there is, and that’s all that matters!

The market trend today was not what the investors who had been bearish over the weekend expected. The major high-sentiment stocks were completely unaffected by Chengfei Integration being locked in the ‘little black room’. The index’s performance was lackluster, but the enthusiasm for flocking to high-sentiment stocks had not diminished in the slightest.

The next day, Tuesday, the A-share market opened, and the index entered a period of wide-ranging consolidation.

As for individual stocks, Weibo, which had once again topped the popularity charts, opened lower at 117.06 yuan, down 4.17%, after hitting the limit-up yesterday. After the opening bell, it pulled back to 114.82 yuan, with its losses widening to six percentage points.

After such a large gap down followed by a rally to the limit-up yesterday, the intraday ultra-short-term traders were all incredibly quick to flee. In a fish tail rally, the seasoned veterans of short-term trading were all trying to get out faster than the next. Who the hell would play the long game with you? They cashed out their profits as soon as they could.

In the group Go with the Flow belonged to, most of the members who had been copying homework had sold off a majority of their positions in the morning. Some made a few percentage points of profit, some got out at break-even, and some were still holding on with a long-term view.

However, Go with the Flow was still holding with his long-term view. It wasn’t until around 1:20 PM that Weibo began to rally. When it surged by about five percentage points, Go with the Flow started to sell on the surge.

The advantage of an overall leader is that it can accommodate the easy entry and exit of large funds. He had bought fifty million yuan worth of shares yesterday, and today he easily cashed out over fifty-eight million yuan, including principal and profit. He made about eight million from this round of profit-taking, and his withdrawal did not cause any significant volatility on the market.

During the afternoon session, Weibo’s stock price once peaked at 133.04 yuan, a gain of 8.9 percentage points, looking as if it was about to secure two consecutive limit-ups.

However, it ultimately failed to achieve a second consecutive limit-up. With about half an hour left in late trading, it began to surge higher then fall back. In the end, Weibo closed at 126.29 yuan, up +3.38%, with a full-day trading volume of 3.459 billion yuan and a total market capitalization of 66.807 billion yuan.

Go with the Flow had no intention of getting involved with this stock’s future movements. There wasn’t much of a premium left.

Meanwhile, Cao Chenghui, having received his assignment from the big boss, had delegated the task to Yixing Media’s second-in-command, Yang Guang, to personally negotiate with the owner of the copyright for The Three-Body Problem. Today, he had successfully met with the Zhang Panpan couple.

But it wasn’t Yang Guang who paid them a visit. Instead, after receiving a call from Yixing Media, Zhang Panpan himself flew to Xincheng to meet with Yang Guang at the company’s headquarters.

This brings up an important point. After Zhang Panpan’s wife bought the copyright for The Three-Body Problem, the couple had spent the past year lobbying big shots in the investment world, but no one was willing to invest.

They had also approached Yixing Media and were rejected.

Yixing Media’s refusal at the time, even with the benefit of hindsight, wasn’t actually a mistake, though it was a product of historical limitations. The Mainland market at the time simply had no fertile ground for science fiction films. No matter how you made it, it was a losing proposition. A crude, shoddy production meant to bullshit the audience would get you cursed out, while a carefully crafted, high-budget one would surely make you lose your shirt.

It was understandable that no one in the industry paid the Zhang Panpan couple any attention. But this time, Yixing Media had proactively contacted them, and it was all because of a direct order from the ultimate big boss behind the scenes.

Around 3:30 PM, at the Yixing Media headquarters.

In one of the company’s meeting rooms, Yixing Media’s Vice President, Yang Guang, was discussing the matter of The Three-Body Problem copyright with Zhang Panpan. When he learned that Yixing Media wanted to buy the copyright from him, and Yang Guang bluntly asked him to name his price, he refused outright.

“Director Zhang, just be direct. Under what conditions would you be willing to transfer the copyright of The Three-Body Problem to me?” Yang Guang asked again, crisply.

“I don’t want to sell the copyright, Mr. Yang. My conditions are actually very simple, just two of them,” Zhang Panpan said.

Hearing this, Yang Guang asked with curiosity, “What conditions?”

Zhang Panpan raised his fingers one by one and said, “First, your company can invest in this film, and the investment for a single film must be over two hundred million yuan. Second, I must be the one to direct it.”

Hearing this, Yang Guang couldn’t help but laugh. He adjusted his position on the sofa, resting a hand on the armrest, and said unhurriedly, “Director Zhang, blockbusters, especially sci-fi blockbusters, are the crown jewel of heavy-industry films. The vast majority of current Mainland directors simply don’t have the ability to handle a sci-fi film like The Three-Body Problem. To put it more bluntly, they have no ability to handle sci-fi blockbusters at all. Mainland directors are basically still operating at the level of a small workshop. That’s the upper limit of their capabilities.”

Yang Guang was not mincing his words. He looked at Zhang Panpan and said calmly, “I don’t think you can handle it. Perhaps a small-scale, purely conceptual sci-fi film like the ones the Americans make might be possible, but for an epic production like The Three-Body Problem, I think you might not even be able to handle basic team management. To be even more direct, most people in the arts don’t have an engineer’s mindset.”

These words clearly stung Director Zhang, but he didn’t show it. It was true that he had no notable works to his name.

Compared to Cao Chenghui, Yang Guang understood movies better—or rather, he understood the industry better. If Cao Chenghui hadn’t been parachuted in, he would have been the head of Yixing Media.

At this moment, Yang Guang continued, “When Yixing Media takes on this project, we’re not playing house. We intend to develop it into a super IP. That means an investment of astronomical figures. A project like The Three-Body Problem is a true heavy-industry film. It involves thousands of people, an investment scale starting at five hundred million yuan—and that’s not including actor salaries—as well as massive amounts of heavy assets, equipment, and cooperation between multiple units.”

At this point, Yang Guang looked directly at Zhang Panpan and added, “Once the project starts shooting, there’s the logistics for several thousand people, equipment maintenance, site maintenance, work scheduling, account management, and coordination between different departments. It’s extremely complex. Director Zhang, ask yourself honestly, can you manage and coordinate all of this? Your average director probably can’t even distribute lunch boxes to the extras properly.”

Zhang Panpan was speechless, clearly lacking the confidence to nod in agreement.

Yang Guang continued, “To make a sci-fi blockbuster, you can’t do it without a STEM mindset and cultural logic. Those current directors, asking them to film a sci-fi blockbuster? I can already imagine what kind of crap they’d produce. A bunch of dirty faces, looking foolishly numb, wearing tattered clothes in search of a utopia. If they get the passion wrong, won’t they just turn it into some kind of scar sci-fi?”

Yang Guang delivered another merciless critique, “What are these current directors so keen on filming? Getting on roofs, getting into bed, getting into the royal court… And then they complain that the regulations are too strict and limit their creativity, all while demanding ridiculously high salaries and acting like preachy schoolmasters trying to ‘enlighten the people.’ What right do they have to enlighten the people? In short, my conclusion is that not a single contemporary director can handle the great responsibility of making a sci-fi blockbuster.”

Zhang Panpan was displeased, but since Yang Guang was a boss at Art Star Media Group, with Stellaris Capital behind him, he didn’t dare to offend him. Still, he couldn’t help but ask, “So according to you, Mr. Yang, there’s not a single capable director in the Mainland. Is your company planning to hire a major foreign director?”

Yang Guang immediately shook his head. “No, no. First of all, it’s not that we can’t afford one, but we would never hire a foreigner to direct. Yixing Media isn’t counting on contemporary Mainland directors either.”

At these words, Zhang Panpan was utterly confused. “I don’t understand. Then who will direct it?”

Yang Guang smiled. “Our solution is to cultivate a new generation of directors. Yixing Media will cultivate them ourselves. We’ll rely on the new generation to break new ground. To be honest with you, the company has recently drafted a project proposal. We plan to select fifteen young people as the first batch and send them to North America for a few years to learn how Hollywood’s heavy-industry films are made.”

The Hollywood film industry system, especially for heavy-industry films, certainly had its strengths. Yixing Media wasn’t arrogant. They would go, watch carefully, learn diligently, and figure out how they do it. Then they would come back, summarize, analyze, and forge a path for domestic heavy-industry films.

After a brief pause, Yang Guang stated again, without a shred of politeness, “China’s sci-fi film industry cannot rely on the current batch of directors. It won’t work!”

Chapter 401: Two Solutions

Zhang Panpan gradually realized that after talking with Yang Guang for so long, he, the director, had been on the receiving end of a non-stop verbal assault from him. He felt a surge of annoyance. The matter of The Three-Body Problem project, meanwhile, seemed to be drifting further and further away.

Just then, Yang Guang suddenly pulled the topic back. “I actually have two options here,” he said. “Director Zhang, you might want to consider them.”

Hearing this, Zhang Panpan replied, “Please, go on.”

Yang Guang spoke methodically, “Since you’re so insistent on directing The Three-Body Problem yourself, let’s sign a high-stakes agreement. My Yixing Media will bring in a few investors for you to establish a new sci-fi project. The production budget will be two hundred million, with another one hundred million for marketing and distribution, for a total project cost of three hundred million. You will direct it. If this project ultimately achieves a box office of one billion yuan and receives good reviews, then I’ll hand The Three-Body Problem project over to you. Do you dare to accept?”

A one billion yuan box office against a three hundred million yuan investment was, for the production company, just barely past the break-even point. Only after surpassing one billion would the real profits begin.

Zhang Panpan was stunned by the proposal. A production cost of three hundred million was an absolute ceiling-level budget in the current Mainland film market; there was nothing higher.

As expected of a company backed by Stellaris Capital. Loaded with cash!

After a moment, Zhang Panpan couldn’t help but ask, “And what if I don’t achieve it?”

Yang Guang smiled. “You lose me three hundred million. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to hand over the copyright to The Three-Body Problem as compensation, would it?”

In truth, it wouldn’t be a three hundred million loss. At most, it would be around one hundred million, and they might even break even. Yixing Media wasn’t foolish enough to fund the entire film alone; they would definitely rope in a few huge suckers to share the risk.

For other production companies, the box office share was about one-third. But Yixing Media also had its own Yixing Cinema Chain, most of which were directly-operated theaters. This meant a large portion of the cinema chain’s share also belonged to Yixing Media.

They might even be able to break even, unless the film was a truly catastrophic loss and couldn’t even manage to gross one hundred million at the box office.

Zhang Panpan didn’t respond, instead asking, “What’s the second option?”

Still smiling, Yang Guang continued in his orderly fashion, “The second option is the simplest and most direct. I’ll offer you fifty million yuan. The copyright becomes mine, and you take the money and walk away. A one hundred thousand yuan copyright turns into a five hundred-fold return in a year. No matter how you look at it, you’ve made a fortune.”

Zhang Panpan fell silent, lost in thought.

Of the two options Yixing Media presented, the first—the betting agreement—was high-risk but high-reward. If he succeeded, he would gain both fame and fortune, his reputation in the Mainland film industry would soar, and he would become an A-list sci-fi director. But if he failed, not only would he get nothing, but he would also have to give up the copyright.

The second option was the safest and most risk-free: take the money and exit. One hundred thousand yuan turning into a massive sum of fifty million in a year meant instant financial freedom.

Finally, Zhang Panpan looked at Yang Guang and said, “President Yang, could you give me three days to think it over?”

Yang Guang nodded crisply. “No problem. Give me your answer when you’ve decided. But I have to remind you of one thing: looking at the entire film circle in the Mainland, besides my Yixing Media, which dares to play like this and has the money to do so, there is absolutely no second company that will play the big-budget sci-fi game with you.”

The implication was clear: besides Yixing Media, he wouldn’t find another buyer.

Yang Guang added, “I hope you will give me a well-considered answer. We haven’t tried to hide our interest in The Three-Body Problem IP, but not having it isn’t a big deal either.”

After a few more brief words, Zhang Panpan departed.

As they walked out of the meeting room, Yang Guang’s assistant followed him and asked, “President Yang, which option do you think he’ll choose?”

“Who cares which one he chooses,” Yang Guang said nonchalantly.

The assistant pressed on, “What if he chooses the first option, actually makes the project a success, and wins the betting agreement?”

At this, Yang Guang stopped and glanced sideways at his assistant. He let out a scornful laugh and said coolly, “The moment he signs that betting agreement, he’s out of the game. I have ten thousand ways to make him lose, and Yixing Media will get the copyright to The Three-Body Problem at zero cost. I hope he’s smart enough to take the money and walk away. It saves everyone the trouble. Heh…”

In other words, if Zhang Panpan chose the first option and bet against Yixing Media, the company wouldn’t lose money even if the film project failed. As long as the sci-fi project they gave him grossed around five hundred million yuan at the box office, Yixing Media’s overall investment wouldn’t be in the red, thanks to the revenue from their cinema chain and the other investors sharing the cost.

But if the box office didn’t reach one billion, Zhang Panpan would lose the bet and have to hand over the copyright to The Three-Body Problem as stipulated in the agreement.

Moreover, since it was a separately established project, no matter how badly Zhang Panpan’s film turned out, there was no risk of it damaging the value of The Three-Body Problem IP.

Just then, Yang Guang looked at his watch and gave an order, “Go arrange a flight for the day after tomorrow.”

“Understood,” his assistant replied with a nod.

Yang Guang had a more important task: a personal visit to Da Liu. Cao Chenghui had instructed him that this was something the big boss behind the scenes valued greatly. He was to find the author of The Three-Body Problem and offer him a one hundred and ten million yuan copyright fee to buy out the full rights to all the sci-fi works under his name.

…

Friday, August 27th. Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“Regarding Yixing Media, the other shoe has dropped on the copyrights you wanted to buy.” Tian Jiayi, having returned from the office, was giving Fang Hong her daily work report. She continued, “Yesterday, Yang Guang and his team met with the author of The Three-Body Problem novel series. It went very smoothly. They reached a deal less than five minutes after meeting.”

When Yang Guang met Da Liu, the author hadn’t expected a senior executive from Yixing Media to come see him. After confirming he wasn’t a scammer, he was left stunned when Yang Guang offered one hundred and ten million yuan to buy the full rights to all his works.

Even more unexpectedly, this astronomical copyright fee of one hundred and ten million yuan included ten million in compensation for each of the two books he had already sold for one hundred thousand yuan, The Three-Body Problem and The Three-Body Problem: The Dark Forest.

Once he came to his senses, Da Liu asked only one question: “You’re not kidding, are you?”

Yang Guang’s reply was concise: “I’m not kidding.”

Da Liu agreed without a moment’s hesitation. The entire exchange took only four minutes, not even five.

He had sold The Three-Body Problem for a mere one hundred thousand yuan. He couldn’t find any reason to counter-offer when Yixing Media showed up with a sky-high price of one hundred and ten million.

Although Da Liu had a respectable job at a power plant under a central state-owned power group and his work was stable—he even held the title of engineer and could slack off for long periods at work, leading a very comfortable life—his salary wasn’t high. Now in his forties, his dream of buying a house in his provincial capital city was still a distant prospect. The fact that he sold the rights to The Three-Body Problem for just one hundred thousand yuan allowed one to see the whole picture from a single clue.

One hundred thousand yuan was several years’ salary for him at the time. One hundred and ten million was an absolutely astronomical figure.

Finally, Tian Jiayi said, “There’s also the matter of The Three-Body Problem’s copyright. Yixing Media gave two options, and Zhang Panpan chose the betting agreement.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but shake his head with a faint smile. “Wouldn’t it have been better to just take the money and walk away?” he said leisurely. “He had to go through all this trouble just to end up with nothing. He turned down fifty million, only to end up with zero.”

Evidently, this part of the historical trajectory had once again changed. The moment Zhang Panpan chose the betting agreement, it was preordained that it would all be for nothing. In the end, it would be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—a total waste of effort. He wouldn’t get the money, and he’d lose the copyright.

But Fang Hong wasn’t surprised at all. In the original historical trajectory, Youzu’s President Lin had satisfied Director Zhang’s demands, investing 1.2 billion yuan to shoot six Three-Body Problem films, with a budget of two hundred million each, to be directed by Director Zhang.

For a project of this scale, shooting six films for 1.2 billion yuan—even if all the actors worked for free and the entire 1.2 billion was spent on special effects, it would be nowhere near enough. At best, a 1.2 billion yuan budget was enough for two films, and they would have to be frugal and not even count the marketing budget to have a chance at reaching blockbuster standards. Otherwise, it would still be a shoddy product.

With a budget of two hundred million per film, one could imagine what kind of disaster it would be.

In the original historical trajectory, Director Zhang had no experience managing large-scale projects and lacked the artistic ability to control the film. The sample footage he produced was like a PowerPoint presentation; he couldn’t even tell the story clearly, let alone capture its soul.

As a result, when the leadership came to the company for an inspection, full of excitement, and specifically asked to see the sample footage for The Three-Body Problem, they were deeply disappointed. The heavily invested project was scrapped. President Lin was heartbroken. In the end, a fellow nicknamed Er Gouzi took the fall, and negotiations were reopened. The result was that they spent one hundred and twenty million yuan to buy the copyright from Director Zhang, and the director and his wife walked away with the money.

Director Zhang was on cloud nine. Not only did he turn one hundred thousand yuan into one hundred and twenty million, but he also got to burn through one or two hundred million of President Lin’s money to indulge his fantasy of directing a blockbuster.

President Lin, on the other hand, became the huge sucker. He was later poisoned, losing his money and his life. The reality of the plot was so bizarre, it was more convoluted than the film itself.

However, in this life, with Fang Hong’s intervention and Yixing Media’s involvement, that was unlikely to happen. Director Zhang wouldn’t be able to waste several hundred million of Yixing Media’s money and still walk away with a huge win of over one hundred million.

Instead… he would draw water with a bamboo basket, all for nothing!

There was no rush to start The Three-Body Problem project anyway. Yixing Media had all the time in the world to play with Director Zhang. At most, Director Zhang would use the copyright of The Three-Body Problem as the price to pay for the thrill of directing a sci-fi film, realize he wasn’t cut out for it, and that would be it. He would be out.

As for walking away with over one hundred million and a successful retirement? That was something that could only exist in his dreams.

…

Chapter 402: The News Sends Shockwaves Through the Industry

After reporting on Yixing Media’s recent progress, Tian Jiayi shifted topics. “There’s also news from Ruihe Pharmaceutical. The listing date has been finalized for Wednesday, September 1st, 2010.”

That meant it would officially list on the ChiNext board in five days.

After more than a year of effort since swallowing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group whole, the reorganized Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was finally going public.

The A-share market was on an upswing again, with its profit potential becoming increasingly apparent. Investors seemed to have gradually forgotten how the Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO announcement had dragged down the broader market by more than four percent not long ago. The pace of new stock issuance was also picking up.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group’s IPO on the ChiNext board was valued at 14.5 billion yuan. Its stock ticker would be “Ruihe Pharmaceutical.” The company had a total share capital of 531.52 million shares, with an issue price of 27.28 yuan per share. The shares issued would account for 23.07% of the total share capital, raising 3.345 billion yuan. The value of the shares in circulation would be 2 billion yuan.

Fang Hong nodded. “With Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s successful listing, the next step is to push for ATL’s IPO. We’ll aim to get it done next year.”

Tian Jiayi replied, “The company is actively preparing and advancing ATL’s listing plan.”

With Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s debut on the ChiNext board, the Qunxing ecosystem now had two publicly listed holding subsidiaries: Weibo and Ruihe Pharmaceutical. Barring any surprises, ATL would also go public next year, listing directly on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board as well.

Stellar Universe Technology’s IPO was also part of Stellaris Capital’s plans, but it was a behemoth. Listing it on the A-share market would not be so simple, nor would it be quick. Getting it done around 2014 would be considered a major success.

…

Meanwhile, the recently renowned investor “Go with the Flow” received a text message from his brokerage today. He had won a subscription for a new stock. He always used the one-click feature for IPO subscriptions.

In the A-share market, subscribing to an IPO was practically a guaranteed win. Winning a subscription meant guaranteed profits. Although for someone with his current capital, the gains from a single lot were minimal, he had never missed a subscription. Every little bit helped.

The new stock Go with the Flow had won was on the ChiNext board—none other than Ruihe Pharmaceutical. After winning, he looked into the stock and found it was another listed company connected to Stellaris Capital. He then took a screenshot and sent it to his group chat.

[Go with the Flow: Got lucky and won a new stock subscription. It’s only 500 shares, but it should cover the property management fee.]

[I got one too, @Go with the Flow.]

[What the hell, you guys? How are you always making money? I’m numb!]

[Why didn’t I get one? (Angry.jpg)]

[I’ve learned a lot in this group, but the one thing I haven’t learned is what to buy tomorrow.]

[Please stop making money. My life can be hard and I can be poor, and I won’t feel bad. But when you guys post stuff like this to show off, my heart feels like it’s being stabbed.]

[You’re afraid your friends will suffer, and you’re afraid they’ll drive a Land Rover… (CryingLaughing.jpg)]

[Go with the Flow: I just looked into this new stock, Ruihe Pharmaceutical. It seems quite good. It lists on September 1st, just five days away. Added it to my watchlist to see if there’s an opportunity.]

[An issue valuation of 14.5 billion? Isn’t the market cap a bit big?]

[Isn’t Ruihe Pharmaceutical the former Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group?]

[Go with the Flow: Don’t just look at the 14.5 billion total market cap. The corresponding tradable float is only 2 billion. A 2 billion float isn’t small, but it’s not huge either. We’ll have to see if any capital is willing to speculate on this recent IPO stock.]

[Go with the Flow: Judging from recent market trends, look at Yiqiao Agriculture. It’s a recent IPO stock that listed on the SME Board on July 13th. Its issue price was 28.98 yuan, and it surged +45.96% on its first day. Today, it hit 80 yuan, a 176% increase. Ruihe Pharmaceutical is worth watching. The hype is all about its ‘newness’.]

[Got it. Going all-in on Ruihe Pharmaceutical… (Husky.jpg)]

[Charge, charge, charge!!!]

…

Over the weekend, major news broke in the entertainment industry. Yixing Media publicly disclosed that it had paid an astronomical copyright fee of 110 million yuan to acquire the full rights to all the science fiction works of the author of Ball Lightning and The Three-Body Problem: Death’s End.

The news sent shockwaves through the industry.

The science fiction community, in particular, was in an uproar over the news. Both authors and readers were stirred up. At first, no one believed it because it just seemed too inconceivable, too absurd.

But what turned out to be even more absurd was that it was true!

People both inside and outside the circle exclaimed that they couldn’t understand Yixing Media Group’s move. Science fiction was a niche within a niche in the country. How could a short story sell for 500,000 yuan in copyright fees, a novella for 2 million, and a full-length novel for 10 million?

As the news fermented online, some masters of deduction dug up the fact that Da Liu had sold the copyright to The Three-Body Problem for 100,000 yuan last year. People joked that Da Liu had gotten wrecked, as he could have made a hundred times more if he had waited.

He had well and truly sold too early!

Da Liu just smiled to himself. Although he had sold too early for 100,000 yuan, the fool with too much money, Yixing Media, had made it up to him.

And with Yixing Media Group’s magnanimous payment of 110 million yuan for the full rights to his other works, he had still made a killing.

When authors in the science fiction circle saw the news, they were not only shocked but also incredibly excited. This news showed them that their own works had the potential for significant monetization.

Even though their works hadn’t been picked by Yixing Media, seeing Da Liu become a multimillionaire just by selling copyrights showed the sci-fi authors a key point: writing science fiction wasn’t just about working for passion. It could support a livelihood. Not only that, but reaching the level of a top author could even make one a multimillionaire.

Expectation was hope, and dreams now had a foundation.

…

“I have to say, that move of yours was quite cunning…” At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Tian Jiayi was chatting with Fang Hong about Yixing Media’s announcement. It was Saturday afternoon tea time, and she was now starting to understand his plan.

Fang Hong chuckled. “Ha, how can you call it cunning? This is called guiding the healthy development of sci-fi IP.”

His beautiful assistant had called his move cunning because of the content of the announcement Yixing Media Group had released today. Besides the matter of spending an astronomical 110 million yuan to acquire the full rights to all of Da Liu’s works, there was another, even more important announcement.

Yixing Media had also announced a “One Billion Yuan Sci-Fi IP Copyright Funding Pool” plan, aimed at attracting more high-quality sci-fi IPs to enrich the company’s IP library.

The cunning part lay in pairing this with the substantive action of buying all of Da Liu’s works for 110 million yuan. This astronomical copyright deal gave the market a brand-new price anchor: a sci-fi short story could sell for 500,000 yuan, a novella for 2 million, and a full-length novel for 10 million. It was truly a case of every word being worth a fortune.

Then came the disclosure of the one-billion-yuan sci-fi IP funding pool plan, which created a powerful, epic-level expectation in the market. All sorts of players would surely want a piece of the pie, not just the science fiction authors who produced the content.

There were also the copyright middlemen.

Fang Hong was essentially luring these middlemen. With Yixing Media Group dangling the prospect of a one-billion-yuan pie, it would inevitably attract some copyright middlemen to seek their fortune. To put it in more down-to-earth terms, they would buy up works they were optimistic about from authors at low prices.

Some authors were bound to be persuaded, especially those who were writing purely for passion. If someone came along offering to buy their copyright, they would be very likely to sell. Then, these middlemen would resell the copyrights to Yixing Media Group, earning the price difference and taking a slice of that ten-billion-yuan cake.

In the process of doing this, these middlemen would have already invested real money to support the incubation of sci-fi IP. Some authors who were originally working for passion would get enough money to make ends meet, or at least supplement their household income, which would further support their continued creative work.

As for Yixing Media Group’s “One Billion Yuan Sci-Fi IP Copyright Funding Pool” plan—yes, it was real. They were going to do it and spend that much money. It had already been officially announced, and a large corporation like this couldn’t go back on its word. But…

This “but” was crucial!

How this money was spent and which IPs were purchased was up to Yixing Media. That included when the money would be spent. The flexible space here was enormous. The middlemen would certainly consider these potential risks, but another factor would amplify their risk appetite: the parent company behind Yixing Media Group was Stellaris Capital.

The impression everyone had of Stellaris Capital was that it was “the rich landlord’s foolish son,” a fool with too much money. Looking at how the company threw cash at online streaming rights and its other spending sprees, there seemed to be a good chance of earning a middleman’s spread from this “foolish simpleton.”

But who was the real fool? Those involved are often the most blind.

Fang Hong’s move was to induce copyright middlemen to hoard works for speculation, indirectly contributing to the development of domestic sci-fi IP. In reality, Yixing Media had only made an announcement, and the cost of doing so was almost negligible.

…

Chapter 403: Time to Cash in the Profits

Not only was this enough to inspire copyright resellers to hoard for speculation, but it also greatly invigorated the authors in the science fiction circle, tremendously inspiring and encouraging their creative passion.

To use the parlance of the financial world, this leveraged operation had almost no capital cost.

As expected, the authors in the sci-fi community were incredibly energized by the news, as if they’d been injected with adrenaline. Everyone excitedly exclaimed that the sci-fi world’s ecosystem was about to undergo a major reversal and embrace a huge opportunity.

Sci-fi writer: “What? You say Yixing Media is just bullshitting? Then how do you explain Da Liu becoming a billionaire from copyright fees?”

Writer’s girlfriend: “Let’s break up!”

Sci-fi writer: “Honey, just don’t leave me. I’ll agree to anything you say, really.”

Writer’s girlfriend: “Stop writing all day, okay?”

Sci-fi writer: “Get lost. Take a cab and get lost, you moron!”

The news from Art Star Media Group didn’t just cause an uproar in the niche circle of sci-fi writers; authors across the entire literary world were unsettled, and writers of other genres quickly joined the discussion.

The most common question they had was: why only science fiction?

What about historical fiction? What about xuanhuan? What about fantasy? Were these genres not even under consideration by Yixing Media?

A rumor circulated online that Yixing Media’s boss, Cao Chenghui, was a super sci-fi fan and a big fan of Da Liu, which was why he had made this “irrational” move, and so on…

In reality, Ah Hui had never read a single science fiction novel and had absolutely no interest in the genre.

But that was the story spreading online.

Then again, Cao Chenghui was now taking the time to read The Three-Body Problem series. This was because when he visited the big boss’s home the other day, he heard the big boss mention his fondness for sci-fi. So, even if Cao Chenghui didn’t like it himself, he had to read up on it in his spare time, starting with all of Da Liu’s works.

But Cao Chenghui’s motive was pragmatic. He was reading these works not out of genuine enjoyment, but to keep up with the big boss’s rhythm. The next time a conversation about sci-fi came up, he couldn’t afford to be as clueless as he was last time.

The reader community was also abuzz, especially Da Liu’s fans. Yixing Media had spent a whopping 110 million yuan to buy the copyrights to so many of his works. As a film and media group, spending so much on copyrights surely meant they intended to bring these sci-fi works to the big screen or the small screen.

The big screen meant a film adaptation, and the small screen meant a television series adaptation.

The most discussed topic among the original fans was which work Yixing Media would adapt first. Another hot topic was the debate over whether current special effects technology was capable of perfectly realizing the stories.

As the hype grew, a media outlet found Da Liu for an interview. Thanks to Yixing Media’s astronomical 110-million-yuan copyright fee, Da Liu’s fame had skyrocketed, and he had gone mainstream for the first time.

He had been popular before, but only within the niche sci-fi community.

The media interview also revealed more details to the public. When the reporter asked about Yixing Media spending 110 million yuan to buy the copyrights to his works, Da Liu replied that an executive from Yixing Media had come to him, gotten straight to the point, and offered 110 million for the rights to all his works. After confirming it wasn’t a joke, he agreed on the spot without much thought.

The reporter was stunned, and the onlooking netizens were stunned too. This astronomical copyright deal was settled in less than five minutes? They had expected a story with a lot more haggling and counter-offers.

It was no surprise that Da Liu had agreed without hesitation; what was surprising was how ridiculously bold and aggressive Art Star Media Group’s offer was.

This level of domineering generosity was classic Qunxing.

Soon, onlooking netizens realized this wasn’t so strange after all, as they discovered that the current head of Art Star Media Group, Cao Chenghui, had previously been a senior executive at Stellaris Capital.

Alright, that explained everything.

No wonder he was so domineeringly generous. An executive from Stellaris Capital had been parachuted into Yixing Media to run the company, perfectly inheriting the parent company’s fine tradition of being “a fool with too much money.”

…

Monday, August 30.

On the capital markets, the A-share market kicked off the first trading day of a new week. Today, the three major indices gapped up at the open. The Shanghai Composite Index surged +1.61% throughout the day to close at 2,652.66 points, with the index recently consolidating within the 2,600 to 2,700-point range.

In individual stocks, Weibo had rebounded for a week. Last Friday, its price surged higher to a peak of 136.98 yuan before falling back. Today, it turned negative, dropping -3.46% to close at 127.03 yuan, with a total turnover of 2.167 billion yuan.

Chengfei Integration, which had been in the penalty box for a week, was “released from jail” today. The stock exceeded expectations once again. Everyone thought it would hit its limit-down, but instead, it reversed and slammed another limit-up.

It still wouldn’t die? The investors were bewildered!

On Tuesday, Chengfei Integration’s stock price ignored the “village chief’s” ban on speculation. Around 2 PM, it hit the limit-up again, marking three consecutive limit-ups at a high level. Its popularity soared to the top of the charts, and its price reached an all-time high of 43.40 yuan.

Those who had missed out on the rally were dumbfounded. The stock had come out and immediately shot up for two straight limit-ups. The “village chief’s” ban on speculation was completely useless.

The more it was banned, the more it was speculated on, and the more it was speculated on, the more it was banned.

Chengfei Integration’s share price had started its rise from 8.45 yuan. Based on today’s closing price, its cumulative gain had reached +378%. Among the monster bull stocks of the second half of the year, it was likely second only to Weibo.

Looking at the data so far, Weibo’s primary rally in the second half of the year saw its stock price rise from 25.25 yuan to a high of 147.10 yuan, a cumulative gain of +480%, nearly a five-fold increase.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Having returned, Tian Jiayi was giving Fang Hong her daily work report. “Ruihe Pharmaceutical will release its half-year report tonight. For the first half of 2010, the company achieved an operating revenue of 1.527 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.32%. It achieved an operating profit and net profit attributable to the parent company of 357 million yuan and 295 million yuan, respectively, with year-on-year increases of 6.69% and 8.78%. The net earnings per share for the first half of the year was 0.55 yuan…”

Tian Jiayi read out several key figures from the document in her hand.

Finally, the beautiful assistant put down the materials and looked at Fang Hong. “The company’s growth rate has slowed down significantly compared to last year. If it weren’t for the proper restructuring later on, growth in the first half of this year might have been negative.”

A sharp slowdown in earnings growth was normal. Ruihe Pharmaceutical Group was formerly Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group, which had undergone massive turmoil in the past year or so. The founder was ousted and even imprisoned, and the company was once in crisis.

Now that it had been restructured and rebranded, it had finally overcome the crisis. Showing any growth in the first half of the year was already quite impressive.

Tomorrow was September 1, and the company would be officially listed on the stock exchange.

Fang Hong quickly moved on from the Ruihe Pharmaceutical matter. In any case, with Xiao Quan, Liu Qizheng, and other institutions like Pengrui Capital and Zhongtai Capital helping with market capitalization management, everything would be fine. Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and said, “Right, if Chengfei Integration hits the limit-up again tomorrow, sell it. Then, around two in the afternoon, buy Zhonghang Precision Machinery.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Okay.”

Back on May 18, the beautiful assistant had followed Fang Hong’s instructions and bought 13.7 million yuan worth of the stock, even pushing it to its limit-up that day because she had placed a buy order at the limit-up price right at the market open. At the time, Chengfei Integration’s daily trading volume was only around 20 million yuan.

Her average cost basis was 10.41 yuan. Based on today’s closing price, she had already achieved a return of +316.90%, with a floating profit of about 43.41 million yuan. Another limit-up tomorrow would add another 5 million yuan or so to her earnings.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “Does this mean you’re also getting out of this stock tomorrow?”

Fang Hong shook his head. “If you go, and I go, then Chengfei Integration is guaranteed to be smashed from limit-up to limit-down tomorrow. I’ll wait for the tide to recede before I exit my position. This target is mainly being hyped by hot money and retail investors, with no institutions in sight. If I get out during the peak of sentiment and my trading seat shows up on the Dragon-Tiger List, everyone will be able to guess it was me who fled.”

Fang Hong added, “The aura of K-God needs to be carefully maintained. Even if I exit after a 30-point drop, I’ll still have a 2.6-fold return.”

After a moment, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and reminded her, “When you cash in tomorrow, don’t be lazy. Don’t just liquidate your entire position with one click. With principal and interest, it’s over 60 million yuan, and you could drag down the stock, since its liquidity can’t compare to Weibo’s. Also, when you buy Zhonghang Precision Machinery in the afternoon, buy about half first, and remember to do it in batches. Don’t just place a full-position buy order at the limit-up. Buy the other half the day after tomorrow.”

He had forgotten to remind her last time she bought Chengfei Integration, and as a result, she had sent the stock straight to its limit-up the next day.

Hearing this, his beautiful assistant smiled charmingly and nodded. “As you command. I’ll do exactly as you say.”

Fang Hong saw the message in her eyes and knew what she wanted. He immediately dispelled her thoughts. “Not today. I have to save my energy for He Xuan. You can wait a few days.”

His beautiful assistant instantly shot him a look and forcefully denied it. “You’re just flattering yourself.”

With that, she turned her head away, ignoring him.

Fang Hong gazed at her profile and smiled. “Is that so? Then I’ll cut off your rations for half a month and give your share to the others.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi became anxious. She turned back to look Fang Hong straight in the eye. “No! I’m already being generous by not taking their shares. You can’t take a single bit of what’s mine!”

…

Chapter 404: Ruihe Pharmaceutical Lists on the ChiNext Board

After the small interlude, Fang Hong thought for a moment and changed his mind again. He looked at his beautiful assistant and said, “Actually, don’t buy Zhonghang Precision Machinery. Let’s switch to another target. Get into Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals instead. The liquidity of this stock is two to three times greater than Zhonghang Precision Machinery’s. It should pull back tomorrow. You can just slowly accumulate shares and build up to a full position. You should be able to get it done within the day.”

Tian Jiayi nodded, indicating it wasn’t a problem. “Okay, I understand.”

During the A-share market’s major bull run to over 6,000 points, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals had risen from a low of 1.49 yuan to over 8 yuan, an increase of nearly four and a half times. Later, during the period when the A-share market plummeted to just over 1,600 points, it successfully dodged the major slump because it had been suspended from trading right before the market crashed.

When it resumed trading in early 2009, it coincided with a market rally and positive news for the sector. The stock continued its surge, reaching a high of 22.12 yuan, and its cumulative gain reached as much as fourteen times.

Today, the stock’s price had surged to a high of 34.97 yuan, a cumulative gain of as much as twenty-two times. Even at today’s closing price of 33.21 yuan, its cumulative gain was still twenty-one and a half times.

An accelerated primary rally was still to come, which would push the stock’s price past the one hundred yuan mark and establish its cosmic peak for the next decade. Anyone holding the bag at the one hundred yuan price point wouldn’t be able to break even, even by 2015.

But its future trajectory had no bearing on the current market sentiment. The logic behind Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ current rally was a story of “rare earth restructuring.” Almost all the recent monster stocks that had soared were tied to restructuring stories.

The rare earth sector had been one of the most fiercely and persistently hyped-up rallies in this year’s A-share market. According to the original historical trajectory, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals would rank first among the stocks in this sector with a gain of +338.71%. The company primarily produced heavy rare earths, a variety unique to the south, which were scarcer and priced over 30% higher than the light rare earths from the north.

Furthermore, the company’s major shareholder, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals Group, possessed vast mineral resources, creating strong expectations for asset injections into the listed company. Under these uniquely positive conditions, although Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ rare earth output was only 2.4% of Baogang Rare Earth’s, its stock performance was far more eye-catching. Baogang Rare Earth’s gains in this year’s rare earth rally didn’t even amount to half of Guangcheng’s.

The capital market trades on expectations. The very reason Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals was rallying was precisely because its current rare earth output was less than 3% of Baogang Rare Earth’s. Once production ramped up, the expectation would be fulfilled, and it would be time to exit.

…

The next day, Wednesday, September 1st.

As today’s A-share market opened, Ruihe Pharmaceutical was officially listed on the ChiNext board. It opened at 29.34 yuan per share, up +7.55%. After the open, the stock price traded flat near its opening price for three minutes, and then it plummeted.

About fifteen minutes after the market opened, the stock hit its intraday low of 26.04 yuan, a maximum decline of -4.54%, dropping directly below its issue price.

Some investors who had painstakingly won an IPO subscription panicked when they saw it drop below the issue price and couldn’t resist selling at a loss.

Around 9:52 AM, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s stock price began a sustained surge. It closed in the green in under two minutes and continued to climb, with its gains expanding to +26.74% by around 10:12 AM.

It was worth noting that on their first day of trading, new stocks were limited to a maximum gain of +44%, at which point a temporary halt would be triggered.

By around 11:21 AM, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s gains had surged to +37.56%, and it looked like it was heading for a temporary halt. The investors who had sold in the morning were kicking themselves in regret.

After the morning session ended, during the lunch break, the chat group where Go with the Flow was active was also discussing this stock.

[@Go with the Flow, Master, did you buy this stock?]

[I scooped up a little when it was underwater, but not a large position, only two-tenths. Still a huge profit though.]

[The Master is amazing!]

[Go with the Flow: I didn’t buy. I’m still watching. Can’t confirm anything yet. New stocks have high volatility. I only act on definite opportunities that I understand.]

[If you don't get in now, you'll miss the chance to get on board, @Go with the Flow.]

[Go with the Flow: If there’s no chance, I’ll just watch it go. I can always find other opportunities.]

[Did you guys see Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s earnings report from last night? Seems a lot worse than Hengrui Medicine.]

…

As time went on, the market reopened in the afternoon. Within the first minute, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s stock price surged to 37.97 yuan, its gains expanding to +39.18%, marking the highest point of the day.

The temporary halt that investors were anticipating never came. The stock began a continuous fall, and those who had chased the high were soon dumbfounded as it kept dropping back all afternoon.

By the market close, Ruihe Pharmaceutical closed up +11.32% at a price of 30.37 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was 1.619 billion yuan, with a total market cap of 16.142 billion yuan and an astonishing turnover rate of 67%.

In Go with the Flow’s chat group, those who had bought the stock today were starting to panic. Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s intraday line had formed what could be called a standard “A” shape, very characteristic of the A-share market. Most of the people who chased the rise in the morning hadn’t lost money, as they had started chasing around the 29-30 yuan price range.

But some of those who jumped in when the afternoon session began were in for a world of hurt, losing over 17 points directly. One guy even bought at the absolute peak of 37.97 yuan, losing a full 20 percent in a single day.

Now, these people were all spamming @Go with the Flow in the group, begging him for an analysis. They were scared to death and knew they wouldn’t be sleeping well tonight.

…

The next day, Thursday, at the market open, those who had been trapped chasing Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s high were overjoyed. The stock opened directly at its limit-up price of 33.41 yuan, where it remained locked until the close.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical hit a one-word limit-up with shrinking volume. Those who had been trapped yesterday recovered some of their losses, while those who had chased in the morning all made a huge profit, as they hadn’t made money yesterday but hadn’t lost any either.

…

Friday, September 3rd, the market opened.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical opened with another one-word limit-up, its price surging to 36.75 yuan. Among those in the group who had chased the stock, everyone had either broken even or made a huge profit, except for the dude who had bought at the 37.97 yuan peak.

Many group members were tagging @Go with the Flow, saying it looked like Ruihe Pharmaceutical was set to continue hitting its limit-up and that the Master was going to miss out.

At 10:02 AM, about half an hour after the open, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s limit-up board suddenly broke. Within one minute, it plummeted 5 percent from the limit, then rebounded to a 7 percent gain in the next minute. Immediately after, it dove again to 33.72 yuan, a 9 percent drop from the limit-up price, with its gains narrowing to less than 1 percent.

Then it started to rebound again. By around 10:30 AM, the stock was up +9.27%, looking as if it was about to hit the limit-up again. But then it dove another 5 percent, dropping below the intraday average price line.

Faced with such violent volatility, the stockholders in Go with the Flow’s group couldn’t take it anymore. Some sold to break even, while others cashed in their profits. The guy trapped at the very top couldn’t handle it either. He sold when it rebounded to a 7 percent gain, still taking a small loss, but he simply couldn’t stand the volatility.

As the minutes ticked by, around 11:00 AM, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s stock price began to slowly climb again from the +5.13% level.

Around 11:17 AM, the price once again touched the limit-up board, but it didn’t hold. It hit the limit-up price for less than ten seconds before opening up again, falling back by 0.7 percent.

At this moment, Go with the Flow made his move!

He bought over 42 million yuan worth of shares to take over and push it back to the limit-up. With his large order, Ruihe Pharmaceutical hit the limit-up again.

After making the purchase, he posted a screenshot and a message in the group.

[Go with the Flow: Mid-air refueling. Dropped over 40 million to push it back to the limit.]

[Holy crap! Master, why did you jump in today? Why not before?]

[Yeah, why chase the high today? If you’d bought on the listing day, you’d have made a killing!]

[Damn, I just sold…]

[Go with the Flow: On the listing day, it was beyond my understanding. Today, its strength is confirmed. As I’ve said, I only act on definite opportunities that I understand. Those two one-word limit-ups were outside my trading model, so I could only watch.]

[The Master is so rational. His discipline is impeccable.]

[There are 370 million in limit orders. I wonder if my order will get through.]

[Go with the Flow: The turnover was more than sufficient. Look for a new high breakout on Monday!]

[I’m so jealous. The Master is about to eat meat again.]

[I really can’t handle these recent IPO stocks. Not my cup of tea. I can only watch you guys get rich.]

…

Chapter 405: Am I the only one who thinks K-God’s moves are a lot like a certain Qunxing’s?

By the market’s close, Ruihe Pharmaceutical had risen by 10.00%, with its stock price closing at 36.75 yuan. The total trading volume for the day reached 1.14 billion yuan. On its third day of trading, it achieved its second limit-up, forming a T-shaped candlestick, and its market capitalization reached 19.5 billion yuan.

Over the weekend, Zhu Yingdong’s team from Zhejiang University and Yue Lang’s team from Hua University almost simultaneously disclosed that their projects had received investment support. The Zhejiang University team secured 30 million yuan in research funding, while the Hua University team received 50 million yuan.

The news first circulated within their academic circles and the two universities before spreading online. Eventually, everyone learned that the investor behind both anti-aging research projects was none other than K-God. This came as a great surprise to many, who hadn’t expected him to be interested in this field, let alone invest a total of eighty million yuan into two projects at once.

Many of his fans left comments on his Weibo account, K3478, to discuss the matter.

[K-God, didn’t you just graduate from university? That would make you around 23 or 24, right? How did you get interested in something like reversing aging?]

[Is it possible that K-God is actually much older, and all that talk about being a university student was just a smokescreen?]

[Now that’s a sharp angle.]

[Haha, maybe K-God really is an old man… [Facepalm emoji]]

[No way. Looking at K-God’s posts on Weibo and his interactions with fans, his style is very similar to ours, the younger generation. How could he be an old man?]

[The minds of big shots work differently. Could it be that once you get rich, you start thinking about how to live longer?]

[K-God: My long-term plans are beyond your imagination… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[I just want to know if K-God has sold Chengfei Integration. That stock got halted again, for the fifth time…]

[The more it gets halted, the more it rises. Once it’s released, it’s going for five consecutive limit-ups!]

[I don’t think K-God sold. I didn’t see any institutional sell-offs on the Dragon-Tiger List.]

[That’s a relief. Let’s keep charging once it’s out!]

…

The news of the two research teams receiving funding from Fang Hong also drew considerable attention in the academic world, especially from teams struggling with funding for their own research projects. Seeing no other way, some decided they might as well try their luck.

The fact that a wealthy individual was interested in scientific research and willing to invest in the field was certainly a piece of good news that the research community was delighted to see.

On weekend morning, Fang Hong was about to log onto Weibo when a blog post recommended on the platform’s homepage caught his eye.

The content of the blog post was very brief:

[“The ‘Azure Planet Project’ is officially established. All aspiring individuals are welcome to join. Link attached.”]

With nothing better to do, Fang Hong curiously clicked the link. It led to an independent website. It turned out that this so-called “Azure Planet Project” was an ocean cleanup initiative, founded by the blogger himself. His Weibo ID was “Shi Lei,” which was also his real name.

After browsing the site for about ten minutes, Fang Hong got a general idea of what the “Azure Planet Project” was all about. The website contained a personal profile of Shi Lei, his motivations for starting the project, and other details, all described quite thoroughly.

The founder, Shi Lei, was a 21-year-old from Yuzhou. He had invented a “Giant Funnel” device to clean up ocean trash. There were even pictures on the website, showing a boomerang-like structure floating on the water’s surface.

According to the information on the site, when Shi Lei was 17, he was scuba diving and was shocked to discover there was more waste in the ocean than fish. This prompted him to go back and start researching methods to reduce ocean garbage.

Reading this, Fang Hong guessed that this young man named Shi Lei probably came from a well-to-do family—definitely not an ordinary one. At the very least, his parents were open-minded and his family was quite wealthy.

If Shi Lei had come from a typical family, they would not have been able to support him in pursuing his interests and passions. He would have had to diligently study, find a respectable job, then buy a house and a car, get married, and have children.

From 2008 to the present, Shi Lei had conceptualized various tools, but it wasn’t until this year that he designed the giant funnel device depicted in the concept art on the website. According to Shi Lei’s description, the device consisted of a cleanup vessel powered by solar or tidal energy, flanked by massive floating barriers extending two to three kilometers in total, which could effectively collect floating debris from the sea surface.

Shi Lei’s latest move was launching the “Azure Planet” ocean cleanup project. To see it through, he had already suspended his studies this year and founded a company. He was currently seeking financing for the project.

According to Shi Lei, a single one of these giant funnel devices operating in the ocean for five years could collect as much as seven million tons of marine debris, with nearly zero operational costs.

His grander vision, or long-term plan, was to build an “ultra-giant funnel” device in the future, possibly in the South China Sea or East China Sea, with a length reaching up to 30 kilometers.

“Interesting. Based on its innovative spirit and its focus on public welfare and environmental protection, if this thing can be built, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the United Nations Environment Programme to give it a Champions of the Earth award…” Fang Hong spent about twenty minutes on the website. But he also thought of another potential application for this giant funnel device: a military one.

If this thing were to float in the sea long-term, it would be a classic military observation post.

If deployed across the world’s major oceans, it could monitor real-time dynamic data, such as the movements of passing ships, all under the admirable guise of public welfare and environmentalism. It was a great story.

Putting aside a global deployment, just setting up a few in their own coastal waters would not only serve the environmental purpose of ocean cleaning but could also double as a side gig for maritime surveillance.

Fang Hong closed the website. He directly reposted Shi Lei’s Weibo post and added a comment:

[This is a very innovative project with a great spirit of public welfare and environmentalism. I heard you’re seeking financing. If you haven’t found any investors, send me a private message. I’ll invest in your project.]

With Fang Hong’s repost and comment, the previously unknown Shi Lei’s Weibo account saw its follower count soar. Before this, he had a measly two or three hundred fans.

But just after Fang Hong reposted his tweet and left a comment, the K3478 Weibo account brought him a massive influx of traffic. In a short time, his follower count shot past ten thousand.

About two hours later, Shi Lei finally heard the news and replied to Fang Hong’s comment: [Am I dreaming? Did a big shot really just notice me?]

It was a short reply, but every word radiated shock and excitement.

Shi Lei didn’t waste any time. After confirming that he had indeed been “picked” by K-God, he immediately began preparing more detailed materials and his project plan to send to Fang Hong via private message.

At the same time, Fang Hong’s fans were in a frenzy, exclaiming that K-God’s moves were truly wild and impossible to predict.

Initially, no one had thought he would dabble in venture capital outside of the secondary market. Then, they were surprised to find his first investment was in drones, in a startup that was reportedly on the verge of collapse.

Then, this week, it was revealed that K-God, apparently not content with drones, had moved on to invest in two anti-aging research projects—a move that seemed like a pure giveaway in the eyes of many.

And that wasn’t all. Today, he had ventured into something completely unrelated, now getting involved in an environmental project.

He was full of surprises.

Everyone realized they couldn’t grasp K-God’s line of thinking at all. From a business perspective, each of his projects seemed less reliable than the last.

…

At around 4:00 PM, Fang Hong had a video call with Shi Lei that lasted about half an hour. In the end, he decided to invest in the project. After the call, Fang Hong logged into his Weibo account and posted a new update:

[Just chatted with the founder of the “Ocean Cleanup” project. Decided to invest a little something. Not much, just threw in 20 million for fun. Consider it supporting a dream and the cause of environmental protection.]

As soon as the post went out, the onlooking netizens were floored. The comment section exploded.

[K-God, I have a project too…]

[You’ll totally fail that way. You should say: I have a great dream that needs funding… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[‘Not much’ (referring to 20 million)]

[Didn’t you see the Grandmaster just said he’s doing it for fun? What, is that not allowed?]

[I have a big project over here: professional nuclear submarine maintenance, second-hand aircraft carrier trade-ins, nuclear reactor overhauls, satellite surface dusting and maintenance, nuclear warhead refurbishment, polishing, and waxing, wholesale of various fighter jets and bombers… The project is a surefire money-maker. K-God, wanna invest?]

[Hahaha…]

[K-God, stay grounded! Don’t get carried away. If you keep splurging like this, even a ten-billion-yuan fortune won’t last. It’ll be gone in a few years. The primary market is extremely risky; nine out of ten investments fail.]

[You’re underestimating K-God. With his harvesting ability in the secondary market, his profit from a single day is probably enough to fund several of these projects.]

[Can you really do whatever you want if you have money?]

[Am I the only one who thinks K-God’s moves are a lot like a certain Qunxing’s? I’m not saying K-God is a fool with too much money, haha… [Facepalm emoji]]

[You know, you’re right. His style really does have a hint of Qunxing’s M.O.]

…

Chapter 406: How to Spend the Money Is a Problem

Some gossiping netizens compared K-God’s recent moves in the primary market to Stellaris Capital’s, teasing about it. But they never would have guessed that their wild guess was actually correct.

It was just that no one really dug deep into it; otherwise, it would have been a massive scoop.

Turning to the A-share market in the second week of September, on Monday, September 6th, the recent IPO stock Ruihe Pharmaceutical, after hitting two consecutive limit-ups in its first three days of listing, also came out swinging today. It gapped up +4.27% during the call auction and triggered a one-hour trading suspension due to abnormal trading.

At 10:30 AM, it resumed trading and pulled back for about three minutes. After the shares changed hands, it surged higher again. Around 11:12 AM, the stock price shot up to 40.43 yuan, successfully hitting its third consecutive limit-up with a trading volume of 1.29 billion.

On Tuesday, it gapped up even higher, opening at 44 yuan, an 8.83% increase. After the market opened, profit-takers dumped their shares and ran. Because it opened so high without hitting a one-word limit-up, short-term traders rushed to sell off.

However, Go with the Flow, who had gotten in on the second limit-up day, held his long-term view. Although he wasn’t fond of such an opening at the call auction, he decided to wait it out, as the buying support seemed decent. Anyway, since he had the first move, he could get out whenever he wanted.

About five minutes after the open, Ruihe Pharmaceutical performed a mid-air refueling. After a brief pullback, it instantly hit the limit-up, surging to an all-time high of 44.47 yuan. Today’s successful move to a fourth consecutive limit-up happened on shrinking volume, with a total daily turnover of 540 million yuan.

On Wednesday, September 8th, Ruihe Pharmaceutical opened higher at 46.22 yuan, up +3.93%. After the market opened, it rallied swiftly without any pullback, continuously hitting new highs.

Around 9:41 AM, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s gain expanded to +6.74%. Go with the Flow, who was watching the market, observed the stock’s trend. Two minutes later, he saw the stock hit a high of 47.47 yuan.

Seeing this price, Go with the Flow exclaimed internally, “Holy shit, another double top pattern?”

Run!

Without a second thought, he immediately fled to cash in his profits. Go with the Flow executed the sell order at once, splitting his shares into four separate orders and selling them off within two minutes. He got out with over fifty million yuan, capital and profit combined, which also dragged Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s price down by about two percentage points, narrowing its gain to the +4.28% level.

He then posted a message in his group chat.

[Go with the Flow: I’m out. Almost missed the 47.47 double top.]

[Get out now!]

[Liquidated my position. This run was good. Chased the limit-up on Monday and made over ten percent.]

[Go with the Flow: Made about 5 points today. In total, this trade brought in about 25 points, which is a profit of over ten million yuan.]

[The master is truly unbeatable!]

[Following you for a huge profit feels amazing!]

[The master is making a killing.]

[Wait, look at Ruihe. It seems to have broken through the 47.47 double top.]

[Did it really break through?]

[Damn, did I sell too early?]

[Go with the Flow: Doesn’t matter. If I sold too early, I’ll just watch it go.]

[Yeah, held a long-term view for three days. I’m satisfied!]

[It really hit the board!]

[I haven't sold yet. Master, any advice? @Go with the Flow.]

[If the limit-up board doesn’t break, hold it and gamble on tomorrow’s premium. If there’s no premium tomorrow, get out decisively.]

[Got it!]

…

Around 9:49 AM, Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s stock price surged to a new high of 48.92 yuan, rising +10.01% to hit the limit-up. It achieved five consecutive limit-ups in its first six days of listing, with its market cap rising to 26 billion yuan.

However, after cashing out of Ruihe Pharmaceutical, Go with the Flow didn’t stay idle. He was scanning the market for new short-term opportunities.

Just three minutes after Ruihe Pharmaceutical hit its limit-up, Go with the Flow noticed another stock from his watchlist, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, was also rallying quickly. Its price had surged to 35.39 yuan, a gain of over eight percent, and it had already broken through its previous consolidation range to set an all-time high.

He had just switched to the stock’s intraday market data when its intraday line touched 36.05 yuan, rising +10.01% to the limit-up. The moment Go with the Flow saw the stock hit the board, he didn’t hesitate and immediately bought in at its limit-up price, placing an order for 54 million yuan to wait in line for the shares to change hands.

After placing the order, he also sent a message in the group.

[Go with the Flow: Buying Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals on its first limit-up board. Got 15,000 lots, order is queued.]

[66666!]

[A ten-thousand-lot bro is right here among us.]

[Charge, charge, charge!]

[Placed my order, I’m in the queue.]

[The limit orders are over seven hundred million. I don’t think my order will get filled.]

[Master Flow said a while ago that Guangcheng was a good one. I bought in advance. The master really showed up. Glad I didn’t sell.]

[Part of the “don’t buy unless it’s a new high” series…]

…

At that moment, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals hit the limit-up at 9:53 AM with over 43 million yuan in transactions. The volume at the limit-up price continued to pour in, exploding for three consecutive minutes. At 9:54 AM, a total of 38 million yuan was traded; at 9:55 AM, 36 million yuan; and at 9:56 AM, 32 million yuan.

At 9:57 AM, over 8 million yuan was traded. From that minute on, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ trading volume dropped sharply. The total turnover for the day had already exceeded 400 million yuan.

Go with the Flow’s queued order was relatively near the front. By around 9:55 AM, over 39 million yuan of his order had been filled, and the rest of it was completed in the following minute.

At this time, Fang Hong also glanced at Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ intraday chart. Not only did he have a position in this stock, but he had also instructed his beautiful assistant to enter the target stock on Wednesday, September 1st, at an average price of 32.25 yuan.

After a while, once Fang Hong saw that Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals had sealed its limit-up board tightly, he stopped paying attention to it. He turned to look at the chat group Go with the Flow was in. Recently, he had noticed this person seemed to have some sort of connection with Stellaris Capital. After making a killing of 100 million from Weibo, he had jumped into the newly listed Ruihe Pharmaceutical this past week and made another ten million.

Looking at the messages in Go with the Flow’s group, Fang Hong was quite surprised to see him drop over 50 million to buy Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals at its first limit-up. He couldn’t help but comment, “This guy’s short-term trading skills are quite good…”

During this period, whenever Fang Hong had free time, he would lurk and observe. He had reviewed Go with the Flow’s recent trades after he got out of Weibo. From these transactions, it was clear he could handle funds in the hundreds of millions.

At least for now, he was doing pretty well. If he could hold on through Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals’ upcoming primary rally, where it was expected to double, there was a very good chance his net worth would exceed 200 million this year.

…

The next day, Thursday, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals opened at its limit-up price, successfully hitting a second consecutive limit-up. However, at 9:38 AM after the market opened, the limit-up board broke, releasing 123 million yuan in transactions in that minute.

Go with the Flow, who had bought at the limit-up the previous day, also got out the moment the board broke. Nearly half of the 123 million yuan in transactions came from his funds. He exited with a profit of about 9 percent.

However, the stock did hit the limit-up again today. It hit the board twice in the morning, holding for about six or seven minutes each time before the limit-up board broke again. It wasn’t until about twenty minutes into the afternoon session that it hit the limit-up once more.

After the third time it hit the limit-up in the afternoon, the board was sealed tightly. Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals formed a T-shaped candlestick for its second consecutive limit-up.

Go with the Flow didn’t buy back in. He didn’t want to touch this shaky limit-up, so he could only watch it go.

Meanwhile, the ChiNext board recent IPO stock, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, which had just completed five consecutive limit-ups, gapped down at the open today. After a small surge higher in the early morning session, it began to fall back, then accelerated its decline. By the afternoon, it had sealed the limit-down board, with a total daily trading volume of 1.17 billion yuan. The stock price fell back to 44.02 yuan.

The stock’s streak of five consecutive limit-ups had come to an end.

Recently, Fang Hong hadn’t been paying much attention to the capital markets. He was focusing on the problem of how to spend money—or more precisely, on investing in the field of basic scientific research.

Massive investments in basic research might not bring short-term rewards for Stellaris Capital, but they would ensure the company remained at the forefront of technology, standing on the commanding heights of science. At the same time, it would also boost Stellaris Capital’s positive reputation. After all, strongly supporting scientific research is a contribution to the progress and development of humanity, isn’t it?

No matter how you look at it, the word “capital” isn’t viewed very positively, if not negatively, in the eyes of most people. Stellaris Capital desperately needed to cultivate a positive public image and ensure that mainstream public opinion remained favorable toward it.

And so, the act of strongly supporting basic research—which seemed like a thankless task to outsiders—not only aligned with the company’s long-term strategic needs but also helped it gain public goodwill and positive feedback in the present.

…

Chapter 407: If We’re Going to Play, Let’s Go Big

The next day, Friday, September 10th.

After clocking off for the day, Tian Jiayi went to the second-floor study to find Fang Hong. Entering the room, she said, “The preliminary proposal for the Natural Science Foundation you wanted has been drafted. If you think it’s fine, we can get it up and running in a week.”

With that, the beautiful assistant handed a document to Fang Hong. He took it, opened it, and glanced through the contents before saying, “A budget of five billion a year is too little.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was taken aback. “Are you sure that’s too little?” she said at once. “It’s not a total budget of five billion, it’s that much every year. The country’s annual research funding allocated to basic research is about thirty-two billion a year. Our contribution would be over fifteen percent of that, which is already quite high.”

Fang Hong said unhurriedly, “With a budget of five billion a year, in a few years that amount won’t even cover the depreciation losses on the company’s cash reserves. When will I ever reach my spending goal? Not in this lifetime…”

The beautiful assistant was speechless at his casual words. This guy actually called five billion “this little bit of money”? He was so good at posturing, and he even managed to sound serious about it.

Just then, Fang Hong added, “If you can’t play big, don’t play at all. If we’re going to do this, we need a broader perspective. We need to go big.”

Tian Jiayi crossed her arms beneath her impressive chest, glanced at Fang Hong, and asked directly, “Then how much do you plan to budget for the Natural Science Foundation annually?”

Fang Hong thought for a moment, then smiled. “Not too much, not too little. Just a bit less than the country’s investment in basic research funding. Around thirty billion should do it. At the same time, we’ll increase the budget by fifteen percent year-on-year. But that’s not set in stone. In principle, that’s the investment, but we can increase or decrease the budget based on the actual situation.”

“Thirty billion… Alright!” Tian Jiayi was shocked by the number and seemed about to say something but stopped. She could see that Fang Hong had already made up his mind. In that case, she might as well go along with his wishes. It could just serve to lower Stellaris Capital’s profit statement. Besides, the guy really knew how to make money.

“Who do you plan to put in charge of this Natural Science Foundation?” Tian Jiayi asked, changing the subject.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and looked at his beautiful assistant. “Stellaris Capital has to stay behind the scenes for now, only providing financial support secretly. We’ll reveal it in a few years.”

If Stellaris Capital started throwing this much money into basic research so openly now, it would definitely be targeted by the Americans prematurely, which would not be a good thing.

In a few years, when the US finally laid its cards on the table and started a tech war, they wouldn’t have to hide anymore. By then, the country’s comprehensive national strength would be incomparable to what it was today. Furthermore, Stellaris Capital’s scale and power in the financial sector alone would be more than enough to get it “blacklisted” by the US and put on their suppression list.

“If you didn’t hold the position of Executive Vice President at Stellaris Capital, you would be my ideal choice to lead the Natural Science Foundation,” Fang Hong said with a smile, then added, “But it’s not a big deal. I already have someone in mind. Wait a moment, I’ll call Yu Qiu and ask her to come up.”

With that, Fang Hong picked up his phone. Tian Jiayi was stunned. “You mean…” she said quickly. “Don’t tell me you want Yu Qiu to be in charge? Can she handle such a major responsibility?”

Obviously, Tian Jiayi didn’t know about Fang Hong’s “cheat.” The current Yu Qiu was certainly not capable enough, but he could just exchange some achievement points to upgrade her operations and management skills.

Of course, he would never tell anyone this. He simply said calmly, “Why not? The Natural Science Foundation is primarily a money-spending organization. This means others will have to curry favor with her, while she won’t have to answer to anyone. If she’s not happy, she can just tell them to get lost. Yu Qiu will be in charge, but I’ll actually be the one in control. She’ll just be responsible for carrying out my will.”

After a pause, Fang Hong smiled again. “You can think of her as my ‘shadow’ at the Natural Science Foundation, just like you are at Qunxing. With me backing her, she just needs to show up and go through the motions. It’s not difficult, and there won’t be any problems. Everything is under my control.”

The beautiful assistant suddenly met his gaze and asked, “This ‘backing’ you’re talking about… is it the decent kind?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately criticized her with a straight face, “I’m discussing the grand undertaking of advancing human scientific progress with you, and all you can think about is lewd stuff… But then again, that’s also related to the continuation of the human species, which is equally grand.”

Tian Jiayi was unfazed and couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t it because you trained me to be this way? I wasn’t like this before.”

Fang Hong glanced at her and said calmly, “The word ‘trained’ is an excellent choice. Master is very satisfied. It’s all part of the master’s mission.”

Tian Jiayi shot him a playfully reproachful look. “Oh, please…”

After the little interlude, Fang Hong quickly called Yu Qiu and asked her to come up.

Fang Hong had decided to have Yu Qiu publicly lead the Natural Science Foundation for two reasons. First, her background was not connected to Stellaris Capital. Second, she was a pillow companion he could absolutely trust. Fang Hong had completely conquered her, body and soul. No one was more suitable than the beautiful house manager.

A little while later, Yu Qiu arrived at the second-floor study. She glanced at Tian Jiayi and Fang Hong in the room, then said to the latter, “Bro Hong, you were looking for me?”

Fang Hong gestured for her to come over. When Yu Qiu was beside him, he handed her the document on the Natural Science Foundation and said, “Take a look at this first. Sit down and read it. We’ll talk after you’re done.”

Yu Qiu didn’t know what he was up to, but she took the document, sat down nearby, and began to read through it patiently. After some time, she looked up at Fang Hong with a puzzled expression. “Why did you want me to read this? I’m only in charge of your personal life. You should be discussing work matters with Jiayi.”

Fang Hong met her gaze and smiled. “I plan to have you lead this organization.”

At these words, Yu Qiu’s beautiful eyes widened, her face a mask of bewilderment. “What did you say?” she said in astonishment. “You want me to… me? No… I… you… Did I hear you correctly?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

Without a second thought, Yu Qiu quickly refused. “You must be joking. I’m a domestic manager. How could I possibly handle such an important job? I have no work background in this field, no experience whatsoever. If I mess it up, I can’t take the responsibility.”

At this, Yu Qiu glanced at Tian Jiayi beside her and said, “Jiayi is the most suitable person for a job like this. By any measure, she’s a far better choice than me.”

Fang Hong was not surprised by her reaction. He smiled and said, “I thought about it, but Little Sweetie can’t get away. This Natural Science Foundation can’t be openly associated with Stellaris Capital. She holds the position of Vice President at Qunxing, and even if she resigned, she’d still carry Qunxing’s background. So it can only be you.”

Yu Qiu still felt it was a bad idea. After a moment of thought, she said, “Then you should find someone more capable. I’m the least suitable choice.”

“Wrong. You might not be the most outstanding in terms of ability, but you’re definitely the most suitable. Besides… I’ve already fathomed your depths completely.” Fang Hong said with a calm smile. The beautiful assistant next to him shook her head in exasperation, while Yu Qiu couldn’t help but blush. Both women naturally understood that he was once again seizing every opportunity to play his games with double entendres.

Looking at Yu Qiu, Fang Hong added, “For this organization, favoritism comes first, ability is secondary. You’re my woman, and that’s enough. As for your abilities, don’t worry. With me behind you to carefully train you, even if you don’t have faith in yourself, you should at least have faith in me, right?”

Yu Qiu started to speak but hesitated, “I…”

Fang Hong decided he would use some item cards bought with achievement points from his system to give the beautiful house manager a boost later. He made the final decision on the spot. “It’s settled then. We’ll see if it works after we try. Don’t you want to outdo Little Sweetie?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi immediately interjected, “Stop trying to sow discord here. I know your game, it’s called PUA. But we’re on very good terms right now. You want to see us fight over you? In your dreams…”

Yu Qiu couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Now it was Fang Hong’s turn to be stunned. He glanced back and forth between them and said instinctively, “Huh? So, you two have laid your cards on the table? When did this happen? How come I don’t know?”

But then, a thought struck Fang Hong, and he was suddenly ecstatic. He rubbed his hands together with a gleeful grin, his eyes darting between the two women. “Doesn’t that mean the ‘double-slit experiment’ I’ve been dreaming of is now possible…?”

The two women replied in perfect unison, “No way!”

Fang Hong put on a look of feigned helplessness. “Fine… but I won’t give up!”

After that little interlude, Fang Hong brought the conversation back to the serious matter at hand.

At this point, hearing his insistence, Yu Qiu no longer hesitated. She nodded. “Alright then, I’ll listen to you. But if you’re putting me in charge of this Natural Science Foundation, do we need to hire a new house manager for Tranquil Heart Residence?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi looked at Yu Qiu and said in exasperation, “Are you crazy? Isn’t that just letting a wolf into the house?”

“Huh—?” Yu Qiu looked at Tian Jiayi, her face a picture of confusion, looking a little slow on the uptake. But after a moment of bewilderment, she quickly understood. Hiring another person would certainly mean hiring another woman, and then there’d be one more person to share with. There were already too many wolves for the amount of meat.

Yu Qiu immediately looked at Fang Hong and said hurriedly, “Oh, right, right! No need to hire someone new. It’s just taking on another job. My daily work is very light anyway, I can handle it. In short, no need to hire anyone new. We’re enough for Tranquil Heart Residence. No new members needed.”

Fang Hong looked at the two women, spread his hands, and said in all seriousness, “I can’t handle any more either.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

Yu Qiu: “…”

…

Chapter 408: Time for an Epic Upgrade

Fang Hong once again pulled the conversation back from its tangent. He looked at the two women and said, “I’ve already decided on the first project for the Natural Science Foundation.”

“What project?” Tian Jiayi asked curiously. Fang Hong fiddled with his computer for a moment, then opened a news article. Pointing at the screen, he said, “Here, look at this news. The Americans’ Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, the LIGO project, has started its trial run.”

The two women looked over.

Fang Hong added, “According to their description, LIGO’s sensitivity is 10 to the negative 19th power, which is one part in ten quintillion. If there’s a change in spatial distance of one part in 10 to the 19th power, LIGO can capture it.”

Tian Jiayi read the news report on the computer. After hearing Fang Hong’s explanation, she immediately turned to him and said, “You mean you want the Natural Science Foundation to fund a similar laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory in our country?”

Fang Hong nodded. “And it needs to be on a larger scale than LIGO, with higher sensitivity. The precision must reach at least 10 to the negative 21st power or better.”

Yu Qiu asked curiously, “What’s the difference between 10 to the 19th and 21st power?”

The beautiful house manager had no concept of this, as she wasn’t a science student.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and explained, “With a precision of 10 to the negative 21st power or better, let me put it this way: over a distance of a thousand kilometers, a spatial shift on the microscopic scale smaller than the width of a proton can be detected and captured.”

Closing the news page on his computer, Fang Hong continued, “The current LIGO should be considered the most sensitive device ever created by humanity. It can monitor almost any slight vibration in its surroundings. From waves crashing against rocks on a beach hundreds of kilometers away to a couple clapping for love in a hotel a few kilometers away—even with the best soundproofing, you could hear the slapping sounds. You could say it has a grasp on the movement of all things.”

The two women glared at him in uncanny unison. Of all the analogies he could have used, he had to pick such a crude one.

Fang Hong was unfazed and continued, “The similar device we’re investing in must surpass the Americans’ LIGO. That is my core demand for funding this.”

At this point, Tian Jiayi thought of another issue. She looked at Fang Hong and said, “If we spend a massive amount of money to replicate a device like LIGO, many people in society will likely criticize us for wasting resources and money.”

Fang Hong said with a touch of disdain, “You’re talking about that bunch of public intellectuals and Big V’s, right? When you do nothing, they attack you for not doing anything. When you do something, they attack you for doing it wrong. Do I need to care about what they think?”

After a pause, Fang Hong added, “Science has no borders, but scientists do. And scientific equipment certainly does. If you want to scale the commanding heights of science, you need to have your own things, things you have the final say on. So not only must we have it, but it must be better than anyone else’s. That is true technological self-reliance.”

Launching a large-scale scientific research project has many benefits. First, the project’s construction can boost employment and inject vitality into the economy, bringing business to related enterprises. Second, it can promote technological development in those enterprises. Once the project is completed and operational, it can gradually cultivate talent.

Stellaris Capital’s investment in this area wasn’t purely out of selfless generosity. The talent cultivated would be prioritized for transfer into industries under the Qunxing ecosystem, and the resulting scientific research achievements and benefits would also belong to Stellaris Capital.

Then there’s the associated intangible value: enhancing the company’s positive social reputation.

At that moment, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and asked, “This gravitational wave detector project you’re talking about—who or which institution do you plan to cooperate with?”

Stellaris Capital’s role in this would mainly be the “wealthy backer,” primarily investing money and exercising its “power of cash.” It certainly couldn’t handle the actual scientific research.

Fang Hong immediately replied, “I’ve also decided on the main partner to lead the collaboration. We’ll work with Xincheng University. I’ve even scouted the person to lead the project: Ning Xingqing, the astrophysicist who teaches at Xinda. He will serve as the project’s chief scientist.”

Although Ning Xingqing wasn’t an academician, he was a perfect match for his professional field. Another key point was that Fang Hong was relatively familiar with him, having slacked off at Xincheng University for so long.

Once a major project like this was disclosed to the public, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation in the academic world and unearth countless stories. There would be no shortage of people wanting a piece of the pie.

This was especially true since Xincheng University wasn’t considered one of the country’s top-tier universities, which would inevitably make those top schools envious. However, Fang Hong didn’t care how many people wanted to come and get a slice.

Whether they came for fame or fortune, anyone with real skills was welcome.

But the project’s greatest influence would undoubtedly be held by the Natural Science Foundation, followed by Xincheng University, and then other universities or research institutions.

Xincheng was their home turf, and Xincheng University was Fang Hong’s alma mater. By establishing a closer cooperative relationship and directing more future research projects to Xincheng University, it might not be impossible to build it into a top-tier institution in the future.

Attracting outstanding scientists with projects and funding is easy, but attracting outstanding students is difficult. The crucial point is that it isn’t a top-tier university, and more importantly, when students think about their future employment, some positions are exclusively for graduates from designated top universities.

This is what’s known as “heritage.”

This would be a tricky problem for others, but not for Fang Hong. He had Stellaris Capital. Outstanding graduates from Xincheng University could be directly channeled into jobs at related companies within the Qunxing ecosystem. With this guarantee, Xincheng University would become attractive to excellent prospective students.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It would just take time.

Meanwhile, Yu Qiu listened to the exchange between the two of them, finding herself mostly unable to contribute. Inevitably, she began to doubt whether she was truly capable of handling the task Fang Hong had given her and worried even more about messing things up.

“…That’s the plan for now.” Fang Hong looked at the two women. He had explained all the basics. Soon, both of them left the study. Fang Hong had actually noticed Yu Qiu’s slight lack of confidence, but he wasn’t worried at all.

As the two women left, Fang Hong remained seated, but the interface of the Prestige System had already appeared before his eyes.

Before the beautiful house manager took charge of the Natural Science Foundation, it was time to give her an “epic” upgrade.

“I’ve saved up quite a bit again.”

Fang Hong looked at the data on the interface with satisfaction. He recalled that the last time he used this “cheat” was back in late November of last year, when he gave an upgrade to Luo Liang, Xiang Lanzhi, and four others from Jiuzhou Blue Arrow, which consumed a large number of achievement points.

The latest data showed that his Reputation Value had accumulated to one billion, and his available achievement points had reached 53.62 million. He could exchange them for 563 item cards of various types.

As the house manager of Tranquil Heart Residence, Yu Qiu was also Fang Hong’s subordinate, so the item cards in the Prestige System would be effective on her.

A moment later, Fang Hong first spent one hundred thousand achievement points to redeem an “Attribute” card, targeting Yu Qiu. The next moment, the beautiful house manager’s six basic attributes appeared on Fang Hong’s retina.

[Target: Yu Qiu]

[Character: Excellent]

[Prestige: 623]

[Health: Excellent]

[IQ: 119, Excellent]

[EQ: 117, Excellent]

[Wealth: 2.19 million yuan]

Looking at the data displayed before him, Fang Hong couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, “She may look a little ditzy, but her IQ and EQ aren’t low at all.”

Yu Qiu’s overall stats were quite good. Her Prestige value was a bit on the low side, almost negligible, but that wasn’t surprising since she wasn’t known to the public and was rarely active online.

However, as she took the helm of the Natural Science Foundation, her prestige was bound to skyrocket in the future. At that time, Fang Hong’s Reputation Value would also indirectly benefit, because the greater a subordinate’s influence, the more Reputation Value he gained from them.

In time, once her prestige was established, the achievement points spent on her could likely be earned back, and he might even make a net profit in achievement points.

Yu Qiu’s attributes soon disappeared from Fang Hong’s vision. Next, he began to redeem a large number of “Operations-type” item cards to improve her coordination ability. “R&D-type” item cards were unnecessary, as she wasn’t needed for research and development.

Coordination ability had six levels: Ordinary, Moderate, High, Excellent, Superior, and Exceptional.

Fang Hong judged that Yu Qiu’s current coordination ability was in the moderate range. He then began targeting her and spending “Operations-type” item cards to raise her coordination ability to the excellent level, which would be more than enough for her to manage the Natural Science Foundation.

There was no need to max it out; it would be an unnecessary waste of achievement points. While he had over fifty million points, based on the previous upgrades for Luo Liang, Xiang Lanzhi, and the others, that was only enough to create six or seven leading-class scientific talents.

That might sound like a lot, but when divided among various scientific fields, they became rare. In reality, such talent was very scarce.

In the end, Fang Hong used 76 cards to raise her to this level. Including the one attribute card from before, this upgrade for Yu Qiu consumed a total of 77 item cards, costing 7.7 million achievement points. He was left with 45,920,000 available achievement points.

Yu Qiu’s other stats were all quite good and didn’t require additional enhancement, making it a very cost-effective upgrade.

…

Chapter 409: Returning to Xincheng University

After agreeing to manage the Natural Science Foundation for Fang Hong, Yu Qiu had been incredibly busy. She spent all her free time cramming knowledge on the subject to ensure she was competent for the job, unaware that Fang Hong had already given her a major boost using his “system.”

Over the past few days, Yu Qiu had been working alongside Tian Jiayi, primarily to complete the handover of the Natural Science Foundation’s affairs and to begin the subsequent work.

A week later, on Friday, September 17.

“The handover for the Natural Science Foundation is complete. I have to say, you have a pretty good eye. The operations and management skills Yu Qiu has demonstrated these past few days were a huge surprise to me.” Tian Jiayi was in the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, discussing work matters with Fang Hong. The beautiful assistant held Yu Qiu in very high regard.

“It really was a waste of her talent to have her as a personal house manager. Judging by the handover these last few days, I’m not sure I could have done a better job myself,” Tian Jiayi added. Faced with his beautiful assistant’s unreserved praise for Yu Qiu, Fang Hong simply smiled without a word.

He had spent over seven million Achievement Points to enhance Yu Qiu’s operations and management skills. It was no exaggeration to say she had received an epic-level upgrade. If she hadn’t performed this well, Fang Hong would have suspected the system had bugged out and swallowed his points.

As Fang Hong and his beautiful assistant were chatting, Yu Qiu returned. Dressed in a work uniform, she exuded a cool and competent air. Seeing Fang Hong in the living room, she walked over.

“Little Sweetie was just praising your outstanding abilities. She said you took her by surprise. What are your thoughts on that?” Fang Hong asked with a smile, looking at Yu Qiu.

“Oh, was she?” Yu Qiu glanced at the beautiful assistant before taking a seat to Fang Hong’s left, with Tian Jiayi on his right. Sitting down, Yu Qiu said with a delicate, charming laugh, “What could I possibly think? The pressure of being entrusted with such an important matter is immense. I’m just thankful I haven’t made any mistakes.”

Tian Jiayi stood up and said, “You two chat. I’m going to work out. I’ve handed everything regarding the Natural Science Foundation over to Yu Qiu. From now on, you can discuss these matters with her.”

With that, the beautiful assistant gracefully left the living room. Yu Qiu looked at Fang Hong and said, “The Natural Science Foundation currently has fifty-two employees and is still in the process of expanding. The various sub-departments are also being established, but the current staff is sufficient for normal operations.”

Pausing for a moment, Yu Qiu continued her report, “Stellaris Capital has already provided thirty billion in funding for the foundation. It’s expected to be fully transferred within two weeks—not under the Stellaris Capital name, of course. Also, I sent people to contact Xincheng University today and proposed investing in the construction of a laser gravitational-wave interferometer, inviting them to lead the collaboration on the project…”

Looking at his house manager, Fang Hong nodded to himself and mused, “Mm, you’ve really got the vibe of a professional female elite. This upgrade really made a difference. The change is visible to the naked eye.”

Yu Qiu, who had been in the middle of her report, stopped and stared at him blankly. “What upgrade? What change?” she asked, confused.

Fang Hong smiled. “It’s nothing. Please continue.”

Yu Qiu shot him a suspicious glance but didn’t press the matter. She resumed, “We have a meeting with people from Xincheng University tomorrow, Saturday. Ning Xingqing will be there as well. The meeting is for preliminary discussions on the laser gravitational-wave interferometer project. Do you want to come along?”

Fang Hong nodded. “Sure. I’ll just play the part of your assistant.”

…

Meanwhile, at Xincheng University, everyone from the president to the entire School of Physics was in a state of shock over an unexpected invitation. That morning, two people claiming to be from the “Natural Science Foundation” had shown up and stated that the foundation wanted to invest five billion yuan to build a laser gravitational-wave interferometer.

At first, the university administration instinctively treated the two as scammers. But after they presented their credentials, proving that an institution focused on investing in basic scientific research did indeed exist, the leadership of Xincheng University and the staff of the School of Physics were in an uproar.

This organization wanted to pour a massive sum of five billion into a basic research project, benchmarking it directly against the US’s LIGO, and they wanted Xincheng University to take the lead. The foundation would be mainly responsible for funding.

Good grief, this was incredible!

Xincheng University’s entire annual research funding was less than one hundred million yuan. Even Tsinghua University’s budget for the year was estimated to be just over three billion, which was already an astronomical figure.

For this Natural Science Foundation to personally come and propose a five-billion-yuan basic research project in a collaboration led by Xincheng University was enough to make the entire university administration faint from excitement.

If this collaboration came to fruition, it would mean that the future laser gravitational-wave interferometer would be primarily run by Xincheng University’s scientists. Any achievements would be an honor for the university, and the boost to the school’s influence and prestige would be self-evident.

And the benefits didn’t stop there.

The university administration was holding continuous discussions to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting with the key figure from the Natural Science Foundation to discuss the specifics of the collaboration. As an astrophysicist involved in this field, Ning Xingqing was naturally part of the discussions; he was Xincheng University’s most distinguished scientist in this area.

For now, only a few people at Xincheng University knew about this. Most were unaware, and those who did know had been repeatedly warned by the president to keep their mouths shut and not leak the news.

Clearly, the president of Xinda knew that compared to other top domestic universities, they were relatively less competitive.

If word of this got out, even top-tier institutions like Tsinghua and Peking University would likely come trying to snatch it away with envy. A budget of five billion yuan was enough to sway any university in the country.

However, the people at Xincheng University had no idea that Fang Hong had already designated them for the project without explicitly saying so. It was something that couldn’t be stated openly.

In the city of Xincheng, many things were much easier to handle than elsewhere. In other places, you were playing an away game; in Xincheng, you were on home turf. After all, Stellaris Capital was rooted in Xincheng, so they tried to land as many projects as possible within the city.

…

The next day, Saturday, September 18.

Around 2:30 PM, Fang Hong and Yu Qiu left the Tranquil Heart Residence villa for Xincheng University. This time, their ride was the Maybach.

Yu Qiu wore an autumn business suit, a chic and confident commuter style that created the image of a poised and capable career woman. Because she was young and exceptionally beautiful, she had to put some effort into her attire to avoid giving off the impression of being a “flower vase.” After all, most people tended to judge others by their appearance.

Fang Hong’s outfit for the trip was a mid-length jacket, jeans, and a pair of casual shoes. It was neither frivolous nor would it steal the spotlight, fitting perfectly with the role he was playing today: Yu Qiu’s assistant or male secretary.

After about a half-hour drive, the Maybach carrying the two arrived at Xincheng University and drove smoothly onto the campus. Two other cars, one in front and one behind, entered the campus along with them.

The president of Xinda, Ning Xingqing, and others, having been notified, had been waiting for some time.

It was worth noting that the semester had been in session for a while. The students on campus were quite surprised. Not only did they see the rarely-seen president, but he was also waiting outside, clearly for a visitor. He was accompanied by many other school leaders and scientists.

They couldn’t help but wonder what kind of major figure was coming to the university.

As Fang Hong’s Maybach drove onto campus, the sight of the luxury car further boosted the university staff’s confidence in the newly emerged Natural Science Foundation.

Anyone with such a top-tier business vehicle had to have some substance.

As the Maybach slowly came to a stop, Fang Hong instantly got into character. He got out of the car first, then quickly walked around to the other side, opened the door, and said to Yu Qiu inside, “President, watch your head.”

He looked the part. Seeing his serious demeanor, Yu Qiu, who was still in the car, couldn’t help but laugh to herself. However, she quickly composed herself, managed her expression, and then stepped out of the car as if everything was perfectly normal.

The effects of her epic-level enhancement were clear; not a single flaw could be seen.

At that moment, the president of Xinda led his delegation over to greet them.

…

Chapter 410: Is Your Organization Reliable?

When they saw the two people get out of the car, everyone from Xincheng University was thoroughly surprised—or more accurately, a bit dumbfounded. The reality was a world away from what they had imagined.

They had never expected the representatives from the Natural Science Foundation to be such a young and good-looking pair. In their eyes, the two were almost unreasonably young, to the point that a seed of doubt was instantly planted in their minds.

Is this for real?

But things had already reached this point, so they could only suppress this thought for the time being.

Just then, the chancellor of Xinda University approached with a smile. “You two must be the heads of the Natural Science Foundation, yes?”

Fang Hong also smiled and said, “Chancellor Li Kang, allow me to make the introductions…”

Li Kang and his entourage turned their attention to Fang Hong, who looked at Yu Qiu beside him and introduced her, “This is the President of the Natural Science Foundation, Ms. Yu Qiu. I am her assistant, Fang Hong.”

Upon hearing this, Li Kang immediately turned to Yu Qiu and extended his hand. “Ms. Yu, a pleasure to meet you.”

With a faint, polite smile, Yu Qiu replied, “A pleasure, Chancellor Li.”

Her speech and mannerisms were composed and dignified, carrying the air of a superior, which made the university officials present give her a second look. Their initial impression was that this young helmsman of the Natural Science Foundation was a female elite who possessed beauty, figure, ability, and talent in equal measure.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Chancellor Li Kang once again noticed Fang Hong standing next to Yu Qiu. He felt that this young man looked a bit familiar and said, “Assistant Fang, have we met somewhere before?”

Fang Hong smiled. “Chancellor, a person of your stature has a lot on their mind. Xinda University is my alma mater. I graduated just a few months ago, and you were the one who personally handed me my diploma.”

At these words, everyone present revealed looks of surprise. They weren’t familiar with Fang Hong, as none of them had been his advisor. Unlike his high profile on Weibo, Fang Hong was very low-key in real life and wasn’t as famous at Xincheng University as people like Xu Jingren or Qin Feng.

After Fang Hong co-founded Quantum Beat with Xu Jingren and the others, he had moved out of the school dormitories before the company became famous. As for his status as a company shareholder, it was largely unknown to the public; since Quantum Beat was not listed, only a very small number of top investment firms knew a thing or two.

At that moment, no one had expected that the assistant to the leader of the Natural Science Foundation would have such a deep connection with Xincheng University. It made everyone subconsciously wonder if Fang Hong had played a role in the foundation’s decision to partner with them.

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Kang slapped his forehead, glanced back at his colleagues, and laughed. “I was wondering why you looked so familiar…”

Since Fang Hong was a Xincheng University graduate, Li Kang naturally used this as a starting point for conversation, skillfully closing the distance with the Natural Science Foundation without seeming abrupt.

However, Li Kang didn’t dwell on Fang Hong for too long. After all, Yu Qiu was the decision-maker at the Natural Science Foundation. Using Fang Hong as an entry point was merely a way to better engage with her.

The chancellor made a welcoming gesture and began walking toward a building on campus while conversing with Yu Qiu.

Fang Hong wasn’t worried that Yu Qiu wouldn’t be able to handle the interaction with the chancellor. He might have been concerned before her upgrade, but his beautiful house manager had since received an epic-level enhancement.

As her assistant, he couldn’t interject, or it would be obvious at a glance that Yu Qiu wasn’t the real decision-maker. He had already briefed her on everything they needed to discuss in the car; the rest was up to her.

It was worth noting, however, that just as Li Kang mentioned Fang Hong and glanced back at the university staff, the vice-chancellor present noticed Li Kang give him an almost imperceptible look. The vice-chancellor understood immediately.

As Chancellor Li Kang and Yu Qiu were talking and walking, someone suddenly tugged on Fang Hong’s sleeve. Looking to his left, he saw it was none other than the vice-chancellor.

Fang Hong appeared unfazed on the surface but smiled inwardly. He was most likely here to “probe for intelligence,” hoping to use the connection of Xincheng University being his alma mater to get some information about the Natural Science Foundation. Fang Hong deliberately slowed his pace slightly, gradually creating a small gap between himself and Yu Qiu.

At this moment, Vice-Chancellor Liu whispered to him, “Classmate Fang Hong, may I have a word with you in private?”

Fang Hong took a few quick steps forward, briefly told Yu Qiu he was heading to the restroom, and then distanced himself. A moment later, he and Vice-Chancellor Liu from Xinda University were standing under a tree on campus.

They started with some pleasantries. After all, Fang Hong had graduated and now had a job as the assistant to the head of the Natural Science Foundation.

Once the small talk was over, Vice-Chancellor Liu smiled and asked tentatively, “For the Natural Science Foundation to choose Xinda for such a major scientific research project, you must have played a significant role. The university really ought to thank you.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “You’re too kind, Vice-Chancellor. I’m just an assistant to the President at the foundation. I don’t have that much influence.”

He didn’t take the bait? Vice-Chancellor Liu was surprised but maintained his composure. “You’re being too modest. The assistant to the head of the Natural Science Foundation is no ordinary position.”

In truth, there was another question Vice-Chancellor Liu was dying to ask: what was the relationship between Fang Hong and Yu Qiu? Were the handsome man and beautiful woman really just superior and subordinate? That aside, they looked more like a couple.

But Vice-Chancellor Liu had to suppress this question, as he couldn’t find a suitable reason to bring it up without being too presumptuous.

After a short while, Fang Hong figured it was about time and said bluntly, “Vice-Chancellor Liu, if there’s anything you want to ask, please feel free. As long as it’s within the scope of what I’m permitted to share about the Natural Science Foundation, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Hearing this, Vice-Chancellor Liu dropped the roundabout approach, nodded, and said directly, “Alright, I’ll be blunt. Classmate Fang Hong, can you give me the straight story? Is your Natural Science Foundation reliable?”

Before Fang Hong could speak, the vice-chancellor continued, “To be honest, the university immediately looked into your organization’s background and found that it was established less than half a month ago. Frankly, that’s not very reassuring. And you’re starting with a massive five-billion-yuan scientific research project right off the bat. Where does your funding come from? What kind of backing does your organization have?”

Fang Hong smiled and replied, “Vice-Chancellor, my knowledge of the Natural Science Foundation’s background is also quite limited, as I’ve only just joined. But I can confirm that it has powerful backing. I don’t know who provided the funds, but the money is real. I’ve seen the company’s accounts—there are thirty billion yuan just sitting there. I can stake my personal integrity on the fact that not a single word of this is false.”

Fang Hong was actually lying. Strictly speaking, the Natural Science Foundation didn’t have that much money in its account yet; the thirty billion had not yet been transferred.

People in the world of finance could talk a big game—they could probably run a high-speed train on hot air.

“What—?” Vice-Chancellor Liu reeled in shock, completely forgetting his composure. He stared intently at Fang Hong. “You’re saying there’s thirty billion yuan?”

This astronomical figure truly shocked him. Xincheng University’s annual research funding was less than one hundred million yuan, yet this organization had thirty billion yuan sitting in its account?

Fang Hong nodded affirmatively. “Yes, Vice-Chancellor. The laser gravitational wave detection project is just one of the Natural Science Foundation’s undertakings. Let me put it this way: our organization is called the ‘Natural Science Foundation.’ As the name implies, it’s an entity dedicated to supporting endeavors in the field of natural sciences.”

Recovering from his shock, Vice-Chancellor Liu had a moment of sudden realization. A guess formed in his mind: this unit might well be a public institution. A name like “Natural Science Foundation” didn’t sound like something a private entity could use. Besides, a private company was unlikely to have such immense financial power.

But if it was state-supported, that was a different story.

The more Vice-Chancellor Liu thought about it, the more he felt that the Natural Science Foundation was very likely a national-level institution, with the money coming from government allocations.

But he didn’t understand why the state would do this.

Or was there some hidden reason?

He couldn’t figure it out.

But he was now almost certain that if Fang Hong wasn’t lying, the background of this organization was incredible. A staggering sum like thirty billion yuan was not something an ordinary person could produce.

Finally, Vice-Chancellor Liu looked at Fang Hong and said, “Classmate Fang Hong, your boss, that young President—how can someone so young be in charge of such a massive organization? Of course, I’m not doubting her abilities. To become the head of the Natural Science Foundation, she must be young and promising. I’m just saying that, from a common-sense perspective, it’s truly astonishing.”

In fact, the fact that Fang Hong had landed the position of assistant to the President of the Natural Science Foundation right after graduation was just as shocking to Vice-Chancellor Liu. He strongly suspected that Fang Hong and Yu Qiu were in a relationship and that he had gotten the position because of it. After all, their ages made it easy for people to think along those lines.

Then again, after talking with Fang Hong for a while, his calm and confident demeanor had also impressed Vice-Chancellor Liu. Based on this initial impression, he felt that Fang Hong was indeed different from his peers. That composure alone already set him far above many others of his age.

…

Chapter 411: The “Mirror of the Sky” Project

“Vice-Chancellor Liu, I’ve also just joined the Natural Science Foundation. As you know, I only graduated not long ago, and this is my first job. I know nothing about President Yu’s background, but it’s certainly substantial.”

Fang Hong looked at Vice-Chancellor Liu and said with a smile. After a brief pause, he continued, “To be honest, I was also surprised to become her assistant. I was hand-picked for the promotion just two days after I started.”

He was spouting a string of lies without batting an eye.

However, his words undoubtedly made Vice-Chancellor Liu’s mind race. He couldn’t help but size Fang Hong up discreetly, noticing how handsome the young man was. Even though Yu Qiu held the top position at the Natural Science Foundation, she was still a woman—a young one at that. It wasn’t out of the question that sparks could fly between her and this handsome young man.

Finally, Fang Hong said, “Does Vice-Chancellor Liu have any other questions?”

Hearing this, Vice-Chancellor Liu snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, deciding not to ask anymore. Fang Hong probably wouldn’t answer what he really wanted to know, and pressing the issue would only make things difficult for him. Vice-Chancellor Liu knew when to quit while he was ahead.

“Classmate Fang Hong, let’s head over as well. Please,” Vice-Chancellor Liu said, making a polite gesture. After all, Fang Hong was visiting the university in his capacity as a staff member of the Natural Science Foundation. The two of them then walked toward Li Kang, Yu Qiu, and the others.

…

Two or three minutes later, Fang Hong and Vice-Chancellor Liu entered a conference room where Yu Qiu, Li Kang, and the others were gathered.

In their earlier conversation, Yu Qiu had explained to Li Kang and company that she was no expert in specific scientific research, but this didn’t affect the Natural Science Foundation’s support for basic science. She also expressed her belief that professional matters should be left to the professionals.

When Fang Hong entered the conference room, he quickly spotted Yu Qiu and slowly walked over, taking the seat beside her.

Vice-Chancellor Liu, on the other hand, sat down next to Li Kang and began speaking with him privately. Fang Hong couldn’t hear their whispers, but he caught a flicker of shock on Li Kang’s face. Though it vanished quickly, Fang Hong still saw it and could guess what they were likely discussing.

Meanwhile, the person speaking in the conference room was Ning Xingqing, a professor of astrophysics and an experimental physicist at Xincheng University. He was discussing the laser interferometer.

“The laser interferometer is an incredibly precise piece of equipment, but its principle is actually very simple.” Ning Xingqing then drew a horizontal line segment on a blackboard in the room. Near the right end of the line, he drew another line perpendicular to it. At the ends of both lines and at their intersection, he drew small marks to represent lenses.

Ning Xingqing pointed to the diagram and explained, “First, a laser emitter sends out a beam of light. This beam passes through a beam splitter set at a 45-degree angle. Since it’s not a full-reflection mirror, half the light passes straight through, while the other half is reflected at a 90-degree angle. Thus, one laser beam is split into two perpendicular beams.”

At this point, Ning Xingqing pointed to the ends of the two perpendicular lines and said, “At the end of each path, a mirror reflects the laser beam back. These two returning beams pass through the beam splitter again and recombine, heading in the same direction. When they do, the two beams create an interference pattern.”

Pausing here, Ning Xingqing turned back to face Fang Hong and the others. “Because light itself is also a wave, just like water waves, if two waves overlap, the parts where two crests or two troughs meet will be amplified, while the parts where a crest and a trough meet will cancel each other out. This forms alternating light and dark bands, which you can imagine as the ripples created when two hands clap on the surface of a calm lake.”

“Interference is extremely sensitive. If the path length of either laser beam changes even slightly, the relative positions of the crests and troughs will shift, causing a noticeable change in the interference pattern. Therefore, this phenomenon can be used to perform ultra-high-precision distance measurements.”

Ning Xingqing turned back to the blackboard and gestured at his diagram again. “Specifically, if the distance between the mirror and the light source changes by even the tiniest amount, the positions of the crests and troughs in the reflected light will change.”

Ning Xingqing continued, “And because the two beams are perpendicular to each other, if a gravitational wave passes by, it will inevitably affect the vertical and horizontal paths differently. This means the change in distance will be different for each path. This difference will cause a shift in the interference pattern of the recombined laser beams, which is how we can determine whether we’ve detected a gravitational wave.”

With that, Ning Xingqing finished explaining the principle, essentially giving a simple, popularized introduction to the workings of a laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory. He had made it very easy to understand.

Finally, Yu Qiu looked at Ning Xingqing and asked, “Professor Ning, I’d like to know, is it technologically possible for our country to build a laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory independently?”

Ning Xingqing nodded with certainty. “Technologically, there’s no problem.”

It was obvious that the main issue was the lack of funding. Spending so much money just to prove a prediction Albert Einstein made a hundred years ago seemed like a poor return on investment, so no one was interested.

On one hand, this kind of research project was far removed from the lives of ordinary people, making it difficult to gain attention and understanding; at most, people might spectate when the project was first announced. On the other hand, some leaders might not fully grasp its importance and significance.

To put it bluntly, basic research often went unrecognized.

At this point, Chancellor Li Kang, who was present at the meeting, spoke up. “Ms. Yu, this is an enormous scientific undertaking. It would require at least a hundred scientists and extensive collaboration from multiple parties to even have a chance of succeeding. And a team of a hundred scientists might be a conservative estimate.”

The implication was that Xincheng University’s research capabilities alone were not enough to handle it, a fact Li Kang did not try to overstate.

Yu Qiu nodded and said, “Regarding the Natural Science Foundation’s plan for this project, on the technology side, we hope to have Xinda University lead the collaboration. We’ll leave the research to you professionals. Our primary role will be to provide financial support, while you will be responsible for making it a reality.”

These words electrified Li Kang, Ning Xingqing, and the others present. With this project, even researchers from Tsinghua and Peking University would have to follow Xinda’s lead.

Despite facing a room full of people older than her, like Li Kang, Yu Qiu’s speech and mannerisms consistently exuded confidence and composure. This made everyone see her in a new light, and many of their preconceived notions about her began to fade.

It made sense. Anyone who could become the head of the Natural Science Foundation was certainly no mere “flower vase.”

“Let me clarify the Natural Science Foundation’s requirements for this project, as there may have been some misunderstanding.” Yu Qiu calmly surveyed the attendees. “Our vision isn’t to build a ground-based laser interferometer observatory like the Americans’ LIGO, but rather a space-based gravitational-wave observatory.”

Her words stunned everyone for a moment. Ning Xingqing couldn’t help but ask quickly, “Ms. Yu, are you referring to a project similar to the LISA system?”

The so-called LISA system was a space-based laser interferometer gravitational-wave detection project initiated in the 1990s as a collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Americans’ NASA, but its progress had been extremely slow.

Yu Qiu recalled the details Fang Hong had briefed her on in the car and began to lay out the plan in a clear, organized manner. “We’ve named this project the ‘Mirror of the Sky’ Project. It involves deploying three identical satellites in a high Earth orbit at an altitude of about 100,000 kilometers. These three satellites will form an equilateral triangle array with sides of approximately 170,000 kilometers. This will constitute a space-based gravitational-wave observatory for the spatial detection of gravitational waves, conducting cutting-edge research in astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics.”

Everyone present, including Ning Xingqing, was utterly shocked. This was an absolutely massive undertaking.

Before they could even react, Yu Qiu’s next requirement left them dumbfounded. She continued in her steady voice, “The Natural Science Foundation is investing a colossal sum into the ‘Mirror of the Sky’ Project. There is one thing I need to know for certain, and it is our requirement: can it be fully operational by the beginning of 2015?”

Ning Xingqing was aghast. “The beginning of 2015? Ms. Yu, that’s an impossible task. The West’s LISA system was initiated in the 1990s, and after twenty years, it has made almost no progress. To start from scratch and complete it in just four years, to be fully operational by early 2015, is nearly impossible.”

Yu Qiu immediately shot back, “Is it technologically impossible? Or theoretically impossible?”

…

Chapter 412: If It’s Just a Matter of Funding, It’s Not a Big Problem

Yu Qiu’s “Sky Mirror” proposal left Li Kang, Ning Xingqing, and the others in a state of shock. But the demanding requirements she laid out afterward had everyone on the edge of their seats.

It was almost the end of 2010, yet she was demanding the project be completed and operational by early 2015. That was just a little over four years. This wasn’t just demanding; it was a nearly impossible task.

At this moment, the people from Xincheng University all wore difficult expressions, wanting to speak but holding back. Their biggest fear was that if they couldn’t give Yu Qiu the answer she wanted, she might just turn around and leave.

Xincheng University could very well miss out on this massive slice of the research pie. Wouldn’t that be like watching a cooked duck fly away?

Li Kang and the others truly couldn’t understand why the Natural Science Foundation would set such a tight deadline.

The group from Xinda University didn’t know the reason due to their historical limitations, but Fang Hong, having been reborn, knew that the American LIGO experiment team next door would detect gravitational waves in 2015.

LIGO’s facility had been built as early as 1999 and had been trying to detect gravitational waves ever since, but to no avail. It had undergone multiple upgrades, and even by this year, years after its completion, it still hadn’t detected a thing.

However, after the head of LIGO secured another four hundred million dollars in funding from the American science foundation for yet another upgrade, they would successfully detect gravitational waves in 2015.

Substantial results in basic research were rare to begin with. Fang Hong, spending so much money, was determined to claim this achievement for himself and not let LIGO snatch it away.

As for what tangible benefits would come from being the first to detect gravitational waves, there weren’t many. It was more a matter of scientific honor, a confirmation of Einstein’s prediction from a hundred years ago. But to think of it only in those terms would be extremely shortsighted.

With this honor, the first thing it would prove was that the massive investment wasn’t for nothing. It would then attract more talent, advance basic research, which in turn could lead to breakthroughs in applied research, and ultimately be converted into commercializable technological achievements.

Without breakthroughs at the most fundamental level, there could be no new achievements in upper-level applications.

At that moment, after a brief, quiet discussion with Ning Xingqing, Chancellor Li turned to Yu Qiu and said cautiously, “Ms. Yu, to meet your requirement of being operational by 2015, objectively speaking, it is not impossible in terms of either theory or technology. But the required investment… I’m afraid even a budget of five billion would be far from enough.”

It was a matter of funding again. They needed more money!

If funding were ample, it would be a different story. They could expand the team several times over and implement a more detailed division of labor to increase efficiency. At the same time, they would need a safety net for potential failures. For example, if a launch failed, wouldn’t they need backup satellites?

But all of this meant a massive surge in the project’s investment scale. To put it in down-to-earth terms, rushing the project like this was a huge splurge. A more comprehensive assessment based on realistic conditions would suggest a 15 to 20-year cycle as a more reasonable plan.

Just then, Yu Qiu spoke with calm certainty, “As long as it’s technologically feasible, that’s what matters. If it’s just a matter of funding, it’s not a big problem. If a five-billion-dollar budget isn’t enough, we can add more.”

Good grief…

Li Kang, Ning Xingqing, and everyone else from Xincheng University were dumbfounded. The expressions on their faces screamed: I can’t comprehend it, but I’m completely blown away!

Before they could recover, Yu Qiu had already stood up. She looked at the crowd, her gaze landing on Ning Xingqing as she said, “Professor Ning, we would like you to be the chief scientist for this project. Within a month, I want you to present a feasible theoretical plan. If the plan is approved, the Natural Science Foundation will immediately allocate the funds to launch the ‘Sky Mirror’ project.”

Her words were crisp, decisive, and clear.

Still in a daze, Li Kang and the others personally escorted Yu Qiu and Fang Hong from Xincheng University. They remained in a trance long after the Maybach had driven away from the campus. Ning Xingqing, in particular, who had dedicated over half his life to research, had never dreamed he would encounter such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Chancellor Li Kang was the first to regain his composure. Suppressing his excitement, he immediately called a meeting with Ning Xingqing and the others to discuss the matter. Without a doubt, this had become Xincheng University’s most important, top-priority issue.

The most urgent task was to demonstrate whether the “Sky Mirror” project could be realized by 2015. The Natural Science Foundation had given them a one-month deadline, which was extremely tight.

In any case, Xincheng University absolutely could not miss the chance to lead and cooperate on the “Sky Mirror” project.

…

Meanwhile, the Maybach drove into Huayang Mountain Villa. The two entered the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, and upon their return, Yu Qiu’s demeanor changed dramatically. She looked at Fang Hong with a beaming smile and said, “So? How was my performance as President? Was I alright?”

At this moment, Yu Qiu’s smiling face seemed to say, “Praise me, quick!” Fang Hong glanced at her and smiled in satisfaction. “Mm, you did a fine job. You definitely deserve a reward of one round.”

Yu Qiu met his gaze without hiding her intentions. “One round? You think you can get rid of me that easily? In your dreams. At least three rounds!”

With that, she gracefully walked out of the living room and headed towards her bedroom, which was on the ground floor.

Then, Yu Qiu glanced back at Fang Hong, giving him a meaningful look. Fang Hong understood her intent. The President meant she wanted one round right now to quench her thirst and satisfy her craving. Fang Hong gave a calm smile and followed her.

As long as the President was handled and the President was satisfied, the President could handle everything else.

Therefore, handling the President was the foundation for handling everything. His logic was sound.

There was nothing that couldn’t be solved with one round. If there was, then have another.

…

In the following days, Ning Xingqing led his team of more than a dozen other scientists from Xinda University in demonstrating the scientific and technological requirements of “Sky Mirror.” Chancellor Li Kang also participated in the meetings.

Time was too precious. It wasn’t just about coming up with a solution for the Natural Science Foundation; Ning Xingqing himself, along with the entire university, desperately hoped the “Sky Mirror” project would be completed successfully.

And right now, the top priority was proving the feasibility of the “Sky Mirror” project.

“…The technical requirements are based on the average gravitational wave detection sensitivity for observed celestial events. The sensitivity, h, is proportional to the interferometer arm length, which is given by the formula [h=2δL/L].” In the seminar, Ning Xingqing wrote down the formula and continued, “In this equation, L is the interferometer arm length, and δL is the change in arm length, which is mHz to the power of -1/2. But it’s important to note that the technical requirements are given according to the linear spectral density of the gravitational measurement…”

Ning Xingqing continued, “The basic principle of space-based gravitational wave detection is to use the distance between free-floating test masses in space as a sensor, converting the gravitational wave signal into a signal of changing distance between the test masses. To achieve the sensitivity required for a gravitational wave detector, we rely on three main factors.”

Chancellor Li Kang, who was in the meeting, asked, “Which three factors?”

Ning Xingqing replied, “First, the length of the interferometer arms; second, the ability to precisely measure the change in distance between the two test masses; and third, the ability to measure and suppress other non-conservative forces besides gravitational waves, ensuring the laser interferometry system can effectively detect the gravitational wave signal.”

Everyone nodded in understanding. Ning Xingqing went on, “Next are the issues of measurement principles and payload. To create a space-based interferometer, we will design two sets of laser interferometry systems on the mother spacecraft. One set will be used for phase-locked amplification of the weak light signals received.”

“To better respond to the polarization characteristics of gravitational waves, we will use a formation array of three satellites positioned at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Each satellite should be equipped with two test masses, which will serve as the endpoints for three interferometers, forming two sets of inter-satellite laser interferometers. Space-based gravitational wave detection utilizes free-floating test masses as sensors, converting the gravitational wave signal into a signal of changing distance between the masses—in other words, a change in the interferometer arm length.”

…

Chapter 413: Youkefang, Chuangke Fang, Jiuzhou Xing

“The laser interferometer is the most important payload in ‘Sky Mirror.’ The system includes a laser, a phase meter, and two movable optical subsystems, all of which establish laser links with their corresponding parts on the remote spacecraft…”

Ning Xingqing spoke at length, “In addition to the optical components, each movable optical subsystem contains a gravitational reference sensor with a free-floating test mass inside. These elements gradually form the core of the ‘Sky Mirror’ payload.”

“The baseline design for the optical system implements a tandem structure. The optical measurement of minute changes in the distance between the test masses in each interferometer arm is divided into three parts: the measurement between the local test mass and the local optical bench; the measurement between the local optical bench and the remote optical bench; and the measurement between the remote optical bench and the remote test mass.”

At that moment, another scientist at the meeting added, “Accurately determining the change in the interferometer arm length is extremely complex. The spacecraft will experience relative motion due to orbital drift, resulting in a relative velocity between them. The interferometer arm lengths are directly affected, being neither equal nor constant. Therefore, laser frequency noise is the most significant source of noise affecting the measurements.”

He added, “Furthermore, the difference frequency between the interferometers is not fixed. The main laser’s frequency must be modulated according to a preset frequency.”

Yet another scientist at the meeting said, “The laser frequency noise caused by unequal arm lengths can be suppressed using post-data processing methods. By processing the measurement data from individual interferometers in orbit, we can recombine them to generate equivalent equal-arm-length interferometer measurement data. This should be an algorithm, primarily achieving time-delay interferometry of phase information measured by different detectors on different spacecraft at different times.”

Everyone couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

It was worth noting that Ning Xingqing had been appointed by the Natural Science Foundation as the chief scientist for the “Sky Mirror” project. However, completing such a massive undertaking would require the collaborative efforts of a large group of scientists from various fields.

After a while, Ning Xingqing looked at the crowd and said, “Once the interferometer arm length is determined, the engineering and technical requirements can be derived from the strain sensitivity. The top-level system’s technical requirement is defined by the ‘single-link measurement error,’ which also defines the maximum error in measuring the distance between the two test masses in any given interferometer arm.”

A scholar beside him nodded. “Yes, by establishing the relationship between the single-link measurement error and strain sensitivity through the conversion formula from ‘detector noise’ to ‘gravitational wave noise,’ we can address the ratio between instrument noise and gravitational wave sensitivity.”

Ning Xingqing wrote down a formula and said, “The single-link measurement error will be expressed in units of pm·Hz^(-1/2). This includes not only errors from the interferometry system but also the movement of the test mass caused by non-conservative forces.”

The scholar beside him emphasized, “To achieve effective detection of gravitational waves, we must suppress disturbances to the test mass caused by non-conservative forces, such as solar radiation pressure, electromagnetic forces, and the gravitational forces between the spacecraft themselves.”

During the long discussion that followed, Ning Xingqing and the other scholars present discussed a series of technical issues, including optical components, the telescope, the optical bench, the gravitational reference sensor, the phase measurement system, and the laser system.

In the end, Chancellor Li Kang, who was also at the meeting, sighed, “This is an incredibly vast project, and the timeline is so tight. It’s impossible to complete without the participation of thousands of scientists.”

In other words, Xincheng University was simply incapable of handling the “Sky Mirror” project on its own. They would be thankful to complete even ten percent of the workload. It would require the participation of at least several dozen universities and their related research institutions to succeed.

It was worth mentioning that Chancellor Li Kang and the others no longer doubted whether the Natural Science Foundation possessed the capabilities it claimed. They had received new information: the establishment of this institution had been approved by a high-level leader, which was equivalent to an endorsement from a state entity.

Although their knowledge of the Natural Science Foundation’s background was still limited, the information they now had was a major piece of good news. They no longer had to worry about that aspect; they just needed to come up with a feasible plan. And right now, they were working tirelessly to solve that very problem.

While Xincheng University was working day and night to verify the “Sky Mirror” project, Fang Hong had long since set the matter aside and was no longer paying attention to it. Professional matters should be left to the professionals. He could just wait for the results.

However, Fang Hong hadn’t been idle during this time. He was also laying the groundwork for three new projects.

On Tuesday, September 28th, Fang Hong arrived at the Quantum Beat headquarters with materials for three new projects he had personally formulated.

In the CEO’s office.

“Boss, the WeChat project has completed all testing. According to the plan, we can officially launch the product during the National Day holiday,” Xu Jingren reported on the project’s progress as soon as Fang Hong arrived.

“Yes, not bad.” Fang Hong was holding his phone, briefly trying out the internal beta version of WeChat. The product was in line with the strategy he had previously given. However, Fang Hong hadn’t come for the WeChat project today. He set his phone aside and looked at Xu Jingren. “Where are Wang Ping and Yuan Jie? Call them over. We have important things to discuss.”

Xu Jingren immediately gestured to his assistant. Zhuang Youmin understood and went to call Wang Ping, Yuan Jie, and the other company co-founders.

Seeing the file Fang Hong had brought, Xu Jingren couldn’t help but smile curiously. “Got some new ideas?”

Fang Hong smiled and nodded. “Three new projects. Quantum Beat will form three subsidiaries, with Wang Ping, Yuan Jie, and Sun Xin each in charge of one.”

Xu Jingren joked, “Is our Quantum Beat planning to carve up the territory and grant fiefs?”

Fang Hong corrected him, “What kind of wording is that? It’s not ‘carving up the territory,’ it’s ‘expanding our frontiers.’”

Xu Jingren chuckled. “Expanding, expanding.”

As he spoke, Xu Jingren casually picked up the materials Fang Hong had brought and glanced at them. Seeing the names chosen for the subsidiaries on the documents, he couldn’t help but read them aloud, “Youkefang, Chuangke Fang, Jiuzhou Xing…”

Xu Jingren flipped through a few pages, starting to browse the contents of the Youkefang project. After reading for a moment, he looked up at Fang Hong, quite surprised. “Boss, this Chuangke Fang— I mean, Youkefang project feels a lot like Airbnb.”

Fang Hong nodded. “That’s right.”

Airbnb was a home-sharing service website founded in the United States in August 2008 that connected travelers with homeowners who had spare rooms to rent. Users could publish, search for, and book vacation rental information through its website or mobile app.

The company was the originator of “shared accommodation.” Ten years later, it would successfully go public with a valuation of forty-seven billion US dollars, with its market capitalization peaking at one hundred and forty billion US dollars—nearly a trillion yuan without accounting for exchange rate fluctuations.

However, according to the original historical trajectory, Airbnb would eventually withdraw entirely from the Greater China market a decade later. It simply couldn’t compete with Mainland’s local shared homestay companies, and coupled with certain local policy factors, it ultimately pulled out of the Greater China market.

The Youkefang project was designed to benchmark against Airbnb. The company name “Youkefang” had an internet feel to it and was also a homophone for “you ke fang,” which means “to have guests visit.”

As for the other two projects, Jiuzhou Xing focused on the “online ride-hailing” sector, benchmarking against North America’s Uber, which was founded last year. As for the domestic market, online ride-hailing was virtually nonexistent; the emergence of Didi Chuxing was still more than three years away. However, Fang Hong didn’t use the name Didi.

Of these three projects, the one Fang Hong valued the most was undoubtedly Jiuzhou Xing, because it involved the security of national geographic data. It wasn’t just about commercial value; national security was a factor that could not be ignored.

The last project, Chuangke Fang, focused on the “shared office space” sector, benchmarking against North America’s WeWork. However, WeWork was also founded this year, just a few months earlier.

It was obvious that all three projects pointed to a single factor—the sharing economy.

In the years to come, the sharing economy would continue to boom. All sorts of players would enter the field, sparking cash-burning wars. Projects like shared bikes and shared power banks would spring up in droves. Of course, more than a few—in fact, most—would end up in a complete mess.

A moment later, Sun Xin, Wang Ping, and the others arrived at Xu Jingren’s office. They sat down on the sofa in the lounge area, and Fang Hong said immediately, “Take a look at the documents first.”

Xu Jingren handed the materials to Yuan Jie, and the three of them gathered around to read them. Meanwhile, Xu Jingren looked at Fang Hong and said, “The sharing economy… this is the first I’ve heard of it. Is this a new concept you came up with, boss?”

Fang Hong shook his head with a smile. “Not me. The term ‘sharing economy’ has been around for a long time. It was likely first proposed in a 1978 paper by Marcus Felson, a sociology professor at the University of Texas, and Joe L. Spaeth, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois. That’s probably its earliest origin. You can look up that paper later.”

Yuan Jie couldn’t help but look up, slightly surprised. “A concept from 1978? That’s thirty-two years ago. But boss, your breadth of knowledge is truly impressive.”

Sun Xin couldn’t help asking, “What is the sharing economy?”

Fang Hong explained methodically, “The sharing economy, simply put, separates the right of use from the right of ownership of property. It allows organizations or individuals with idle resources to transfer the right of use to others for a fee. The transferor receives a return, and the sharer creates value by sharing their own idle resources.”

Wang Ping, who was reading the materials Fang Hong had brought, saw an overview of the sharing economy on one of the pages and read it aloud, “…In theory, the sharing economy is a new economic model that optimizes resource allocation and efficient social governance. It is supported by modern information technology such as the internet and achieves effective resource allocation and urban governance through the integration of technology platforms, allowing citizens to more conveniently obtain urban social services.”

“Resource providers use technology platforms to offer temporarily idle resources or technical services to resource demanders for a fee. The demanders gain the right to use the resources or enjoy the services, and the providers receive corresponding remuneration in a market-based model.”

At this point, Fang Hong added, “Generally speaking, it has five characteristics. First, it’s supported by emerging technologies such as the internet, the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Second, it involves extensive data application. Third, it achieves the optimal reallocation of massive, decentralized, and idle resources through sharing. Fourth, it efficiently provides social services in a market-oriented way to meet diverse and personalized social needs. And fifth, the sharing economy possesses the characteristics of a quasi-public good.”

When he mentioned the fifth characteristic, Fang Hong looked at Wang Ping and the others and emphasized, “It is precisely because the sharing economy has the characteristics of a quasi-public good that you must have a clear political understanding and full awareness. If you don’t take this point seriously, it will inevitably bring huge potential risks to the company.”

In Fang Hong’s previous life, Didi had made a huge mistake on this very issue and was disciplined for it. Naturally, he would not let himself repeat the same mistake.

Chapter 414: It’s Good to Have a Big Tree for Shade

The sharing economy, building a sharing economy platform—to put it bluntly, this platform was a game of “borrowing a chicken to lay an egg.” And it was borrowing someone else’s chicken at that.

For example, Jiuzhou Xing, which operated in the online ride-hailing sector, was a taxi company that didn’t own a single car. Youkefang in the short-term rental sector and Chuangke Fang in the shared office space sector were both rental companies that didn’t own a single room.

Xu Jingren pondered for a moment before saying, “The concept of a sharing economy was proposed over thirty years ago, but it never really took off. Can it actually work now?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong retorted, “Did the internet exist thirty years ago?”

Fang Hong then elaborated, “The sharing economy now has sufficient driving force. First, consumers feel they have greater initiative and transparency. People today often encounter four problems: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The sharing economy can, to a certain extent, allow consumers to exercise self-control in their consumption process.”

“Second, there is a growing crisis of trust worldwide, and it will only worsen. People from all age groups, especially young consumers, have diminishing trust in current businesses and other large-scale organizations. Therefore, when they find that a seller resonates with them, they perceive them as relatively more trustworthy, making this type of consumption more attractive.”

“Both consumers and suppliers benefit more from the exchange. Consumers satisfy their needs at a reasonable price that meets their expectations, while suppliers gain extra income from their idle assets. There’s enough appeal and incentive on both sides.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong added, “The characteristics of the sharing economy can be summarized in one sentence: it uses the internet as an information platform, with the temporary transfer of usage rights for idle resources as its essence, manifesting as the repeated transaction and efficient utilization of goods.”

Wang Ping looked at Fang Hong and said, “So, this kind of product-service, based on sharing and leasing, is essentially the transfer of usage rights for a specific item among different users, all while under the control of the same owner. From that perspective, can I understand financial enterprises as a form of economy based on the sharing economy concept?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “You could put it that way. The banking industry is a kind of sharing economy. The moment you deposit money into a bank, its usage rights and ownership are separated until you withdraw it. The bank takes your money to issue loans, and someone in need borrows it. The interest the bank pays you is your reward.”

The essence of finance is lending money, which is a form of the sharing economy.

At this point, Sun Xin spoke up. “Isn’t this sharing economy just a rental economy? No matter how I look at it, it just seems like they’ve changed the name.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong shook his head. “No, the sharing economy and the rental economy are not the same thing.”

Fang Hong paused to gather his thoughts for a moment, then continued, “From a business model perspective, the rental economy is a B2C model, where a business directly provides services or transfers usage rights of an item to a user. This is led by the business and should be classified as a commercial activity, not sharing. The sharing economy, on the other hand, must be a C2C model, from user to user, to be in line with the spirit of sharing.”

“From a platform perspective, a rental economy cannot become a platform because it consists of single businesses directly offering rental services to consumers. The business itself is the owner of the item, so there is no process of matchmaking transactions. The business directly rents out the usage rights of its items through a functional app or other traffic portals, earning rent or interest on deposits. The sharing economy, however, is a platform that connects both ends and provides matchmaking and transaction services for both parties.”

Just as Fang Hong finished this point, Xu Jingren added, “I get it. It’s like how Uber connects private car owners and passengers, and Airbnb connects individual hosts with travelers who need accommodation. The platform earns money from service fees, commissions, and advertising revenue brought by traffic.”

“You’re right.” Fang Hong glanced at Xu Jingren, smiled, and nodded before adding, “From an asset structure perspective, the rental economy is a heavy-asset model. The costs from initial investment, ongoing operations, and later maintenance are all very high, so the profit margin isn’t large. To maintain growth, they have to continuously expand the scale of their assets, and the reduction in marginal cost is very limited.”

“The sharing economy, however, acts as a transaction matchmaker and does not own the goods or services. Therefore, it’s a light-asset model. Look, neither Uber nor Airbnb owns cars or houses, so of course, they don’t have to bear the subsequent maintenance costs. Those are handled by the private car owners and hosts themselves. If we ignore the cash-burning wars that arise from competition and only consider the business essence, this model is incredibly profitable, with a marginal cost of almost zero.”

Wang Ping, leaning back on the sofa with his hands behind his head, said, “In terms of the model, it is indeed incredibly profitable. The banking industry is the proof. That sector doesn’t have the cash-burning wars of the internet industry, which is why banks are so profitable today.”

As Fang Hong continued to deconstruct the concept, Sun Xin, Xu Jingren, and the others rapidly deepened their understanding of this economic model. For them to handle these businesses, they naturally needed to have a sufficient grasp of the subject.

Fang Hong continued, “From a market trend perspective, the rental economy has no network effect and can hardly form a monopolistic advantage. The market tends to be fragmented, with multiple platforms coexisting in their respective territories. But the sharing economy, due to the presence of network effects, sees the returns to scale for the leading platform increase significantly. Eventually, it will leverage its abundant capital advantage to clear out competitors—that is, bleed its rivals dry through methods like cash-burning subsidies. Capital plays a dominant role in this, and it’s very easy for a winner-take-all situation to emerge.”

After this thorough deconstruction of the sharing economy model, Wang Ping and the others now understood its core concepts. They also had a basic idea of how to approach the three projects.

Fang Hong looked at the three of them and said, “After these three projects go live, they must be spun off into their own separate subsidiaries, with Quantum Beat as the parent holding company. I’m handing them over to you. Starting today, you will step away from Weibo and take full responsibility for these three projects. Each of you pick one. Get it done quickly. The platforms must go live by December at the latest.”

Hearing this, Wang Ping and the others glanced at each other. Sun Xin immediately said, “I’ll take the Youkefang business.”

Yuan Jie said, “Then I’ll handle Jiuzhou Xing.”

That left Chuangke Fang for Wang Ping. The three of them quickly claimed a business each. Xu Jingren then spoke up, “Boss, based on what you just said, cash-burning wars with competitors will be unavoidable in the future. Quantum Beat’s Weibo is still burning through cash, the WeChat project is about to launch, and now we’re adding three more cash-guzzling projects. The few hundred million on the parent company’s books won’t be enough at all.”

In Quantum Beat’s current equity structure, Stellaris Capital already held 76.84% of the shares. Xu Jingren and the other founders now each held a 2.25% stake.

In short, if they went for another round of financing, Stellaris Capital would really end up with 100% control.

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “Problems that can be solved with money are easy to handle. When the time comes, get in touch with the shareholders of the Weibo subsidiary, like Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital, and seek debt from them. I’ll also pull some strings on my end. With Stellaris Capital providing a guarantee, they will definitely be lining up to lend money to Quantum Beat.”

Of course, Stellaris Capital had plenty of money to lend to Quantum Beat, but Fang Hong was a financier. One principle he adhered to was that if you could use other people’s money to do your own business, you should always try to use theirs first. Using his own money was a secondary option.

If Quantum Beat tried to borrow the massive funds it needed for development based on its own assets, it would lack sufficient collateral. Any bonds issued by the company would be rated as junk bonds by the financial market.

But with a guarantee from Stellaris Capital, the situation would be completely different. It would be a total reversal. The risk exposure would shrink instantly, and the debt would transform into a hot commodity comparable to a 3A-rated bond. Financial institutions would naturally be scrambling for it.

Who didn’t know by now that Stellaris Capital was rich and was seen as “a fool with too much money”? Whether they were a fool or not was debatable, but they definitely had a lot of money. With a bill acceptance guarantee from Stellaris Capital, it was no exaggeration to say that for a deal that was almost guaranteed to be profitable, you wouldn’t even get a chance without some connections.

Once Xu Jingren heard Fang Hong’s plan, his financial concerns vanished. It really is good to have a big tree for shade. All that was left was to get the businesses up and running.

…

Chapter 415: The Capital Market Is Scared Witless

At the Quantum Beat headquarters, in the CEO’s office.

Fang Hong, Xu Jingren, and the other co-founders were all present. Lou Gaoyuan had also arrived, and the six co-founders were gathered together.

“Chuangke Fang should be a platform that primarily provides office space rental services for freelancers, startups, and small and micro-enterprises…” Fang Hong said, looking at Xu Jingren and the others. He was currently deconstructing the specific operational details of the three projects, starting with Chuangke Fang.

Fang Hong continued, “Chuangke Fang itself shouldn’t own any property. Instead, it should lease entire floors, multiple floors, or even whole office buildings at a discount, then divide the space into many smaller, independent office units to rent out to other companies and individuals. It will generate profit through rental or membership fees.”

At that moment, Xu Jingren interjected, “The gloom of the global financial tsunami hasn’t completely dissipated yet. Against the backdrop of a sluggish economy, can this business be sustained? Without tenants, it’s hard to achieve the catalytic effect of scale…”

Fang Hong immediately replied, “Quite the opposite. The economic downturn will actually make Chuangke Fang more attractive to companies that have suffered business setbacks or are just starting out. Moving into Chuangke Fang allows them to reduce their operational costs without affecting their business operations. When the economy is booming and the financing environment is good, the attraction will actually decrease.”

After a short pause, Fang Hong added, “Moreover, the country is currently regulating the housing market. Just look at Wanke—its stock price has been slashed in half, falling from nearly 15 yuan to just over 7 yuan now. The current environment presents a great opportunity for both Chuangke Fang and Youkefang to acquire a large number of properties, which can significantly reduce costs.”

Hearing their leader’s explanation, Xu Jingren found it quite reasonable. The boss’s thinking was indeed more profound.

It was true. During an economic downturn, many companies would tighten their belts and cut costs. When you can’t increase revenue, you must reduce expenses. Chuangke Fang would indeed be more attractive when the economy is weak. This logic was sound.

Fang Hong looked at Sun Xin, who was in charge of Chuangke Fang, and said, “Improving the quality of our service is crucial. Chuangke Fang should focus on being environmentally friendly, offer amenities like free coffee, and provide public open spaces where tenants can interact and communicate. The public open space, in particular, is key. It’s vital for Chuangke Fang’s future development.”

Sun Xin couldn’t help but nod.

Fang Hong continued, “Therefore, every Chuangke Fang office space must be pre-planned with a reception desk, a coffee bar, conference rooms, and even a pantry that might serve beer.”

After a moment, Yuan Jie made a mental calculation and said, “In that case, Chuangke Fang’s operating costs will definitely increase significantly. But to be profitable, those costs will ultimately have to be passed on to the tenants. A rough calculation suggests that the rent per desk wouldn’t be much cheaper than other office spaces in the same area, would it?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately retorted, “But what if you consider that as a startup company and an entrepreneur, you don’t have to bear the miscellaneous costs of security, reception, broadband, and printing? At the same time, it saves you a lot of trouble, allowing you to focus solely on your company’s business and development.”

Xu Jingren, who was sitting to the side, also chimed in, “Indeed. From that perspective, Chuangke Fang is still very attractive. Just take our own company, Quantum Beat, for example. We have to pay for the reception, broadband, printing, and security staff or equipment ourselves. The math is easy to do.”

If a sharing economy platform like Chuangke Fang had existed when Quantum Beat was just starting, they would have definitely chosen to move in. Moving out after growing bigger would be another matter entirely.

Fang Hong said methodically, “As for Chuangke Fang’s target customer base, we should primarily focus on startups in the internet, media, and creative industries. This sector is active and light-asset, making Chuangke Fang most appealing to them.”

He then added, “As Chuangke Fang gradually gets up and running, we need to take the initiative to organize gatherings for our tenant members. We must proactively create opportunities for them to communicate and network, allowing companies from different industries or fields to share development experiences. To put it in a down-to-earth way, it’s about shooting the breeze. And in the process of shooting the breeze, they might even become business partners.”

At this point, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile as he looked around at everyone. “Chuangke Fang needs this kind of positive atmosphere. At the same time, this atmosphere will give it a distinct creative industry label. This will bring another benefit: the city government where Chuangke Fang establishes a presence will see how such enterprises greatly benefit the local economy, which will in turn earn us strong support from the local municipality.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Because Chuangke Fang would attract a cluster of business owners, the platform could, to some extent, be seen as an incubator for numerous startups. The city governments would certainly be delighted to see it happen and would welcome it with open arms.

Next, Fang Hong further deconstructed the operational concepts for the online ride-hailing service Jiuzhou Xing and the shared-lodging platform Youkefang.

The business models of these three projects were fundamentally the same, with very similar underlying concepts, so there wasn’t much more to say. The models were identical; only the application scenarios differed.

To put it bluntly, Chuangke Fang was a co-working rental company that didn’t own a single office building; Youkefang was an accommodation service provider that didn’t own a single apartment; and Jiuzhou Xing was a taxi company that didn’t own a single taxi.

Finally, Fang Hong looked at everyone and said, “The sharing economy will inevitably become an important trend representing the future of global economic development. Of course, other sharing economy platforms for different application scenarios will certainly emerge in the future, but for us, focusing on these three areas is enough. Let others pursue any other opportunities that might arise.”

In reality, Fang Hong knew that by securing these three projects, he would be taking the lion’s share of the sharing economy cake. Other opportunities were just scraps. Not only would the returns be limited, but overextending their reach would also be troublesome—it would be more trouble than it’s worth.

As for rental businesses like bike-sharing and portable chargers that operated under the “sharing” banner, they couldn’t be called platforms at all, nor were they part of the true sharing economy. They were all single businesses providing rental services directly to consumers. The businesses themselves were the owners of the items, and there was no process of facilitating transactions between peers.

After briefing them on these three new businesses, Fang Hong left Quantum Beat. Wang Ping, Xu Jingren, and the others would handle the rest.

Their efficiency was remarkable.

That very evening, the Weibo subsidiary released a bombshell announcement.

According to the announcement, following a resolution by the parent company Quantum Beat’s ad-hoc Board of Directors, co-founders Wang Ping, Sun Xin, and Yuan Jie had resigned from all their positions at the Weibo subsidiary. Lou Gaoyuan had also resigned alongside them. The announcement did not disclose further reasons, merely stating that the parent company had other arrangements for them.

The resignation of Wang Ping and the other two was so they could each lead a new project independently. Lou Gaoyuan, whose R&D capabilities had been enhanced by Fang Hong using the Prestige System, was resigning to be assigned to the WeChat project.

The soon-to-be-launched WeChat project was Quantum Beat’s top priority.

However, once this announcement was released, the capital market was scared witless. Or rather, the investors holding Weibo stock were scared witless. It felt like a horror story.

To the outside world, the soul of Quantum Beat was its Weibo subsidiary; 99% of Quantum Beat’s assets were embodied in it. And now, a single announcement revealed that four co-founders were leaving collectively.

This was terrifying. Had some major crisis occurred?

After being renamed from “Dasheng Shares” to “Weibo” on August 20th, the stock price peaked at 147.10 yuan on the third trading day. It then plummeted, followed by a rebound. Since the beginning of September, Weibo’s stock had been in a month-long slump, entering a one-sided decline.

Throughout September, Weibo had already hit its limit-down four times. Today, Tuesday, the stock price hit another recent low, falling by -3.38% to close at 80.96 yuan per share. Its market value had shrunk to 42.8 billion yuan, with a cumulative drop of nearly 45%, which could basically be considered as being slashed in half.

Weibo’s trading volume today had also shrunk to 1.193 billion yuan. It was worth noting that on the day the stock peaked at 147.10 yuan, its daily trading volume had reached a massive scale of over 7.4 billion yuan.

The announcement was interpreted by the market as major negative news, a sudden bombshell. Some even interpreted it as a collective departure of the founders, suggesting that Weibo, and even Quantum Beat, would soon descend into chaos.

The investors holding the stock were shivering in their boots, not daring to even think about the market opening tomorrow.

…

Chapter 416: From Refusing to Lend to Fighting Over the Loan

The next day, September 29th, Wednesday.

Today was the second to last trading day for the A-share market before the holiday. After one more market day tomorrow, the National Day holiday would begin, and the market would be closed for seven days, not reopening until Friday, October 8th.

At the morning opening, Weibo gapped down -5.73% in the call auction, opening at 76.32 yuan. After the market opened, the stock price plummeted by seven percentage points as capital fled in a panic. However, twenty minutes after breaking the limit-up board, Weibo’s stock price stopped falling and began to rebound.

Around 10:05 AM, the stock price rebounded above its opening price. About ten minutes later, it continued to rally to its intraday high of 77.99 yuan before starting to fall back.

This rebound was bolstered by the broader market index, which was surging. But by the afternoon, the index was also underperforming. After rising over 0.8 percentage points in the morning, it dove around 2:30 PM, turning negative for the day with its losses widening to -0.28 percentage points, hitting a new intraday low. It nearly broke below the 2600-point mark.

Weibo’s stock price also plunged on high volume in the afternoon. Around 2:37 PM, during late trading, the stock hit the limit-down at 72.87 yuan and was sealed there.

By the market close, Weibo had plunged -9.99%, hitting the limit-down to close at 72.87 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was 3.182 billion yuan, an increase of nearly two billion yuan from the previous day. Its market capitalization had also shrunk to 38.5 billion yuan.

With today’s limit-down, Weibo’s stock had fallen a cumulative -50.46% from its peak. It had been slashed in half!

The comments section for the stock was a chorus of curses and wails.

[Weibo’s user growth is clearly so strong, and it’s number one in its industry, yet its stock price is in this pitiful state. I’m speechless.]

[For it to perform like this, it must have gone bust. The founders are resigning in droves, so there must be a major unforeseen crisis at the company. According to today’s Dragon-Tiger List data, the institutional investors have all fled. It’ll be at the limit-down right from the opening tomorrow.]

[Don’t mythologize institutions. Don’t institutions have their share of newbie investors who lose money?]

[Heh, at least the institutions’ information channels are beyond what retail investors can compare to.]

[Crying while working hard to make money to average down my position.]

[Don’t fight the power of the trend. When it starts falling, there’s no bottom.]

[No stock only goes up. It went on such a crazy bull run before, and now it’s in a regression to the mean phase. Even though it’s been slashed in half, its valuation is still very high. The bubble is enormous.]

[I sold today at a loss. I’m glad I got out. Had to bite the bullet and sell. It’s definitely going to hit the limit-down again tomorrow. I’m waiting for it to hit 50 yuan before I get back in.]

[All I can say is, stay away from stocks that have gone bust.]

[This is ridiculous. I’m speechless. It just had its backdoor listing, and it’s barely been a month since the name change, and it’s already gone bust. What a pit!]

[To be fair, isn’t this normal? Plenty of internet companies die within a few months. Weibo is already awesome; it’s still the number one leader in the industry. It’s perfectly normal for a stock like this to have high volatility.]

[Be greedy when others are fearful. I’m going all-in!]

…

Around 5:00 PM, at the Quantum Beat headquarters.

At this moment, Liu Qizheng, the head of Zhongtai Capital, Xiao Quan, the head of Pengrui Capital, and several vice presidents from four other capital firms were in a meeting room at Quantum Beat. Xu Jingren was receiving them.

These six VC firms shared a common identity at Quantum Beat: they were all shareholders of its subsidiary, Weibo. They were also acting as market makers or handling market capitalization management for Weibo.

They had come today at Xu Jingren’s invitation. In fact, they had been planning to come anyway because of yesterday’s announcement, so they had flown over immediately.

“Mr. Xu, what on earth are you people doing? Four main founders resigning from their positions at Weibo has spooked the market,” Liu Qizheng said. To be honest, they were a little panicked too. The Weibo shares they held were still in the lock-up period, far from being tradable, and they also had their own capital costs as market makers.

“Rest assured, everyone. Weibo’s operations are all normal. The founders left because the parent company, Quantum Beat, has four new projects to launch. This is just a normal reassignment of their posts to take charge of the new businesses,” Xu Jingren said with a faint smile.

New businesses? Four of them at once? Did that mean Wang Ping and the others who resigned would each be in charge of one?

Liu Qizheng, Xiao Quan, and the others were surprised and bewildered.

Just then, Xu Jingren added, “Inviting you all here today is also related to these new businesses.”

Hearing this, an idea sparked in Xiao Quan’s mind, and he asked, “Mr. Xu, are you planning to start a financing round for these businesses?”

Inviting a group of VCs over had to be about financing. Why else would he call them?

Xiao Quan and the others were actually willing to invest in Quantum Beat’s new ventures. After all, with Weibo’s track record of masterpieces, it was far more reliable than a startup team of complete newcomers with no achievements.

Xu Jingren smiled. “That’s right, but it’s not financing. I’m here to raise debt from you all.”

Not financing? Raising debt? So, borrowing money.

Xiao Quan and Liu Qizheng exchanged glances. The latter looked at Xu Jingren and asked, “How much are you borrowing?”

Xu Jingren held up his right hand, spreading all five fingers. Xiao Quan asked in surprise, “Five hundred million?”

At this, Xu Jingren shook his head and said, “No, fifty billion!”

Good grief!

The heads of the VC firms were stunned on the spot. Xiao Quan couldn’t help but raise his voice. “What did you say? Fifty billion?”

Liu Qizheng immediately chimed in, “Mr. Xu, with all due respect, I don’t even need to conduct due diligence to conclude that Quantum Beat doesn’t have nearly enough collateral, and its credit rating isn’t even AAA. I’m afraid we can’t give you fifty billion. Even five hundred million would be a stretch.”

Xu Jingren remained perfectly calm. He spoke unhurriedly, “Everyone, what if this debt is guaranteed by Stellaris Capital?”

Huh?

Xiao Quan, Liu Qizheng, and the representatives from the six major VC firms were all taken aback. A vice president from another firm quickly asked, “Are you sure Stellaris Capital will guarantee your company’s loan?”

Xu Jingren nodded with a smile. “Correct.”

After a moment, Liu Qizheng looked at Xu Jingren and voiced his confusion. “Mr. Xu, there’s something I don’t quite understand. Isn’t Stellaris the largest shareholder of Quantum Beat? Why don’t you ask your parent company, Qunxing, for the money instead of coming to us? Based on Qunxing’s recent activities, it seems like they’re rolling in cash.”

This was the question on Xiao Quan’s and the others’ minds as well, and they all nodded in agreement.

Xu Jingren surveyed the room and said with calm confidence, “Actually, I did ask Qunxing for the money at first. And they can afford it. But the parent company told me to ask all of you for the money.”

Xiao Quan immediately asked, “Why is that?”

Everyone else was curious too.

Xu Jingren smiled and said, “I asked the same thing. This is what the parent company told me. They said there’s some money Qunxing could earn, but they choose not to. They leave it for others to earn, for their partners to earn. You can’t earn all the money in the world.”

This statement surprised Liu Qizheng and the others. They exchanged glances, guessing that Stellaris Capital was probably very satisfied with their work as market makers for Weibo—that they had truly been working hard—so this was their way of giving them a piece of the pie?

Xu Jingren was asking for a massive sum of fifty billion yuan. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to lend him the money because the risk exposure was too great. Quantum Beat’s main product, Weibo, had yet to turn a profit and still hadn’t broken out from the pack in the microblogging field. The future was full of unknowns.

But with a guarantee from Stellaris Capital, everything was different.

The once enormous risk exposure was instantly shrunk. To put it more directly, this was a practically risk-free, sure-win deal. There would definitely be a horde of financial institutions fighting to lend money to Quantum Beat.

Finally, Liu Qizheng said decisively, “Since Qunxing is guaranteeing it, then there’s no problem. My Zhongtai Capital will take on fifteen billion. The rest of you can take what you want. How about it? If you can’t handle it, I can take on a bit more.”

Xiao Quan retorted unhappily, “Give me a break! You just claimed almost a third of it with one sentence!”

One second they were all reluctant, and the next they were fighting to get a piece. This debt claim was too high-quality. Even if their own liquidity was insufficient, they could easily arrange for bridge financing to raise the funds. The interest rate was bound to be attractive, and it was a sure-win deal. Business opportunities like this were rare.

After a moment, Liu Qizheng looked at Xu Jingren and said, “Mr. Xu, why doesn’t your company just borrow a little more?”

…

Chapter 417: Exceeding Expectations

The attitudes of the major capital firms had changed completely. All it took was a guaranteed acceptance note from Stellaris Capital. Now, not only were they willing to lend, but they were even wondering if they could lend a little more.

More loans meant more interest, after all.

Xu Jingren said with a smile, “Overall, a budget of five billion might not be enough for the projects we’re currently undertaking, but for now, five billion is plenty.”

The tables had turned. The institutional investors wanted him to borrow more, but Xu Jingren was unwilling. After all, this was debt, not a capital increase and share expansion. Borrowed money had to be repaid, and with interest.

Hearing this, Liu Qizheng and the others didn’t press the issue. They could infer from Xu Jingren’s words that he would likely need to borrow more in the future, which made this a very good deal for them.

Soon, the two parties agreed on a five-billion-yuan loan. Zhongtai Capital and five other institutional investors would pool the funds. Xu Jingren wasn’t interested in how they divided the contribution among themselves.

Liu Qizheng and his group were very satisfied as they left Quantum Beat. They had confirmed there were no issues with the Weibo subsidiary and had even managed to strike an additional, surefire deal. Their trip had been more than worthwhile.

As for what Quantum Beat would do with so much money, they weren’t interested. Their only concerns were that their profits were guaranteed and their risks were covered.

It was worth noting that the three new Sharing economy projects were all quite cash-intensive. Wang Ping and the other two had already begun assembling development teams. Jiuzhou Xing, Youkefang, and Chuangke Fang each needed their own website and mobile app platform.

Additionally, Youkefang and Chuangke Fang had another important task: acquiring properties. Chuangke Fang’s current goal was to lease properties on a large scale across ten major cities—namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, along with new first-tier cities like Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan—then renovate them into smaller, co-working spaces to be rented out.

Big cities were more attractive, as many startups had no choice but to be located in them. However, office space in these cities was expensive. The emergence of Chuangke Fang would offer them an attractive price point while allowing them to remain in the major cities, which naturally gave it a competitive edge.

This year happened to be a time when the state was once again regulating the housing market. Just today, the higher-ups had issued new measures for the property market, which industry insiders interpreted as “five urgent directives” issued simultaneously to curb the rapid rise in housing prices—though in hindsight, years later, it didn’t do a damn thing.

The five points were: First, all regions must strengthen their implementation of macroeconomic control policies for the real estate market. Second, improve differentiated housing credit policies. Third, adjust the deed tax and personal income tax preferential policies in housing transactions. Fourth, effectively increase the supply of available housing. Fifth, intensify inspections of the housing transaction market.

Furthermore, other measures included raising the minimum down payment for mortgages to over thirty percent and suspending mortgages for third homes and beyond.

While these measures failed to curb the soaring housing prices in the long run, they did have an effect in the immediate short term. Besides, the global economic climate wasn’t great this year, and global stock markets were weak. It wasn’t just the A-share market that was falling; the US stock market was also down this year.

This made it an excellent time to expand. An opportunity like this wouldn’t come again in a few years.

Therefore, five billion yuan was definitely not enough. More financial support would be needed later. For these three projects that Fang Hong had personally set up, his goal was undoubtedly to make Chuangke Fang and the other two companies the absolute leaders in their respective fields.

Once Wang Ping and his team got the money, all they needed to do was expand like crazy. For now, they didn’t need to worry about profitability or losses.

As for funding, Stellaris Capital would naturally provide a safety net.

The next day, Thursday, September 30th.

The A-share market ushered in the last trading day before the National Day short public holiday. The markets opened lower today, but after the opening bell, the three major indices quickly rallied and then continued to trend upward throughout the day.

This caught many investors off guard, but most chose to watch more and act less, as yesterday’s market had also surged higher then fallen back.

Moreover, being the last trading day, many were worried about potential hiccups during the National Day holiday. Those without a first-mover advantage were mostly observing from the sidelines.

On the individual stock front, however, Weibo’s performance today was a complete surprise to everyone. The company, which had been rumored to be “going bust” the night before last, had been hammered to its limit-down yesterday, hitting a new low for the month with its stock price slashed by more than half.

But today, not only did Weibo avoid the expected opening at limit-down, it actually opened higher by +1.90% at 74.26 yuan during the call auction. Its movement after the open once again defied the expectations of short-sellers. It went on an aggressive offensive, with large amounts of capital fueling a violent rally. There wasn’t even a pullback; it just formed a strong bullish candlestick with no lower shadow.

Around 9:52 AM, Weibo’s stock price rallied to 80.16 yuan, hitting the +10.00% limit-up board.

The numerous bearish investors were dumbfounded. Those who had sold at a loss yesterday felt like cutting their own hands off seeing it hit the limit-up.

At the same time, the newly famous hot money trader Go with the Flow dropped a screenshot in the group chat with a message: [Jumped in on Weibo’s first limit-up board with eighty million. Over sixty-five million has been executed, the rest is still queued up on the board.]

[6666 Master, you’re a badass!]

[Holy crap! Did you just go in with half your position?]

[They’ve sealed the limit-up board tightly with over seven hundred million. Can you even get your order filled?]

[Probably not.]

[I noticed Weibo right at the morning open. It was already up more than five percent, but looking at its recent trend, I didn’t dare to chase it. Plus, with the holiday coming up, I was afraid there might be another bomb to drop.]

[Master, why’d you go for Weibo today? Isn’t everyone saying it’s going bust?]

[Go with the Flow: That’s why this limit-up exceeded expectations. Get the first move, then we’ll see.]

[The master is truly amazing!]

A while later, Go with the Flow made another move, this time on Ruihe Pharmaceutical. After buying in, he posted another screenshot in the group:

[Buying Ruihe Pharmaceutical at its limit-up with forty-five million!]

[6666…]

[The master is on a rampage!]

[Ruihe has hit the board too.]

[You’re going to keep a full position over the holiday!]

[Go with the Flow: Went all-in on Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals with the remaining twenty-three million, betting on it hitting the limit-up for a second consecutive day. Out of money now. Keeping my money fully invested in stocks during the holiday.]

[He’s on a rampage! A total rampage!]

[To hell with it! Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, charge, charge, charge!]

Around 11:24 AM, the price of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals rose to 57.92 yuan, a gain of +9.91%. Go with the Flow immediately went all-in with his remaining position to take over. The stock instantly surged to the limit-up price of 57.97 yuan, with a trading volume of over thirty-eight million yuan in that single minute.

However, it was immediately hammered down after touching the limit-up price, pulling back to the +8.00% level.

After the market opened in the afternoon, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals attempted to hit the limit-up again. The first attempt failed. Around 1:34 PM, with a trading volume of fifty million yuan in that minute, the second attempt successfully sealed the limit-up board tightly.

Additionally, Ruihe Pharmaceutical had already hit its limit-up around 11:17 AM. This recent IPO stock on the ChiNext board had peaked at 50.78 yuan on September 14th, then suffered two consecutive limit-downs starting the next day, after which it fluctuated around the 40 yuan level for three trading days.

On Monday of this week, Ruihe Pharmaceutical had rebounded to its limit-up, but it fell again by -6.75% and -2.05% on the day before yesterday and yesterday, respectively, dropping back to the 40 yuan level. Today, however, it achieved a reversal to a limit-up.

Today was the last trading day before the holiday, and instead of diving in the afternoon, the A-share market staged a pre-holiday short-squeeze rally, with the entire market experiencing a broad rally.

The selling pressure was much lighter compared to yesterday’s trend. This was because those intending to sell stocks and hold cash during the holiday had likely already done so yesterday, which allowed them to withdraw the funds today. Selling stocks today meant the money couldn’t be withdrawn and would just sit in the securities account.

By the market close, the three major A-share indices all closed higher. Furthermore, their daily K-lines all formed strong bullish candlesticks, closing at or near their intraday highs.

The Shanghai Composite Index surged +1.72% to close at 2,655.66 points; the Shenzhen Component Index jumped +2.18% to close at 11,468.54 points; and the ChiNext board Index rose +1.70% to close at 942.54 points. The total trading volume for both markets was 182.9 billion yuan, a slight increase from yesterday.

In terms of individual stocks, Weibo, which had exceeded market expectations, soared +10.00% to its limit-up, closing at 80.16 yuan. Its total daily trading volume was 2.695 billion yuan, with a market capitalization of 42.4 billion yuan. The very recent ChiNext IPO stock, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, jumped +9.99% to its limit-up, closing at 44.70 yuan, with a trading volume of 893 million yuan and a market cap of 23.7 billion yuan.

Additionally, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals began to accelerate, hitting the limit-up on three of the past four trading days. Today, its stock rallied to 57.97 yuan, sealing its limit-up and setting a new all-time high, with a total daily trading volume of nearly one billion yuan.

Chapter 418: The WeChat Product Launch Conference

Go with the Flow entered the stock Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals today. This was his fourth time getting into this stock, and his strategy was intraday ultra-short-term profit-taking.

The first time was on September 8th, when he bought in on its first limit-up board. He sold the next day when it formed a T-shaped candlestick. After it formed a Doji candlestick at a high two days later, he entered again during late trading, betting on a reversal to a limit-up the following day. The stock did indeed reverse and hit the limit the next day, but he didn’t have a broader perspective and cashed out after making a profit of about seven percent.

His third entry was on Tuesday of this week. The stock hit two consecutive limit-ups, but it was a shaky one that broke by the end of the day. Highly skilled and daring, Go with the Flow jumped in again during late trading to gain a first-mover advantage, betting on another reversal.

Yesterday, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals did reverse to a limit-up. However, Go with the Flow didn’t make a huge profit on this trade. Because yesterday’s limit-up was a sneaky one achieved during late trading, he didn’t hold for long, selling out in the morning session after it rose by about three percent.

Today marked his fourth entry, this time jumping in to push it from its first to its second consecutive limit-up.

It was worth mentioning that after making a hundred million from Weibo, Go with the Flow’s recent operations consisted of taking huge profits and small losses. His account assets had already grown to 148 million yuan.

He had recently risen to fame in the stock trading circle as a newly emerged top-tier hot money trader. More and more investors had heard of his great name, with his most famous feat being the legendary move of going full position and full margin on Weibo.

For Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, his strategy this time was still intraday ultra-short-term trading: gain a first-mover advantage and dump the stock the next day on the traders chasing the highs.

After trading back and forth three or four times, he hadn’t even made twenty percent in total. In reality, if he had held on with a long-term view since the first limit-up on September 8th, he would have effortlessly earned sixty percent by now. However, that was clearly beyond his comprehension.

Meanwhile, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals was one of the 47 medium-term stocks in Fang Hong’s revealed hand, and he hadn’t sold a single share. His cost price was only 20 yuan, and his current floating profit on this stock was +189%, almost a two-fold return.

Furthermore, Tian Jiayi, who had followed Fang Hong’s advice and bought Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals instead, had invested a total of around 60 million yuan on September 1st. She now had a floating profit of 79 percent, with an absolute profit of over 47 million yuan. Her net worth had surpassed 100 million, earning her the title of a hundred-millionaire rich woman.

She was also still holding the stock, as Fang Hong had not yet told her to sell.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“Have a word with Hua Yu. The commercial office buildings owned by Huayang Group’s real estate division in the ten major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan—don’t look for other tenants. Just rent them all to Quantum Beat at the current market rate. We’ll take everything,” Fang Hong instructed his beautiful assistant, who had just returned, as he sat on the living room sofa.

“Alright,” Tian Jiayi noted it down.

“Huayang’s current office buildings definitely won’t be enough…” Fang Hong mumbled to himself, then fell silent in thought.

Huayang Group had only begun its frantic nationwide expansion in the past year or so. But Chuangke Fang needed existing commercial office buildings, not off-plan properties. It needed to get the properties and immediately start interior renovations, dividing the spaces into multiple small, co-working units.

Fang Hong’s directive was for Chuangke Fang, including Youkefang, to expand manically once their websites and platforms went live. They were to rapidly seize market share regardless of cost—the more, the better—and achieve scale as quickly as possible. Once they reached a certain scale, it would be difficult for competitors to catch up.

“Besides securing all of Huayang Group’s office buildings in these ten cities, have Huayang also help out by introducing some other partners to gather the required office space as soon as possible,” Fang Hong added after some thought.

Just then, Tian Jiayi looked at him and asked, “How much space are you estimating we’ll need?”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point: “About 50,000 square meters per city.”

Hearing this number, Tian Jiayi was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but say in surprise, “That’s 500,000 square meters for ten cities. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Quantum Beat is getting out of the IT and internet business to become a sublessor.”

Fang Hong smiled. “In a way, it’s not wrong to call Chuangke Fang and Youkefang sublessors.”

Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “Commercial office rents have been on an upward trend since the second half of the year. Based on the current market, it’s about 129 yuan per square meter per month. Factoring in the regional differences across the ten cities, even at an estimated 119 yuan, the rent alone would cost over 700 million yuan a year.”

After securing the locations, they still had to be renovated, which would be another significant expense. Operational costs weren’t low either; broadband, printing, security, and other services all required expenditure. To ensure high-quality service, the standards couldn’t be low, and that all cost money.

But even so, Chuangke Fang remained a light-asset business. These were all minor expenses; it was just that the massive scale made the operational costs seem large, which was normal.

The real bulk of the cost was the property itself. 500,000 square meters of commercial office space—at current property market prices, that was a truly astronomical figure. However, Chuangke Fang didn’t need to own the properties, only lease the usage rights, which drastically reduced the financial pressure.

Chuangke Fang was not a grassroots startup project. Backed by a powerhouse like Stellaris Capital, it started with advantages that countless entrepreneurs couldn’t even dream of, from financial backing to various other resources.

What grassroots startup team could begin by securing 500,000 square meters of space? A grassroots team would be doing well to start with a thousand square meters. Even if they developed smoothly, expanding to 500,000 square meters would be an achievement that would take years.

It was no exaggeration to say that Chuangke Fang’s starting point was the finish line for countless grassroots teams—a height they might never even reach. It was the perfect illustration of “using a superior capital advantage to wipe out the competition,” and the competitors hadn’t even appeared yet.

When Chuangke Fang rented, it would take entire floors or even whole buildings to better facilitate overall design, renovation, and planning.

At that moment, Fang Hong said with a smile, “Rent of over 700 million a year isn’t expensive.”

Fang Hong knew very well that rents would double, or even triple or quadruple, in the future. Securing more space now and signing longer leases would translate into profit down the line.

…

Meanwhile, as October approached, Xu Jingren at Quantum Beat had already started building hype for the “WeChat 1.0 official version” launch conference. The new product launch was set for October 1st, National Day.

As a rapidly rising newcomer in the domestic internet industry, Quantum Beat had achieved enormous success with its Weibo platform, which had already completed a successful backdoor listing on the A-share market. The launch of a new product was now drawing significant attention.

As the launch date drew nearer, industry insiders’ interest in this company, known for its powerful innovative vitality, continued to climb.

…

Time moved to Friday, October 1st. The Quantum Beat new product launch conference arrived as scheduled.

Around 10:00 AM, the Quantum Beat headquarters was already buzzing with activity. The launch was about to begin, and many tech media reporters, as well as numerous industry insiders, had arrived at the venue.

A short while later, an ordinary sedan worth two to three hundred thousand yuan drove up and stopped near the Quantum Beat headquarters. The chauffeur got out and opened the rear door, and the person who emerged from the car was none other than Fang Hong.

He had also come to the launch conference, but he was alone. His private assistant, Tian Jiayi, hadn’t accompanied him; she was at work at Stellaris Capital.

His beautiful assistant was now a well-known figure in business circles. Bringing her along would mean he’d have to play the role of her subordinate, so it was much easier to come alone.

The media personnel and industry insiders who came for the conference had no idea that the person brushing past them was the actual ultimate big boss of both Stellaris Capital and Quantum Beat. They all just saw him as a random passerby.

Many of Quantum Beat’s long-time employees were extremely familiar with Fang Hong. However, apart from the company’s core executives, the other employees simply regarded Fang Hong as one of the boss’s brothers or friends.

“…There’s no need. He’s busy. Just take me to the conference hall,” Fang Hong said to the two women at the front desk. They were already very familiar with him and were about to call Xu Jingren when they saw him.

“Alright, I’ll take you there,” one of the receptionists said, standing up. She then led Fang Hong to the conference venue.

…

Chapter 419: Challenging the Current Domestic Social Media Hegemon, Tencent?

Fang Hong arrived at the conference hall. The young receptionist who brought him over said with a smile, “Mr. Fang, if you need anything, just call the front desk and ask for me.”

After a brief exchange, the receptionist left. Fang Hong found an empty seat and sat down, surveying the venue. About a thousand people were present, mostly from the media and the IT-internet industry.

Quantum Beat had grown significantly, and Xu Jingren was now considered a legendary figure in China’s internet industry circle. He definitely had the prestige.

At the moment, attendees were still trickling in. The conference was set to begin in a few minutes. Fang Hong sat by himself in the seating area, unnoticed, which suited him just fine.

Just then, he took a phone out of his pocket. It was a BlackBerry, one his beautiful assistant had gotten for him a few days ago.

Before the conference started, Fang Hong was focused on his BlackBerry. On the BlackBerry platform, there was an application called BlackBerry Messenger. This app, which had existed since 2009, allowed for instant messaging with friends using text and emojis, as well as sharing files like pictures, music, and videos.

However, using BlackBerry Messenger required an expensive BIS or BES service subscription. This limited the app to the BlackBerry platform; it wasn’t supported on Stellar Universe Technology’s TOS, Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, or Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

A social app that couldn’t operate across platforms was destined to be a niche product. BlackBerry Messenger had a head start, but it missed its opportunity.

Fang Hong put the BlackBerry back in his pocket, thinking to himself, “If nothing unexpected happens, Kik should also be launching this month…”

In the original timeline, as the demand for more diverse instant messaging grew, BlackBerry Messenger could no longer meet users’ needs. Kik was born out of this, launched in October 2010 by a University of Waterloo student named Ted Livingston and his classmates.

In Fang Hong’s past life, the Kik app was arguably the progenitor of the mobile instant messaging field. It was only after Kik that apps like WhatsApp, Line, and WeChat appeared. At its launch, it introduced a major innovation: scanning the phone’s contact list.

In 2010, when smartphones were far from widespread, Kik amassed over one million registered users in North America just fifteen days after its launch. Its popularity could only be described as explosive. The launch of Kik also inspired many imitators around the world, but the app itself only ever became popular in North America and failed to develop into a global instant messaging hegemon.

Today was only October 1st, and Fang Hong hadn’t seen any news about Kik. He was absolutely certain that Quantum Beat’s WeChat would launch before Kik. The title of pioneer in the mobile instant messaging field would certainly not fall to Kik. Not only did Quantum Beat’s WeChat have the innovative feature of scanning a phone’s contact list, but it also had more than just that one innovation.

As for BlackBerry Messenger, since it couldn’t be used across platforms, it didn’t count as the progenitor of mobile instant messaging. Like the domestic Fetion, Fang Hong paid it no mind.

In its early days, Kik wasn’t much different from BlackBerry Messenger. The only difference was that Kik supported cross-platform use. The explosive user growth upon its launch was due to a simple reason: whenever a new user installed the app, Kik would automatically scan their contact list and notify them which of their contacts had also installed it. This led to its unprecedented growth, reaching a terrifying rate of one million users within fifteen days of its release.

Such a growth rate would be an impressive achievement even years later, let alone in 2010 when smartphones were nowhere near mainstream.

However, Fang Hong was even more confident in the WeChat that Quantum Beat was launching today. Not only did WeChat also have the feature of scanning the phone’s contact list, but China Unicom was also a major shareholder in the subsidiary that owned the WeChat project, and a partnership with them was already in place.

With WeChat’s release now at hand, and with so many advantages stacked in its favor, if its growth rate couldn’t surpass that of Kik in the previous life, Fang Hong would consider it below expectations, or even a failure.

Just then, as Fang Hong was lost in thought, he noticed the noisy conference hall gradually quieting down. He looked up at the stage.

The conference was officially starting. A young man walked calmly to the center of the stage—it was none other than Xu Jingren.

Fang Hong collected his thoughts, folded his arms, and watched the stage with great interest.

Then, Xu Jingren on stage scanned the audience from left to right. His gaze suddenly snapped back, locking onto a certain spot where Fang Hong was sitting.

The two exchanged a brief glance and a knowing smile. Xu Jingren looked away again, and his voice resonated throughout the hall, “Good morning, everyone. It’s an honor to have you all at Quantum Beat’s new product launch.”

After a simple opening, Xu Jingren spoke again, “Before unveiling our new product, I’d like to share some of our achievements with Weibo. Our Weibo product officially launched in October of 2008. In nearly two years, Weibo has become an important internet application used by half of China’s netizens.”

This year, the number of netizens in China had reached 450 million, long surpassing North America to become the world’s largest internet user market. Meanwhile, Weibo’s registered user base had exceeded 200 million several months ago.

Xu Jingren continued, “Among the current mainstream Weibo products in China, Quantum Beat Weibo has the highest usage rate, with over 60% of users having used our platform. Among the current mainstream Weibo products, over 60% of Weibo followers have heard of Quantum Beat Weibo, making it the most well-known and popular mainstream Weibo product in the domestic market.”

On stage, Xu Jingren smiled confidently and said, “As the number of domestic netizens continues to grow rapidly, the usage rate and awareness of Quantum Beat Weibo will also continue to see geometric growth. A virtuous cycle has already formed between the two.”

At that moment, Quantum Beat’s press conference was also being live-streamed online. The neighboring online streaming media site, Yixing Video, was featuring the live broadcast on its homepage. Thanks to Fang Hong, every company in the “Qunxing ecosystem” that could provide assistance to WeChat was dedicating resources to it.

It wasn’t just Yixing Video. Qin Feng’s Stellar Universe Technology would also be lending a hand. The company’s bestselling S1 smartphone would have the WeChat app pre-installed on all new factory units.

“…While Weibo’s development is certainly gratifying, and the team is proud of its current achievements, we are not content with the status quo. And so, we have this new product!” As Xu Jingren spoke, he pressed a small remote in his hand.

A chat icon appeared on the large screen behind him, with two characters written below: WeChat!

WeChat?

After Weibo, Quantum Beat’s new app was called WeChat?

The attendees all turned their gazes to the icon on the screen. At the same time, a young Ma was also watching the conference. He wasn’t there in person, but he was watching the live stream.

When a young Ma saw the icon, he felt a strange sense of alarm and foreboding. Judging by the chat icon, it was highly likely an instant messaging social app.

On stage, Xu Jingren said with confidence and composure, “Quantum Beat was born at the intersection of the PC era and the mobile internet era. But we believe our rise will be in the mobile internet era. That’s why Quantum Beat brings you WeChat. With it, we are going all-in on the mobile internet. This is an instant messaging social software designed for the mobile internet era.”

When Xu Jingren finished his sentence, the attendees, especially the industry insiders, were stunned.

Good grief!

This was a direct challenge to the current hegemon of China’s social media sphere, Tencent. After their initial shock, many of the industry insiders in attendance looked at Xu Jingren on stage with skepticism.

His courage was admirable, but Tencent was the biggest monopoly in the domestic instant messaging field, with nearly eight hundred million registered QQ users and almost two hundred million concurrent online users. Could they really be so easily shaken?

Although a young Ma, who was watching in secret, had already guessed it, hearing Xu Jingren say it out loud still annoyed him.

Tencent was already overwhelmed as it was. The 3Q War was in full swing, escalating to a white-hot intensity. And now, some upstart was coming to stir up trouble, directly threatening the very core of the Penguin empire—the social media domain.

At this moment, the Pontiff in Red was probably secretly giving Xu Jingren a thumbs-up. It didn’t matter who it was or whether they would be effective; anyone who took a knife to the Penguin was a good fellow and deserved a thumbs-up.

…

Chapter 420: The Internet Industry Circle Is Truly Bustling This Year

In fact, as the dominant player in the domestic instant messaging field, Tencent would not remain indifferent to the changes of the era, especially with the arrival of the mobile internet. Just in the past few days, a product team at Tencent’s R&D center in Huadu, led by team manager Zhang Xiaolong, had begun developing a mobile instant messaging application.

Zhang Xiaolong had previously developed highly acclaimed products like Foxmail and QQ Mail. However, other teams within Tencent were also working on similar projects, pitted against each other in fierce internal competition. Whichever team’s product won out would receive a massive influx of company resources.

Meanwhile, at the press conference, Xu Jingren walked to a console on the side of the stage. He picked up a Stellar Universe Technology S1-Plus smartphone and projected its screen onto the large display.

Everyone in attendance watched the large screen.

Xu Jingren tapped on the WeChat app icon on the phone and said, “WeChat version 1.0 supports platforms such as TOS, iOS, and Android, allowing for cross-platform communication. In addition to its instant messaging capabilities, version 1.0 supports sharing photos, music, and videos, as well as changing one’s profile picture.”

Just then, Fang Hong, who was seated in the audience, overheard two industry insiders whispering next to him. One of them shook his head repeatedly and said, “The features are too simple, nothing innovative. To be honest, I don’t think WeChat has any chance of threatening Tencent’s dominant position in the social networking field. Frankly, if this is all it is, it’s a bit disappointing.”

Many of the industry professionals present shared this sentiment, feeling generally pessimistic after seeing the features WeChat had demonstrated so far.

Fang Hong smiled to himself. Of course, WeChat 1.0 had more to offer than this, but they certainly wouldn’t play all their good cards at once. After all, given the nature of the internet industry, any good idea would be copied by competitors within a couple of months.

In fact, Fang Hong already knew from Xu Jingren that the WeChat team was internally testing version 2.0, which would add the “People Nearby” feature—a real trump card.

And according to Fang Hong’s planned rollout for WeChat, version 3.0 would introduce new features like “Shake” and “Drift Bottle.” The “Shake” feature was highly creative and fun, which would further enhance WeChat’s social attributes.

Then, with version 4.0, “Moments” would be launched, along with an album feature, allowing users to share their photo albums to their Moments. Unsurprisingly, the launch of Moments would be another trump card.

It was impossible to play all these cards at once. They would be dealt one by one. Just as competitors finished copying the previous idea, Quantum Beat’s WeChat would immediately release a new feature, thus maintaining a continuous lead over all its peers. This would keep WeChat at the forefront of fashion and creativity, cementing its image in users’ minds as the most fun, fresh, and fashionable app.

On stage, Xu Jingren was speaking. “I remember a conversation with a good friend two years ago about the development of the internet in the Mainland versus North America. He described the current state of the Mainland’s internet development as the ‘C2C’ model, which stands for ‘Copy-to-China.’”

At first, the audience was puzzled by “C2C,” but then it dawned on them, and a wave of laughter swept through the conference hall.

Xu Jingren smiled and said, “It basically means the Mainland’s internet companies copy the business models of those in North America. For example, Sohu was founded in the image of Yahoo, Baidu in the image of Google, Youku Tudou in the image of YouTube, and so on…”

After a brief pause, Xu Jingren continued, “It seems almost every model that could be copied has been copied. So what do we do when there’s nothing left to copy? Our answer is ‘Innovation-to-China.’ Great companies are bound to bring great innovation.”

Xu Jingren looked out at the audience and said, “With WeChat version 1.0, we are bringing some new innovations to mobile instant messaging. First is WeChat’s ability to scan your phone’s contact list. With this method, you can find out which of your friends are already using this app.”

The feature of scanning the phone’s contact list made the industry insiders’ eyes light up. Xu Jingren continued, “At the same time, WeChat is linked with Weibo. If you have a Weibo account, you can authorize it for one-click login. And when you have a Weibo account, you can also scan your list of mutual followers to see which of them are using WeChat.”

At this point in the presentation, many industry professionals started to take WeChat seriously. Even a young Ma, observing from the sidelines, felt a little unsettled.

The idea of scanning contacts and mutual Weibo followers had a lot of potential.

Any discerning person could immediately understand that Quantum Beat was deeply integrating WeChat with Weibo. The ability to scan mutual followers on Weibo to see who was using WeChat was particularly significant, as Weibo’s user base of over two hundred million could drive a massive amount of traffic to the new app.

Xu Jingren said in a steady voice, “WeChat and Weibo private messages will be interconnected, enabling cross-app private chats. This means I can be on WeChat, and you can be on Weibo, and we can still communicate with each other between two different applications.”

As the attendees looked on in surprise, Xu Jingren smiled and said, “WeChat’s innovations in the instant messaging space don’t stop there. We have also innovatively added the function of adding friends by scanning a QR code, making it more convenient for users. All you have to do is scan it.”

At this, Xu Jingren once again picked up the S1-Plus smartphone and demonstrated the QR code scanning feature for everyone.

The attendees couldn’t help but feel astonished.

Clearly, this new product, WeChat, had greatly exceeded their expectations. Xu Jingren then added, “On top of this, our development team has added a voice messaging feature to WeChat. Based on voice recording and transmission, it provides users with point-to-point conversations. Unlike purely text-based messaging, the speed and immediacy of voice delivery can better convey a user’s emotions.”

Xu Jingren then demonstrated the voice call function for the audience, who were once again amazed, surprised by Quantum Beat’s innovative capacity.

Seated in the audience, Fang Hong again heard the voice of the industry insider next to him. This time, however, his attitude had completely changed. He said with considerable awe, “I was reckless. I can’t say how the market will react to this new WeChat product from Quantum Beat, but Quantum Beat is truly trying to break out of the ‘C2C’ model. There’s no ‘Copy-to-China’ here; they have their own innovations.”

His friend next to him suddenly chuckled. “I’m starting to look forward to seeing if Quantum Beat’s WeChat can shake Tencent’s position as the hegemon of social networking. It might not be impossible, you know.”

Xu Jingren had more or less covered all the main elements of WeChat version 1.0. This was what they were releasing with the first version; more new features and innovations would be introduced continuously through subsequent updates to ensure WeChat stayed ahead of its competitors.

…

As soon as the press conference ended, people could download the app online. The fastest place to get it was Stellar Universe Technology’s TOS App Store, where it was featured prominently on the homepage.

All the various people who had attended the press conference downloaded WeChat to try it out for the first time right after the event.

At that moment, an industry insider was trying out the newly downloaded WeChat on his phone while remarking, “Tencent should be nervous. I dare say this feature of scanning the phone’s contact list will cause an explosion in registrations.”

This was the same industry insider who had been sitting next to Fang Hong during the conference. After personally experiencing the app, his assessment of WeChat rose to another level. His friend beside him couldn’t help but nod. “No wonder Quantum Beat brought in China Unicom as a major shareholder for WeChat. This series of innovations, this series of strategies… Xu Jingren is no simple man.”

He then added with a schadenfreude-filled smile, “Tencent is probably having sleepless nights now. The 3Q War incident is escalating, and at this critical juncture, a highly potential competitor has emerged to launch a surprise attack on their lifeline—the instant social messaging sector. The internet industry circle is truly bustling this year.”

…

Chapter 421: Explosive Registration Numbers and Tencent’s Stock Flash Crash

With the conclusion of the press conference, WeChat was now available for download, supporting TOS, iOS, and Android.

Quantum Beat immediately launched its promotional campaign. Weibo provided comprehensive traffic support for maximum exposure. To support WeChat, they were willing to sacrifice a bit of Weibo’s user experience; no matter what, WeChat had to maintain its trending status and continuously generate buzz on Weibo throughout the National Day holiday.

Fang Hong also had some of the companies within the “Qunxing ecosystem” provide their full support. Any company that could give WeChat a boost had to do so. Yixing Video heavily promoted WeChat, and on Stellar Universe Technology’s TOS App Store, WeChat was featured in the most prominent spot on the homepage. Additionally, WeChat was included as a pre-installed app on the S1 phone.

To promote WeChat, Quantum Beat had spared no expense, directly allocating a promotional budget of three hundred million. News related to WeChat was all over the internet, and sponsored bloggers were all heavily pushing it.

He Xuan was now a Big V blogger on Weibo with tens of millions of fans, and Fang Hong had asked for her help with promotion as well. The influence of a blogger with ten million fans was immense.

The artists under the Yixing Media Group were also promoting WeChat. Throughout the short public holiday, WeChat generated all sorts of hype after its launch, becoming the hottest topic on the entire internet and stunning industry insiders.

Seasoned experts knew that this kind of momentum was likely impossible for Quantum Beat to achieve on its own. Stellaris Capital had to be the driving force behind it, along with a “National team” player like China Unicom.

Fang Hong was extremely confident in WeChat 1.0. It was better than the version Tencent had released in his previous life, and with the added push from capital, it would be a certified blockbuster. If it failed, he might as well go hang himself.

In his past life, Tencent’s WeChat 1.0 test version only had simple functions like instant messaging, photo sharing, and profile picture changes. The official WeChat 1.0 version released by Quantum Beat now was far more complete.

…

Day by day, the National Day short public holiday flew by in a flash, and a week had passed since WeChat’s launch.

On the internet, WeChat was the undisputed king of popularity during this holiday. Its trending topics on Weibo had already overshadowed the 3Q War.

Industry insiders were paying close attention to WeChat’s market performance, all waiting for Quantum Beat to disclose its user registration numbers. The most concerned party was, of course, Tencent. On one hand, Tencent was working overtime to develop its own mobile instant messaging software; on the other, it was anxiously monitoring the market feedback for WeChat. In some ways, they were even more invested in the results than Quantum Beat itself.

After all, the social domain was Tencent’s very foundation.

At around 3:20 PM that day, the Quantum Beat WeChat team released a bombshell announcement, officially disclosing the data from the six days since WeChat’s launch. As of October 6th, the number of registered users had reached 1.29 million.

Fang Hong had known earlier than the public, as Xu Jingren had called him directly.

Without a doubt, he was extremely satisfied with this report card. There were no competing products yet; even Kik from North America hadn’t launched. However, Fang Hong could make a good comparison with Kik’s performance from his past life. It had taken half a month for Kik to break one million users after its launch, which was already an explosive achievement.

Now, WeChat 1.0 had roared to 1.29 million users in just six days. Compared to Kik from his past life, this was an absolutely stellar result, especially considering it was 2010, when smartphones were far from widespread.

The data showed that S1 phone users were the main force behind WeChat’s user base. This was because, in the domestic market, the only device that could truly be called a smartphone was Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone.

It was worth noting that the iPhone 4 had still been released, but this time, Chief Jobs did not host the press conference, citing health reasons.

Although the new iPhone was released on schedule at the end of June, the market was quite disappointed. When domestic consumers saw it, their first thought was of the S1 phone. Isn’t this just a copy of the S1 phone? That was everyone’s initial impression. Moreover, it wasn’t even officially launched in the Greater China region; only so-called grey market goods were available.

But under the onslaught of Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone, even the grey market goods weren’t in high demand. In contrast, the S1-Plus, which was constantly out of stock, was being sold by scalpers for as much as 15,000 yuan per unit and was still in short supply.

Of WeChat’s 1.29 million users, over 70% were S1 phone users. Both Quantum Beat and Stellar Universe Technology were sister companies in the “Qunxing ecosystem,” with a common “daddy” behind them. As long as it didn’t affect their own business, they would naturally provide assistance when asked, because it was an order from their “daddy.”

When the Quantum Beat WeChat team announced this data, the entire internet industry circle was in an uproar. Insiders were floored by these explosive results—nearly 1.3 million users in less than a week.

At this rate, wouldn’t they hit four million users in a month? And wouldn’t that put them on track for fifty million users within a year?

This estimation was actually inaccurate. The performance of WeChat 1.0 clearly marked it as a super-blockbuster, and the growth of blockbuster apps was often geometric. In other words, an expected increase of fifty million users in a year was a very conservative figure.

The only thing that could likely limit its growth was the growth rate of smartphone users. But by the end of this year, Lei-Jobs’s first-generation Little Mi Phone was about to be released. The smartphone industry was set to experience an explosive boom starting next year, a fact well-known to industry insiders.

Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone had sold out completely, showing everyone the opportunities in the smartphone industry. It wasn’t just Little Mi anymore; all sorts of players were piling into the smartphone sector, all wanting a piece of the pie. This didn’t even include the knockoff phones. The number of smartphone users was bound to explode next year, which would inevitably provide a logical basis for WeChat’s user growth.

The general public was slow to react, but the capital market’s reaction was the fastest and most genuine.

About twenty minutes after the Quantum Beat WeChat team announced the data, with the H-share market about twenty minutes from closing, Tencent’s stock price suddenly flash crashed. The A-share market was closed today and would only resume normal trading on Friday, but the neighboring H-share market had opened on October 4th.

In the final twenty minutes of trading, Tencent’s stock, listed on the H-share market, took a sharp plunge. In just ten minutes, the stock price plummeted to 144.210 Hong Kong dollars per share, a daily drop of -15.32%. This single huge negative candlestick completely wiped out all the gains from the entire month of September.

Nearing the close, Tencent’s plummeting stock price rebounded. By the closing bell, it settled at 151.12 Hong Kong dollars per share, down -11.26%, with a total market cap of 277 billion Hong Kong dollars. It had lost 35.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in a single day.

There was no other reason for Tencent’s sudden flash crash than the announcement made by Quantum Beat. The news that WeChat 1.0 had amassed 1.29 million users in less than a week had single-handedly crashed Tencent’s stock.

At that moment, investors realized that Tencent’s monopoly in the domestic internet instant messaging field was being challenged. For WeChat to gain nearly 1.3 million users in under a week—ordinary onlookers might not have understood the implications, but those shrewd investors knew exactly what it meant.

It meant the emergence of an expectation that Tencent’s hegemonic status in instant social communication was unstable. This was a major reversal in logic. The outlook soured, and it was even possible they would face a “Davis double-play” effect.

When expectations die and the underlying logic changes, investors will sell off their shares on a massive scale and exit the market.

And at this moment, the market had already reacted. The flash crash of Tencent’s stock was the result of quick-acting funds fleeing.

With the WeChat team’s announcement of these explosive results, the new product, launched less than a week ago, instantly became a hot commodity in the internet industry circle. With this kind of growth rate, as long as the momentum continued, almost no one doubted that WeChat would become a super-app with a user base in the hundreds of millions.

A huge number of copycats were already on their way.

But what truly sent shockwaves through the industry was the realization that the instant messaging space was about to be thrown into turmoil with the advent of WeChat. Tencent was in a really tough spot now. They were already up to their necks in the “3Q War” with the Pontiff in Red. WeChat’s explosive performance was like a sharp dagger thrust into the core of their social kingdom, with the potential to shake the very foundations of their social empire.

What does it mean to be attacked from front and back? The current state of Tencent was the perfect example.

Over on the other side, the “Pontiff in Red” was frantically cheering for Xu Jingren. Among those who were happy about this situation, the “Pontiff in Red” was definitely one of them. A happy occasion lifts the spirits, after all. He was eager to see Quantum Beat stab Tencent to death with their dagger. He just loved young people like Xu Jingren who didn’t play by the rules.

It would be best if they killed Tencent outright. The Pontiff in Red, President Zhou, was afraid Xu Jingren wouldn’t be ruthless enough; he wished he could hand him the knife himself and drive it in deep.

…

Chapter 422: A Super Bull Market Unfolds After the Holiday

It wasn’t just the Pontiff in Red who was secretly relishing this win. There were plenty of people who wanted to see Tencent get taken down a peg. At the very least, those who had been copied by Tencent were feeling incredibly vindicated right now, like the creative team behind Happy Farm. Their idea had been copied by Tencent to create QQ Farm, and after that, Happy Farm was basically history.

Privately, these people whose work had been copied wished Xu Jingren would just stab Tencent to death to vent their anger.

At this very moment, “Go with the Flow,” a newly emerged top-tier hot money trader in the A-share market, also saw the news. After paying some attention, he surfaced in his group chat, posting a link to the announcement Quantum Beat’s WeChat team had made an hour ago. He then attached a screenshot of Tencent’s stock price plunging by eleven percentage points today, and typed out a message:

[Go with the Flow: Badass. WeChat gained 1.29 million users in six days. This is the most terrifying growth rate I’ve seen in an instant messaging software in the last decade. Tencent’s stock price was so spooked it crashed by eleven points. When the market opens tomorrow, Weibo is guaranteed to hit its limit-up. Rock-solid!]

[66666……]

[The master is going to make an insane amount of money again. He poured eighty million into Weibo before the holiday!]

[Following the master to eat meat!]

[No wonder Weibo hit its limit-up on the last day before the holiday.]

[Go with the Flow: The pre-holiday limit-up didn’t have much to do with this. I don’t believe the money in there could have predicted WeChat would have such explosive results. This is unexpected, major positive news. To put it simply, it’s mostly a matter of striking it rich by luck.]

[Is this the legendary unstoppable fortune they talk about?]

[Holy shit! My order didn’t get filled. Damn it, this is pissing me off.]

[Those holding cash before the holiday are going to miss out on a massive rally. The overseas markets are surging, the US stock market is surging, and H-shares are surging too.]

[The Hang Seng Index dived in late trading today, didn’t it?]

[Tencent has a heavy weighting in the Hang Seng Index. It was dragged down by the flash crash in Tencent’s stock price.]

[I didn’t get to buy Weibo either, this sucks. Luckily, I got my order in for Ruihe Pharmaceutical. Hope I can make some money on Ruihe!]

[The people who sold Weibo at over seventy-two yuan are probably going to die of anger, haha. Weibo’s popularity has already soared to the top of the charts. Looks like a rock-solid one-word limit-up tomorrow.]

[Eat meat, eat meat, eat meat!]

[Those holding Weibo can clock off before the market even opens, haha!]

[Uh… What I want to say is, you all seem to have forgotten a key point. WeChat and Weibo aren’t under the same company. WeChat is another subsidiary controlled by Quantum Beat.]

[Go with the Flow: Does it matter? That’s not the point at all. WeChat’s explosive results are only positive for Weibo, not negative. The only question is how positive. With WeChat becoming a blockbuster, it has undoubtedly opened up greater room for imagination. It should at least provide a boost to Weibo, right? Don’t forget, WeChat and Weibo are interconnected. Stock trading is about speculating on expectations, it’s about the beauty of ambiguity. When the hand is completely revealed, that’s called the realization of expectations.]

[Got it. WeChat’s massive explosion has given Weibo a new speculative narrative.]

[Anyway, just gotta copy the master’s homework and we’re set.]

At this moment, on Weibo’s stock forum in the A-share market, the comment section was buzzing with extreme heat. Many investors were leaving messages, and its popularity had already taken the top spot.

The investors who had sold their shares in Weibo for over seventy yuan were truly beating their chests and stamping their feet in regret. The entire market believed this stock was guaranteed to open at its limit-up price tomorrow. This was because WeChat’s explosive popularity had created a massively imaginative expectation for the market: the possibility of shaking Tencent’s hegemonic status in the social networking kingdom.

The next day, Friday, October 8th.

The A-share market welcomed its first trading day after the holiday. During the call auction, the three major stock indices all gapped up at the open. The Shanghai Composite Index opened nearly one percent higher. After the opening bell, the three major indices opened high and trended higher, staging a short-squeeze rally.

Those who had missed out were either forced to chase the rise in the short squeeze, terrified that it would dive the moment they bought in, or they could only watch from the sidelines. Without a first-mover advantage, the feeling was incredibly frustrating.

In terms of individual stocks, Weibo, which ranked first in popularity, opened at its limit-up with shrinking volume, as expected. It achieved its second consecutive limit-up since the rebound, with its stock price rising to 88.18 yuan.

Weibo’s one-word limit-up was completely sealed. The limit orders on the board exceeded 600,000 lots, amounting to a staggering 5.3 billion yuan in funds. It was absurdly strong. No one expected that a stock that had been beaten down so badly in mid-to-late last month would turn around so dramatically in the blink of an eye.

At 9:42 AM, various stock market apps pushed out a notification:

[Recent IPO stock Ruihe Pharmaceutical hits its second consecutive limit-up, with its price reaching 49.17 yuan, and current trading volume at 882 million yuan.]

Ruihe Pharmaceutical also went on an aggressive offensive today. It opened 3.43% higher at 46.23 yuan during the call auction. After the market opened, it surged without any pullback in a short-squeeze-like rally. Upon hitting the limit-up price, it was sealed shut in one go, directly securing its second consecutive limit-up with a marubozu.

On the first trading day back from the holiday, the A-share market presented a broad rally with a sea of red across thousands of stocks.

By 10:52 AM, the share price of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals had rallied to 63.77 yuan, hitting the limit-up.

Go with the Flow had kept his money fully invested in stocks during the holiday period, holding Weibo, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, and Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals. All three of his target stocks hit their limit-up today. He didn’t sell a single share. It was a day of super huge profits—a full position at the limit-up.

However, around 2:16 PM in late trading, the limit-up board for Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals broke. Seeing this, Go with the Flow immediately liquidated his position and got out, ultimately taking a profit of over seven percentage points from the stock.

He continued to hold the other two stocks, Ruihe Pharmaceutical and Weibo, with a long-term view.

By the market close, the three major A-share indices all closed higher. The Shanghai Composite Index broke through the consolidation platform it had been in since August, surging +3.13% today to close at 2738.74 points. The Shenzhen Component Index also broke out, rising +3.86% to 11911.37 points. The ChiNext board Index rose +1.84% to close at 959.86 points. The total trading volume for both markets increased to 283.9 billion yuan.

As for individual stocks, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals fell from its limit-up price, closing with a gain of +5.43% at 61.12 yuan, with a trading volume of 1.3 billion. Weibo closed up +10.00% at 88.18 yuan, with a trading volume of 147 million, advancing to two consecutive limit-ups. Ruihe Pharmaceutical also closed up +10.00% at 49.17 yuan, with a trading volume of 965 million yuan, also advancing to two consecutive limit-ups.

The weekend passed. On Monday, October 11th, the market opened.

Today, the three major A-share indices all opened high again, continuing the short-squeeze rally. Three long positive candles with increased volume shot up vertically, making those who had missed out slap their thighs in regret. Those waiting for a pullback were both anxious and angry.

When you hold cash, it skyrockets. When you hold stocks, it reverses. How are you supposed to play this?

For individual stocks, Weibo once again hit a one-word limit-up with a shrinking volume of 170 million, its price surging to 96.99 yuan. It advanced to three consecutive limit-ups and remained firmly at the top of the popularity charts for individual stocks in both markets.

The recent IPO stock Ruihe Pharmaceutical also went on an aggressive offensive again, gapping up at the open and forming a marubozu to secure its third consecutive limit-up. Its stock price soared to 54.09 yuan, hitting a new all-time high, and its market capitalization rose to 28.7 billion yuan.

Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals opened low and trended high today. After fluctuating below the opening price for over half an hour in the morning session, it began to rally sharply, forming an engulfing pattern over yesterday’s false bearish candle. It rose by over nine percentage points at its peak. At the 65 yuan price level, representing a six percent gain, Go with the Flow jumped in midway with 24.6 million yuan, refilling his position to the maximum. He was still holding Ruihe and Weibo with a long-term perspective.

However, after surging nine percentage points, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals fell back, ultimately closing with a gain of +2.98%. Go with the Flow was now trapped in this stock, down three percentage points on this entry. But his major positions were in Ruihe Pharmaceutical and Weibo. He still had a huge profit of nine percentage points on his total position today. Even if Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals had been pushed to the limit-down, he would still be making a big profit for the day, so he wasn’t worried at all.

By the close, the three major indices were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index posted three consecutive positive days, surging another +2.49% today to close at 2806.94 points, reclaiming this round number for the first time since falling below it on May 6th. The markets also saw a massive surge in volume today, with a total turnover of 425.9 billion yuan, an increase of 142 billion yuan from the previous day.

The main board index remained strong today, but the ChiNext board fell by 1.33 percentage points. Ruihe Pharmaceutical, with its three consecutive limit-ups, was undoubtedly the strongest target on the ChiNext board at the moment.

Tuesday, October 12th.

After two consecutive days of a short-squeeze rally that gapped up at the open, the A-share market had a low open today. However, after a brief pullback, it quickly rallied. The morning session was characterized by wide-ranging fluctuations. After three days of euphoria, the unified bullish sentiment finally began to show signs of divergence.

In individual stocks, the popularity king Weibo once again hit a one-word limit-up on shrinking volume. It had now posted three consecutive one-word limit-ups and successfully advanced to four consecutive limit-ups. Its stock price also returned to the triple-digit club, surging to 106.68 yuan.

Its stock performance was certainly exceeding expectations, but there was another stock that was even more so: the very recent IPO stock on the ChiNext board, Ruihe Pharmaceutical.

This stock was still on an aggressive offensive that exceeded expectations today. It opened three percentage points higher during the call auction and immediately surged to the limit after the market opened. It was another marubozu, sending the stock price to a new all-time high of 59.50 yuan. Its market capitalization rose to 31.6 billion yuan, and it seemed poised to surpass that of Hengrui Medicine.

Chapter 423: WeChat is a huge hit, why is Weibo’s stock price soaring?

Many investors never expected Ruihe Pharmaceutical to have such a strong second wave of its rally. About a month after its IPO, its issue price of 27.28 yuan briefly fell below that level on its listing day, hitting what is currently its lowest point of 26.04 yuan.

Unexpectedly, a month later, its stock price had already surged by +118% since its listing. Calculated from its all-time low, it had accumulated a gain of +128%.

Currently, on the popularity ranking for individual stocks in the two markets, it was second only to Weibo.

At around 10:00 AM, Go with the Flow dropped a screenshot into his group chat and sent a message: [Got out of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals with a small loss of less than 2 percent. No reason to sell Ruihe or Weibo, continuing with the long-term view.]

Quite a few people in the group had followed his trade into Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals. They had tried to trade the engulfing pattern with Go with the Flow yesterday, but it had failed, and most of them were trapped. This morning, it opened 3 percent lower, but then proceeded to open low and trend high.

However, after a 15-minute rally, it began to trade sideways around 64 yuan. Go with the Flow had initially planned to sell at his break-even point, but it just couldn’t push past that level, falling short by less than 1.5 percent. Instead, it started showing signs of weakness. Seeing that it wasn’t meeting expectations, he decisively sold at a loss, taking a small hit.

He had made big profits on Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals several times before, so this was just giving back a little. It was insignificant to him.

His main positions in the two consecutive limit-up high-flyers were still huge wins. Before the holiday, he had put eighty million into Weibo on its first limit-up and forty-five million into Ruihe Pharmaceutical on its first limit-up. Now, he was raking in over ten million a day. His position in Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals was just over twenty million, so a loss of less than 2 percent was only about four to five hundred thousand yuan—less than a fraction of the profit from his other two limit-up stocks.

When the group members saw that he had gotten out, some followed suit and sold at a loss, while others chose to hold on for a bit longer.

About ten minutes after Go with the Flow sold, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals started to rally again. Its intraday line broke through the 64-yuan resistance range and shot straight up to over 66 yuan, a gain of more than 5 percent. After consolidating in that price range for about twenty minutes, it rallied again, its price hitting a new high of 68 yuan, extending its gains to 8 percent.

The group members who had sold with Go with the Flow were kicking themselves. In the afternoon session, around 1:30 PM, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals even tried to hit the limit-up board but failed, and began to trade sideways at its high.

It wasn’t until around 2:00 PM that the stock price of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals approached 69 yuan again, reaching a gain of +9.63%. Go with the Flow was also watching the market at that time.

A minute later, at around 2:01 PM, Go with the Flow saw a large order of thirty million take the lead in sealing the limit-up. Without a second thought, he decisively went all-in, jumping back in with the 24 million he had freed up that morning.

In that single minute, over 73 million yuan worth of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals shares were traded. His entire order of over 24 million was filled at the limit-up price. As soon as the trade went through, he surfaced in the group chat:

[Go with the Flow: Damn, bought it back at the limit-up. Idiot’s strategy!]

[The master is really something else!]

[Holy shit! What’s going on? You chased the high and bought it back?]

[Can’t get my order in…]

[Good thing I didn’t sell. I was about to ask the master if I should sell at the limit-up. Guess I don’t have to now.]

[Go with the Flow: Confirmed it turned from weak to strong, so I jumped right in. I’ve noticed this stock likes to make a surprise push to the limit in late trading. As long as it doesn’t look too bad tomorrow, I’ll try to hold on with a broader perspective until the end of the day.]

[The master is really strong. He’s holding the top three stocks on the popularity ranking, all strong core stocks. Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals is also incredible, hitting four limit-ups in seven days.]

[Go with the Flow: The truly strong one is K-God. He got into Guangcheng after its ‘ST’ tag was removed at the end of May. I don’t think K-God has sold yet. If so, he must have at least a 2.5x profit. Now that’s truly invincible. The greatest truths are the simplest.]

…

Go with the Flow’s admiration for K-God was unconcealed and not just empty praise. K-God’s track record needed no embellishment. What Go with the Flow truly respected was K-God’s ability to maintain such incredibly high profitability even with a terrifying capital in the tens of billions.

Different capital sizes come with different demands from the market. A classic problem is that as capital grows, the number of viable investment targets shrinks. This is why large institutional funds can generally only invest in blue-chip, heavily-weighted large-cap stocks or trend stocks, rather than monster stocks that skyrocket in the short term.

Go with the Flow was already starting to experience this himself. After his funds surpassed one hundred million, he found that there were fewer stocks available for him to choose from. For stocks with a daily trading volume below one billion, he would either not participate at all or limit his position to no more than a tenth of his total funds.

Only for large-cap stocks like Weibo, with liquidity easily reaching two or three billion, or even five or six billion in daily volume, would he dare to take a large position. This was because entry and exit were easy; even with a hundred million in capital, he could get in and out within the same day.

But stocks like Weibo, possessing both immense liquidity and the potential for a run of consecutive limit-ups, were exceedingly rare. In other words, the market’s Overall Leader was not a common occurrence. There were only a handful of true Overall Leaders in a year.

In other words, without seeking new strategies, his opportunities would be limited. If he missed the one or two Overall Leader rallies in a year, he would essentially miss the best opportunities of the year. Add a few bad trades to that, and he might even end up with a loss.

Although he was currently on a winning streak, consistently making huge profits, Go with the Flow was constantly pondering these issues. What would he do when the market trend wasn’t so favorable?

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index recorded its fourth consecutive positive day, closing up +1.23% at 2841.41 points, another new high. Trading volume in the two markets was somewhat lower than the previous day.

…

The next day, Wednesday, October 13th.

The A-share market opened flat and then fluctuated widely.

In terms of individual stocks, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, a very recent IPO stock that had just had a four-day rally, opened low at 57.67 yuan, down -3.07%, during the call auction. This ended its recent aggressive offensive. After the market opened, it continued to open low and trend lower, at one point dropping to 55.43 yuan, an intraday decline of -6.84%.

Go with the Flow sold his shares in this stock while it was underwater. His average selling price was 57.03 yuan. After a slight profit drawdown, he exited with a total gain of 24 percent. He had invested 45 million yuan and cashed out with 55.8 million, making a profit of just over ten million.

As for Weibo, the top stock on the popularity list, it did not open with a fourth consecutive one-word limit-up. The final call auction price was 116.23 yuan, a high open of +9.56%. Immediately after the market opened, the stock began to dive.

Holders who saw it fail to open at the limit-up price chose to sell. From a technical standpoint, the price had reached a dense area of trapped longs. Stockholders who had been severely trapped earlier and hadn’t gotten out yet were now scrambling to flee.

However, Go with the Flow decided to maintain a long-term view on this stock. Today, he only cashed out of Ruihe Pharmaceutical, holding onto his positions in Weibo and Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals.

As the day progressed, Ruihe Pharmaceutical strengthened again in the afternoon. It rallied all the way from its low of -6.84% on surging volume. At around 1:56 PM, its price surged to an all-time high of 64.19 yuan, a gain of +7.88%, marking a massive intraday amplitude of 14.71%.

It looked as if it was on pace to hit its fifth consecutive limit-up.

People in the group chat all tagged Go with the Flow, asking if he was going to use his “idiot’s strategy” to buy back in. But he didn’t. He chose to watch from the sidelines, planning to reassess tomorrow. His reason for not buying today was that after such a huge rally from deep underwater, it was almost certain to be hammered by today’s profit-takers into a deep-water open tomorrow. There was also the chance of a sentiment reversal, making it different from the Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals situation.

He would only make a move if it confirmed a renewed uptrend, strictly adhering to his own model and trading on opportunities he fully understood.

Meanwhile, the popularity king next door, Weibo, successfully advanced to its fifth consecutive limit-up.

Around 2:30 PM, late in the trading day, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals did exactly as Go with the Flow had predicted, making a surprise push to its limit-up board in late trading. It achieved two consecutive limit-ups at a high level. Its popularity was now second only to Weibo’s. Go with the Flow did not sell today; he held on.

When the Dragon-Tiger List data was released after hours, Weibo was on it. The stock’s trading volume had exploded to 4.84 billion after breaking the limit-up board today. The list showed institutional investors buying up aggressively. Three of the top five buying seats belonged to institutions, with the number one institutional seat devouring 279 million yuan worth of shares.

Weibo’s recent streak of limit-ups was driven by the explosive popularity of WeChat. Investors were baffled. Although they shared the same parent company, WeChat and Weibo were two distinct subsidiaries. Why on earth was Weibo’s stock price soaring?

They couldn’t figure it out, but Weibo’s stock price just kept getting pushed to consecutive limit-ups.

…

Chapter 424: Let’s Start by Following the Americans Across the River

During the remaining two trading days of the week, Thursday and Friday, the A-share market continued to surge. However, the two markets moved in opposite directions, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board outperforming Shenzhen’s.

On Thursday, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up +0.64% at 2879.64 points, having briefly surged to the 2900-point mark intraday. Although it closed with a Doji bearish candle, it was a false bearish candle that was actually bullish.

On Friday, the index reversed with an engulfing pattern. The Shanghai Composite Index, in particular, experienced another short-squeeze rally, soaring +3.18% to close at 2971.16 points. The closing price was also the day’s high; any intraday adjustments were immediately followed by another surge in an all-out short squeeze.

The Shenzhen Component Index also rose sharply by +2.06%, closing at 12765.50 points. The combined daily trading volume of both markets reached 448.8 billion yuan, as funds that had missed out on the rally rushed into the market.

Only the ChiNext board Index was lousy, falling in corrective pullbacks on both Thursday and Friday.

However, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, a very recent IPO stock on the ChiNext board, carved out its own independent trend over these two days, ignoring the board’s downturn.

After rising +6.20% on Wednesday, Ruihe Pharmaceutical didn’t open deep in the red the next day. Instead, it opened 3% higher, at one point surging +7.73% before falling back to close with a +2.93% gain.

Intraday, when Ruihe Pharmaceutical was up 5%, Go with the Flow saw the stock’s better-than-expected performance and jumped in, buying 50 million yuan worth. However, he ended up trapped with a two-point loss.

On Friday, Ruihe Pharmaceutical opened lower but strengthened in the early session, executing a reversal to a limit-up. Its price surged to an all-time high of 71.54 yuan, and its market cap broke past 38 billion yuan. The day’s trading concluded with a massive volume of 2.044 billion yuan.

However, Go with the Flow didn’t score a huge profit from this reversal to a limit-up, only making 1.2% before he sold. Once again, just like with Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, he had sold too early on a reversal play. This time, though, he didn’t use his “idiot’s strategy” to buy back into Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s limit-up.

Despite selling Ruihe Pharmaceutical too early, Go with the Flow still managed to rake in a huge profit, because his half position in Weibo and his twenty-percent position in Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals both hit consecutive limit-ups on Thursday and Friday.

On Friday, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals hit its fourth consecutive limit-up at a high price, rallying to 92.15 yuan. Its popularity was on par with the sentiment king, Weibo. Go with the Flow had held his 24 million yuan position in the stock with a long-term view, riding it for three limit-ups and profiting around 7.9 million yuan. He still hadn’t sold. With three limit-ups worth of profit, he was no longer bearish and was determined to hold on, fixing his past weakness of selling too early.

Meanwhile, the sentiment king, Weibo, delivered an exceeding-expectations rally of seven consecutive limit-ups. On Thursday, its sixth limit-up brought the stock price to 129.09 yuan, with a trading volume of 4.951 billion yuan. On Friday, the seventh limit-up pushed the price to 141.99 yuan, raising its market cap to 75.1 billion yuan. The day’s massive volume of 7.595 billion yuan set a new record for the stock’s largest daily trading volume since its listing.

Before National Day, no one would have imagined that Weibo, whose stock price had been slashed in half at 72.87 yuan, would record seven consecutive limit-ups in just seven trading days after the holiday. It had nearly doubled in value and was now just a step away from its previous high of 147.10 yuan.

Those who sold their Weibo shares before the holiday were about to be extremely frustrated seeing it now on the verge of setting a new all-time high.

When someone loses money, that money doesn’t simply disappear; it’s earned by others. Go with the Flow was one of those who profited. He had bought 80 million yuan worth of Weibo at its first limit-up before the holiday. Upon the market’s return, the stock went on a streak of effortless limit-up days, giving him six straight limit-ups. His floating profit had now reached 77%, bringing his total profit to 61.6 million yuan.

Adding the profits from Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals and Ruihe Pharmaceutical, the total market cap of Go with the Flow’s account had swelled to 233.52 million yuan. Going into the holiday with a full position had made him an insane amount of money, especially winning effortlessly with a half position in Weibo.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“…Right, sell all of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals next Monday. You can do it right at the morning open. Remember to break up the sale into smaller orders. It should have a high open and a chance to surge to its limit-up on Monday. Given your cost price, doubling your overall profit shouldn’t be a problem,” Fang Hong said, looking at his beautiful assistant, who was giving him a work report from a single sofa in the living room.

“Okay, got it,” Tian Jiayi nodded.

She had bought shares in Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals on September 1st as per Fang Hong’s instructions, investing about 61.2 million yuan at an Average Price of 32.25 yuan. Today, the stock hit its fourth consecutive limit-up at a high, closing at 92.15 yuan.

Based on today’s closing price, Tian Jiayi’s holding had an accumulated profit of +185.73%, a floating profit of about 113 million yuan. Her nominal net worth had now reached 175 million yuan, making her a genuine, beautiful, and rich billionaire.

Finally, the beautiful assistant sighed with emotion, “To make over 100 million in a month and a half… I finally understand why you… you don’t treat money like it’s a big deal. It’s because it comes too easily, easier than if it were just blown in by the wind.”

Just then, another voice suddenly cut in, “I want some too!”

Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi turned toward the sound. Yu Qiu, dressed in business attire, had just returned home. She strolled over gracefully and sat down in a vacant seat beside them. Having overheard their conversation, Yu Qiu immediately looked at Fang Hong and said, “What about me? You can’t just give her special treatment. I want some too!”

Her words carried a hint of playful jealousy, a stark contrast to the unapproachable, “strangers, keep out” vibe she exuded at the Natural Science Foundation. Her cool and aloof side was reserved for others.

Fang Hong said calmly, “Want what? Didn’t I just give you several hundred million yesterday? Why are you asking for more already?”

Beside them, a smiling Tian Jiayi chimed in, “She’s just insatiable. The name Yu Qiu is quite fitting, after all. Always ‘wanting more’.”

Hearing this, Yu Qiu shot a glare at the beautiful assistant, retorting just as sharply, “And what about you, Miss Tian? A ‘field’ like you would probably throw a fit if it wasn’t ‘plowed’ for three days. Let’s not throw stones in glass houses, shall we…”

Tian Jiayi’s pretty face froze, stunned.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel a mixture of amusement and exasperation at such brazen words. When there were no outsiders around, these two had no idea what propriety meant. If it weren’t for the “Health” category item cards from his system to replenish his stamina, he would never be able to handle them.

After a moment, Fang Hong looked at Yu Qiu and said, “Alright, alright, can’t you spend the money in my securities account whenever you want? You know the password. What more could you possibly need?”

Yu Qiu thought for a moment with a serious expression, then giggled and nodded. “That’s true. Then never mind. I don’t like playing the stock market anyway.”

After a short while, Yu Qiu glanced at Tian Jiayi before turning back to Fang Hong. “Qunxing has already transferred the entire 30 billion yuan to the Natural Science Foundation’s account. Also, there’s news from Xincheng University. Ning Xingqing said they’ve completed their preliminary verification work for the ‘Sky Mirror’ project and hope to meet again tomorrow to discuss it in detail.”

Fang Hong mulled it over for a moment before making a decision. “I’ll meet with them. You don’t have to go. You now hold the title of President, the head of the Natural Science Foundation. You need to put on airs when necessary.”

The scientists who were truly dedicated to academic research wouldn’t care about such things. It didn’t matter who came, as long as the project funding was secured; nothing else was important. As for those who did care, they would pay closer attention and treat the matter with more caution.

“Besides the ‘Sky Mirror’ project, what other scientific research projects are you planning to invest in?” Yu Qiu asked Fang Hong. The Natural Science Foundation now had 30 billion yuan at its disposal. No matter how expensive the Sky Mirror project was, it couldn’t possibly cost 30 billion.

And even if it did require a 30 billion budget, it couldn’t all be spent in a single year. According to Fang Hong’s requirements, the Natural Science Foundation was expected to spend that much every year, with the amount increasing by 15% annually in the future.

There had to be more than just this one research project.

“What’s so hard about spending money? Let’s start by following the Americans across the river for now,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

“Huh?” Yu Qiu looked at him, puzzled. Still smiling, Fang Hong elaborated, “Just keep an eye on the US. See what they have that we don’t, and that’s what we’ll work on. For example, they have that… what’s it called… oh right, the Hubble Space Telescope. We don’t have our own space telescope yet, so we can build one.”

After a pause, Fang Hong added with a chuckle, “Once we’ve milked the Americans dry and there’s nothing left to copy, we’ll just have to play with ourselves… ahem, I mean, explore on our own. For example, creating something like an electromagnetic railgun. Of course, that’s applied science, but it still relies on fundamental research. Anyway, we just have to do it.”

Yu Qiu couldn’t help but laugh, while Tian Jiayi playfully chided him, “How can something so serious sound so improper coming from your mouth, you…!”

…

Chapter 425: More Funding Required

Crossing the river by following the Americans was an excellent choice. Although, from a higher perspective, building something that others had already built seemed like a waste of resources—like building another Hubble Space Telescope when one already existed.

But that was just an ideal scenario. Reality was another matter entirely. If you didn’t have it yourself, you were at the mercy of others. If they said you couldn’t use it, all you could do was stare helplessly.

To achieve technological self-reliance, you first had to have something you could control.

China was indeed far behind in basic research, and the lessons that needed to be learned had to be learned eventually.

Once they had more or less caught up to the Americans, they could start exploring on their own, making the leap from chasing to surpassing. A meal, after all, had to be eaten one bite at a time.

…

The next day, Saturday, at around 10:20 AM.

Fang Hong arrived at Xincheng University. Chancellor Li Kang of Xinda University, Ning Xingqing, and others were already waiting outside to greet him, having arrived earlier than the scheduled meeting time. The “Sky Mirror” project was of the utmost importance to Xincheng University—arguably, there was nothing more important.

Under normal circumstances, a super-large-scale project like this would never have come to Xincheng University, so they naturally didn’t dare to be neglectful.

However, Li Kang and the others were surprised to see that the person sent by the Natural Science Foundation was actually Fang Hong. They had expected its head, the President, to come, not an assistant.

“…Chancellor Li, Professor Ning, President Yu is currently busy planning other research projects and couldn’t find the time, so he sent me to handle this matter,” Fang Hong said with a calm and confident smile.

“I see.” Li Kang’s face showed sudden understanding. He was also slightly surprised by this young man, Fang Hong. He had originally thought of using the authority of being from Fang Hong’s alma mater and his position as Chancellor to put a little pressure on the young man, hoping to seize the initiative in their conversation for Xincheng University.

But Li Kang quickly discovered that Fang Hong was very different from other young people. He didn’t fall for that kind of tactic at all; it was useless.

“Classmate Fang Hong, let’s talk as we walk,” Li Kang said with an affable smile, making a welcoming gesture. Although Fang Hong was young and had just graduated from Xinda this year, his current identity was that of a representative of the Natural Science Foundation.

Li Kang didn’t put on the airs of a chancellor in front of him. Moreover, their brief chat just now had revealed that this young man was no simple character. His composure alone was beyond that of most young people.

Not far away, some students happened to see this scene and were quite surprised. They grew curious about Fang Hong, wondering who he was to be treated so politely by the Chancellor.

“Classmate Fang Hong, from what you just said, a moment ago, the Natural Science Foundation has other projects planned besides ‘Sky Mirror’?” Li Kang asked probingly as they walked and talked.

“That’s right,” Fang Hong nodded crisply.

Li Kang pressed further, “I wonder if you could reveal what kind of projects?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled. “To sum it up in one sentence: anything the Americans have and we don’t is within the scope of what we’re doing, and anything they don’t have is also within our scope.”

The accompanying group was secretly amazed. This was not something an ordinary person could say. It seemed the “Sky Mirror” project was just one of the many scientific research projects the Natural Science Foundation planned to invest in.

After confirming the foundation’s substantial financial resources, Fang Hong’s statement carried a great deal of credibility.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a reception room in one of the campus buildings and quickly got down to business, discussing matters related to the “Sky Mirror” project.

“The result of our theoretical analysis is that the ‘Sky Mirror’ project is feasible,” Ning Xingqing said, presenting their conclusion first. Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod. “It’s good that it can be done.”

At this point, Chancellor Li Kang spoke up, “However, realizing this project will be a massive undertaking. Our research concludes that it will require the collaboration of thousands of scientists across dozens of fields.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong understood what Li Kang was really trying to say. The implication was that this project would burn through far more cash than he imagined, and he needed to be mentally prepared. It couldn’t be done without sufficient funding.

Fang Hong instinctively crossed his legs. Li Kang was slightly taken aback by the gesture. This young man certainly isn’t modest. Even I, the Chancellor of Xinda, haven’t crossed my legs in front of you, yet you’re the first to do so.

However, given his current role as a representative of the Natural Science Foundation, Chancellor Li didn’t dwell on it too much.

“I understand,” Fang Hong nodded to himself, then looked around at everyone and added, “To complete this project, what scale of funding is needed? Have you calculated it?”

As soon as he said this, Li Kang immediately replied, “According to the comprehensive assessment, five billion is likely far from enough. To have the network operational by 2015, we’ll have to consume more resources as a trade-off for speed… A conservative estimate would be 11.3 billion.”

After he finished, Li Kang, Ning Xingqing, and the others all turned to observe Fang Hong’s reaction. They saw that he showed no change in expression upon hearing the number, making it impossible to read any useful information from his face.

Fang Hong was very calm. The moment he heard the figure of 11.3 billion, he thought to himself that it would definitely be more than that. This was most likely the most conservative estimate. Once the project started, there would surely be cost overruns. About halfway through, it would certainly exceed the budget and require additional funding. And once they were halfway done, with so much money already invested, they would have no choice but to pay up.

Fang Hong knew that if he were in their shoes, he would do the same thing. Trap you first, and once you’re trapped, you have no choice but to keep averaging down.

This was true for many research projects around the world. Halfway through, the money runs out, and more funding is required.

Take the Americans’ LIGO project, for example. It had been running for a decade and had just secured another four hundred million dollars in additional funding this year.

Fang Hong estimated that by the time the “Sky Mirror” project was completed in 2015, it would probably cost at least fifteen billion or more.

Adding more money wasn’t a problem, as long as it didn’t end up in private pockets.

He wasn’t worried about the money being embezzled. The Natural Science Foundation was backed by Stellaris Capital. And what did Qunxing do? They were in finance. Their specialty was dealing with money. Scientific research wasn’t their expertise, but they were professionals when it came to capital flow management and risk control.

To put it bluntly, those in finance were more adept and professional at finding ways to legally and compliantly divert project funds into private pockets, with more and deeper schemes.

Once the project started, the Natural Science Foundation would definitely monitor the flow of every single expenditure. The destination of every penny had to be clearly traceable.

Finally, Fang Hong looked at the group and said, “Going over budget is within the Natural Science Foundation’s expectations. Everyone, on behalf of the Natural Science Foundation, I will give you a clear answer: a budget of 11.3 billion is not a problem. As long as you can ensure the ‘Sky Mirror’ project is completed on schedule, we will not be stingy with this investment.”

Such a clear statement greatly excited Ning Xingqing and the others present. The new budget was more than double what the Natural Science Foundation had previously indicated, and they had been worried it would scare them off. They hadn’t expected him to not even blink at the mention of 11.3 billion.

With sufficient financial support, half the battle was already won.

Next, Professor Ning Xingqing explained some technical issues to Fang Hong. He said, “…Europe and America’s LISA project was the earliest space-based gravitational wave detection project to be developed. Although we’ve yet to see any tangible results, it is, relatively speaking, the most mature space-based gravitational wave detection plan internationally. We are starting from scratch, but our timeline is tight. The LISA project will definitely not be realized by 2015.”

Ning Xingqing added, “Therefore, to save time, it would be best to import foreign technology, especially in areas like laser interferometry, inertial sensing, and drag-free control. Importing foreign technology could accelerate the entire project’s progress.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong said with an air of ease, “Professor Ning, have you considered this: you may want to buy, but are they willing to sell?”

Ning Xingqing hesitated, “Well…”

Fang Hong continued, “We won’t object if it can be bought with money, but that’s just a stopgap measure. Ultimately, we must be able to build it ourselves. So, even if there is a plan to buy foreign technology, we must advance on the path of self-development at the same time. Walking on two legs is the most stable approach.”

Looking around at everyone, Fang Hong added, “Have you considered another problem? Science may have no borders, but scientists have countries, and scientific equipment certainly does. Even if we buy, we have to guard against the foreigners playing tricks on us. For instance, what if everything is agreed upon at the start, and your project is charging ahead at full steam, but when you’re halfway through, they refuse to sell or decide to raise the price on the spot? Wouldn’t you be dumbfounded? Therefore, self-development is a must. And if we can use our own technology, we should, even if it’s a bit more expensive. We should avoid using foreign things as much as possible.”

…

Chapter 426: The Pressure Is Now on Tencent

Li Kang and Ning Xingqing couldn’t help but look at each other. Li Kang, in particular, looked as if he wanted to speak but held back upon hearing Fang Hong’s words, as he wasn’t sure if Fang Hong was speaking for himself or for the Natural Science Foundation.

At that moment, Ning Xingqing couldn’t help but say, “This is too much of a waste of money…”

Having never been so well-funded before, Professor Ning found it hard to adjust. After all, the entire annual research budget for Xincheng University was less than one hundred million.

Fang Hong was direct and straightforward. “It is indeed a bit expensive, but the project itself is a massive undertaking. To ensure it proceeds smoothly, spending a bit more to create a comprehensive safety net for all risks is necessary. We must be walking on two legs. This isn’t my personal view; it’s the directive President Yu gave me, and also the result of a resolution by the Natural Science Foundation’s council.”

Hearing this, Li Kang finally felt at ease. So long as it was the stance of the Natural Science Foundation, that was all that mattered.

Finally, Fang Hong glanced around at everyone, his gaze ultimately landing on Li Kang. “Chancellor Li, Xincheng University should take the lead and start this project as soon as possible. You experts and scholars will have the final say on technical matters, and the Natural Science Foundation will handle the funding. Once the project kicks off, an initial two billion in funding will be transferred over. We will send staff to liaise with you later.”

After he finished speaking, Fang Hong rose to leave. Li Kang and the others quickly stood up as well. As Fang Hong departed, they could no longer contain their elation. The meeting had gone far more smoothly than they had ever imagined.

For Xincheng University to become the spearhead of a research project with a ten-billion-level budget—the benefits were self-evident.

In the days that followed, Li Kang and Ning Xingqing, the project’s chief scientist, began to busy themselves with preparations. Xincheng University certainly couldn’t handle this project alone; it required the collaboration of numerous other research institutes and universities to succeed.

However, as the lead institution, Xincheng University held significant say in which other research institutes and universities could participate. In other words, even top institutions like Tsinghua and Peking University would have to be very polite to Xincheng University.

After all, once a research project with a budget in the tens of billions was launched, it would be a historically significant event in the current academic and scientific communities—undoubtedly sensational news. Any scientist in a related field would surely try every means possible to get involved.

…

In the afternoon, the WeChat team at Quantum Beat released a bombshell announcement. According to the notice, WeChat’s registered user count had reached 3.52 million within fifteen days of its launch. Those in the industry knew WeChat was a blockbuster mobile instant messaging app, but they still hadn’t expected it to be this popular.

Moreover, a similar product called Kik had launched in North America just in the last couple of days. Its functions were almost identical to WeChat’s—for instance, Kik could also scan a phone’s contact list. But there was a difference: Kik had the creative features that WeChat had, but WeChat had features Kik lacked, such as QR code scanning.

Most crucially, industry insiders noticed a change: for the first time, a domestic internet company had broken the pattern of copying the models of North American internet companies. Now, the situation was reversed.

Kik was imitating WeChat.

Whether it was the user growth rate that was currently stunning the industry or the fact that it was being imitated by Kik, both highlighted the astonishing potential Quantum Beat was demonstrating as it entered the social media space in the mobile internet era.

Many people were now analyzing the reasons for WeChat’s explosive popularity. The general consensus was that scanning phone contacts, the partnership with China Unicom, and the integration with Weibo were the three main factors that allowed WeChat to take off so quickly.

Of course, the most critical element was the excellent user experience of the WeChat product itself, including many novel ideas like the voice message function and QR code scanning.

The pressure was now on Tencent. Recently, following its flash crash, Tencent’s stock price had been in a continuous decline. It had already fallen below its low from this past June, hitting a new low for the year.

From its peak this month of 175 Hong Kong dollars, it had fallen to around 116 Hong Kong dollars, wiping out a third of its market capitalization. Tencent’s total market cap was now just over two hundred billion Hong Kong dollars.

In stark contrast, even though the WeChat business wasn’t under the Weibo subsidiary, Weibo’s stock price was climbing steadily. It had posted seven consecutive limit-ups, nearly doubling its value, to reach 141.99 yuan. It was now just a step away from hitting an all-time high.

Tencent was truly feeling an immense sense of crisis. Its development teams were working day and night, rushing to launch a mobile instant messaging app to benchmark against WeChat.

Tencent’s attempt at a microblogging platform had failed to beat Quantum Beat’s, and now Quantum Beat’s mobile messaging app, WeChat, was like the sun at midday right from its launch. It would be a lie to say they weren’t panicked.

At the very least, investors who had bought Tencent stock were already panicking.

…

The weekend passed. It was now Monday, October 18th.

The A-share market kicked off the first trading day of the new week. The morning call auction saw both markets open higher. The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2985.46 points, up +0.48%. As for individual stocks, the popular stock Weibo, which had already recorded seven consecutive limit-ups, opened at 147.67 yuan, a gain of +4.00%. It broke through its previous high of 147.10 yuan during the call auction to set a new all-time high.

Starting from its low of 72.87 yuan, it had now more than doubled.

Before the recent holidays, when Weibo’s stock price was slashed in half and plummeted to just over 72 yuan, everyone thought 147.10 yuan was its historical peak. They believed it would take at least a year or two for trapped investors to break even. No one had expected that just half a month later, it would smash through to a new all-time high with a series of limit-ups and daily gains.

Those who had been trapped and then bit the bullet to sell at a loss around the 72 yuan mark truly felt like chopping their own hands off.

After the market opened, the index also rose rapidly.

Around 9:35 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index’s gains widened to 1 percent, breaking through the 3,000-point mark. This key psychological threshold was retaken, and the index continued to rally sharply after the breakthrough.

About twelve minutes into the open, at 9:42 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index had climbed to 3,026 points, a gain of over 1.8 percent, rallying almost straight up with hardly any retracement.

When the broader market had crashed to 2,319 points in early July, few investors would have imagined that three months later, the index would once again be standing above 3,000 points. Capital was rushing into the market, and investors who had missed out on the rally couldn’t stand it anymore.

Meanwhile, Weibo also opened high and trended higher. Its stock price rallied to 152.39 yuan, extending its gains to +7.32%. Its market capitalization also surpassed the 80 billion mark for the first time.

At almost the same time, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, a very recent IPO stock listed on the ChiNext board, also opened high and trended higher after posting a reversal to a limit-up last Friday. About ten minutes into the open, its price rallied to 78.69 yuan, hitting the limit-up. Its market capitalization reached 41.8 billion.

Ruihe Pharmaceutical had hit the limit-up five times in the last eight trading days. The second wave of its rally started from 38.57 yuan, with a cumulative gain of +104%, doubling its value. From its issue price of 27.28 yuan, it had surged over +188%, and from its all-time low of 26.04 yuan, it had soared over +202%, more than tripling in value.

In addition, another monster stock, Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, gapped up a massive +7.53% to 99.09 yuan at the call auction today. It hit its limit-up price within five minutes of the open, marking its fifth consecutive limit-up at a high level. Its popularity was even greater than Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s; only Weibo could overshadow it.

Since resuming trading in May, its value had increased roughly fourfold by the time it hit today’s limit-up price.

Just as Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals gapped up and shot for the limit, Tian Jiayi began selling the stock today, just as Fang Hong had instructed. She started selling off her shares in batches at the open. As the stock hit its limit-up five minutes in, she unleashed another wave of selling pressure approaching sixty million, causing the stock’s limit-up seal to break in less than two minutes. It dived to a gain of 8.5 percent before it hit the limit-up again, but it could never stay completely sealed.

This was because Tian Jiayi was still selling. She had bought over sixty million worth on September 1st, and now her position, including principal and profit, was worth 190 million. The fact that her determined selling didn’t trigger a sharp plunge was a testament to how abnormally strong the stock was.

Ten minutes into the open, 320 million worth of the stock had changed hands, and Tian Jiayi had finished selling all her shares. Only about 40% of her shares were sold at the limit-up price. Her average profit for the day was around 7.5 percent, and she cashed out 187 million.

A month and a half ago, she had invested just over 61 million. Today, she walked away with 187 million, for a net profit of 126 million.

In her office, Tian Jiayi temporarily put down her work. Looking at the nine-figure net worth displayed on her account, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “This is more efficient than robbing a bank. The stock market really is that guy’s personal ATM…”

…

Chapter 427: Hitting a New All-Time High

After liquidating the position in Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, Tian Jiayi immediately picked up her phone and called Fang Hong. As soon as the call connected, the beautiful assistant said, “I’ve sold off Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals as you instructed. That’s 187 million, principal and profit. What should I buy next?”

Laughter came from the other end of the line. “What? Not satisfied even after earning so much?” Fang Hong replied.

Hearing this, his beautiful assistant answered with a charming laugh, “I can’t just let the funds sit here and depreciate, can I? By the way, haven’t you always wanted to play this ‘double-slit experiment’ game?”

Fang Hong on the other end was stunned. “Good grief, you’re blatantly luring me in. Fine, I’ll take the bait. Zhongke Sanhuan and Laibao Hi-Tech. You can get into them today, split the funds evenly. For Zhongke Sanhuan, I see it going to 30 yuan, so it’s a buy. As for Laibao Hi-Tech, I see it at 70 yuan.”

After hanging up, Tian Jiayi turned back to the trading software on her computer. She glanced at the intraday chart for Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals and was slightly taken aback. The stock had already fallen from its limit-up, dropping back to a 5% gain for the day, which was below its opening price.

At the same time, the Shanghai Composite Index, which had surged 1.8%, was also rapidly falling back and had now broken below the 3000-point mark. Ruihe Pharmaceutical had also fallen from its limit-up and was diving. Weibo, which had been up by more than 7%, was also plummeting and had already lost about half its gains.

Tian Jiayi didn’t pay too much attention to the market’s direction. She believed that regardless of whether the market rose or fell, the stocks her man picked would definitely go up. From the very beginning with Dongfang Yuhong until now, he had never made a wrong call.

She switched to the trading code for Zhongke Sanhuan. This stock had also dived to a 7% loss. Without any hesitation, Tian Jiayi immediately began to enter the stock, buying in batches. She happened to be free today, so she had time to accumulate shares and absorb the selling pressure.

After bottoming out at 3.02 yuan when the broader market hit its low of around 1600 points in 2008, Zhongke Sanhuan had been on a steady uptrend, recently rising to over 19 yuan. It had already increased more than fivefold in two years. Barring any surprises, it was poised to accelerate its rise with consecutive limit-ups.

This stock was a rare earth permanent magnet concept stock. This was originally a very niche and specialized concept, but as the arcane technical term “neodymium iron boron” quickly became widespread, Zhongke Sanhuan, a company that had always been low-profile with its niche products, rapidly gained fame.

According to its filings, Zhongke Sanhuan was mainly engaged in the R&D and production of rare earth permanent magnets and new magnetic materials, along with their applications. It was about to release its third-quarter earnings report, which coincided perfectly with a resurgence of the rare earth magnet whirlwind.

Besides having timing and favorable conditions on its side due to the rare earth market trend, the game of hot potato played by institutional investors and hot money was the massive driving force behind Zhongke Sanhuan’s upcoming string of limit-ups.

While buying into this stock, Tian Jiayi was also purchasing shares of Laibao Hi-Tech in batches. As Fang Hong had instructed, she allocated half of the funds to each stock, which amounted to around 90 million yuan.

In the seven trading days since the market reopened after the holiday, shareholders of Laibao Hi-Tech had been cursing up a storm in the comment sections. The post-holiday A-share market had been explosive, with the broader market index surging all the way to 3000 points. Laibao Hi-Tech, however, had suffered seven consecutive down days, falling by more than 17%.

At this moment, as the broader market dived, it too was plummeting, with its losses exceeding 3.75%, and its stock price had fallen below 30 yuan.

However, Tian Jiayi paid no mind to the stock’s seven-day losing streak and just kept buying. Fang Hong had mentioned a target of 70 yuan, so getting in at the current price meant there was potential to double her investment in the future.

In the second half of this year, the average gain for the electronics components sector was expected to exceed 40%. Within the sector, 13 stocks had already doubled in value this year, and 60 stocks had hit all-time highs, all while the broader market had fallen by more than 12% during the same period.

Laibao Hi-Tech was revered by the market as the authentic leading stock of the touchscreen concept, and its rally was also about to begin accelerating.

What the outside world didn’t know yet was that Laibao Hi-Tech would soon become a Stellar Universe Technology concept stock. The S1 phone was currently experiencing unprecedentedly explosive sales, and its production capacity was constantly expanding. Stellar Universe Technology was in talks with Laibao Hi-Tech about a partnership.

Once an agreement was reached, the company would become one of Stellar Universe Technology’s direct suppliers. Joining the Stellar Universe Technology supply chain was undoubtedly a piece of major positive news for the stock.

As Tian Jiayi continued to buy these two stocks in batches, the market was undergoing a high-platform dive. Starting from 10 a.m., the Shanghai Composite Index plunged, turning from positive to negative. It fell to a low of around 2944 points, a drop of over 0.9%. Just twenty minutes earlier, the index had been up by more than 1.8%.

On the individual stock front, Weibo went from being up over 7.32% to being down over 1%. Ruihe Pharmaceutical, after falling from its limit-up, was now down 1.49%. Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals executed a ninety-degree dive, dropping to 7% below its opening price. Those who had bought at the limit-up today were now facing an immediate floating loss of 17%.

About 15 minutes into the market’s flash crash, a violent rebound began, and stocks quickly turned positive again. Both the indices and individual stocks exhibited extremely fierce volatility today, especially the monster stocks.

The entire market was also accompanied by the emergence of massive trading volume.

Meanwhile, Go with the Flow was sending messages in his group chat: [Sold all my Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, and Weibo on the rebound surge just now for those who didn’t get out this morning.]

Seeing this message, everyone in the group hit their nuke buttons and fled, placing sell orders at the limit-down price to front-run the others.

For these three stocks, Go with the Flow liquidated Ruihe Pharmaceutical around 76 yuan, making a 15% profit of 8.7 million yuan on his re-entry gamble. He sold Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals, which he had bought using the “first limit-up board idiot’s strategy” at a high, for 96 yuan, pocketing a 40% gain of 9.6 million yuan. He had gotten into Weibo on its first limit-up board before the holiday and sold today near 145 yuan, earning an 80% profit of 64 million yuan.

Including his principal, Go with the Flow’s total assets had now grown from 148 million before the holiday to 245 million. In the seven trading days since the holiday, he had earned over 97 million yuan, nearly 100 million. This full position he held before the holiday had turned into a huge win.

It was worth noting that Fang Hong’s personal securities account also held Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals. Today was undoubtedly the best selling point, but he chose not to sell when the crowd was roaring with excitement. He always chose to exit monster stocks after the emotional tide receded, precisely to avoid being the scapegoat and having people claim that K-God had created the peak with his sell-off.

In any case, his cost price was low enough that even if the stock price dropped by 30%, Fang Hong would still have a profit of over two times his investment.

By the market close, all three major indices ended the day in the red. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by -0.54% to close at 2955.23 points, failing to hold the 3000-point mark. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped by -0.91% to 12649.27 points. The ChiNext board Index fell by -1.26% to 932.36 points. The total transaction volume for both cities today reached a massive 484.9 billion yuan.

Notably, during this post-National Day short-squeeze rally, while the Shanghai and Shenzhen main boards had soared, the ChiNext board Index had merely fluctuated and was still trading below its base value of 1000 points. The only stock worth watching on the entire ChiNext board was Ruihe Pharmaceutical.

However, during the upcoming adjustment phase for the main boards, the ChiNext board Index was set to experience a catch-up rally.

As for individual stocks, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, which had fallen from its limit-up, closed up +4.49% at 74.75 yuan. Its trading volume swelled to 2.729 billion yuan, the largest single-day volume since the stock was listed. The total volume for the entire ChiNext board Index was only about 6 billion yuan, meaning this single stock accounted for more than a third of it.

Meanwhile, the King of Popularity, Weibo, became the King of Annoyance today. Its stock price hit a new all-time high but closed in the negative at -1.19%, ending its streak of seven consecutive limit-ups. It closed at 140.29 yuan, with a staggering massive volume of 10.7 billion yuan.

Over the weekend, news of WeChat’s explosive user growth had sent the stock trading circle into a frenzy over Weibo, with target prices being touted as high as 200 yuan. It was expected to hit its eighth consecutive limit-up today. In the morning call auction, it opened high, setting an all-time high, and many investors piled in at the open.

The result? The entire market dived, and high-flying stocks fell from their limit-ups one after another. Weibo didn’t even touch its limit-up board. The investors who rushed in today were stunned. You guys are cashing out right after we got on board?

Timid and hesitant when Weibo was just over 72 yuan, but rushing in with fists swinging when it was over 140 yuan.

…

Chapter 428: Quantum Beat Straying from Its Proper Business?

In the afternoon, at Tranquil Heart Residence.

Tian Jiayi had just returned from the company and was reporting to Fang Hong: “We’ve finished communicating with Huayang Group. All of Huayang Real Estate’s commercial office buildings in the bustling districts of ten major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, have been leased to Quantum Beat in a package deal, totaling 76,700 square meters.”

Since the beginning of October, Quantum Beat had attracted the attention of nearly the entire internet industry with the launch of WeChat, a mobile instant messaging social software. For a time, they were unrivaled in the spotlight.

However, besides WeChat, Quantum Beat also had three new sharing economy projects in progress: Chuangke Fang, Youkefang, and Jiuzhou Xing. Sun Xin and the others were each leading a project group and a team to develop them.

Stellaris Capital was also contributing, tilting relevant resources in their favor. The first step was to bring in their staunchest ally, Huayang Group, and directly lease all of Huayang Real Estate’s commercial office buildings in the ten targeted cities in one go.

The process went very smoothly; it was basically just a matter of giving Hua Yu a heads-up. But this is just business, so it wasn’t a free handout from Huayang Group, and the block trade was completed at a fair market price.

Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and asked, “Over seventy thousand square meters of property is definitely not enough. Chuangke Fang is projected to need 500,000 square meters of commercial office space in these ten cities. Give Hua Yu a call and leverage Huayang Group’s network to secure the remaining 500,000 square meters from other commercial real estate companies as soon as possible.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

After a moment’s thought, Fang Hong added, “Have them all sign ten-year long-term lease agreements. The subsequent rent increase will be pegged to the central bank’s one-year benchmark interest rate at the time.”

Tian Jiayi nodded again and made a note of Fang Hong’s instructions.

For commercial office building leases, a standard contract is for one year, and most are for two. Agreements with longer terms usually include a rent increase clause, which typically fluctuates between 3% and 10%.

No one is a fool. They wouldn’t sign a ten-year agreement with you at a locked-in current market price, because of inflation, currency depreciation, and the expected appreciation of the property itself, especially in the core districts of major cities.

Without a rent increase clause, no one would sign a long-term contract with you.

The deal with Huayang Group was a ten-year long-term lease agreement with annual rent payments. The rent would remain unchanged for the first two years, after which it would begin to increase, pegged to the one-year benchmark interest rate at that time.

For example, if the central bank’s one-year benchmark interest rate in 2011 was 5.31%, and assuming the rent in 2010 was one million yuan, then the rent for 2011 would be 1,053,100 yuan, an increase of 5.31% benchmarked against the central bank’s rate.

Only under these terms would the lessor be willing to accept a long-term lease. Quantum Beat, or rather its big boss Fang Hong, could certainly accept it, as it wasn’t a loss—in fact, it was profitable.

First, a ten-year agreement offered stability. Second, the national average GDP growth rate was expected to reach 7.2% over the next decade. The average economic growth would likely outperform the benchmark interest rate by at least one percentage point. This was the interest rate spread, which would translate into a considerable profit on the financial statements.

Even taking a step back, if the benchmark interest rate were to be on par with the average GDP growth over the next ten years, Fang Hong would still accept it, because the increase in property prices during the same period would absolutely and significantly outpace the benchmark interest rate.

So, looking at the big picture, it was a profitable deal no matter how you sliced it. The only difference was whether they made a huge profit or just a large one.

Finally, Fang Hong said, “Once it’s all negotiated, have Quantum Beat go through the procedures and take over the properties.”

The three new projects—Chuangke Fang, Youkefang, and Jiuzhou Xing—had not been spun off yet. They were still being developed under the Quantum Beat umbrella.

The purpose was to maintain secrecy in the initial stages. Once the websites were built, the properties renovated, and the software platforms developed, the businesses would be spun off from the parent company and established as corresponding wholly-owned subsidiaries to operate independently on the eve of the product launch.

Quantum Beat was also in a phase of rapid expansion, the most direct evidence of which was its massive recruitment of new employees. They were constantly short-staffed and always hiring, especially with three new businesses launching simultaneously, which made them extremely desperate for people.

…

The next day.

A new announcement from Quantum Beat once again caught the industry’s attention. That morning, the company officially disclosed the cooperation agreement reached with Huayang Real Estate.

With Fang Hong acting as the intermediary, the collaboration had progressed very smoothly, without much haggling or bickering. After all, Hua Yu, the younger son of Huayang Group’s current leader Hua Yongming and a man seen as his successor, was now working with Fang Hong.

This connection was undeniable and couldn’t be compared to their relationships with other real estate companies.

According to the announcement, Quantum Beat had secured Huayang Group’s commercial office buildings in the bustling districts of ten major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, for a total area of 76,700 square meters, under a ten-year long-term lease.

As soon as the news broke, people from the internet and VC circles exclaimed that they couldn’t understand it. Everyone was bewildered.

What on earth was Quantum Beat doing leasing so much property?

And for a ten-year term, no less. You’re an internet company, what are you doing with so much real estate in major cities?

They truly couldn’t figure it out!

Currently, any news related to Quantum Beat was closely watched in the industry. The recently launched mobile instant messaging app was like the sun at midday, and some industry insiders even started touting the term “BATL,” placing Quantum Beat after China’s internet triumvirate “BAT,” which showed how highly the outside world regarded the company.

However, the company’s recent moves had left many people confused.

A couple of days later, online rumors from an alleged insider revealed that Quantum Beat was in frequent contact with executives from several of China’s major real estate tycoons, including giants like Wanke, Wanda, and SOHO.

According to the source, Quantum Beat was negotiating long-term lease agreements for commercial office space with these real estate giants, involving a potential total area of over 400,000 square meters.

Man!

The seventy-thousand-plus square meters they’d already signed with Huayang Real Estate wasn’t enough, and now they wanted over five times more?

This was insane!

The crowd of onlooking gossips was extremely curious about what Quantum Beat was planning to do.

It surely wasn’t for their own use. Were they planning to become a sublessor?

They couldn’t understand. An internet company making such big moves in this area—they truly couldn’t figure it out!

But it was normal that they couldn’t understand. Although Jiuzhou Xing, Youkefang, and Chuangke Fang were registered as companies, they currently had no ties to Quantum Beat.

For now, these three companies were registered under the names of irrelevant individuals for the sake of secrecy. Otherwise, one look at their business scope would likely reveal their intentions.

After all, far too many people were watching, analyzing, and interpreting Quantum Beat’s every move.

Only after the products were launched would Quantum Beat acquire 100% of the shares in all three companies. Then, the leased properties and other assets could be transferred from the parent company, Quantum Beat, to their respective subsidiaries.

If Quantum Beat had directly established them as holding companies, large institutional investors could have easily discovered their plans through due diligence. One look at these companies’ business scopes would have revealed what they were up to.

For the time being, it was best to let the outsiders guess.

Wang Ping, Sun Xin, and the others were now each leading a team to develop their respective app platforms and websites. At the same time, they were hiring en masse to build up the company’s framework. The work was intense and busy, but everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

They were not the same as they were two years ago. Founding Quantum Beat had given them experience in running a company; they were no longer the inexperienced rookies they once were.

…

Chapter 429: Popular Leader, Infuriating Leader

Recently, the news surrounding Quantum Beat was its massive acquisition of real estate properties. The outside world couldn’t make sense of this move for a while, seeing it as “straying from one’s proper business.” Why would a perfectly good IT and internet company spend so much manpower and capital to acquire so many properties?

And this seemed to provide a reason for the decline in Weibo’s stock price.

After National Day, since the A-share market reopened, Weibo had gone on a seven-consecutive-limit-up rally. Its stock price surged all the way to 152.39 yuan, setting an all-time high, with its market capitalization peaking at 80.6 billion.

The market had expected Weibo’s market cap to head for the one-hundred-billion mark, but after the seven consecutive limit-ups, it entered a correction, leading directly to a five-day gradual decline. On the very day it hit a new high, it dived, fell back, and closed down -1.19%. Subsequently, it fell by -0.54%, -6.94%, -3.88%, and -1.29%, with its latest closing price at 123.19 yuan per share.

After five consecutive trading days of retreat, the cumulative decline from its peak had reached -19.16%, and its market cap had fallen back to 65.1 billion yuan.

Declines always find a reason, and Quantum Beat’s recent act of “straying from its proper business” became that reason. But in essence, it was simply unrealized profits cashing out and trapped longs from the previous 147.10 yuan high breaking even.

During the five days Weibo was correcting downwards, the Shenzhen main board experienced a completely opposite trend. The Shenzhen Component Index surged from 12,649 points all the way to 13,734 points. The short-term traders involved in leading stock speculation were quite frustrated during these five days; while the broader market was soaring, their own accounts were losing money.

Just as the investors following the leading stock strategy thought Weibo was done for, after adjusting for six days with six consecutive bearish candles, on Tuesday, October 26th, Weibo hit its limit-up. And on that same day, the Shenzhen Component Index happened to close in the red.

The next day, Wednesday, October 27th, while the Shenzhen Component Index plummeted by two percent, Weibo, a main board stock in the Shenzhen market, gapped up +6.52% and successfully secured its second consecutive limit-up.

On Thursday, October 28th, Weibo opened at 160.88 yuan during the call auction, hitting a one-word limit-up to secure its third consecutive limit-up. The stock price once again set an all-time high, and its market cap reached 85.1 billion.

The investors who had sold at a loss during the previous six-day decline were dumbfounded. The comment section was also on fire.

[Awesome, it’s starting a second wave. Truly the overall sentiment leader of this hot topic, like an unkillable cockroach.]

[It hit a one-word limit-up and accelerated right away.]

[I haven’t gotten on board yet.jpg]

[I held the bag at 140 yuan and sold at a loss at 125 yuan, damn!]

[That six-day drop really shook everyone out. Glad I held on through the downward pressure.]

[Break the limit-up board, let me get on board!]

[WeChat has been crazy popular lately. Over 3.5 million registrations in the 15 days since its launch. At this rate, it might break ten million in a month. Right now, Weibo is driving traffic to WeChat, but once WeChat takes off, it will definitely feed back into Weibo. Their accounts are linked and integrated, the potential is limitless.]

[The sky has cleared, the rain has stopped, and I feel like I’m good to go again.]

…

Weibo hit a one-word limit-up, setting a new high. After the open, the limit-up board was sealed tight, with over three billion yuan in limit orders on the buy side.

Praise it when it’s up, flame it when it’s down.

After hitting a new high, investors of all stripes started hyping it up with sharp commentary. The biggest logic they were touting was the synergy between WeChat and Weibo. By now, this logic was a revealed hand to the market; everyone was saying it, and it was indeed valid.

Anyway, when you’re riding the trend, even a pig can fly. It’s just that very few people consider the other question: when the wind stops, the pig will fall.

But that’s okay, it’s still flying for now.

With the explosive popularity of WeChat, everyone from IT internet industry insiders to investors had priced in a super-strong expectation for it: that it would challenge Tencent’s hegemony in the social media kingdom.

If this expectation were to be realized, it would be incredibly powerful, undeniably tempting, and the story would be nothing short of beautiful.

And given WeChat’s current hot streak, this story had great potential. Tencent seemed to have reacted a step too slowly in the mobile internet era, letting Quantum Beat get the jump on them. Tencent’s mobile instant messaging software still wasn’t out yet, and the earliest it could be was early next year.

In this window of opportunity, WeChat was amassing users at an incredibly exaggerated pace. Industry insiders knew better than anyone that once an internet social platform achieves economies of scale, it is nearly impossible to shake, barring a major environmental shift like the one from PC internet to mobile internet.

…

As time passed, around 10:27 AM, Weibo, which had opened at its limit-up, had its board sealed for nearly an hour. Just when everyone thought it was certain to stay sealed for the day and couldn’t possibly break…

The board broke!

The over three billion yuan in limit orders on Weibo’s limit-up board were suddenly canceled on a massive scale, with almost all of them being large orders. After the board broke, the stock price began to dive sharply.

Around 11:03 AM, various stock market apps pushed out a notification:

【Weibo dives and turns negative, current turnover exceeds 7 billion yuan. The stock had recorded consecutive limit-ups for three days.】

At this moment, the tone in the comment section changed drastically.

[Impressive. You’ve trapped your old man again.]

[Are you an idiot? You can’t even seal it with over 3 billion?]

[I went to take a dump, and by the time I came out, my order went through, and damn it, the stock’s turned negative?]

[To those who were shouting for the board to break so you could get on, you’re on board now. How are you doing?]

[As expected of the overall sentiment leader. It’s always so damn infuriating.]

[Hahaha…]

[Poor investors are being harvested over and over again…]

[Sorry everyone, it was me. I bought one lot and crashed it.]

…

Intra-day, Weibo’s stock price dipped to 145.68 yuan, turning negative to be down -0.4 percent. However, it later rebounded. At closing, the stock rose by +4.53% to 152.88 yuan. The day’s trading volume was the second-highest in the stock’s history, reaching 10.6 billion yuan. This was the second time its daily volume had surpassed the ten-billion mark; the last time was on October 18th, when it hit 10.7 billion.

Today’s daily K-line set an all-time high but closed as a bald bearish candle. However, this was a false bearish candle, because it had opened at its limit-up.

Looking at the market action, there was money snapping up shares in late trading, gambling on an engulfing pattern rally the next day.

But in the following three trading days, Weibo’s stock price entered a correction. The three daily K-lines showed -3.02%, +0.39%, and -4.15% respectively, with the price falling back to 142.67 yuan.

The investors saw this and thought, as the saying goes, “there won’t be a third chance.” This time, 160.88 really had to be the peak; the major players were even signaling ‘bye-bye’ with the ‘.88’ in the price.

But as it turned out, after three days of correction, on Wednesday, November 3rd, a day when the index plunged, Weibo hit its limit-up instead.

The stock price rose to 156.93 yuan on a trading volume of 7.633 billion, looking like it was about to start a third wave.

The investors who chased the rise and sold on the fall were already mentally dazed by the sentiment leader.

The next day, Thursday, Weibo gapped up at the open by a whopping +7.61%, opening at 168.86 yuan, once again in a position to set a new all-time high.

Many investors who had lost money on Weibo by speculating on the leader stock now had only one word in their hearts: Damn—!

The short-term traders who had been burned before declared that they wouldn’t be tricked into getting on board this time. The last time it also gapped up to a new all-time high, and then they were trapped on the same day. The only saving grace was that they were trading the overall sentiment leader; if it had been a common junk stock, it might have been pushed straight to an opening at its limit-down.

As time went on, Weibo’s price fluctuated between +5% and +7%. The investors who had been burned before didn’t make a move. But the Chinese A-share market has over one hundred million investors, and with this stock’s immense popularity, there were still plenty of investors who hadn’t been burned yet coming to play.

Nearing 2:32 PM, during the magical “2:30 PM hour,” Weibo’s stock was at a +8.35% level. At around 2:33 PM, two massive orders of ten thousand lots each suddenly hit the buy side, with nearly 350 million yuan directly taking the lead to seal the limit-up.

Weibo’s price shot up to 172.62 yuan, hitting the limit-up in seconds and setting yet another all-time high. In that one minute at 2:33 PM, a trading volume of 576 million yuan was generated, and the limit orders on the board reached as high as 1.5 billion yuan.

Seeing Weibo successfully score its second consecutive limit-up, with another ten-billion-yuan trading volume—today’s volume of 10.9 billion set a new record for the stock since its IPO—the investors who had missed the timing were completely floored.

…

Chapter 430: Only Magic Can Defeat Magic

Weibo’s recent performance had earned it a new nickname from A-share investors: the “Infuriating Overall Leader.”

A-share traders who chased leading stocks were furious. They almost always missed the gains but were never absent for the losses.

At this point, many investors, with the benefit of hindsight, thought they would have made a fortune just by holding on. Weibo’s recent rally saw it rise from a bottom of just over seventy-two yuan, a surge of over one hundred thirty-six percent.

Looking back, anyone who bought in, regardless of the price, would have made money simply by holding on. Frantic trading, on the other hand, only led to losses.

However, most participants were engaged in emotional trading. They were ultra-short-term players who didn’t dare hold on, terrified of being left holding the bag at the “cosmic peak.”

…

At Tranquil Heart Residence.

In the study on the second floor, Fang Hong was listening to Tian Jiayi’s work report when he gave an order: “The A-share market’s rebound in the second half of the year has basically peaked. Start liquidating our positions tomorrow. The plan is to sell off everything within about a week.”

The Shanghai Composite Index had plunged to around 2300 points at the end of the first half of the year, and now it was back above 3000. The market was buzzing with talk of a bull market rally. Previously, the combined daily liquidity of both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was just over one hundred billion yuan. Now, the Shanghai market alone saw daily trading volumes in the range of two hundred to three hundred billion.

In a market with such ample liquidity, Stellaris Capital would have no problem offloading its A-share holdings within a week.

Tian Jiayi nodded and couldn’t help but remark, “It’s almost the end of the year. Looking back, the A-share market in 2010 saw an initial decline followed by a later rally. According to the company’s survey data from the first half of the year, over seventy percent of investors suffered losses. But from the second half of the year until now, early November, the proportion of investors in the green has surpassed half, reaching around 59.9%.”

Fang Hong said, “Then it’s time to run.”

There’s no room for sentiment in the capital markets. The next few years would be a long and arduous bear market journey. If we don’t get out now, should we wait for others to smash through our unrealized profits and then our cost basis?

Overall, policy changes in the domestic capital market had been frequent this year. At the beginning of the year, the approval of margin trading, short selling, and stock index futures was interpreted by the market as positive news. The stock index futures opened up more than three percent, but investors at the time had no idea that the day’s high of 3306 points would be the peak for the entire year.

When stock index futures officially launched on April 16, the A-share market’s history of profiting only from going long came to an end. This caused panic, kicking off the year’s sharpest one-sided decline.

And during the decline in May and June, it was a case of when it rains, it pours. The impending IPO of the Agricultural Bank of China also spooked the market. Ironically, however, once the Agricultural Bank of China went public on July 15, the index bottomed out and stabilized, launching a massive, fiery rebound.

This second-half rally had continued until now, in November. The Shanghai Composite Index had returned from 2300 points to above 3000, with the broader market index rising over thirty percent, entering a so-called technical bull market.

“The liquidation must be completed within this coming week. We must be resolute in selling off our positions,” Fang Hong emphasized again to Tian Jiayi before adding, “The domestic inflation situation is becoming increasingly severe. I expect the higher-ups to make a statement about curbing inflation this month. We should get out first and avoid a stampede with other large funds.”

Tian Jiayi nodded and made a note. She would implement his decision at the company tomorrow.

It was obvious that the A-share market was a typical policy-driven market. If the government wanted to curb inflation, liquidity would inevitably be affected, and a stock market downturn was almost a certainty.

Moreover, Fang Hong had the benefit of historical foresight. As expected, the higher-ups would announce their intention to curb inflation in mid-November. The market would then begin a major correction that would continue without any signs of stopping until the end of December. At year-end, Mama Central Bank would raise interest rates, causing the market to break downwards after a month of consolidation.

After a moment, Fang Hong changed the subject. “How are the talks with Hua Yu about bringing state capital into Qunxing coming along?”

This was the matter Fang Hong was most concerned with this year, as it was crucial for the future development and expansion of Stellaris Capital.

Tian Jiayi replied immediately, “I was just about to bring that up. A high-level leader personally approved the matter. It should be officially disclosed early next year.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong’s spirits lifted, and he nodded. “Excellent.”

Once this other shoe dropped, Stellaris Capital’s position in the Mainland would be virtually unshakable. Any force that could challenge them would have to be on the level of a “battle of the gods.”

The bigger the business, the more one must understand the importance of political economy.

The deal was primarily led by the Social Security Fund. A total of five “National Team” institutions would become shareholders in Shenxing, Stellaris Capital’s holding company. In total, the five institutions’ equity stake in Shenxing would correspond to a thirty-five percent stake in Stellaris Capital.

The capital contribution was valued based on Stellaris Capital’s year-end net assets in 2009, which were two hundred eighty-nine point three billion yuan. This meant the five institutions acquired a thirty-five percent stake in Stellaris Capital for roughly one hundred one point two billion yuan.

And how much was that thirty-five percent stake worth based on Stellaris Capital’s current net assets? According to the third-quarter earnings report, Stellaris Capital’s net assets had reached eight hundred seventy-six point three billion yuan. This meant their thirty-five percent stake was now worth three hundred six point seven billion yuan. They had effortlessly earned two hundred billion yuan just by getting in.

The reason for bringing in the five National Team institutions at such a massive discount was to protect Stellaris Capital’s long-term development from covetous rivals. For that, you had to have someone powerful on your side. After all, only magic can defeat magic.

At this level, Huayang Group, Stellaris Capital’s initial investor, was just a little brother among little brothers. It had no say in the matter and wouldn’t dare have any ideas. It just had to quietly hold onto its ten percent stake and effortlessly enjoy the dividends. If it dared to get any funny ideas, it would be slapped down.

According to the agreement, with the five National Team institutions on board, Stellaris Capital would begin paying dividends starting in 2012. For the five years from 2012 to 2017, the average annual dividend payment could not be less than sixty billion yuan.

In other words, Stellaris Capital would have to pay out three hundred billion yuan in dividends over the five years starting from 2012.

By around 2017, the five National Team institutions would have received a total of one hundred five billion yuan in dividends, completely recouping their initial investment from just five years of payouts.

From 2018 onwards, Stellaris Capital’s annual dividend could not be less than thirty percent of its net profit for the period. For instance, if the net profit for the year was ten billion yuan, at least three billion had to be distributed to shareholders. If they earned one hundred billion, at least thirty billion had to be paid out as dividends.

Fang Hong himself had personally drawn up this plan. Even after bringing in the five institutions and giving up a thirty-five percent stake, the trust fund he registered in Hong Kong was still Shenxing’s largest shareholder, corresponding to a fifty percent stake in Stellaris Capital. As long as the company paid dividends, his trust fund would get half the pie.

Furthermore, the Social Security and medical insurance funds would face significant funding gaps in the future, especially a decade from now when they would need a great deal of money. Stellaris Capital had to be conscientious about this.

Only by distributing the pie of benefits properly could they form a unified force to develop and grow the pie.

…

Chapter 431: Time to Set Up Another Super Wealth-Harvesting Machine

The next day, Friday, November 5th.

Today in the A-share market, the Shanghai Composite Index gapped up significantly during morning call auction, opening at 3129.87 points, a jump of +1.39%. This directly set a new high for the second half of the year, vaulting the index over the 3100-point mark from the get-go.

Within the first minute of trading, it quickly surged to 3142 points, but it soon plummeted, falling below its opening price for the day. Twenty-five minutes later, the market’s gains had fallen back to +0.79%.

Big money was retreating. To be more precise, the main force applying selling pressure was Stellaris Capital, and their exit was decisive.

They began to consistently sell off their holdings today.

After a strong start and weak finish, the market index oscillated between 3110 and 3130 points for the entire day. After breaking below the opening price, it made several failed attempts to rally, as large funds were continuously selling. Stellaris Capital alone sold off more than 40 billion yuan worth of shares today, accounting for nearly 10% of the market’s trading volume.

…

In the trading room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

Yifulei looked at Fang Hong and said, “Bro Hong, we’ve completely liquidated our position in Chengfei Integration!”

This stock had peaked at 52.29 yuan on September 9th, but Fang Hong hadn’t sold. He waited until the beginning of November to start exiting the position. In the past two months, the stock hadn’t entered a unilateral, slow decline; instead, it had been consolidating in a high-level range. At the end of October, it once surged above 47 yuan, forming a sub-high point.

Chengfei Integration’s main uptrend wave had started from 8.45 yuan, achieving a gain of more than five-fold. However, Fang Hong did not exit at the peak. He began selling off at the sub-high point, with an average price of around 42 yuan, locking in a cumulative profit of about 3.5 times his investment.

At this moment, Hu Tao turned her head to Fang Hong and said, “Bro Hong, all the shares of Guangcheng Nonferrous Metals have been sold off too.”

Fang Hong immediately looked at Lin Yun and instructed, “On the stock index futures, open 2,000 short positions on the 300 contract.”

Lin Yun nodded and began to execute the short sale.

The rally in the spot index was over, but money could still be made in stock index futures. Fang Hong wasn’t planning to go big, just adding another 2,000 and 1,000 lots respectively over the next two trading days for a total of around five thousand lots. This corresponded to a contract value of about five billion yuan.

He didn’t intend to become the commander of the short army in stock index futures; it was just to hedge his own account funds and counter a bit of inflation.

Currently, the asset size of Fang Hong’s personal institutional account had soared from 10 billion yuan in July to 32 billion yuan, growing by more than 2.2 times. He had barely done any trading, mostly just winning effortlessly by holding 47 target stocks, and he hadn’t even sold them at their absolute peaks.

However, of these 47 target stocks, 35 had already been completely liquidated and exited, especially the monster stocks.

As of the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up +1.38%, closing at 3129.50 points, with a total turnover of 458.4 billion yuan in both markets. The market index formed a daily K-line that looked like a green doji candlestick after gapping up at the open, but it was a false bearish candle.

Fang Hong switched to the K-line chart for Weibo. This stock was currently the overall sentiment leader in both markets—a super-leader that acted as the vanguard, the main force, and the leading stock all in one. It had maintained its status as the overall leader throughout almost the entire second half of the year.

Other monster stocks had their moment in the spotlight and then faded, but Weibo’s rally came in wave after wave. Even after being slashed in half in September, it took off and doubled in price after the holidays, thanks to the explosive popularity of WeChat, even setting a new all-time high.

The stock had hit two consecutive limit-ups in the past couple of days, but its streak ended today before a third. Intra-day, it plunged by more than -6.5% before finally closing down -3.46% at 166.65 yuan per share. Today’s trading volume was once again in the tens of billions, specifically 10.2 billion yuan.

From 25.25 yuan in early July to its recent high of 172.62 yuan, its cumulative gain was +583%. If calculated from its resumption of trading after the backdoor listing, the gain was even more staggering at +2547%. Even after being slashed in half, its rise from the 72 yuan level was still +136%.

Throughout the entire second half of the year, Fang Hong had simply watched from the sidelines as the market repeatedly hyped up this stock. He hadn’t participated himself.

He had no choice. It was a subsidiary of the Qunxing ecosystem. If Fang Hong, as the actual controller, participated without a stake disclosure, it would be a violation of regulations. Furthermore, if he wanted to sell, he would have to issue an announcement of holdings reduction in advance, giving retail investors a 15-day head start to exit.

That was the price of being the actual controller of Qunxing. Although the outside world either didn’t know he existed, or the very few institutions that did generally saw him as a puppet, his actions were legally considered the actions of Stellaris Capital.

He also had to watch from the sidelines with Ruihe Pharmaceutical, which was listed on the ChiNext board. Later, when ATL Company listed on the ChiNext board, there would surely be a wave of short-term speculation, but Fang Hong wouldn’t be able to participate in that either. From now on, he would be unable to trade any listed company from the Qunxing ecosystem on the A-share market.

…

In the afternoon, Fang Hong began to work on something else—a truly super wealth-harvesting machine. That was, getting into cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, the so-called first decentralized, unattached, and unrestricted digital currency. From its inception, it had a built-in mystique, but it was also fraught with controversy.

As for the so-called decentralization, Fang Hong, with his foresight, knew that you’d lose if you took it seriously.

But regardless, in ten years, Bitcoin would see a million-fold increase from its current price. Of course, he had to get in on such a powerful wealth-harvesting machine.

Two years ago, in 2008, the legendary Satoshi Nakamoto appeared out of nowhere. On November 1, 2008, a research paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was published, outlining his new vision for electronic currency.

Last year, on January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined 50 bitcoins on a small server in Helsinki, Finland, by creating an algorithm, receiving them as a reward for the distributed ledger.

With that, the first digital currency in history was born. Bitcoin (BTC) had entered the stage of the currency market.

Most of the early participants in Bitcoin mining were geeks. At that time, the mining difficulty was relatively low, and one could participate using a regular computer. However, Bitcoin was only circulating within geek circles, and almost no one thought it had any value. It was mostly distributed as gifts or rewards.

This changed on May 21, 2010, when a landmark event occurred: an American programmer exchanged 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas, thus establishing the first fair exchange rate.

Based on the market price of those two pizzas at the time, the price of one bitcoin was equivalent to $0.008. This was Bitcoin’s first-ever pricing in the real world.

Following this event, a wave of mining fever was triggered.

On July 11th of this year, Bitcoin was first reported by the tech media outlet Slashdot, which brought a large number of new users to Bitcoin.

Then, on July 16th, the price of Bitcoin soared tenfold to $0.08 per coin. The very next day, July 17th, the first Bitcoin exchange, MT.Gox, was established, giving people a platform to trade Bitcoin.

As of today, Friday, November 5th, the price of Bitcoin had already risen to $0.30 per coin, which was approximately 2 yuan per coin, not accounting for exchange rate fluctuations. This represented a 36.5-fold increase from the price at the time of the pizza purchase.

It was worth noting that Bitcoin’s supply was theoretically capped at only 21 million coins. When the total supply reached 10.5 million, the block reward would be halved to 25 coins. When the total supply reached 15.75 million (an increase of 5.25 million), the block reward would be halved again to 12.5 coins.

In 2010, a mid-to-high-end computer setup could mine 100 to 200 bitcoins per day. But this period was brief. By the second half of the year, after Bitcoin’s price began to rise rapidly, mining one or two bitcoins a day was considered good.

Fang Hong didn’t plan to mine it himself; he would just buy it up at a high price. Right now, the market price of one bitcoin was only 2 yuan. Compared to the insane price of over 400,000 yuan per coin ten years from now, even offering 20 yuan per coin was a trivial sum. He just needed to post an update on Weibo, and a ton of people would either go mine it themselves to sell to him, or buy coins from others and sell them to him to earn the spread.

…

Chapter 432: K-God’s Giveaway Ignites a Nationwide Sensation

In the spacious living room on the ground floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong sat in the living room, a laptop resting on his legs. He was logging into his K3478 Weibo account to post about acquiring Bitcoin.

According to the current market price on the Bitcoin exchange MT.Gox, one Bitcoin was worth $0.30. Based on a total supply of twenty-one million Bitcoins, the total market cap was only $6.3 million, or approximately forty-two million RMB.

To Fang Hong, forty-two million RMB was just pocket money, but no one at this time could have imagined that this $6.3 million total market cap would one day be hyped up to over $1.4 trillion.

Undoubtedly, even if he paid a tenfold premium on the current market price, bringing the total to 420 million RMB, Fang Hong could have acquired all of it without any pressure. But he certainly couldn’t do that.

For one, many Bitcoins had already been lost. For another, many Bitcoins had yet to be produced. Finally, he could only acquire a portion of them to leave room for speculation; shares had to change hands for the price to be pushed up continuously.

Fang Hong only planned to hoard 15% of the total supply, which amounted to 3.15 million Bitcoins distributed across numerous accounts. Once he reached that number, he would hold them and not make another move.

Of course, he would never publicly disclose the specific number he acquired. Moreover, when the time was right, he would announce that he had sold them off to publicly distance himself from being a major player holding over three million Bitcoins.

At that moment, Fang Hong logged into his K3478 Weibo account and began editing a new post:

[This Bitcoin digital currency is a pretty interesting and novel concept. Anyone have any Bitcoins they’re willing to part with? I’m buying them at five RMB each. If you hold this coin and are interested in selling, you can send me a private message. Let’s complete the transaction through the Taobao platform.

Everyone, please help me out by retweeting this to spread the word. Since I’m asking for your help, I might as well host a giveaway to show my appreciation. For every retweet this post gets, I’ll add 1 RMB to the prize pool. The deadline is midnight tonight. For example, if there are 100,000 retweets by midnight, I’ll put up 100,000 RMB for the giveaway. I will randomly select 50 users from the comments below this post to split the prize money evenly. Tomorrow, I’ll post a video of the drawing and announce the 50 winners.]

Fang Hong gave it a quick glance and then updated the post to his Weibo account. Linking the number of retweets to the size of the prize pool was bound to create a wave of hype on Weibo.

When it came to playing the internet game, K-God knew a thing or two.

Under normal circumstances, a post from Fang Hong’s Weibo account would get about two thousand retweets. But with this giveaway, it was highly likely to set a new record for retweets on a single post since Weibo’s launch, because the prize was attractive enough to motivate people.

Fang Hong wasn’t worried. The current upper limit of registered users on Weibo was about 270 million. Even if every single user on the platform retweeted it, that would only be 270 million retweets, corresponding to just 270 million RMB. It was an astronomical figure, but to Fang Hong, it was just a number.

If it really got 270 million retweets, it would be a huge win. For one, the Weibo platform itself would make a killing in traffic. However, Fang Hong knew this was only theoretically possible.

A moment later, he refreshed the page and saw a flood of comments.

[Holy shit! One retweet is worth 1 RMB? Let’s go, guys! Let’s bankrupt K-God!]

[Retweet, retweet, retweet! Retweet until K-God goes broke!]

[666666…]

[Is this for real? Are you really going this big?]

[Hey K-God, you better not go back on your word. The whole internet is watching… [Funny Face emoji]]

[K3478 replied //: What? There are still eight hours until midnight. You think this can get over a hundred million retweets in eight hours? I don’t believe it. Going back on my word is not gonna happen. Not panicking at all… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Man! That’s just… man!]

[K-God, you’ve successfully awakened my competitive spirit! Just you wait, I’m going to retweet this right now and get all my friends to retweet it too!]

[Retweet him into bankruptcy! We have to retweet him into bankruptcy… [Funny Face emoji]]

[Why is K-God suddenly interested in Bitcoin? Five RMB per Bitcoin? The current market price is only two RMB. A premium of +150%? Are you really buying at this price? I have 2,000 of them. Does that mean I can make 10,000 RMB?]

[K3478 replied //: Of course I am.]

[Brothers, let’s go mining! Let’s go!]

[K-God is really a tycoon incarnate this time. So generous!]

…

Fang Hong interacted with the netizens on Weibo for a few minutes before paying it no more attention. But as time passed, the post he made began to spread like wildfire across the entire internet, rapidly gaining momentum.

In less than half an hour, the number of retweets shot up to 100,000 and was increasing exponentially. Keep in mind, his usual posts only received about two thousand retweets because Fang Hong didn’t actively manage his account or use paid commenters to inflate the numbers.

That was the normal data for genuine retweets; he wasn’t a celebrity from the entertainment industry, after all.

But now, with his challenge laid out and the flag planted, the retweet count was skyrocketing. Some fans even registered new accounts just to retweet, causing a sudden spike in Weibo’s new user registrations.

About two hours later, the Weibo operations department noticed that their backend data showed a sudden, massive surge in registrations compared to the usual numbers for that time of day. After investigating, they discovered it was all because of the finance Big V blogger, K3478.

The platform’s operations department immediately made a decision: divert traffic to this topic and make it explode. After all, the blogger would be the one footing the bill, and the platform would get a massive wave of free publicity. How could that not be a sweet deal?

Apparently, the platform’s operations department had no idea that the blogger K3478 was the boss of their big boss’s boss.

Fang Hong’s Weibo account itself already had over twenty million fans, so its traffic was nothing to scoff at. On top of that, the A-share market had over a hundred million investors, another massive group.

People shared the news in their various group chats. Upon hearing about it, they all flocked over to retweet and leave a comment.

What if they won?

By around 7 p.m., the topic had completely exploded.

It broke out of its niche circle on Weibo and spread. Countless onlooking netizens were discussing it. As the number of retweets soared, so did the topic’s popularity. Everyone wanted the retweet count to go as high as possible, eager to see how K-God would handle the situation. The thought alone was thrilling, creating a positive feedback loop that only grew stronger.

Around 7 p.m., the retweet count for Fang Hong’s post had surpassed a terrifying forty-seven million, shattering the record for a single post on Weibo since its launch, as well as the record for any other microblogging platform. And with every passing second, it continued to break that record, setting new historical highs.

The Weibo operations team was delighted to see it happen. They could already confirm that this topic would undoubtedly become the center of heated discussion across the entire internet over the upcoming weekend.

And the onlooking netizens were ecstatic.

There were already over forty-seven million retweets. According to Fang Hong’s promise, at one RMB per retweet, that meant a prize pool of forty-seven million RMB. The fifty winners would split this prize pool, meaning each person would get 940,000 RMB—a fast track to instant wealth.

The onlooking netizens were more than just ecstatic; they were growing more and more excited.

This provided immense motivation for every onlooker, and the topic’s popularity skyrocketed.

At this moment, Fang Hong was looking at his Weibo account. Seeing the retweet count surpass fifty million, he couldn’t help but smile. It was a bit beyond his expectations. At this rate, it would steadily break the one-hundred-million mark.

He didn’t care. To the public, one hundred million was definitely an astronomical figure, but in Fang Hong’s eyes, it was a small sum, just a number. If it really hit one hundred million retweets, he would put up one hundred million for the giveaway. If it hit two hundred million, he would put up two hundred million. There would be absolutely no hesitation.

This move seemed like a huge expenditure, but in reality, he was making an insane amount of money.

He made a killing in hype, the Weibo platform made a killing in traffic, and he also made a killing in Reputation Value. He would also make a killing with Bitcoin. Everyone knew K-God was buying Bitcoin at a 1.5x premium, so they would all go mining or buying coins to flip them to K-God for a quick profit on the price difference. It would be a piece of cake to gather 3.15 million Bitcoins this way.

Fang Hong immediately began typing on his keyboard, preparing to post a new update to push the hype even further. He took a screenshot of the data showing over fifty million retweets for his previous post. Then, he found a meme online. The meme showed two faces: one very calm in the front, and one panicking behind it. A line of text was superimposed on the image: “Looks calm and cheeky, but is actually panicking hard.”

The post was just two simple images, but after it was published, the onlooking netizens saw that K-God seemed to be panicking. They burst out laughing and became even more excited, retweeting with even more glee.

But just around 7:30 p.m., the unexpected happened. The Weibo platform’s servers were crashed by the sheer number of netizens who came to watch the drama unfold and participate in this monumental event!

The Weibo website wouldn’t even open. But the more this happened, the more excited the onlooking netizens became. This incident pushed the topic’s popularity to a whole new peak!

…

Chapter 433: Popularity Off the Charts

The operations team at Weibo was utterly dumbfounded. This was the second time in the platform’s history that its servers had been crashed by excessive traffic. The first time was a malicious DDoS attack, but this time was different—it was the sheer volume of ordinary netizens flooding the site.

Around 9:00 PM, after being down for an hour and a half, Weibo was finally back online and accessible. By then, the topic had become explosively popular.

[Hahahaha, damn it, even Weibo crashed. That’s just too wild. K-God is going to bleed money this time.]

[K-God: Don’t do this to me, guys, I’m panicking right now!]

[This is going to be fun, haha!]

[Keep retweeting!]

[Retweeted and left a comment. Might win a million.]

[K-God won’t back out, will he… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Probably not, but you never know. It’s over fifty million, and still climbing like crazy.]

[Let’s see how K-God handles this, lmao. His tough talk really backfired this time, huh? I bet he never expected it to get this crazy, crashing Weibo’s servers!]

[I don’t think K-God will back out. If netizens can crash Weibo, imagine what they’d do to him if he reneged. He’d get flamed into oblivion by thousands of netizens, hahaha.]

[I’m literally snorting with laughter late at night. All twenty-one million bitcoins in existence are only worth about forty-two million at the current market price. The prize money is more than enough to buy every single Bitcoin. K-God’s slick move is a catastrophic loss, hahahaha…]

[The Weibo operations department must be secretly laughing their asses off right now…]

[Awesome, awesome! Damn, it’s already at seventy million retweets. The platform’s back, and it’s gained over twenty million more in just an hour. Still two hours left until midnight!]

[It’s going to break one hundred million retweets, holy shit!]

[It definitely will!]

[The comments have passed ninety million. Damn, I’m just floored.]

[What the hell, I wonder who the fifty lucky winners will be. They’ll get over 1.4 million each now, and it’s still going up.]

…

At that moment, after Weibo returned to normal, the number of retweets on Fang Hong’s post began to skyrocket, as did the comments, both heading toward the one hundred million mark.

That night, no other topic was hotter or more explosive.

The operations teams at Tencent and other major tech firms’ social media platforms were utterly dumbfounded, incredibly envious, and filled with regret. They should have poached K3478 for a hefty price before he blew up.

Who could have predicted he would be so good at stirring things up and having so much fun with it? The sheer popularity was enough to make competitors green with envy, and they didn’t even have to foot the bill.

The hype was immense.

Many media outlets also jumped in to report on the event, further fueling the topic’s intensity in a positive feedback loop.

The Weibo operations team at Quantum Beat was overjoyed. The platform was definitely going to make an insane amount of money from this.

User registrations had surged today. Even if many were alternate accounts, an account was an account. Besides, the hot topic had also attracted genuine newcomers to register.

At 10:42 PM, Fang Hong’s Weibo post officially surpassed one hundred million retweets. At the same time, the comment count exceeded one hundred and twenty million, and the numbers continued to soar with every refresh.

With more than an hour left until midnight, the rate of retweets wasn’t slowing down; it was accelerating. The explosive data stunned countless onlookers and left industry insiders utterly dumbfounded.

Currently, the total number of registered users on Weibo was around two hundred and seventy million. This meant that thirty-seven out of every one hundred Weibo users had retweeted Fang Hong’s post.

Fang Hong’s K3478 Weibo account also gained over three million followers from the publicity, breaking the thirty million-follower mark. He was, without a doubt, the number one blogger in the finance sector, unmatched by anyone.

…

In Tranquil Heart Residence, inside Tian Jiayi’s second-floor room.

Fang Hong was spending the night in his beautiful assistant’s room. He was sitting up in bed, propped against a pillow with a laptop on his lap, the screen displaying the Weibo interface.

Tian Jiayi, having changed into a sexy silk nightdress, approached him. Glancing at the computer screen, she couldn’t help but say, “I really don’t know what you were thinking, causing such a huge commotion online. This Bitcoin thing, this digital currency—are you just playing around with it for novelty’s sake, or do you genuinely see potential in the concept of digital currency?”

Fang Hong smiled. “I’m playing, but I’m also a genuine believer.”

Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “But Bitcoin… I looked into it today. No matter how I look at it, it just seems unreliable…”

Fang Hong simply smiled and didn’t answer her. It was normal for his beautiful assistant to have her historical limitations.

If all went as expected, the Bitcoin Foundation would be established in the second half of 2012, and in November of the same year, the first Bitcoin mining reward halving would occur, creating the two conditions necessary for a Bitcoin explosion.

In January 2013, the Cyprus debt crisis would erupt, causing many to abandon the traditional financial industry. At the same time, Bitcoin’s core tenets of “decentralization” and a fixed total supply would win public favor. This would be the first time Bitcoin was defined as a safe-haven asset.

But no one realized that Bitcoin’s so-called “decentralization” was about removing “your centralization” to strengthen “my centralization.” That was the true essence of its “decentralization.”

These factors would cause Bitcoin to surge from thirteen dollars in January 2013 to a high of two hundred and sixty dollars by April 10th—a twenty-fold increase in three months.

Precisely because the rise was so rapid, it would plummet to forty-six dollars in the following three days, a drop of eighty-two percent. This would be followed by a six-month period of fluctuation until October 2013, when various European countries introduced favorable policies regarding Bitcoin, triggering an even more frenzied rally. By early December, it would瘋狂 to one thousand one hundred and sixty-three dollars, surpassing the price of gold at the time.

This Bitcoin rally, starting from a low of two dollars in early 2012, would achieve a cumulative gain of four hundred and eighty times by December 2013.

By late February 2014, it would experience another catastrophic crash of eighty percent. The reason was the sudden bankruptcy declaration of Mt. Gox, the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, after one hundred thousand of its own bitcoins and seven hundred and fifty thousand of its users’ bitcoins were stolen. The incident had a massive impact, sending Bitcoin back into a bear market that would only see a slow recovery starting in October 2015.

In 2016, another, even crazier bull run would begin. That year would see the second Bitcoin mining halving. The anticipation of the first halving had accelerated its rise, and the anticipation of the second would similarly become a core driver for another major rally.

That year also saw the rise of Ethereum (ETH), which drew people’s attention to the blockchain and pushed the entire digital market into an unprecedented bubble. This bull run would continue until October 2017, when the price of Bitcoin would reach nearly twenty thousand dollars per coin.

Five years after that, in 2021, it would be pushed to a height of sixty-eight thousand nine hundred dollars per coin, propelling Bitcoin’s market capitalization to an unprecedented 1.4 trillion dollars.

It was impossible for anyone in the present to imagine these things; they were too absurd. However, Fang Hong had no intention of telling Tian Jiayi any of this, nor would he reveal it to anyone else. When the time was right, he would simply instruct his subordinates to execute his strategies.

The several super rallies Bitcoin would experience over the next decade were perfect for repeatedly harvesting profits from newbie investors.

At that moment, Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi, who was leaning against him. “For a while, a large number of Bitcoin holders should be sending private messages to my Weibo account. I need you to arrange a few people to handle transactions with them. We’ll aim to acquire about 3.15 million coins.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Got it. I’ll take care of it.”

Fang Hong tossed the laptop aside and looked at his beautiful assistant. “What about that ‘double-slit experiment’ you promised me? How’s that supposed to work with just one slit?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi smiled nonchalantly. “I’m ready anytime. But you haven’t managed to get Yu Qiu on board, so you can’t blame me, can you?”

Fang Hong immediately countered, “Then let’s switch. Yifulei is available. As long as there are two slits, we can get some interference.”

Tian Jiayi refused. “No. I’ll only accept Yu Qiu.”

At her words, Fang Hong glanced at her. “I knew you’d say that. Fine, we’ll talk about it later, but I’ll definitely get my satisfaction one way or another. I’ll be impressed if you can get out of bed tomorrow morning.”

Tian Jiayi gazed at him with a grin. “Tomorrow is Saturday, no work. I’m looking forward to you going all out!”

…

Chapter 434: 129 Million, 2.58 Million Per Person, The Draw is On

The next day, Saturday.

In the morning, the door to Tian Jiayi’s room on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence opened. Fang Hong walked out, stretched at the doorway, and then went downstairs.

He sat in the first-floor lounge for a while, his thoughts turning to the Weibo matter. He promptly went up to the study on the second floor, turned on the computer, and logged into his K3478 account to check the number of retweets on his post.

Fang Hong was almost certain it had surpassed one hundred million; it was set in stone.

He opened the post and was taken aback. “137 million retweets?”

The current data showed 137 million retweets, accounting for half of the platform’s total registered users. The number of comments on the post was even more staggering at 167 million.

In addition, Fang Hong’s Weibo account had gained a whopping twelve million fans overnight, with his total follower count now soaring past the forty-million mark.

He was, without a doubt, the number one top star on all of Weibo. These exaggerated figures were now being hotly discussed by gossiping netizens everywhere, reposted and debated by numerous Big Vs, and even followed up by some media outlets. The entire internet was abuzz with this topic over the weekend.

In the early hours of last night, Fang Hong and his beautiful assistant were engaged in a deep exchange and he had forgotten to check the retweet count. He didn’t know what the number was at midnight.

But it wasn’t a big deal. The comments section was currently abuzz with a specific number. Other bloggers and some news reports had kept track, and by midnight, the post had reached 129 million retweets.

The retweet rate had basically dropped off after midnight, with only about eight million more added since then. Given the upper limit of Weibo’s current user base, surpassing 120 million retweets was already pushing the extreme.

Many industry insiders exclaimed that this K3478 had truly mastered the internet.

The topic’s popularity had exploded over the weekend, and there was nothing hotter online. Now, hundreds of millions of gossiping netizens across the web were waiting for Fang Hong’s response, while also debating whether he would back out of his promise.

Ironically, the fact that he wanted to buy Bitcoin had been completely ignored, or rather, it had become mere background noise. That was because 129 million retweets, according to Fang Hong’s earlier promise of one RMB per retweet, amounted to 129 million RMB. This money would serve as a prize pool for a lottery, to be split evenly among fifty winners. In other words, each of the fifty lucky individuals would receive 2.58 million yuan.

This was a massive sum of money, enough to buy a house in a first-tier city. It was precisely for this reason that the event had become the hottest topic on the entire internet.

After a moment, Fang Hong composed a new post:

[Woke up and took a look at the retweet count. Was it a pleasant surprise or a nasty shock? 129 million retweets? Well then. I was originally planning to spend a few million on some Bitcoin, but now I’ve gotten completely wrecked. I’m numb from the loss. So, I’ve decided to just go back on my word and deny everything… Just kidding! Thumbs up for you all, and that’s all you’re getting. Listen up. I know you’re all anxious, but don’t be. Let me figure this out first. I’m locking the comments on that old post and will randomly draw from the 167 million comments. I’ll write a small lottery program first. The list of fifty winners will be announced this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest.]

Fang Hong glanced over the edited text, and seeing no issues, he published the update.

Gossiping netizens across the internet had been waiting for the K3478 account owner’s latest response. When Fang Hong updated his Weibo again, everyone was stunned. The comment section under the new post quickly surpassed ten thousand comments.

[Holy shit? Is he really going to fork over 129 million RMB for a lottery?]

[Oh my god, for real?]

[6666666…]

[A promise worth a thousand gold! K-God is so generous! K-God is a badass (voice cracking)!]

[I feel like K-God treats RMB like play money…]

[So exciting! I know it’s a long shot, but what if I get crowned the King of Luck?]

[As an unlucky person, can I finally get lucky this one time?]

[If I win, that’s 2.58 million! Oh my god!]

[Drawing 50 winners from 167 million comments… aren’t the odds comparable to winning the lottery?]

[Heh, do you really believe in the lottery? I don’t!]

[The winning chance is about one in 3.3 million. Anyone who wins this is an absolute super King of Luck!]

[What can dispel my worries? Only sudden wealth!]

[129 million, just giving it away like that. K-God is a badass. I really thought he was going to back out.]

[For K-God, who’s worth tens of billions, 129 million is just pocket change. No, wait, K-God must be worth at least twenty billion by now, maybe more. Those forty-seven medium-to-long-term stocks have gone insane in the second half of the year.]

…

Fang Hong posted the latest update, addressing the questions that hundreds of millions of gossiping netizens were concerned about.

129 million. The draw is on!

Numerous media outlets were now reporting on the event, and the internet was paying close attention. The hype was maxed out, and it was grabbing everyone’s attention. With confirmation that K-God was going through with the lottery, the entire web was now eagerly awaiting the birth of the fifty “Kings of Luck.”

Winning meant getting 2.58 million—an absolute fortune for any ordinary person, a pie-in-the-sky sum that could make one rich overnight.

After posting the update, Fang Hong went offline and immediately started coding a small program. While he didn’t have Lou Gaoyuan’s exceptional development skills, the original owner of his body had at least majored in computer science, so writing a simple program was no problem at all.

Around two in the afternoon, Fang Hong finished the random lottery program. After a quick test confirmed it worked, he immediately started the draw.

He logged back into his Weibo account, imported the 167 million comments and their corresponding user IDs into the program, and then started a screen recording software. He decided to record the drawing process as a video and upload it to Weibo later.

Just then, the maid, Luo Lan, happened to enter the study to clean. He immediately beckoned to her, “Little Lan, come over here. Help me draw the fifty winning names.”

Luo Lan put down her cleaning supplies and walked over curiously. When she was beside him, Fang Hong casually wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her onto his lap. The young maid was caught off guard but didn’t struggle; her cheeks just turned a faint crimson, giving her a delicate look.

Fang Hong said with a smile, “Move the mouse to the button in the middle of the screen. Each click will lock in one winner. Click however you like until we have fifty random names. You can also press the Enter key instead of using the mouse.”

The lottery program he had developed was running, with the IDs of the 167 million imported comments scrolling randomly within it.

The young maid glanced back at him and said, “Should I start then?”

Fang Hong nodded with a grin. “Yep, go ahead!”

The computer screen was indeed being recorded, but the microphone was off, so their conversation wouldn’t be included in the video file.

After a moment, the young maid clicked the mouse. The first winner appeared: the username was “Strong Desire to Break Even.” After appearing, the ID was added to the winner’s list.

The young maid clicked again, and the second winner appeared, with the username “Working as a Male Model to Average Down.” The third winner’s username was “Sir, This is a Bull Market.” Following them were: Mingming, Meow, Red Dust and Copper Stench, Tianya199, Y Wudao, The Glimmering Good Citizen, Fierce, Fourth Magister…

After about two or three minutes, the young maid had finished drawing all fifty winners, which were now all displayed in the winner list window.

Fang Hong gave Luo Lan’s springy, shapely derriere a pat and said with a smile, “Alright, that’s enough. You can go back to your work.”

The young maid stood up, took a couple of steps, then turned back. She whispered lightly in his ear, “Bro Hong, the last time you came to my room… was ten days ago…”

Hearing this, Fang Hong glanced over at the young maid and saw that she looked both shy and ravenous. He pretended to think for a moment before nodding with a smile. “Alright then. The day after tomorrow, I’ll satisfy your craving. I promise you’ll have your fill.”

…

Chapter 435: A New Nickname—The Tycoon God!

Luo Lan left the study, thoroughly satisfied. Fang Hong continued to handle the lottery winner list. He roughly edited the recorded video, trimming the useless footage from the beginning and end, keeping only the process of generating the list of winners. The result was a short video, less than three minutes long.

Then, he logged into the K3478 Weibo account, uploaded the lottery video, and edited a short text to go with it:

【The lottery winner list is out! Congratulations to [Sir, This is a Bull Market], [Fourth Magister], [Strong Desire to Break Even], [Working as a Male Model to Average Down], [The Glimmering Good Citizen], and the other forty-five winners. According to the rules, the fifty winners will equally share the 129 million RMB prize pool, meaning each person will receive 2.58 million RMB. I will private message all fifty of you shortly. Please send me your bank account numbers, and the 2.58 million RMB will be directly transferred to the designated accounts. Also, don’t forget to pay your taxes. Haha.】

Fang Hong scanned the text, confirmed there were no issues, and posted the update. He then picked up his phone and called his beautiful assistant, tasking her with arranging the transfers for the fifty winners. She already knew the password to the K3478 Weibo account.

Naturally, Fang Hong himself was funding the 129 million RMB prize money.

It was worth noting that the Bitcoin acquisition had now become a backdrop. Everyone’s attention was focused on the fifty winners and the total prize pool of 129 million, not the cryptocurrency.

However, Fang Hong wasn’t worried. The whole affair had started because of his Bitcoin acquisition. Once the hype died down, it would be Bitcoin’s time to ferment.

Meanwhile, the operations team at Weibo was ecstatic. They were making a killing.

The traffic over the weekend was explosive. Countless gossiping netizens were constantly refreshing Weibo, waiting to see if the K3478 account had posted and announced the winners.

As soon as Fang Hong updated his Weibo status and published the winner list, the news quickly spread among the many netizens who had been watching the K3478 account.

Around 5:00 PM, Weibo’s traffic surged again. Tens of thousands of onlookers flocked to the homepage of the K3478 account. In just half an hour, the comment section under the latest post had already surpassed one hundred thousand entries.

[I clicked on this post with an excited and anxious heart. I carefully read the list of fifty winners and was relieved to confirm that my name wasn’t on it.]

[Heartbreaking!]

[It’s the taking part that counts.jpg]

[Strong Desire to Break Even: Oh my god! No way! No way! Am I dreaming? I actually hit a one in 3.3 million chance?]

[Quick, let me absorb some of that good luck!]

[The King of Luck has possessed you!]

[Damn, 2.58 million RMB! That’s 2.064 million after taxes!]

[I’m so envious.jpg]

[Working as a Male Model to Average Down: I don’t have to work as a male model anymore! No, this isn’t real, it’s a dream!]

[I’m not gonna pretend. It’s pure envy, jealousy, and hate.jpg]

[You can’t be envious of this kind of money; it’s all up to fate. If fortune isn’t meant for you, it’s useless even if it lands at your doorstep. If it’s meant to be, you can’t stop it. But seeing my name isn’t on the list, I still have to say: Damn—!]

[K-God is so generous, a promise worth a thousand gold! That’s 129 million!]

[Please, we need more events like this… ([Facepalm emoji])]

[Why am I always the last to hear about these amazing things? Damn it!]

[The rich really know how to live it up.]

With the release of the fifty winners, these fifty Weibo accounts saw their follower counts skyrocket. Previously unnoticed, their follower numbers suddenly shot past one hundred thousand.

Netizens flocked to the pages of these fifty winners to “absorb their good luck,” while also expressing their undisguised envy, jealousy, and hate.

For the entire weekend, this was the talk of the internet.

Many media outlets were also reporting on the event. It was a super-sized topic-driven feast created with 129 million RMB, and it allowed K-God’s fame to break out of its niche circle. Now, even people who didn’t follow the stock market knew his name.

Moreover, gossiping netizens gave K-God a new nickname—The Tycoon God!

A bona fide tycoon!

Throwing around 129 million without batting an eye—if that wasn’t a tycoon, what was?

As for Bitcoin, the backdrop that this whole topic overshadowed, many who saw a business opportunity were already making their move. Some started mining, while others began buying up Bitcoin directly, which in turn affected its market price.

Bitcoin trading doesn’t take a break on weekends. Yesterday, Bitcoin’s closing price was $0.3. Today, it peaked at $0.75 per coin, a daily surge of over +166%, more than a 1.6-fold increase.

Converted to RMB, that was 5 yuan per coin, which was precisely the acquisition price Fang Hong had previously announced.

This was all the result of informed people snapping up shares on the market, causing demand to outstrip supply and driving the price of Bitcoin up. Bitcoin players in Europe and America were still stunned, with no idea why so many people were suddenly rushing to buy. Some tech media outlets over there were also reporting on the phenomenon.

It wasn’t until late at night, when the news crossed the ocean, that the Bitcoin players in Europe and America finally learned the reason for the day’s sudden surge.

It turned out a tycoon from across the Pacific was acquiring Bitcoin at a high price, offering up to $0.75 per coin—a premium of a whopping +166% over the previous day’s closing price.

The next day, Sunday.

The topic’s popularity remained high. As of around 10:00 AM today, all fifty winners had received their money. By the afternoon, these fifty individuals began posting on their respective Weibo accounts, showing screenshots of the bank transfer notifications.

Only now did everyone have to believe that K-God was truly possessed by the spirit of a tycoon. He had really given away 129 million, spending it as if it were play money. The fifty winners became the subject of heated discussion and envy among netizens across the country.

However, not long after, discordant voices finally emerged. Some people seized the opportunity to express opposing views to attract attention and ride the wave of hype.

The moral guardians jumped out, righteously criticizing K3478’s actions as wrong, saying that the money should have been spent on more meaningful causes.

At that moment, Fang Hong was browsing Weibo and saw a comment in the comment section under his latest post: [Why not donate this money to charity? 129 million is so much money; it could help thousands of people or build hundreds of elementary schools. Isn’t doing that more meaningful than a lottery for fifty people?]

This comment already had over a thousand replies. One look at the thread revealed a full-blown flame war, a free-for-all of online debates.

After a moment, Fang Hong joined in, replying directly to the thread: [Are you telling me what to do?]

The moment his reply appeared, the scene became even more explosive.

Tian Jiayi happened to be sitting beside him. When she saw the comment he had posted, she looked at him and said, “You…! You really love stirring up trouble, personally arguing with netizens. You’re the true controller behind Stellaris Capital. If Hua Yu and the others saw this, I imagine their jaws would drop.”

From the beautiful assistant’s perspective, his behavior, described in a high-EQ way, was that of a person true to his nature. In low-EQ terms, it just seemed immature.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “This is why Hua Yu and the others can’t navigate the internet. In this virtual world, this is what netizens like, this is how you connect with them. If you create a persona that’s too lofty and perfect, you’ll end up being put on a pedestal, and then you won’t be able to get down.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi said, “But being too high-profile means the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

Fang Hong replied calmly, “That’s because you’re a nail. That’s why you get hammered.”

Chapter 436: Breaking a Hundred Billion Market Cap

A moment later, Fang Hong typed out another reply: [How do you know I haven’t donated to charity? Oh, do I have to announce it to the whole world every time I do charity? If I did, wouldn’t you just say I was only publicizing my charity work to build a good reputation? Why don’t we just give you Confucius’s seat? You can be the saint, since you’re so damn clever.]

After posting the reply, Fang Hong turned to the beautiful assistant beside him and smiled. “If public sentiment turns against me, have Xu Jingren quickly impose traffic restrictions on the other side, and get me a bunch of paid commenters to suppress them.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi burst out laughing. “That’s so you…”

Fang Hong said calmly, “It’s called having a risk mitigation mindset. After all, we’re in finance. We have to be good at risk hedging, don’t we…”

With that, he watched the “flame war” in the comment section with great interest. The tide of public opinion was overwhelmingly on his side, and he hadn’t even deployed his paid commenters or manipulated public sentiment.

The next day, Monday, November 8th.

The A-share market opened. The index opened high, forming an engulfing pattern over last Friday’s gapping Doji candlestick and hitting a new high. Today, it closed up another +0.96% at 3159.51 points, with trading volume remaining at the four hundred billion level.

If the broader market index rose another +3.75% to 3278 points in the coming days, its annual K-line would close in the green for the year. Ever since the Shanghai Composite Index broke past 3000 points, talk of a bull market has filled the market.

The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and investors felt the A-share market was back on its feet again.

Stellaris Capital continued to sell off its holdings and exit its positions as usual. Barring any surprises, it would complete its withdrawal this week.

As for individual stocks, the stock with the highest popularity in both markets today was none other than Weibo.

The hot topics over the weekend and Weibo’s terrifying traffic volume sparked boundless imagination, once again pushing the company’s stock price to a new all-time high.

On Friday, Weibo’s stock had closed down -3.46%, but today it opened high and trended higher, aggressively forming an engulfing pattern, hitting the limit-up, and setting a new high. It formed a marubozu, and the stock price reached 183.31 yuan per share, with its market capitalization rising to 96.97 billion yuan.

Weibo’s total trading volume for the day reached 11.5 billion, setting a new record for its single-day trading volume since listing. It had maintained a daily volume in the tens of billions for three consecutive trading days, making it the stock with the largest trading volume in both markets.

The next day, Tuesday.

At the morning open, Weibo opened slightly higher. After the open, its price fluctuated upwards, with every tick up on the intraday line setting a new all-time high.

Around 10:19, Weibo’s stock price broke the 200 yuan mark, rallied to 201.64 yuan to hit the limit-up. Trading volume surpassed 7.9 billion, and its market cap rose to 106.667 billion yuan, officially breaking the hundred-billion-yuan market cap threshold and becoming the 45th listed company in the A-share market to reach that level.

However, Weibo’s trial run at a hundred-billion market cap only lasted about fifteen minutes before expiring.

Around 10:35, the limit-up board broke!

The stock price dived to a gain of +7.85%, but about three minutes after the board broke, it hit the limit-up again. Many of the traders who were buying at the limit-up breathed a sigh of relief.

But their relief was short-lived, because not long after hitting the limit-up again, the board broke once more. As time went on, Weibo’s stock fluctuated between 195 and 200 yuan.

Around 11:29, it hit the limit-up for the third time.

By the midday break, Weibo’s trading volume had already surpassed ten billion. Judging from the current volume on the chart, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

When the afternoon session opened, Weibo was solidly sealed at its limit-up with over eight hundred million in buy orders. However, half an hour later at 13:30, the broader market began to dive. Five minutes later, a large number of limit orders on Weibo’s limit-up were canceled.

Weibo’s limit-up board broke again!

At the same time, the trading volume hit a new record, surpassing twelve billion. After the board broke in the afternoon, some capital still attempted to push it back to the limit-up, but this time, it didn’t even touch the 200 yuan level. After that, it just kept getting weaker.

After 14:00, Weibo’s intraday line suddenly plummeted from a gain of +7.63% down to +3.62%. In the final half-hour of late trading, the stock price broke down from its fluctuation at the +4.25% level and dived again. In the last five minutes before closing, the stock price turned negative for the day.

By the closing bell, Weibo closed down -1.41% at 180.73 yuan per share. The total daily trading volume was 15.1 billion, with a market cap of 95.6 billion yuan.

The tombstone line with a long upper shadow that formed today, combined with the epic volume of 15.1 billion, sent a chill down the spine of every investor who bought in. Those who bought at the limit-up, in particular, were already down more than ten percent.

No matter how you looked at it, the 201.64 yuan price looked like it had formed the cosmic peak.

On Wednesday’s open, Weibo opened higher at 183.18 yuan during the call auction, up +1.35%, which was a huge surprise to the investors who had become overwhelmingly bearish.

After the open, Weibo trended down from its high open, dipping to a low of 179.79 yuan and turning negative at -0.52%. After a pullback to the 5-day moving average, it rallied again to close in the green and soon extended its gains to two percent.

At the same time, the newly famous trader Go with the Flow entered a position in the stock. After buying, he posted a screenshot of his entry point on the intraday chart in his chat group and sent a message:

[Go with the Flow: Bought 5,000 lots of Weibo. This stock exceeded expectations today. If it shows strength tomorrow, I’ll add another 5,000 lots!]

By the time he sent the message, Weibo’s gain had already widened to three percent. Most of the investors in the group quickly followed suit and bought in, and the group became exceptionally lively.

[One word: Buy——!]

[Already did!]

[So that 5,000-lot buy was Master Flow’s move.]

[How much is 5,000 lots?]

[Judging by the entry point the master posted, it should be over ninety million, right?]

[I was thinking of buying some of this stock when it gapped up at the call auction. This stock loves to make engulfing patterns. But yesterday’s K-line was too ugly, I didn’t dare to make a move. Now that I see Master Flow is in, well, just gotta buy!]

By the closing bell, Weibo had surged +6.47%, closing at 192.42 yuan per share. The total trading volume for the day was 9.136 billion yuan, a decrease of nearly six billion in volume compared to yesterday.

Based on today’s closing price, Weibo’s market cap rose to 101.7 billion yuan, once again crossing the hundred-billion mark.

On Thursday, November 11th, Weibo had a flat open at the call auction. After the open, it dipped -2.94% in a pullback to the 5-day moving average, which held as support, and then it began to rally.

Around 9:47, Weibo’s stock price turned positive, rallying to 198 yuan and extending its gain to three percent. At that moment, Go with the Flow decisively threw in another 5,000 lots, bringing his position to a total of ten thousand lots. He then sent a message in the group.

[Go with the Flow: The unity of knowledge and action. Strength confirmed. Adding another 5,000 lots!]

[Master is badass!]

[Adding to my position!]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m gonna lose all my money, I’m hooked.jpg]

[The ten-thousand-lot bro is among us.]

[This stock is seriously badass. It went from 25 yuan to 200 yuan in just over five months, a sevenfold increase, and it’s still rising. The sky really is the limit.]

[If you were holding before the backdoor listing, it’s up thirty times now. 10,000 would be 300,000, 100,000 would be 3 million. Damn!]

[I wonder if anyone held on this long without selling.]

[It’s hit another all-time high! The master is badass!]

[Making a killing.]

Around 10:25, Weibo’s stock price rallied to 211.66 yuan, hitting the limit-up with a +10.00% gain. The stock price once again set a new all-time high.

On the individual stock popularity chart, Weibo’s popularity index was firmly in first place.

After the market closed today, the final trading volume reached 13.7 billion, still the stock with the highest daily trading volume in both markets. With this limit-up, Weibo’s market capitalization soared to 111.9 billion yuan.

Chapter 437: The Curse of the Two Oil Giants Returns

In terms of the index, it also recovered from the previous day’s losses to hit a new high. The intra-day peak reached 3186.72 points, a gain of +2.28%. However, in the last fifteen minutes of late trading, it took a terrifying, sharp plunge.

The Shanghai Composite Index’s intraday line slid down as smoothly as a slide, shedding more than a full percentage point in just over ten minutes. It ultimately closed with a gain of +1.04%, with the final price settling at 3147.74 points.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence.

Having returned home, Tian Jiayi was reporting to Fang Hong, “Stellaris Capital has completed its liquidation of A-share market positions today. Since entering the market on May 17th of this year, we have profited approximately 140 billion yuan from the secondary market over six months. Calculated based on our holding ratio, this represents a cumulative profit of 47 percentage points, outperforming the broader market index by 24 percentage points during the same period.”

Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. “This year can be considered a perfect finale.”

Tian Jiayi continued, “Compared to our gains in overseas markets, the profits from the A-share market aren’t particularly outstanding.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong asked, “What’s the current net value of our overseas markets?”

Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “212 billion US dollars. The net value has increased by 70 billion US dollars so far in the second half of the year. Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, that’s equivalent to about 462.7 billion yuan.”

Comparing the two figures, the money made in the A-share market was only about 30% of their overseas profits. It truly wasn’t outstanding.

However, this was all relative. In absolute terms, the numbers were terrifying.

Reaping 140 billion yuan in profit from the A-share market in about six months made Stellaris Capital the absolute most profitable financial institution among all investment firms in the entire Chinese A-share market.

…

That evening, the Quantum Beat WeChat Operations team released a piece of data: the number of registered WeChat users had broken the 15 million mark.

This number shocked the industry.

It meant that, on average, over 350,000 netizens were registering for WeChat every day.

The surge was truly too fast; it was growing exponentially. At this frantic pace, WeChat’s user base would hit one hundred million in less than half a year.

It had only been about a month and a half since its launch. Since when did hitting one hundred million users become so easy?

This news thrilled Weibo’s stockholders. The comments section of the stock forum was filled with calls for consecutive limit-ups the next day.

…

The next day, Friday, the last trading day of the week arrived as scheduled.

Today, the Shanghai Composite Index gapped down -0.82% at the open, while Weibo gapped up +3.05% to an opening price of 218.11 yuan. The stock price hit new high after new high, and its total market cap had reached 115.3 billion yuan.

On the stock popularity rankings, Weibo’s position at the top was exceptionally dazzling.

In the comments section, some investors were even claiming that it was only a matter of time before Weibo’s market cap surpassed Tencent’s. Tencent’s current market cap was indeed lousy, converting to roughly 150 billion yuan. Three more limit-ups and Weibo would overtake it.

During this primary rally, Weibo’s stock had risen from a bottom of 72.87 yuan to today’s opening price, a cumulative increase of +199.31%. No one would have expected that after being slashed in half, Weibo’s stock price would then triple.

Calculated from its rise from 25.25 yuan, the cumulative gain over the past six months had reached +763.80%. And calculated from its backdoor listing price of 6.52 yuan, it had achieved a cumulative gain of +3245.24%. The 32-fold increase made Weibo the undisputed number one super bull stock of the year.

…

The market opened at 9:30 AM, and Weibo’s stock price immediately plummeted. Within about ten seconds, the intraday line touched the zero-axis line.

Go with the Flow got out right at the open. He put in a large order of ten thousand lots to sell at the -2% mark, a five-percentage-point difference from the opening price.

In the end, his ten thousand lots were all sold at an average price corresponding to a +1.72% gain. After getting out, he immediately sent a message in his group: [I’ve liquidated my position in Weibo and gotten out. I’m staying in cash today. I feel like the broader market is about to trap people, so I’m out first.]

When the investors in the group saw this, they all furiously hit the nuke button to get out ahead of the crowd. At that moment, about half a minute after the open, Weibo, which had opened up three percent, had already plunged into negative territory, down 1.23%.

[@Go with the Flow, Master, why are you so bearish? What's the reason? Wasn't the high open a good thing?]

[I’m sticking with Master Flow no matter what.]

[Sold. Should’ve sold during the opening auction…]

[Go with the Flow: Yesterday’s fifteen-minute plunge in late trading already felt wrong to me. The two oil giants were frantically pulled up nine points, approaching their limit-up. Anyone who’s been around the A-share market long enough should know about the curse of the two oil giants. In the past, Zhong Petroleum and Zhong Petrochemical would be pulled to their limit-up to cover for large funds bailing out. The broader market rises while large funds desperately sell off. Given the A-share market’s usual antics, the probability of history repeating itself is extremely high.]

[There’s a saying like that? I’ve never heard of it.]

[Go with the Flow: Yesterday, when the index was pulled up more than two points in late trading and the two oil giants were heading for their limit-up, it already caused a panic. Everyone started bailing, which is why there was a plunge near the close. With the positive news about WeChat yesterday, it was the perfect opportunity to sell off. Sell when the crowd is cheering.]

[Go with the Flow: Furthermore, the market has been rising continuously without a decent technical correction. During the rapid rally from 2573 points to 3186 points since National Day, stocks and sectors across both markets were frantically rotated and speculated on, accumulating huge unrealized profits in the short and medium term. Add to that the trapped longs from the dense trading zone around 3180 points cashing out, and it’s clear the market has lost its upward momentum this week. It needs a pullback.]

[Holy crap, Weibo is already down 5 percent. Good thing I got out fast!]

[The sell-off is starting.jpg]

…

Around 10:07 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index fell below the 3100-point mark, with its decline widening to -1.74%. But it soon rebounded upwards, and by around 10:50 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index even turned positive for the day.

But it only touched the zero-axis line before turning negative again. By around 11:00 AM, the investors who had opened positions today were gradually losing consciousness.

Next door, the limit-down in commodities sounded the horn for the short sellers’ attack.

The index plunged all the way down without so much as a rebound. Around 11:25 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index broke below 3050 points, its decline widening to -3.25%. At the same time, Weibo’s panic sell sent it down to 190.49 yuan, sealing its limit-down.

This was Weibo’s first limit-down since it began its ascent from 72.87 yuan after the National Day holiday.

After the morning session closed, the Shanghai Composite Index had rebounded to the -2.29% level.

During the midday break, a strategy analyst from Xinhong Securities stated that the intra-day correction was a result of collective irrational behavior among investors. The panic selling was caused by investors’ force of habit, because past experience showed that whenever the two oil giants rallied on high volume, the market would correct. Therefore, this was a collective irrational act.

At this moment, veteran investors who had experienced the “curse of the two oil giants” had an advantage, while rookies who had just entered the market were completely blown away. Of course, the veteran investors were much the same when they were rookies.

That’s how most people get through it. Anyone who’s been in the A-share market has taken a loss at some point.

Around 12:30 PM, another big name in the A-share market jumped out to speak—none other than Li Da Xiao.

Da Xiao stated that the market’s decline was not a repeat of the curse of the two oil giants. He believed that Zhong Petroleum was a good stock, a representative of large state-owned enterprises, and a vanguard of the 601 Corps.

As for the future market, Da Xiao said he was still optimistic and offered an investment strategy: Buy at 1664 points, hold firm at 3200 points, and be detached at 6124 points.

Investors: Got it. Nuke it!

…

When the market opened in the afternoon, the A-share market plunged again. Around 1:25 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index’s decline widened to four percentage points.

Misfortunes never come singly. Rumors about the stamp tax began to circulate in the market again, helping to push the market even lower. The 3000-point integer mark was directly broken. Furthermore, after Mama Central Bank raised the deposit reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage points, the market began to trend as if the central bank had raised interest rates.

At 3:00 PM, the market finally stopped falling. Only the closing bell could make the A-share market stop its decline.

…

Chapter 438: A Think Piece Triggers a Stock Flash Crash

By the market close, the three major A-share indices had all plummeted. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged -5.16% to close at 2985.44 points; the Shenzhen Component Index crashed -7.00% to close at 12726.54 points; and the ChiNext board Index tumbled -4.46% to close at 1082.24 points.

The total trading volume for both markets reached a staggering massive volume of 532.3 billion, setting a new historical record.

As for individual stocks, the overall sentiment leader, Weibo, hit its limit-down in the afternoon, closing at 190.49 yuan. Today’s trading volume reached 12.8 billion.

Any capital that entered the market today, regardless of who it was, ended up getting buried. It had taken the index two weeks to climb this high, only for a single huge negative candlestick to wipe out all the gains.

Stellaris Capital had already completed its liquidation plan yesterday, making a very comfortable exit and avoiding the market-wide stampede.

…

Over the weekend, a “think piece” caught Fang Hong’s attention.

On Saturday morning, an article appeared online questioning the legality of WeChat’s “voice function,” and it quickly gained traction and spread over the weekend.

According to this “think piece,” WeChat’s “voice function” was essentially an internet phone service, which falls under the category of telecommunications operations. This requires a specific license, which WeChat clearly did not have.

Therefore, it was an illegal and non-compliant operation that should be banned or shut down.

Furthermore, the article claimed that once WeChat rose to prominence, it would inevitably deal a massive blow to the business of the three major carriers.

Its rapid spread over the weekend was a clear sign that someone was fanning the flames. The reason for its snowballing influence was the objective truth in many of its claims, such as its potential impact on the carriers’ business.

Once WeChat became popular, people would use it for long-distance communication, and the demand for phone calls would decrease. This was an objective fact, especially as smartphones became ubiquitous—an reality that would become even more pronounced in an era where everyone owned one.

However, Fang Hong only paid it some minor attention and wasn’t too concerned.

China Unicom was already WeChat’s second-largest shareholder, and Xincheng local state-owned assets was the third-largest. Most importantly, Stellaris Capital now had connections with five top-tier institutional investors from the National team.

Who would dare to cross provincial lines to Xincheng and arrest the WeChat development team?

But at this moment, some entrepreneurs who wanted to create mobile instant messaging software were getting a little worried about being arrested, especially those without any backing. They could very well be the target of a cross-provincial arrest.

In a way, this think piece actually reduced the number of potential competitors for WeChat.

However, major players like Tencent and Lei-Jobs were unfazed.

In short, to create a mobile instant messaging app, innovative technology and capital were far from enough; you also needed sufficiently powerful backing!

The spread of this “think piece” had no substantial impact on WeChat, but Weibo’s stock price took a beating, suffering a brutal panic sell over the following week.

…

On Monday, November 15, the A-share market opened. Weibo opened significantly lower at 181.13 yuan, down -4.92%. After a brief spike at the open, it began to weaken. In the morning session, it fell by seven percent before stabilizing and trading sideways.

Around 1:22 PM, Weibo’s stock price dropped to 171.44 yuan, hitting its limit-down. This marked two consecutive limit-downs. Today’s trading volume was 9.527 billion yuan, a limit-down on shrinking volume.

The index itself fell by 1.5 percent during the day before rebounding to close up +0.97%, forming a “golden needle hitting the bottom” candlestick pattern.

But the next day, the market plunged again.

On Tuesday, November 16, the market opened with a similar pattern to the previous day. It first sold off by more than one percent before starting to rebound. The script for the morning was largely the same, but the afternoon script was the complete opposite.

Around 1:20 PM, the indices took another sharp plunge, crashing for about an hour. By around 2:20 PM, the Shanghai Composite Index decisively broke through the 2900-point mark, dropping to a low of 2885 points, a decline of over four percent.

Wails of agony were heard everywhere across the market. Two huge negative candlesticks had completely erased the past month’s gains.

As for individual stocks, Weibo’s performance today was so tragic, so miserable, so bleak. During the call auction, it was already down to 154.29 yuan, opening directly at its limit-down.

This was the first time Weibo had experienced three consecutive limit-downs since its backdoor listing, and also its first time opening at limit-down.

Around 10:30 AM, Weibo’s limit-down board was pried open, triggering a wave of follow-up buying from investors. Why did they dare? Because the overall leader of both markets typically experiences a retaliatory rebound after a sharp, short-term drop of around -30%.

Most of the people who jumped in today were playing this logic, snatching a rebound with the intention of dumping their shares on someone else holding the bag tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, they ended up being the ones left holding the bag.

The afternoon’s stampede-like flash crash caused Weibo’s stock price to fall again, sealing it at the limit-down. The day’s trading volume was 7.653 billion yuan, shrinking further.

…

Wednesday, November 17.

Weibo opened -6.66% lower during the call auction and hit its limit-down again for the day, closing at 138.86 yuan. The daily trading volume shrank to 6.139 billion yuan. This was Weibo’s fourth consecutive limit-down.

Thursday, November 18.

Weibo opened -5.67% lower during the call auction and hit its limit-down yet again, with the price dropping to 124.97 yuan. Its market capitalization had shrunk to 66.1 billion. The daily trading volume shrank further to 5.214 billion yuan. Although the volume continued to decrease, a trading volume of 5.2 billion still made it the most traded individual stock of the day.

The stock had fallen from its all-time high of 218.11 yuan last Friday to its current 124.97 yuan. Five consecutive limit-downs resulted in a cumulative loss of -42.7%, nearly slashing it in half.

At this moment, Weibo’s stock forum was filled with wails of agony.

[Call me the ultimate high-chaser. My codename is 218.11. Who can top that?]

[You’re still not selling at a loss?]

[This leek ain’t selling!]

[Badass!]

[In a downtrend, no amount of positive news will help.]

[This sell-off is ruthless!]

[My cost basis is 200. Is there any hope of breaking even?]

[218.11 is without a doubt the cosmic peak. Just sell. The crazy half-year feast is over.]

[No stock only goes up. Even the best company can’t rise forever.]

[Any rebound is a chance to escape. Run, you silly kids!]

[We’re all fucking trapped. Run my ass!]

[Easy to buy, hard to sell, the weakened stock price is a living hell. An investor’s money is gone before they’re dead, market cap slashed in half ’til their tears have fled. I want to cut my losses and go, but fear the market maker’s sudden show. The heights are cold, this I know, in stocks, perfection never flows.]

[I was so against Teacher Tianya leaving the literary world… [Facepalm emoji]]

[A literary giant has appeared. I feel like the bottom is near.]

…

The author of that “think piece” was now getting absolutely blasted by the investors trapped in Weibo, but it was an anonymous article, so the investors were essentially yelling at thin air.

No one had expected an article to have the power to send Weibo into four consecutive limit-downs, wiping out 50 billion in market capitalization. Including the first one, that made it five limit-downs.

But in reality, it was just large funds taking profits. The think piece merely accelerated Weibo’s regression to the mean.

Five consecutive limit-downs was indeed an excessively harsh and rapid sell-off. This was true collective irrationality, where the receding tide of sentiment dragged everything down with it.

The investors trapped in Weibo were now dazed by the five consecutive limit-downs, unable to see the bottom at all.

But Weibo did, in fact, have a bottom.

This was because several major capital institutions were responsible for managing Weibo’s market capitalization. Long before the first limit-down, major domestic capital firms like Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital had already been frantically distributing their shares and cashing out when Weibo’s market cap broke the 100 billion yuan threshold.

The funds these institutions cashed out would be divided into three parts. The first part would go back into their pockets as profit. The second part would be used to prop up the market for Weibo, absorbing selling pressure. Once the stock price fell to a level predetermined by these institutions, or when liquidity became extremely poor, they would intervene.

The third portion of this money actually belonged to Stellaris Capital, though it was temporarily held under the names of those institutions.

This was because Stellaris Capital would also need to reduce its holdings in the future. However, as the largest shareholder, if it were to release an announcement of holdings reduction, the stock price would surely drop like a rock before Stellaris Capital could even begin to sell.

So what was the solution?

Zhongtai Capital, Pengrui Capital, and other institutions would prop up the market at that time, resisting the selling pressure and pushing the stock price up. This required hard cash to absorb the shares. Stellaris Capital would sell, and they would use that third portion of the funds to buy.

Through this method, that third sum of money would be transferred from the secondary market into Stellaris Capital’s hands after changing hands. The entire process involved no rule violations; everything was executed according to legal procedures.

Stellaris Capital didn’t even have a drawer agreement with them. It was more like a gentleman’s agreement, but the real core driving force behind it was—credit!

It was Fang Hong’s credit, Stellaris Capital’s credit, and the sufficient strategic mutual trust established between the cooperating parties.

In the world of finance, scammers were everywhere, and credit was often non-existent. Yet, it was also a world that valued credit above all else.

…

Chapter 439: Reluctance to Sell Was Expected

Friday.

After five consecutive limit-downs, Weibo’s stock price hit a low of 112.47 yuan during intra-day trading, once again hitting the limit-down. A sixth consecutive limit-down made the trapped investors’ scalps tingle.

However, around 2:00 PM in late trading, the limit-down was pried open by a surge of capital. The stock rebounded all the way to 120.70 yuan by the close, ultimately ending the day down -3.42%. The total daily trading volume surged once again to 7.965 billion yuan.

The daily K-line, showing a “golden needle hitting the bottom,” sent a signal that the decline was stopping and a rebound was imminent, encouraging those who dared to lick blood from a knife’s edge to jump in.

But this was not the bottom.

Over the next three trading days, Weibo’s stock price continued to decline. On November 24th, its intra-day price fell by -4.33% to a low of 106.07 yuan, before rebounding to close at 110.50 yuan, down -0.35%. The trading volume for the day was 3.514 billion yuan.

In just nine trading days, Weibo’s market capitalization had shrunk to a massive 58.4 billion.

Its stock price had plummeted from a high of 218.11 yuan to today’s low, a cumulative drop of -51.36%, well past the point of being slashed in half.

The stockholders holding the shares were already in a daze. However, Weibo’s stock had indeed bottomed out today; 106.07 yuan was the bottom price. This was because 105 yuan was the support level where institutional investors like Zhongtai Capital would step in for market capitalization management, a price that could not be breached.

Some capital had already entered the market today to absorb the selling pressure.

Moreover, after being slashed in half, Weibo’s stock truly had no more room to fall. Throughout the nine days of this one-sided panic sell, the one silver lining for the trapped investors was that the limit-downs weren’t all straight openings at the limit-down price. Even on the one day it did, the board was pried open later.

In other words, anyone willing to sell at a loss could have gotten out at any time.

At this point, those who remained were either stubbornly holding on or had given up and were lying flat. Selling at a loss was now meaningless; those who were going to sell had already cut their losses and left. Consequently, the stock’s decline gradually slowed, and the trading volume shrank to just over three billion a day.

In addition, a phased bottoming out and rebound in the broader market also provided some support for Weibo to halt its decline.

For the upcoming month of December, Weibo was expected to see a strong and powerful rebound after being oversold.

…

“Yes, the payment has been received. Thank you!”

In the bedroom of a residence in a certain city, a man was on the phone. He quickly added, “Hey, wait a minute. I wanted to ask, are you guys still buying Bitcoin?”

The person on the other end of the line was the one Tian Jiayi had arranged to acquire Bitcoin for Fang Hong.

A voice quickly replied from the other end: “We are, of course we are. We’re buying in large quantities.”

The man immediately responded, “Great. My bro has 5,000 bitcoins. I’ll ask him later if he wants to sell.”

(Brother: You stay away from me—!)

After hanging up, the man looked at the 20,000 yuan in his account, feeling delighted. He then called his brother. Ultimately, after his persistent persuasion and the temptation of cashing out for 25,000 RMB right now, his brother decided to sell his 5,000 bitcoins.

Many years later, when the price of one Bitcoin soared to sixty thousand US dollars, his brother felt like killing him. Every time they met, his opening move would be: “About my 5,000 bitcoins…”

…

Tranquil Heart Residence.

“It’s been over half a month. How many bitcoins have we collected?” Fang Hong asked, looking at Tian Jiayi. Since the 129 million yuan lottery event a while back, everyone in the still-nascent crypto circle knew that K-God was acquiring Bitcoin at a price of five yuan each.

“Probably around 180,000, but I don’t have the exact number yet,” Tian Jiayi said after a moment of thought. People were sending private messages to Fang Hong’s Weibo account every day, offering to sell him various amounts of Bitcoin.

Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong and added, “However, the holders are not very willing to sell. They seem reluctant. The market price for Bitcoin has already risen to $0.83, which is 5.52 yuan—ten percent higher than your acquisition price.”

Ever since Fang Hong posted on Weibo about his public offer to buy Bitcoin, its price had rapidly jumped from $0.30 to over $0.70, and it had been hovering at that high level for the past half-month.

Without a doubt, Fang Hong’s public acquisition was the most direct reason for Bitcoin’s explosive rally.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile, speaking calmly, “Reluctance to sell was expected.”

The holders were now hesitant to sell, choosing to hold on because the shocking 129 million yuan lottery event had earned Fang Hong a new nickname—the Tycoon God!

K-God had evolved into the Tycoon God.

This led many people to see Fang Hong as a lavish spender.

Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi and smiled. “Believe it or not, a ton of people have definitely been hoarding a ton of bitcoins during this time, and I’m not even counting the newly mined ones.”

Tian Jiayi was surprised. “You mean, they’re hoarding them instead of selling because they think the price will go up? Or are they convinced you’ll raise your offer? Is that why they’re reluctant to sell and are holding onto their shares?”

Seeing Fang Hong nod, Tian Jiayi asked curiously, “What do we do then? Are you really going to raise the price?”

Fang Hong said with a smile, “They’ve predicted my prediction, and I will in turn predict their prediction of my prediction of their prediction of my prediction. So of course I have to raise the price. I need to amplify their greed, push them to accumulate and hoard more coins during the run-up, and drive up their holding cost. The persona I built from the 129 million yuan lottery—a tycoon who spends money like it’s play money—is precisely to make them firmly believe that I will keep buying and that they can cash out for a profit.”

At this point, Fang Hong added with a chuckle, “What do you think will happen when the time comes, and I post on Weibo that I’m not buying Bitcoin anymore?”

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiayi said contemplatively, “A stampede-like catastrophic crash in Bitcoin’s price.”

Fang Hong stated, “Exactly. At that point, those who were hoarding their coins and reluctant to sell will be crying and shouting, ‘Bitcoin is overstocked, please help us!’ Heh heh…”

Currently, Bitcoin’s total market cap was merely seventeen million US dollars, and Fang Hong was, without a doubt, the player with the deepest pockets—bar none.

This was because very few wealthy individuals or investors were involved in it at the moment, let alone institutional investors.

Therefore, Fang Hong could control the rise and fall of Bitcoin’s price with zero pressure. A single Weibo post could easily make it go up or down as he pleased.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi nodded to herself. “I think I understand your plan now. You want to create extreme price volatility to increase Bitcoin’s trading volume, right?”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Correct. You get a reward for that tonight.”

The beautiful assistant shot him a glance and哼ed. “It was my turn tonight anyway.”

Fang Hong calmly replied, “Then make it two.”

With that, he casually opened his laptop and logged into his K3478 Weibo account, preparing to post an update.

By creating dramatic price volatility and continuously raising his offer to build high market expectations, he could then pull out abruptly. Would those who had hoarded large amounts of Bitcoin still dare to be reluctant? When the biggest buyer says he’s out of the game, the scene would truly become, “Bitcoin is overstocked, fellow countrymen, please help us!”

The higher it rose, the more ruthless the panic sell would be. The 180,000 bitcoins Fang Hong currently held would be used to smash the market.

He would crash Bitcoin’s market price to rock bottom, trapping those greedy, reluctant middlemen at the top. So, are you still reluctant to sell?

Those hoarders didn’t actually believe in the future value of this thing. They just saw a rich sucker who was happy to foot the bill and wanted to sell to him at a high price to make a quick buck and get out.

If Fang Hong stopped buying, who else would?

At that time, not only would they stop being reluctant to sell, but they would also have to sell at a loss to cut their losses.

In this way, Fang Hong could not only acquire Bitcoin at a low price, but the trading volume would also be released on a massive scale.

Without volume, how could shares change hands?

With Bitcoin’s current pitiful daily trading volume, it would take him an eternity to acquire the 3.15 million bitcoins he wanted.

…

Chapter 440: K-God, Are You Playing with Money Like It’s Play Money?

【Continuing the acquisition of Bitcoin. Starting now, buying in large quantities at 10 RMB each. If you have coins and are willing to sell, I have the money and dare to buy. Get on it!】

Fang Hong finished editing the content, glanced over it to confirm there were no issues, and posted it directly to his Weibo account. The beautiful assistant sitting beside him also watched as he sent out the post.

“Notify the people in charge of the trades to raise the acquisition price to 10 RMB per coin,” Fang Hong said, turning his head to look at his beautiful assistant. She nodded, then took out her phone to make the call.

Raising the price to 10 RMB per coin was equivalent to 1.5 US dollars. Compared to the current market price of 0.83 US dollars, this was a premium of over 80.7%.

When Fang Hong’s Weibo post went live, everyone was stunned, and the comment section exploded.

[Holy crap? For real? 10 RMB a coin?]

[That’s the Tycoon God for you, a true tycoon.]

[What the hell? I just sold 450, and now the buying price has doubled? I instantly missed out on over two thousand. Can I get a price adjustment…?]

[This is absurd. K-God, are you playing with money like it’s play money… [Crying Laughing emoji]]

[What a player.]

[Does having money really mean you can do whatever you want?]

[Sowwy, but with money, you can do whatever you want… [Funny Face emoji]]

[K-God, I’m a little scared. You’re not trying to fleece me, are you?]

[Damn, I can’t believe I sold my Bitcoin too early. I’m an idiot.]

…

Fang Hong’s Weibo post left everyone shocked. There was also suspicion, with some finding it ridiculous and thinking he was setting them up to be fleeced.

But two hours later, someone on Weibo posted a screenshot showing the funds deposited into their account from a Bitcoin transaction. The deal had truly been done at 10 RMB a coin. As time went on, more and more people posted their transaction and payment records.

Man!

He’s really buying at 10 RMB a pop?

The real Tycoon God series.

Another twenty minutes passed, and the price of Bitcoin suddenly skyrocketed. Once people confirmed that Fang Hong was genuinely buying at 10 RMB, they looked at the market price, which was just over 5.5 RMB.

This was like picking up free money!

You could make a killing of 70 to 80 percent by buying from the market and reselling to the Tycoon God. As a result, more and more people started snapping up shares, pushing Bitcoin’s price to surge.

As people realized they could profit from the spread by buying from the market and reselling to Fang Hong, even more joined the buying frenzy. That very evening, the price of Bitcoin was driven up to a peak of 1.57 US dollars, setting a new all-time high.

Based on yesterday’s closing price of 0.77 US dollars, this violent surge to 1.57 dollars represented an intra-day explosion of +103.89%, more than doubling again.

Crypto players in Europe and America were a bit baffled. What was going on?

Shortly after, the news crossed the ocean, and they finally understood the reason for Bitcoin’s surge that day.

It was once again the result of interference from that wealthy tycoon on the other side of the world. He had directly doubled his purchase price, causing the intra-day price of Bitcoin to double in a massive surge.

The matter was also widely discussed on Twitter by foreign crypto players. The ID ‘K3478’ gradually became known among European and American crypto enthusiasts. Their initial impression was that this person was very rich, rumored to be a top-tier stock market player, was acquiring Bitcoin at a high price, and was incredibly extravagant.

Some European and American crypto players even reposted Fang Hong’s recent Weibo posts and related events to Twitter, translating them into foreign languages. A bunch of them were astonished to learn that K-God had recently given away nearly 20 million US dollars in a public online lottery.

He was far wealthier than they had imagined.

In the following days, the price of Bitcoin didn’t fall back much after its massive surge. Instead, after trading at a high level, it pushed even higher, once surging to an all-time high of the 2-dollar mark.

The market’s game began to enter a phase of “I’m predicting your prediction.” Fang Hong was indeed continuing to buy, accepting all coins that were sold to him without fail.

This undoubtedly pushed the market’s expectations even higher. After doubling and completing a new round of shares changing hands, the first batch of people cashed out and left. Those who were now holding the bag were not currently losing money, and as Bitcoin’s market price fluctuated upwards, some of those who had cashed out earlier returned.

Gradually, the trading volume began to shrink. People started to predict that Fang Hong might raise the price again, so they became reluctant to sell once more.

After all, he was the Tycoon God—rich and a big spender.

…

As December began, Fang Hong had acquired as many as 450,000 Bitcoins, still 2.7 million short of his 3.15 million target. The market volume was far from sufficient.

People were once again reluctant to sell.

Gradually, the Bitcoin market evolved into a situation where Fang Hong and the majority of domestic and international players became each other’s counterparties.

On Thursday, December 2nd, Fang Hong posted another Weibo update, raising the price for Bitcoin for the third time. This time, he directly increased it to 25 RMB a coin, or 3.75 US dollars.

Those who had been reluctant to sell were ecstatic, having successfully predicted the Tycoon God’s price hike.

The last time he raised the price to 10 RMB per coin, the market had a lag of over two hours before it surged.

This time, however, less than half an hour after Fang Hong’s Weibo post, the Bitcoin market next door exploded. That day, the price shot up from 1.82 US dollars to a new all-time high of 3.95 US dollars, a staggering intra-day surge of +120.67%. This also caused Bitcoin’s total market cap to soar to a record high of 80 million US dollars.

Just a month ago, the price of Bitcoin was still at 0.3 US dollars, with a total market cap of only 6.3 million US dollars. No one could have imagined that it would skyrocket by +1216% in just one month, a more than twelve-fold increase.

Crypto players, both in China and in the West, knew that this month’s massive surge in Bitcoin was a direct result of Fang Hong’s actions.

Never mind the onlookers; even the crypto players themselves felt it was a bit absurd.

Why did Bitcoin surge more than twelve-fold? Because Fang Hong was bullish on it. Regardless of any logic or new concepts like decentralization, the fact was that someone was genuinely willing to spend so much money to buy it, so it went up. It was all a matter of hard cash changing hands.

However, as Bitcoin’s price soared over ten times, more people began discussing it. Some media outlets reported on the matter and questioned K3478, suggesting that artificially manipulating the price of such an intangible product was a suspected scheme to hype it up and fleece newbie investors.

That day, Fang Hong took a screenshot of the report and posted a Weibo update in response:

【Fleece investors? Are you drunk? Is there such a stupid way to do it? If I were trying to fleece people like this, and you factor in the operational cost of my 129 million RMB lottery, plus the cost of buying the coins, wouldn’t I lose so much that my own mother wouldn’t recognize me? Is this fleecing investors? It feels more like poverty alleviation, doesn’t it? I don’t mean anything by it, I just wanted to buy some Bitcoin to play around with. There’s no rule that says I can’t, right?】

The onlooking netizens were amused by this Weibo post, and those who had questioned his motives were left speechless.

…

Three days later, on the weekend of December 5th.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high today, surging to 4.23 US dollars a coin, an intra-day gain of 5 percent.

In the afternoon, in the study on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong gave an order to Tian Jiayi, who was in the room: “Time to pull in the net. Have our people immediately halt the coin acquisition. At the same time, unload 200,000 coins of selling pressure to smash the price down to the 0.2 US dollar level. In a couple of days, have them use different alt accounts to collect the shares, but not in my name.”

Right now, a large number of holders with an arbitrage mindset had a holding cost above 3.75 US dollars, with quite a few having holding costs exceeding 4 US dollars. They were undoubtedly holding on, betting that the money-is-no-object Tycoon God would raise the price again and that Bitcoin would continue to rise.

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was shocked. “Smash it down to a price of 0.2 US dollars?”

Crashing it from today’s opening price of 4.03 US dollars down to 0.2 US dollars would mean an intra-day drop of -95%. That would be like a million dollars evaporating into just fifty thousand in a single day.

It was the equivalent of driving in with a BMW and leaving with only the steering wheel.

…

Chapter 441: So, You’re Reluctant to Sell? I’m Not Playing Anymore. Have All My Coins.

Fang Hong nodded in confirmation. Tian Jiayi immediately said, “Alright, I’ll call them.”

The beautiful assistant got up and left the room to get her phone and make the arrangements, while Fang Hong logged into his Weibo account and edited a new blog post:

[I just asked my assistant how many Bitcoins we’ve acquired. Do we have around a million yet? The number she gave me was less than six hundred thousand. I was dumbfounded. I kept raising the purchase price, and I can’t even get one million together. Everyone’s reluctant to sell, huh? You all take me for a sucker and want to fleece me like a chump? Do you think I’ll raise the price again to fifty yuan per coin? In your dreams. Since you’re all so reluctant to sell and won’t let them change hands? Fine. You can have the five or six hundred thousand I’m holding. I’m not playing anymore. I’m out. Go ahead and be reluctant to sell. I’ve already instructed my assistant to stop buying coins and to liquidate everything.]

Fang Hong gave the edited content a quick glance, saw no issues, and clicked “Post.”

As the blogger K3478 published this new update, it instantly detonated the crypto circle, setting off a level-ten super earthquake. Some people holding Bitcoin saw this Weibo post, and a single thought instantly flashed through their minds: Holy shit, run!

Five minutes later, the price of Bitcoin on the trading market was still fluctuating around 4.23 US dollars. Suddenly, it took a dive, plummeting to -8%. It went from +5% to -8%, a panic sell wiping out thirteen percentage points in seconds.

Those who got the news late still didn’t know what had happened, and many people tried buying the dip. After the sharp drop, the price rebounded by three percentage points.

But immediately after, Bitcoin began a trend that nearly gave its bull holders a heart attack on the spot. The intraday line suffered a catastrophic crash, diving down at a ninety-degree angle. No sooner had someone placed an order at the -10% level than the price had already dropped to -15%.

The Bitcoin market had no price fluctuation limits, and it traded as usual on weekends.

At this very moment, after the rebound, Bitcoin’s real-time price began to fall at a rate of ten percentage points per second: -20%… -30%… -40%… -50%… -60%… -70%… -80%… -90… -95%…

In just ten short seconds, the price of Bitcoin was crashed through by a single, epic bearish candle, wiping out all the gains since November 3rd. The day’s highest price was 4.23 US dollars, but the latest price was now 0.2 US dollars. It had lost -95.27% of its value from its peak.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization also plunged from a peak of 88.83 million US dollars to just 4.2 million US dollars, vaporizing 84.63 million US dollars in market cap in an instant.

During the panic sell, there was no massive transaction volume because very few were holding the bag. Instead, everyone was front-running each other to get out. An order at 3.5 US dollars found no takers. They canceled and set it at 3 US dollars, still no takers. Canceled again and set it to 2 US dollars, still no takers. At 1 US dollar, there were still no takers…

By the time it crashed to 0.2 US dollars, a cost basis of 4 US dollars meant a -95% loss, a 3.5 US dollar cost basis was a -94.28% loss, a 3 US dollar cost basis was a -93.33% loss, and a 2 US dollar cost basis was a -90% loss… Even at such devastating prices, no one was buying.

Soon after, a screenshot of Bitcoin’s latest price chart went viral, with people in the stock trading circle forwarding and discussing it.

[Crashed through in ten seconds flat. This Bitcoin trend… tsk tsk tsk!]

[Holy shit! What is this thing?]

[Bitcoin.]

[So, what the hell is Bitcoin?]

[It’s just Bitcoin.]

[…]

[Are you messing with me?]

[That’s ruthless, that crash… It’s like putting in one hundred thousand yuan and being left with only five thousand, and you probably can’t even get that out. Suddenly, the A-shares market seems pretty decent.]

[How did it suddenly crash like this? What happened?]

[Go check K-God’s Weibo and you’ll know. K-God got angry, flipped the table, and quit playing. Then Bitcoin collapsed.]

[No wonder it’s a catastrophic crash. With hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin shares in his hands, K-God went from being the biggest bull to the biggest bear in an instant. Nobody could handle that, and nobody dared to.]

[Hahaha, those people hoarding for speculation and being reluctant to sell are dumbfounded now. They all got trapped and crushed in one go.]

[This is all the evil fruit of greed. They wanted to fleece K-God like a chump. He didn’t care the first time. He tolerated it the second time at twenty-five yuan. But as the saying goes, there won’t be a third chance. They raised the price tenfold and still refused to let the coins change hands, so K-God couldn’t take it anymore. He just quit playing, leaving a bunch of hoarders to shiver in the wind.]

[They don’t know when to take profits, so they deserve it!]

[But K-God spent so much to buy them. If he liquidates his position at 0.2 US dollars, he’ll lose a lot too.]

[Hahaha, you think someone who can casually give away one hundred twenty-nine million yuan in a lottery would care about six hundred thousand Bitcoins? Even at its all-time high, that’s less than seventeen million RMB. Would K-God care about that little money? If he did, he wouldn’t have given away one hundred twenty-nine million in a lottery. Clearly, he doesn’t care at all. He just wanted to trap and crush those people.]

[You’re playing with money like it’s hard cash, but K-God is playing with it like it’s play money. There’s no solution to that; it’s not a game on the same level… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Slow-moving Bitcoins, fellow countrymen, please help us.jpg]

…

Today, Bitcoin’s closing price was welded firmly at 0.2 US dollars. Not a single person escaped; everyone was trapped and crushed on the spot.

People in the stock trading circle were gossiping. The incident caused quite a stir in the investment circle, as K-God was already well-known, and it brought more a lot more attention to the small niche of the crypto world.

The fact that Bitcoin flash-crashed by -95% in a single day, and the reasons for it, were all known. An angry K-God had flipped the table, trapping and crushing all the reluctant sellers on the spot.

The event sparked some heated debate, with mixed opinions on K-God’s actions, but it also served to illustrate the risks of speculation to the world.

Some also discussed whether K-God’s actions constituted market manipulation. But Bitcoin was outside the regulatory radar and was still too niche. Moreover, unknown to most of the gossiping crowd in the country, the majority of the holders who were trapped and crushed were actually crypto players from Europe and America.

…

Meanwhile, in the living room of his Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Fang Hong was checking the private messages on his Weibo account. Many of the coin hoarders had sent him private messages.

[K-God, I was wrong. I’m begging you, please show mercy and let me get out at break-even. It’s only one point two million. To you, that’s like one hundred twenty yuan. Please! I have old parents and young children to support. K-God, please let me break-even. I was blinded by greed and got carried away. I’ll never dare to do it again!]

Tian Jiayi was beside him. Seeing the private message, she immediately said, “I bet his cost price definitely isn’t one point two million. If you believe him, you’re being duped.”

At that moment, Fang Hong had over a hundred private messages on his Weibo account, all from speculators who had hoarded coins and were now trapped and crushed. They were now coming to him, wailing and apologizing in every way imaginable.

Fang Hong closed the private message window, ignoring every single one of them.

Tian Jiayi then asked, “What’s your next move…?”

After a pause, Fang Hong said slowly, “No rush. First, let them be trapped in there for a while. After the New Year, I’ll drive the price up to around two US dollars. Most likely, they’ll bite the bullet, sell at a loss to cut their losses.”

Now that it had crashed to 0.2 US dollars, there definitely wouldn’t be much trading volume for a while, because there was no motivation to sell at a loss at this price.

Only after a relatively strong rebound, when they had recovered a bit of their losses, would the trapped investors have the motivation to sell at a loss to cut their positions and get out.

If that didn’t work, he would just wash them out again.

Chapter 442: The Announcement of the Sky Mirror Project

The moment Fang Hong published that Weibo post, he was essentially telling everyone he had exited the market, proving his resolve to the world with a historic 95% down candle.

To the outside world, this meant Fang Hong had dumped all of his Bitcoin.

When the next Bitcoin trend arrived, no one would suspect he was still holding a massive number of shares.

His recent to-and-fro maneuvers in the Bitcoin market had a very simple objective: he wanted to loosen the shares and drive up the trading volume.

The current trading volume was simply too low; a proper change of hands wasn’t happening.

So how do you loosen the shares?

The answer is to create drastic price volatility, which attracts trend-followers and tempts existing holders to sell.

Through this back-and-forth manipulation, the cost price for traders entering and exiting the market would steadily rise. Then, by crashing the price through the floor, he could ensure that holders would see losses on their books—in some cases, even catastrophic losses with their investments slashed in half.

Before this, when Bitcoin’s price was less volatile, holders might not have been making money, but they weren’t losing any either. So they would just let their holdings sit there, content to hold for the long term, perhaps even forgetting they owned any.

But after such extreme volatility, with massive spikes and crashes, it was hard for holders to remain calm.

A huge surge would create the desire to cash out, while a devastating crash would trigger the desire to cut losses. The speculators who had hoped to make a quick buck by playing middleman to Fang Hong were especially on edge, and those who had gone in with heavy positions were practically suicidal.

Thus, the grip on Bitcoin shares loosened, and what followed was a surge in trading volume and the turnover rate.

With his maneuvering, Fang Hong had kickstarted Bitcoin’s sluggish trading volume. The rate at which shares changed hands had indeed begun to skyrocket, multiplying several times over.

The next step was to truly start accumulating shares. Previously, Fang Hong had been acquiring them openly, but from now on, he would accumulate them secretly, and no longer under his own name.

In any case, after that Weibo post, he had publicly liquidated his position.

It was worth noting that while the media had published some reports on Fang Hong’s recent dabbling in Bitcoin, the impact was minimal.

It failed to make a splash either at home or in Europe and the United States. Most people simply saw it as entertainment.

At this point in time, Bitcoin was too niche. So niche, in fact, that the public awareness Fang Hong brought to it was likely worth more than its entire market cap before he got involved. At the very least, his actions had helped Bitcoin break out of its small circle.

Even so, it remained a niche asset. And it was precisely because it was so niche that a single player like Fang Hong could command the wind and rain, making the price take off when he wanted it to soar and smashing it through the floor when he wanted it to crash.

Media reports weren’t focused on Bitcoin itself but rather on the fact that Fang Hong was involved. He was the one bringing traffic and exposure to Bitcoin; that’s just how niche it was.

Everyone treated it as a case of K-God having too much money to burn, purely amusing himself.

Then, after making a quick buck, he left. And wasn’t that exactly what he did? Along the way, he crashed Bitcoin’s intraday price by ninety-five percent, wiping out a group of speculators who had tried to fleece him.

Onlooking netizens treated it all as amusing news.

After all, even with Fang Hong’s interference, which had pushed the price up by more than twelvefold, Bitcoin’s total market cap was only a little over eighty million US dollars. It truly wasn’t enough to make any significant waves.

Besides, Bitcoin’s time had not yet come.

Two days later, another event went viral on the Chinese internet, grabbing front-page headlines and attracting immense attention from the international academic community.

It was the announcement of the “Sky Mirror” space-based gravitational wave detection project.

At that moment, Fang Hong was in his villa’s main living room, watching the midday news on Xincheng’s local television station.

[Currently, there are two world-leading experimental sites in the field of gravitational wave detection, located in the United States and Italy. The American site is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO; the other is the Virgo interferometer in Italy. These two observatories represent the pinnacle of global gravitational wave detection.]

[Our nation’s research in this astronomical field began as early as 2008, but it primarily involved theoretical studies and feasibility assessments for construction projects. Recently, the Gravitational Wave Research Center of the National Space Agency was officially established in the East Lake District of Xincheng University. This signifies that our country has begun to play a grand “symphony” in the cutting-edge field of gravitational waves.]

[It is understood that the “Sky Mirror” space-based gravitational wave detection project, funded by the Natural Science Foundation and led by Xincheng University, involves over eighty research institutions and more than one thousand scientists. Unlike the ground-based LIGO experiment, “Sky Mirror” will send its experimental equipment into space to form a network, creating a space-based gravitational wave detection array…]

After the news report’s narration ended, the screen switched to show Ning Xingqing being interviewed by a reporter. A caption appeared on screen, identifying him as the chief scientist of the “Sky Mirror” project.

Facing the camera, Ning Xingqing said, “…Gravitational waves are merely ‘ripples’ caused by the curvature of spacetime, so they require no medium for propagation, and the loss from being obstructed by celestial bodies is also very small. Therefore, the entire universe is, one could say, constantly transmitting gravitational waves, with the only difference being the strength of the ‘volatility.’ This enables us to create detectors that can capture the anomalies caused by this spacetime curvature.”

Ning Xingqing continued, “The principle behind a gravitational wave detector is actually very simple. Take LIGO for example: you build two perfectly equal, perpendicular long tubes on a flat, open ground. At the intersection of these two tubes, a laser is placed. During the experiment, the laser emits a beam, which is split by a beam splitter into two separate beams that travel down each tube. Upon reaching the end, the beams are reflected back by mirrors and interfere with each other at the starting point.”

Gesticulating as he spoke, Ning Xingqing described, “If no gravitational wave is present, the interference of the two reflected laser beams will cancel each other out. However, if a gravitational wave passes through, it will affect the spacetime curvature in the two tubes differently. Consequently, the distances traveled by the two laser beams will no longer be the same, and the final interference of the reflected beams will change. By analyzing the final interference pattern, we can not only determine whether a gravitational wave has been detected but also, in the event of a detection, analyze its strength and the direction of its source…”

When the media reported on this matter, their headlines didn’t focus on the massive scientific engineering project itself, but rather on its budget of “over twenty billion” to attract clicks.

Still, the sheer scale of the investment had certainly shocked the domestic academic community.

Such a massive investment set a new record for major basic research projects in the country. Even on the international stage, it was a top-tier scientific engineering project in terms of its funding scale.

Chapter 443: Applied Research of Electromagnetic Weapons

The massive scale of the investment had also made the outside world extremely curious about the backer of the “Sky Mirror” Gravitational Wave Detection Project.

When outsiders saw that the funding party was called the “Natural Science Foundation,” their first instinct was to assume it was a public entity, that this was state funding.

This just goes to show the importance of a name.

Such a massive investment was impossible for a private individual, not to mention that private capital had no interest in this kind of basic scientific research.

Digging deeper, people discovered that the institution had been founded recently but had received approval and instructions from a high-level Leader.

Although public data showed that the “Natural Science Foundation” was a non-profit organization, everyone firmly believed it was a state entity receiving state funds.

The academic circles across the country were thrilled. Basic scientific research was finally receiving unprecedented attention. The “Sky Mirror” project alone had a budget of twenty billion. The Natural Science Foundation surely wouldn’t invest only in astronomy; its name suggested a broader scope.

Before this, the funding allocated to basic research in the country was truly meager. The entire year’s funding was less than the budget for a single “Sky Mirror” project.

No wonder so many scientists in the field of basic research were excited by the news.

…

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong, who was watching the news on TV, shifted his gaze to the side. Yu Qiu, dressed in business attire, walked gracefully toward him. She sat down next to him and said, “We’ve received a message from Xincheng University. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration has invited the ‘Sky Mirror’ project to join their organization. The university is asking for our opinion.”

Yu Qiu added, “According to Ning Xingqing, Barry Barish, one of the heads of LIGO, has been dedicated to turning LIGO into a project for all of humanity. He signed an agreement with Virgo in Italy to share all data and publish papers jointly. This invitation to the ‘Sky Mirror’ project follows the same principle.”

Yu Qiu paused for a moment before continuing, “This way, we can jointly detect gravitational waves from three different locations around the globe. Once a gravitational wave is detected, we can calculate its precise direction and distance based on the time difference.”

It was worth mentioning that after establishing the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, Barry Barish had been inviting scientists from all over the world in the field to participate. The collaboration now included 108 institutions from eighteen different countries.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and said with a smile, “It would be impolite to refuse such a gracious invitation. But we’re accepting not to cripple ourselves, but to use this international cooperation to improve our own self-developed system. Since it’s a collaboration, shouldn’t they send some experts over to help us out and provide some solutions?”

Fang Hong was more than willing to accept the invitation. Taking precautions while playing along with them wasn’t a conflict. There were benefits, after all. He had to acknowledge the gaps in certain areas, and if they could gain some advanced experience or equipment through this international cooperation, spending a little money wouldn’t be a problem.

In fact, Fang Hong was also a bit worried about whether “Sky Mirror” could be completed on schedule in 2015. After all, the phrase “if nothing goes wrong” was often a jinx.

If it couldn’t become operational in 2015, then the honor of being the first to detect gravitational waves would go to LIGO. It might just be an honor, but it was the only major achievement the “Sky Mirror” project could hope for in the near future, given the amount of money invested.

With honor came the accumulation of heritage. To put it in a more down-to-earth way, it would make the thing you built seem impressive and high-end, which in turn would attract more talent. That was the key point; the honor itself was not the core.

If they collaborated with LIGO, they could guarantee that “Sky Mirror” would also be credited as one of the first human projects to detect gravitational waves.

But taking precautions was absolutely necessary. Science may have no borders, but scientists do, and research projects definitely do. The year 2015 was a particularly critical juncture. From that point on, the Americans’ attitude had actually begun to shift.

Many major events occurred in 2015. The A-share market entered an epic leveraged bull market, and foreign capital was allowed in. The Americans and Wall Street intended to reap a huge profit during this bull market, but their plans were thwarted because the market crashed too quickly. Everyone went down.

Then came the great battle in the foreign exchange market, but the international short-sellers led by Wall Street once again failed in their attempt to surround and hunt the RMB. They were infuriated that their profit-reaping plans didn’t succeed. Consequently, in 2016, they started looking for trouble on the military front. The South China Sea crisis was on the verge of erupting, and the Republic’s three major fleets gathered to deal with it. The two sides nearly came to blows.

In the end, the Americans backed down, and the situation cooled.

But what followed was the Americans retreating and brewing up trouble for a year or two, ultimately launching the “trade war” in 2018. From then on, they employed almost every possible means short of military action.

Therefore, cooperating with LIGO now might be a honeymoon period, but with the drastic changes on the horizon around 2015, decoupling was a real possibility.

Collaboration was one thing, but taking precautions was an extremely necessary safety net.

At that moment, having received Fang Hong’s decision, Yu Qiu nodded. “I’ll inform Xincheng University later. Also, the Natural Science Foundation has drafted a new investment direction, the application of electromagnetics you mentioned. This area touches upon the military level.”

Fang Hong took the documents she handed him and glanced at them.

The project aimed to establish a complete electromagnetic weapon system, primarily focusing on the “electromagnetic cannon,” with subdivisions like ship-mounted and vehicle-mounted railguns. Secondly, it included personal light equipment such as “electromagnetic rifles.”

In this field, the Americans were the first to play. China, seeing this, couldn’t afford to fall behind. As they played along, they discovered the Americans were just slacking off while China was conducting serious research. As a result, the latecomer surpassed the old-timer and took the global lead.

It was worth noting that this wasn’t an isolated case. It was mainly because the Americans would occasionally come up with a very high-end new concept to bluff people, claiming it was already in the experimental stage and would be realized soon. This would scare the Rabbit on the other side of the Pacific into launching its own projects in a hurry.

One side dared to bluff, and the other truly dared to believe. Not only did they believe it, but they started working on it seriously. As they progressed, they found that it really seemed to work, which made them pursue it with even more conviction. When they looked back, they discovered that the Americans had somehow fallen behind.

Technically speaking, electromagnetic weapons did have the potential to change history. The ultra-high velocity and ultra-long range of an electromagnetic cannon would be exceptionally effective, whether for targeting aircraft or intercepting supersonic missiles.

However, to realize the application of electromagnetic weapons, there was another critical technological hurdle: batteries.

Battery capacity was currently a major difficulty. If it ran out of energy after just a few shots, it would be nothing more than a chicken rib.

Once battery technology achieved a breakthrough, the impact on the new energy sector would be self-evident. Fang Hong had decided to place the development of its civilian applications with Ningde Shidai or ATL Company, for which he had already laid the groundwork.

“Who are the collaborating partners?” Fang Hong asked, looking at the documents.

“The main partner is Harbin Institute of Technology, followed by 22 other universities and research institutes such as Hebei Artillery Engineering College, which will conduct research on electromagnetic launch. The Natural Science Foundation will provide full funding for the project. The current initial budget is 3.7 billion,” Yu Qiu stated methodically. “Additionally, Xincheng University will also be involved. It will establish a Non-ferrous Metals Research Institute to take on the R&D of high-temperature superconducting thin films.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod. After Stellaris Capital brought in the National team institutional investors, many things had become much smoother. He closed the report and said, concise and to the point, “Then approve the funding.”

…

Chapter 444: Speeding Up the “Eastern Super Ring” Research

At the 13th International Symposium on Electromagnetic Launch Technology in Germany, back in May 2006, China published fifty-two papers, second only to the seventy-two from the US. China’s strength in this field has a solid foundation.

Fang Hong placed the documents on the table and immediately said, “Also, the research on the ‘Eastern Super Ring’ is still a bit slow. Draft a preliminary budget of ten billion. We’ll speed up the ‘Eastern Super Ring.’ Send someone to talk to the person in charge of the EAST project.”

The Eastern Super Ring, also known as the EAST project, is China’s independently developed and the world’s first fully superconducting non-circular cross-section tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device.

Research into controlled nuclear fusion is jokingly called “the eternal fifty years,” but it carries so many hopes because the raw materials for fusion energy are nearly inexhaustible and its emissions are pollution-free. It’s considered the ultimate answer to solving the energy problem.

Although it’s “the eternal fifty years,” it is, after all, the ultimate solution for the foreseeable medium-to-long-term future. If we don’t work on it, it really will be fifty years forever.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and said, “Have the Natural Science Foundation post on Weibo about this tomorrow to get the ball rolling.”

Yu Qiu nodded, “Yes, okay.”

…

The next morning.

The official Weibo account of the Natural Science Foundation published a blog post that caused a sensation in the academic world.

【We long to see a light bulb lit by controlled fusion energy in our lifetime. How about we put up ten billion to speed up the R&D for the “Eastern Super Ring (EAST)”?】

Good grief!

This post from the Natural Science Foundation’s official Weibo account was soon picked up and reported by major media outlets, rocketing to the top of today’s hot topics.

The buzz around “Sky Mirror” hadn’t even faded yet, and now the “Eastern Super Ring” was also going viral.

The onlooking crowd from all walks of life was stunned. First, the Gravitational wave detection project got twenty billion, and now the Natural Science Foundation was making another big move, ready to shell out a ten-billion-level budget to support controlled nuclear fusion research.

The news quickly reached the EAST project team. Beyond their shock, their excitement was indescribable.

If the Natural Science Foundation wasn’t joking, this level of investment was more than twenty times the EAST project team’s current budget. The team could expand tenfold from its current size of less than 200 people.

The R&D progress would indeed speed up dramatically, at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Less than half an hour after the Weibo post went out, before the Natural Science Foundation could even contact the EAST team, the team called them first.

That afternoon, the Natural Science Foundation’s official Weibo account posted again:

【Ten thousand years is too long; we must seize the day. The Natural Science Foundation has decided to put forward a budget of 10 billion to support EAST’s research. Our country must have its own independently built controlled nuclear fusion experimental device—not for scientists to write a few papers or reports, but to truly solve our energy problems for the next one or two hundred years.】

When this Weibo post was published, the onlooking crowd was caught completely off guard.

So fast!

Wasn’t that a bit reckless?

In recent days, news from the scientific research community had been making headlines frequently. The moves by the Natural Science Foundation had greatly invigorated the domestic academic world. Such a massive influx of funding felt like the dawn of a new spring for basic research.

It’s worth mentioning that not all the projects the Natural Science Foundation gets involved in are made public.

For instance, those involving military applications were not disclosed to the public.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence, fitness room.

Fang Hong took a towel and wiped the sweat off his body, glancing at his beautiful assistant who was stretching. “The Natural Science Foundation under Yu Qiu’s management has been producing outstanding results lately. How are Stellaris Capital’s commercial investments in the high-tech sector doing?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but complain internally, “Just spending money is considered an outstanding result?”

Fang Hong said with a smile, “Being able to spend that much money in the right places is not something an ordinary person can do well.”

After a moment, Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “The company’s recent investments in the high-tech sector do indeed include some rather good projects. A few days ago, we successfully convinced Zhang Zhihua to return to China and start a business.”

Fang Hong asked concisely, “Zhang Zhihua? Never heard of him. What’s his background?”

Tian Jiayi stopped her workout. She recalled for a moment before speaking methodically, “According to our data, Zhang Zhihua is a scientist who worked at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in the US. He was engaged in research on a type of 3D bioprinter and was one of the R&D team’s project leaders…”

…

Twenty minutes later, Fang Hong had changed his clothes and was in the living room. A moment later, Tian Jiayi came downstairs, brought him a file, and said, “After Zhang Zhihua returned to the country, Stellaris Capital invested 150 million in him to develop the 3D bioprinter.”

Fang Hong took the file and looked at it.

The so-called 3D bioprinter creates human organs with “channels” to receive oxygen and nutrients. Generally, 3D bioprinting first requires cells from a donor or the patient.

Then, the cells are cultured in a water-based hydrogel. Afterward, these gels are injected into a biodegradable polymer structure, which guides the cells to grow into a shape determined by artificial intervention.

Tian Jiayi sat down and said, “According to Zhang Zhihua, the biggest challenge for the 3D bioprinting field right now is the lack of blood vessels, which means the printed organs cannot exceed 200 micrometers in thickness.”

Fang Hong looked at her and said, “Not exceeding 200 micrometers? That’s only about the thickness of a strand of hair.”

Tian Jiayi added, “Zhang Zhihua’s research team hopes to solve this problem to be able to print thicker human tissue. He brought back some of his achievements when he returned to the country. The 3D bioprinter he wants to develop can print using various types of gels under computer control, and it will also print micro-channels within the tissue. It’s in the report; you can see for yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong flipped through a few pages.

According to Zhang Zhihua’s description, these channels will function like blood vessels during the organ’s growth, allowing nutrients and oxygen to reach the cells deep inside the organ.

Then, when the organ is transplanted into a living organism, the organism’s own blood vessels will automatically replace these micro-channels.

In his project at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Zhang Zhihua had already successfully transplanted a 3D-printed human ear onto a lab mouse. Within two months, its blood vessels and soft tissues had gradually formed.

Tian Jiayi said, “According to Zhang Zhihua, after transplanting 3D-printed artificial muscle fibers and an artificial jawbone, blood vessels also gradually formed. However, the technology has not yet been tested on humans.”

Fang Hong nodded silently.

If this project succeeds, it will make printing more complex organs like kidneys possible and will accelerate that process.

Once this technology matures, its future commercial prospects are self-evident.

…

Chapter 445: Perceptual Computing and the 2010 Finale

“…Yesterday, the company invested thirty million yuan each into three startup teams engaged in the R&D of perceptual computing technology.” Tian Jiayi said as she sat on the living room sofa. “Of the three teams, one is making perceptual camera devices, one is working on eye-tracking technology, and one is developing voice control technology.”

Upon hearing about these three investment projects, Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction. “The people in the research department really know their stuff. Perceptual computing can be considered the next generation of human-computer interaction. Its application will have a revolutionary impact on all aspects of people’s lives. It’s right to get in early.”

For example, through perceptual camera devices, a user’s computer or smartphone could accurately recognize a person’s movements, gestures, and facial features.

Unlike traditional cameras, which could only make a “flat” recording of what was in front of the lens, perceptual cameras could identify more complex three-dimensional information, such as the depth of the scene and the size of objects.

Perceptual cameras could also enable various functions like facial recognition, facial unlocking, 3D scanning, and motion control.

This technology was known in the industry as RealSense technology or perceptual computing. As the name implied, it allowed computers or machines to perceive human commands through devices like cameras, rather than through traditional keyboard input or touchscreens.

All aspects of the company were running smoothly, and everything was developing and being laid out in an orderly fashion according to plan. Fang Hong was quite content.

…

Meanwhile, in the recent capital markets, the A-share market had peaked at 3186 points and had been fluctuating between the 2800 and 2900-point range for the past month.

Weibo’s stock price had been slashed in half, plummeting from 218.11 yuan to 106.07 yuan in nine trading days. However, after entering December, as the market stabilized, Weibo’s stock price experienced a strong rebound.

As of Tuesday, December 14, Weibo’s stock had hit its limit-up three times in the last five trading days. Today, its intra-day high surged to 176.97 yuan. Compared to its lowest point of 106.07 yuan after being cut in half, it had rebounded by +66.84%. This left the retail investors who had sold at a loss at the 106 yuan level wanting to cry but having no tears.

In the second half of December, the A-share market weakened again. On December 27, Mama Central Bank announced an interest rate hike, which caused the market’s one-month-long 2800-2900 point consolidation platform to break downward.

On that day, the market index plummeted -1.90%. The next day, it gapped down and fell another -1.74%, with the Shanghai Composite Index dropping to the 2732-point level.

During the same period, Weibo also suffered from the panic sell-off along with the market, with its stock price once again falling below the 130 yuan mark.

On December 31, the last trading day of the year, the A-share market experienced a relatively strong rebound after the sell-off. On the final day of the year, the Shanghai Composite Index surged by +1.76%, closing at 2808.08 points and standing firm above the 2800-point mark.

Weibo also hit a limit-up on the last trading day of the year, with its stock price surging to 145.75 yuan. The trading volume for the day was 6.091 billion yuan, and its market cap reached 77.1 billion yuan.

As soon as the market closed today, many brokerages and media outlets published their year-end summaries for the A-share market and their outlooks for 2011.

With 2010 concluding, a look at the A-share market’s performance throughout the year showed that the Shanghai Composite Index had fallen from 3277 points at the beginning of the year to 2808 points today. After enduring the trials of major slumps and rallies, the A-share market had reluctantly handed in a bleak report card for 2010. The Shanghai Composite Index had fallen by -14.31% this year, ranking third from the bottom in global stock index performance, slightly better than Greece and Spain, who were mired in the European debt crisis.

The worst-performing stock this year was Angang Steel, which was tragically slashed in half with a -50% decline for the year. The best-performing stock was Weibo, which, based on today’s closing price, had risen over +2135% for the year, and at its peak, had surged by +3245%. It was widely recognized as the number one monster bull stock of 2010.

Although the indices of both markets were sluggish this year, the new stock market was feverishly hot. An average of 1.4 new stocks were issued daily, with a total of 350 initial public offerings for the year. The total amount of funds raised exceeded one trillion yuan, smashing the historical record of 798.5 billion yuan set in 2007.

The scale of financing from IPOs, additional stock issuances, and rights issues all hit all-time highs, at 492.1 billion, 365.6 billion, and 143.8 billion yuan respectively.

Amidst this rapid expansion of new stocks, the market capitalization of the domestic securities market surpassed 26 trillion yuan, exceeding Japan’s for the first time to rank second in the world.

Although the A-share market didn’t get taller, and even got shorter, it got fatter.

Its weight was soaring…

While the new stock market was being fully activated, the number of new accounts opened by retail investors and the number of stock-holding accounts also hit all-time highs. Many middle-aged and elderly people also entered the market through funds.

According to year-end statistical analysis, the percentage of retail investors suffering losses remained around 70%. Despite nationwide participation in the securities market, the A-share market saw a total net capital outflow of 991.2 billion yuan this year, more than double that of 2009 and also significantly higher than in the worst-performing year of 2008. Among the 81 industries in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, not a single one saw a net capital inflow for the entire year.

As for the outlook for the upcoming 2011 market, brokerage firms and the media were overwhelmingly optimistic, stating that the bull market was just beginning to take shape and predicting the market index would reach the 4000-point mark.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

At this moment, Fang Hong was on the phone with Tian Jiayi. “The company shouldn’t issue any research reports or forecasts. A bearish forecast hurts people, and a bullish one will just get you proven wrong. Just make a fortune in silence. Tell the analysts under you to keep their mouths shut, not even in their personal capacity. Anyone who goes public with their grand theories will be packing their bags and leaving the next day.”

Stellaris Capital had already liquidated its positions and fled in early November. When the pre-disclosure of annual reports came, and major listed companies announced their latest shareholder changes, it would be quite embarrassing if people looked at the list of institutional holdings and found Stellaris Capital was gone.

It would be especially bad to issue a bullish report after having sold off everything yourself. You’d be cursed to death by the investors; hundreds of millions of them would come and tear you apart. Issuing a bearish report would also offend a lot of people, as many institutional funds had not withdrawn yet.

Therefore, it was best not to. Just make a fortune in silence.

Around February or March of next year, when major listed companies pre-disclosed their annual reports, the latest quarterly holdings data would show Stellaris Capital was no longer there. That would tell the market that Qunxing was not optimistic about the future and had already left. Everyone else could decide for themselves whether to stay or go.

Fang Hong gave his beautiful assistant a few simple instructions and hung up. He then turned on his computer and logged into his K3478 Weibo account.

Stellaris Capital should be quiet and make a fortune in silence, but K-God could still speak.

Fang Hong quickly typed out a message:

[Let’s also do a sharp review of the A-share market. Overall, this year’s A-share market performance can be summarized as: the stock index fell first and then rose, while small-cap stocks fell back and fluctuated; sectors were severely divided, with individual stocks seeing both bulls and bears run wild; new stocks expanded rapidly, and the ‘three highs’ of IPOs made everyone panic; its decline ranked among the top three worst globally, yet the market flaunted its second-place size; retail investor participation surged, while capital outflow was insane.

Looking ahead to 2011, the tightening monetary policy, the perplexing international situation, and the transitioning economic model will fill next year with uncertainty. Perhaps uncertainty is the biggest certainty.

It’s expected that the story of 2011 will be a winding one. There should be a new year’s red envelope rally, but let’s be cautiously optimistic.

As for my personal profits this year, I’m quite satisfied overall. To sum it up, luck played a significant role. I was busy with graduation at the beginning of the year, which happened to help me avoid the major crash in April and May. In the second half of the year, once I was done, I was ready to go big, and as luck would have it, I caught this strong rebound.]

Fang Hong finished editing the content, glanced over it to confirm there were no issues, and casually took a screenshot of his institutional account’s returns, posting it along with the update on Weibo.

…

Chapter 446: A Financial Approach to Solving This Problem

Fang Hong’s Weibo post was a subtle expression of his bearish outlook on the market’s future. He couldn’t be too direct about shorting the market, however. After all, he now had a following of over forty million, the vast majority of whom were investors.

He was, without a doubt, the top financial Big V blogger in the country. K-God’s current standing in the A-share market needed no further explanation. With his immense influence, openly bad-mouthing the A-shares would likely result in a “concerned” phone call from the village chief.

As for what the market would be like next year, Fang Hong knew very well. To put it in one sentence: the ideal was grand, but the reality would be harsh.

In the first quarter of the coming year, A-share investors, caught up in the illusory bull market created by brokerages and the media, would be full of confidence, aspiring for the 4000-point mark.

In the second half of the year, they would continuously buy the dip, then buy the dip again, lured by the low valuations eagerly embellished by institutional investors.

By year’s end, the easing of monetary policy would finally give investors a glimmer of hope. However, worries about downward pressure on the economy would once again cast a shadow over the stock market.

If the deep-seated pain of 2008 had not yet faded, and the joy of the 2009 rebound hadn’t reached its peak, then the upcoming year of 2011 would bring a slow, gradual decline that felt like being sliced by a dull knife. 2012 would be even worse, continuing the gloom of the previous year as the bearish sentiment lingered for years.

…

At that moment, after Fang Hong’s Weibo post went live, his fans’ jaws dropped at the sheer scale of the assets shown in the profit statement he had published.

[His total net assets have reached 36.2 billion?!]

[Awesome!]

[Holy cow? He’s made an insane amount of money. This puts him at number five on the country’s rich list, right?]

[Definitely. On the Hurun Rich List released in October, the top five were 53.4 billion, 48.0 billion, 38.4 billion, 38.0 billion, and 36.0 billion. He’s definitely knocked the fifth-place person off the list.]

[Terrifyingly impressive, terrifyingly impressive.]

[Can you imagine that just two and a half years ago, K-God started with a little over 60,000 yuan and turned it into the 36 billion he has now?]

[A return of over fifty thousand times… in two and a half years.]

[You’ve earned all the money in the market!]

[<>]

[Is this something ‘good luck’ can achieve? He must have made over twenty billion this year alone.]

[A single person can crush the annual net profit of a Fortune 500 company. That’s just outrageous.]

[Does K-God still play with Bitcoin?]

[K3478 replied //: Play my ass, already sold at a loss.]

[Hahaha…]

[Didn’t someone say before that K-God buried himself in the Bitcoin flash crash? Tough luck for them. Looking at it now, the money he lost in Bitcoin isn’t even a rounding error on his total assets.]

[He’s just treating it like Play money…]

[Why is my stock account so numb from losing…]

[If you love him, send him to the stock market, for it is heaven. If you hate him, send him to the stock market, for it is hell.]

[I think the village chief should ban K-God from the market. His scythe is too ruthless; us mortals can’t compete… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

…

Fang Hong scrolled through Weibo for a while and, after some thought, decided to use a portion of his money for charitable causes. It could earn him Reputation Value and Achievement points, while also granting him the extra benefit of “criticism immunity.”

Flaunting his wealth like this was bound to attract attention. Although it was all legitimate, legally earned income, it was inevitable that some people would be green with envy. He would invariably be criticized for showing off his wealth. If he used some of it for charity, he could largely enjoy “criticism immunity.” Even if someone did criticize him, more of his supporters would jump to his defense.

Just then, Tian Jiayi, who had already clocked off for the day, emerged from her bath and came down from upstairs to the living room.

Seeing his beautiful assistant walk over gracefully, Fang Hong said, “I’m planning to use 10% of my personal account’s annual profit for charity. What do you think would be a good cause? Help me brainstorm a little.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Tian Jiayi replied, “Educational support for underprivileged students.”

Resting his chin on his hand, Fang Hong nodded. “Teach a man to fish rather than just giving him a fish. That’s a pretty good option. But the money has to actually reach the underprivileged students. A lot of the time, aid for underprivileged students ends up in the hands of those who don’t need it.”

Tian Jiayi said thoughtfully, “That’s a very difficult loophole to close. You can’t verify whether every application submitted is genuine. In reality, there will definitely be people who don’t need the money but fraudulently use the spots for underprivileged students, so the financial aid ends up helping the well-off. But you can’t possibly verify each case one by one. That would require a massive organization, and the huge administrative costs would end up exceeding the amount lost to those fraudulent cases.”

After a moment of thought, Fang Hong said, “No, no. Let’s use a financial mindset to solve this problem. I think we can play it like this: for example, we support an underprivileged student with a financial aid grant, but with a special condition. If he graduates, enters the workforce, and secures a decent job with a good income, the grant he received will be treated as a debt. He’ll have to repay the grant, plus interest, at the central bank’s benchmark rate at that time. The repaid funds will then be used to support the next underprivileged student.”

Tian Jiayi was taken aback by his proposal; she had never heard of such an approach.

Fang Hong clearly wasn’t finished. He continued, “If the student struggles after entering society and never manages to make it, his repayment obligation for the grant will be waived. But if he makes something of himself, he still has to pay it back. This way, even students from non-underprivileged families who use connections to fraudulently obtain the aid won’t get any benefit. If he later falls back into poverty or willingly chooses to live a hard life instead of a good one, I’ll accept it. Otherwise, they’ll have to give back whatever they took.”

Tian Jiayi was stunned for a moment. The angle of this idea was quite cunning.

If an underprivileged student used education to change their destiny, this sum of money would be trivial. Moreover, if they didn’t succeed, they wouldn’t have to repay it—the debt would simply vanish. The debt would only exist, requiring repayment, if they became successful.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the debt disappeared, but that he retained the right of recourse. However, this right of recourse had a precondition: the debtor had to become successful. If they remained at the bottom of society, the condition for recourse would not be triggered.

This scheme would be a very effective deterrent for those who fraudulently applied for or misrepresented their situation to get the financial aid.

The cunning part was that if these people were willing to live the same life as those at the bottom—same job, same income, a life of hardship—just to pocket a student grant, Fang Hong would willingly accept the loss.

But surely no one would willingly choose a hard life. Foreseeably, those non-underprivileged families would no longer covet this money, because it would have to be repaid later—with interest.

Over sixteen years, from elementary school to college graduation, even at the central bank’s benchmark interest rate, the interest would be a considerable amount.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “But, how do you define ‘making something of himself’? That’s a very vague term…”

Fang Hong chuckled. “Isn’t that easy? It’s too easy. We only need one standard. Two words: a child.”

Tian Jiayi was stunned. “Huh? A child?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “To make a name for yourself, you at least have to get married, right? And after getting married, you have to have a child, right? Otherwise, how can you be considered successful? People who can pull strings to snatch resources meant for underprivileged students usually come from well-off families. They will definitely get married and have children. Let’s take it a step further: if he’s willing to forgo marriage and having descendants just to scam me out of this grant money, if he’s willing to pay that price, I’ll accept it. I’ll willingly accept it. I’ll give him a thumbs up and call him badass.”

Tian Jiayi said, “But even poor people, people with poor financial conditions, have children.”

Fang Hong said lightly, “That’s simple. They repay the grant with interest. As an adult, if you insist on doing so despite knowing your own limited capabilities, then you should pay for your own choices. I footed the bill for you once, but I won’t do it a second time. Since you insist on going down that path, you’ll just have one more debt to grit your teeth and repay.”

A heartbreaking fact was that, a decade later, many people wouldn’t even be able to afford to get married. Those who could get married and have a child would already be ahead of the vast majority of young people.

There might be high-quality single people, but the majority of those in society who were single would be forced into it by their financial situation.

Those who dared to get married and have a child would definitely have a house and a car. You could say that having a child is a key core indicator for measuring an adult’s financial situation.

This was because for the younger generation in the future, having a child would not be as simple as it was for the older generation, where it was just a matter of adding another bowl and a pair of chopsticks. The decision to have a child would certainly be made after weighing various factors, especially financial ones.

Therefore, using whether or not someone has a child as a metric would be simple and effective.

Because a child would indirectly be tied to many other things.

…

Chapter 447: Can’t Diss This One, Next!

“Then it’s settled.” Fang Hong made the decision on the spot, then looked at his beautiful assistant with a smile. “You can draft a proposal and start setting up an educational assistance fund. Add some more details to the plan I just laid out.”

After a moment’s thought, Fang Hong quickly added, “Once a student is approved, we’ll guarantee full funding for their tuition and living expenses until they graduate from university. If they don’t get into a university, the support will stop whenever they graduate and enter the workforce.”

Fang Hong continued, “We will control the funds ourselves and not let any school get involved. We’ll connect directly with the students’ families. We’ll partner with a bank to issue special student aid bank cards for these underprivileged students who need support, and the educational assistance fund will make regular deposits to these cards.”

Logistics were becoming increasingly advanced; bank cards could simply be sent by courier. The future was a cashless era, and technological development brought many conveniences, making this series of plans feasible and smooth to execute, not impossible.

Fang Hong mused, “As for how to determine the specific amount of financial aid, we’ll need to consider factors like the local economic development level, inflation rates, and so on… Once you’ve established the educational assistance organization, have your team draft a proposal and report back to me.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Alright, I understand.”

Finally, Fang Hong logged into his Weibo account again, edited a new post, and published it:

[I just had a chat with my private assistant and have made a decision. I will be donating one-tenth of my personal profits from the A-share market to educational poverty alleviation. This will help underprivileged students from all over the country complete their studies, providing assistance to the many who are forced to drop out due to their family’s financial situation.

This year’s profits amount to 27.6 billion yuan. Ten percent of that is 2.76 billion yuan.

This charitable endeavor is not a one-time event but a long-term commitment. In other words, ten percent of my personal profits every year from now on will be used for this cause.]

Fang Hong glanced over the edited text, and after confirming there were no errors, he posted it.

Sitting beside him, his beautiful assistant saw the updated Weibo post and couldn’t help but smile. “Donating ten percent of your profits every year to educational poverty alleviation… I bet from now on, the public will be hoping you make even more from the market. The more you earn, the happier they’ll be.”

Because it was pegged to ten percent of his annual profits rather than a fixed number, it meant that the more Fang Hong earned, the more would be invested into educational charity.

Not long after the Weibo post was published, it caused a massive sensation, with various media outlets citing and reporting on it.

Fang Hong refreshed the Weibo page and saw a flood of comments.

[Can’t diss this. Nothing to flame here. Let’s go, find the next target… (husky.jpg)]

[66666666…]

[No words of praise are enough. Just one: badass!]

[One word?]

[K-God is a true voice of reason. His broader perspective is unreal. No wonder he can make so much money; there’s a reason for it.]

[I remember K-God just graduated this year, right? Can you believe this is the kind of long-term view a young man in his twenties who just graduated can have? I’ve certainly never seen anyone in their twenties with this level of thinking.]

[Forget about twenty-somethings. Look at all those so-called business tycoons and big shots. How many of them have reached this level?]

[To be fair, that’s true.]

[One-tenth right off the bat. So generous, so awesome!]

[This really won me over. I’m a fan now.]

[But K-God, actually helping specific underprivileged students won’t be easy. Have you thought about how you’re going to do it?]

[Right, right! I wouldn’t trust a direct donation. The money could easily be embezzled. You know how it is.]

…

Less than an hour after Fang Hong’s Weibo post went live, it was widely reported by major media outlets, all of them offering nothing but praise and commendation. Several mainstream newspapers also covered the story, referring to him as an “Outstanding Youth” in their articles.

Since Fang Hong had not revealed his identity and no one knew his name, the media could only refer to him as “Weibo blogger K3478” in their reports.

At that moment, Fang Hong’s Reputation Value and Achievement points were skyrocketing.

Soon after, his Weibo DMs were flooded with messages from various charitable organizations, including the Red Cross, all extending invitations to collaborate.

That evening, Fang Hong logged into Weibo and saw the private messages from these non-profit organizations.

A staggering 2.76 billion yuan!

And it wasn’t a one-time donation. He would continue to contribute ten percent of his profits to charity every year. It was likely to be even more in the future, given the terrifying profitability K-God had demonstrated. It was a massive cake, a veritable money tree.

Even in the worst-case scenario where there were no future donations, the current sum of 2.76 billion yuan was an astronomical figure.

The intentions of these organizations were obvious. They were like sharks that had smelled blood, pouncing at the speed of light.

Fang Hong glanced at the private messages but replied to none of them.

From the very beginning, he had no intention of collaborating with any of these so-called charities. He was going to do it himself.

Evidently, these organizations didn’t know that Fang Hong was the big boss behind Stellaris Capital. They probably thought he couldn’t handle something like this and wouldn’t be able to manage without their cooperation.

Their thinking was simple: just give us the money, and you don’t have to worry about the rest. Your only job is to provide the funds.

Their abacuses were clicking away loudly.

“You…! Just by opening your mouth, my workload skyrockets. If you don’t serve me well enough to my satisfaction later, I’m going on strike…” Tian Jiayi purred from her seat on the edge of the bed. Fang Hong was in his beautiful assistant’s room tonight and would be staying over.

Hearing this, Fang Hong closed his laptop, tossed it aside, and walked toward her with a grin. “No problem. I guarantee your satisfaction. One shot to pierce the soul, a second to the bone, and the third will send you straight to heaven.”

When there’s work, the assistant does it. When there’s no work… you can still do the assistant.

…

The next day.

Fang Hong logged into his K3478 Weibo account again and published a new message.

[Regarding the matter of supporting underprivileged students, I had an in-depth conversation with my private assistant yesterday. Many of you are concerned about whether the money can reach the places where it’s truly needed, and this is something we are also very concerned about.

We especially had a deep discussion about problems like identity theft, fraudulent claims, and other such issues.

We have come up with a solution.

To this end, I plan to establish an educational assistance fund. We already have a general framework for how it will work, which is detailed in the text in the attached image.

Progress will be disclosed continuously. This Weibo account will be the primary source of information. Any news from any other channel is not from me and should be considered false.]

After Fang Hong’s new Weibo post was published, it once again caused a sensation, sparking widespread discussion and considerable controversy.

First, many of the charitable and non-profit organizations were stunned. They never imagined he would actually do it himself instead of donating the money to an existing charity. They were truly infuriated.

…

Chapter 448: A Crafty Angle

Major public welfare organizations were still contemplating how to get a piece of this pie. After all, K-God was a stock market genius, a man who could earn tens of billions, but charity work wasn’t something one person could manage alone. It required a massive organization.

So, when the so-called charitable foundations saw the news, they all basically assumed Fang Hong would seek one of them out for a partnership.

The fact that he was starting his own organization left them completely dumbfounded.

At the same time, what truly caused a public sensation was the unique solution Fang Hong had just announced for his educational assistance program. It was so unconventional that many found it a bit bizarre—a method no one had anticipated.

In the eyes of some “academics,” this was pure unconventional methods, and an extreme case at that.

If a student from a poor background who received aid went on to make a name for themself, they would have to repay the funds with interest to the educational assistance foundation. This money would then be reinvested into the next recipient.

If the student did not end up making a name for themself, they would not have to repay the principal or interest.

And the indicator for a recipient “making a name for themself” in the future was… having a child!

The discussion about this on Weibo and across the internet was exceptionally heated.

[Lol, I saw the plan and have one word for it: brilliant.]

[Talk about a crafty angle. Is this how young people think?]

[Good grief, this idea is pretty slick. If you make it, you pay back the student aid. If you don’t, you don’t have to. Doesn’t this perfectly block those with good family backgrounds who try to snatch resources meant for the disadvantaged through their connections? K-God’s really got something!]

[Exactly. With this move, K-God is forcing those connection-reliant types to either accept a hard life or honestly pay it back in the future, with interest.]

[I think the slickest and most brilliant part is using whether or not someone has a child as the benchmark.]

[I agree. Other metrics, like proof of income or employment, can be faked. But you can’t fake a child, can you? If a child could be faked, wouldn’t you be getting cuckolded so hard you’d glow green? Hahaha!]

[Right, you can’t hide a child. They have to be registered for a household certificate, don’t they? They grow up, too, right? You can’t cover something like that up.]

[K-God has grasped the crux of the problem. You have to get married before having a child, right? And nowadays, getting married requires a house, a car, and so on. So, having a child is a major indicator of an adult’s financial situation.]

[Wouldn’t it be better to base it on income?]

[What’s the point of defining it by income? Someone working on the assembly line and someone in an office might have the same salary, but their work environments and the effort they put in are different. How can you lump them together?]

[Regardless, K-God has definitely offered a new way of thinking.]

[I think it’s pretty good.]

…

As the topic trended online, the public praised Fang Hong’s decision to donate one-tenth of his annual profits to the cause of educational assistance. This move earned him unanimous positive public appraisal.

Fang Hong’s Reputation Value was skyrocketing, and in the future, he could display the scale of his assets much more openly.

Yep, from now on, when he posted screenshots, it wouldn’t be called flaunting wealth. It would be reporting his profit and loss situation to the public, all for the sake of greater transparency and openness in the funds dedicated to his charitable cause, allowing the masses to supervise. Nothing wrong with that!

One-tenth of his profits was a very substantial portion.

Fang Hong’s move had, in fact, shamed a host of large corporations and institutions. Many business bosses were also quite displeased with him, as his actions made other entrepreneurs, especially those at the helm of well-known major corporations, lose a lot of face.

Inevitably, some gossiping netizens started using this to diss certain highly profitable yet stingy companies like Tencent and Alibaba.

Fang Hong didn’t pay it much mind. Having built his career to this scale, if he was afraid of offending people, he might as well just quit.

…

In the following days, Tian Jiayi began arranging the work related to establishing the “Education Assistance Fund.” Stellaris Capital also provided corresponding resources behind the scenes, so the formation of the organization proceeded very smoothly.

The foundation had about five hundred staff members, a number expected to expand to around one thousand in the future.

By the end of January, the official website for the Education Assistance Fund was launched. The site included an application portal, allowing for online submissions for aid. The offline channels, of course, would be handled by the foundation’s staff, who would travel to elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities across the country.

The foundation’s headquarters was located in Xincheng, with branch offices to be set up nationwide. Each office would be responsible for a specific region and would coordinate with the headquarters.

Fang Hong’s Education Assistance Fund was aimed at the entire country, accepting applications from underprivileged students from all over, not just a single region.

For the offline process, the foundation’s staff would contact schools. The schools would then inform the head teachers of each class, who would explain the aid program to their students. The students would then tell their parents, and the final decision would be made by their legal guardians. University students who were eighteen or older could submit applications themselves.

A partner banking institution was also quickly confirmed—a local commercial bank in Xincheng, which had specially launched a dedicated bank card for the educational fund.

Since it was a local bank without many branches in other cities, after an application was approved, the applicant would provide the necessary documents to the foundation as required, and the foundation would then handle the bank card application on their behalf.

The card could be issued within one calendar month at the latest after the documents were submitted. It would then be delivered to the recipient in one of two ways: either mailed to an address provided by the recipient or mailed directly to their local school, which would then hand it over to the student’s parents.

After the bank card was received, the foundation would not deposit the full amount at once. Instead, funds would be transferred once per semester. This would not only increase capital efficiency, preventing large sums of money from sitting idle in accounts and allowing more people to be helped, but also prevent the cardholders from using the money for other purposes.

If a recipient was supported from the first grade of elementary school all the way through their university graduation, a lump-sum payment of sixteen years’ worth of educational aid would be a huge sum for an ordinary low-income family. The probability of it being misappropriated would conservatively be over ninety percent.

It might be used to build a house, cover medical expenses for a serious illness, or for other things.

While saving a life is paramount, this money was, after all, intended for education, and resources were already limited.

Clearly, the Education Assistance Fund managed its finances very strictly. Not only did it prevent schools or other third parties from getting involved, but it also placed restrictions on the recipients themselves. Tuition and living expenses were disbursed one term at a time, so with no money in the card, there was nothing to misappropriate.

Of course, there was still room for a cashing out operation. For instance, one could find a third-party financial institution, give them a certain percentage in return for an advance on the funds, and then hand over the card for them to make regular withdrawals. This was feasible.

It was achieving the same result through different means as a future earning rights swap. As long as a financial institution saw a potential profit, they could certainly facilitate an advance cash-out.

Fang Hong had considered such scenarios, but he didn’t impose any restrictions against them. For one, very few people would do this. For another, if someone was determined to exploit a loophole, it would be impossible to plug every single one, and trying to do so would only drive up the foundation’s administrative costs.

All Fang Hong wanted was to find the best compromise for the vast majority. As for those who wanted to cash out, if problems arose later, they would only have themselves to blame.

…

Chapter 449: Have You Heard of Carbon Emissions Tax?

At the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, in the lounge area.

Tian Jiayi was currently discussing the Education Assistance Fund with Fang Hong.

“To identify those who are truly in need and ensure the funds reach them, we have to use a process of elimination.” Fang Hong thought for a moment before speaking methodically. “First, we can rule out those with ‘iron rice bowls’—those with secure jobs.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but nod. “That’s true.”

Fang Hong continued, “In reality, over eighty percent of the beneficiaries will have rural household registration. That’s indisputable. They are also the silent majority. So, the second exclusion criterion is that families with household registration in first-tier cities, provincial capitals, and prefecture-level cities will not be eligible for support.”

So, for families living in these cities, you’d at least have to be part of the migrant population to receive educational assistance, right?

Families who can obtain household registration in these cities can’t possibly be impoverished. To secure registration, you basically need to buy property, and a single apartment in such a city is worth a substantial amount of money.

Tian Jiayi immediately made a note of it.

After further excluding certain groups, the scope was narrowed down, allowing for a more precise identification of truly disadvantaged groups and ensuring the funds would be put to effective use.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi said, “The Education Assistance Fund has less than three billion yuan, yet it’s meant for underprivileged students nationwide. The resources are far too scarce for the demand. This raises the issue of fairness…”

Currently, there are probably three to five million out-of-school children across the country. The fund is not only for underprivileged students nationwide but also covers all stages from elementary school to university. The number of potential recipients is definitely in the tens of millions.

Even calculating an average of 10,000 yuan per year for tuition and living expenses, ten million people would create a funding gap of one hundred billion yuan. Compared to the fund’s less than three billion, this isn’t just a case of scarce resources; it’s like an army of thousands trying to cross a single-plank bridge.

The saying ‘The issue is not scarcity, but inequality’ applies here. Faced with limited resources and enormous demand, the problem of fairness is inevitable. It’s a contradiction.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and said in a low voice, “First of all, what we’re doing isn’t an obligation. We do what we can with the capabilities we have. We’ll support a group of people corresponding to the resources we possess. As for the fairness issue… in a situation with such scarce resources, let’s leave it up to fate. A lottery!

At this point, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and added, “The lottery will be conducted publicly by the fund’s headquarters. We’ll gather all the applications from across the country, then divide them by province and apply a fixed ratio. For example, a one-in-ten draw. If Province A has one hundred applicants, we’ll allocate ten spots for those one hundred people to draw from. If Province B has thirty applicants, we’ll give them three spots for their thirty people to draw from.”

Hearing this plan, Tian Jiayi strongly agreed. Handling it provincially was much safer. If all the applicants nationwide were put into one pool for the drawing, even without any manipulation, the winners could end up concentrated in one region, or one area could have a disproportionately high success rate. For instance, if a developed southern province had seven winners out of ten applicants, while a less-developed province had only seven winners out of a hundred, it would still draw public suspicion.

Adopting a province-based system was much better. It would ensure a relatively more even distribution. Furthermore, by locking in a fixed ratio, it was reasonable that provinces with larger impoverished populations would receive more spots.

“The headquarters will personally manage the lottery, and the winning applicants will be publicly disclosed on the Education Assistance Fund’s official website.” Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile as he said this. “If people want more spots, they should wish me luck in making more money in the A-share market.”

The ten percent ratio will remain unchanged. The larger the base amount, the larger the absolute amount of funds dedicated to educational assistance.

The lottery cannot be delegated to the local branches, as there would still be room for insider manipulation. It has to be centralized at headquarters and conducted publicly to ensure it is as just, open, and fair as possible.

As for those who don’t win, there’s no one to blame. It’s just bad luck.

After they finished discussing the Education Assistance Fund, Fang Hong shifted the topic to Stellaris Capital. He looked at Tian Jiayi and said, “Stellaris Capital also needs to get involved in philanthropy, but our focus will be in the environmental sector.”

Tian Jiayi asked, puzzled, “Environmental protection?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “To be precise, reforestation. We’ll carry out large-scale tree planting, primarily in the northwestern regions, in the name of charity and environmental protection. However, these forest resources must belong to Stellaris Capital. There’s money to be made from this later on.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiayi grew even more confused. She quickly replied, “Forest resources are like a cash crop. It’s one thing to plant the trees, but it’s difficult to get permission to cut them down. Especially in a region like the northwest, do you think they would approve logging after working so hard to increase forest coverage? Is that even possible?”

The beautiful assistant thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out how reforestation could be profitable. If they really went ahead with it, the money would probably just end up as a charitable donation.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re still thinking of forest resources as a cash crop. But it’s a different story if you view them as a financial asset. You don’t need to cut down a single tree to make money… Have you heard of carbon emissions tax?”

Carbon emissions tax?

Tian Jiayi’s face was filled with doubt. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Isn’t that a concept that Westerners have been promoting all this time?”

Fang Hong nodded and said methodically, “Academician Ding put it well in his interview last year when he rebuked Cai Jing. Carbon emission rights are development rights. That means carbon emission rights can be traded, even securitized. I’m very optimistic about this. By funding reforestation now, Stellaris Capital will first earn enough goodwill to cover its costs. Everything after that is profit, so at the very least we won’t lose money. If carbon trading takes off in the future, we’ll be steadily raking it in.”

At this point, Fang Hong thought for a moment and added, “If carbon trading is launched in the future, then forest resources become a financial asset… For example, say a forest of about 0.7 hectares can absorb five hundred tons of carbon dioxide in a year. You list this on a carbon exchange. Let’s say it’s fifty yuan per ton? Then the five hundred tons absorbed by that 0.7-hectare forest in a year would be worth twenty-five thousand yuan.”

Fang Hong continued, “And what if the forest area is 667 square kilometers? That would be 2.5 billion yuan. Now, what if you do a twenty-year revenue rights swap? How much could you get out of that? That’s fifty billion yuan.”

The beautiful assistant was stunned. “It can be done like that?”

Fang Hong smiled. “So, when Stellaris Capital spends money on reforestation, it’s a move that will gain both fame and fortune. The moment the trees are planted, you’ve earned back your investment in reputation. In the future, you can expect to lie back and count money without ever having to cut them down. With a sure-win, no-loss deal like this, tell me, are you in or not?”

Once you’ve planted the trees and they’ve matured, it’s true that the forestry resources are under your name, but the state will most likely not allow you to conduct large-scale logging. Doing so would also tarnish your reputation and earn you the notoriety of being an environmental destroyer.

If you were to treat these forestry resources as a traditional cash crop, it would be fine if you were doing it purely for charity with no expectation of returns. But if you wanted to profit from it, you would get absolutely wrecked.

But when the narrative shifts in the future to stories about carbon neutrality, peak carbon emissions, carbon emissions tax, and carbon trading, you’ll be sitting on a vast forest that absorbs carbon dioxide, granting you significant carbon emission rights.

You just list this stuff on the carbon exchange when the hype is at its peak, sell it, cash out, and exit. As for what happens later—whether the West stops mentioning carbon neutrality during an energy crisis or abandons the concept altogether—it doesn’t matter. You’ve already cashed out and left.

So, is there any need to chop down the forest?

You get the good reputation, and you make money on the side. It’s a perfect case of gaining both fame and fortune. This is a must-do!

…

Chapter 450: The Numbers Are Shocking

At that moment, in the living room, Tian Jiayi listened to Fang Hong’s description, then picked up a laptop. After a few minutes of searching, she turned to him and said, “The cost of artificial reforestation depends on factors like the region, sapling prices, and local labor costs. The cost for one mu of artificially reforested land is roughly between 3,000 to 5,000 RMB.”

Tian Jiayi thought for a moment before adding, “If Stellaris Capital were to really undertake large-scale reforestation, the immense economies of scale would average out the costs. The cost per mu could probably be brought down to 2,000 RMB. Factoring in things like inflation over time, it should end up around 3,000 RMB.”

With that, the beautiful assistant looked at Fang Hong again and asked, “How large an area are you planning to reforest?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong recalled information from his past life. In the next ten years or so, the total area of artificial reforestation in the country would be about one billion mu, which was 660,000 square kilometers, equivalent to about 6.25% of the nation’s total land area.

Without a doubt, this was an astonishing scale and a world-renowned achievement.

A moment later, Fang Hong said with a smile, “We don’t need to do too much. Let’s just aim for ten million mu a year, for a total of one hundred million mu in ten years.”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

Hearing his words, the beautiful assistant was left speechless. After a while, she said in an exasperated tone, “And you call that ‘not too much’?”

Fang Hong immediately retorted, “Is that a lot?”

Tian Jiayi: “…”

Speechless again, Tian Jiayi shook her head helplessly and quickly made a rough estimate. “Even at a reforestation cost of 3,000 RMB per mu, the budget for 100 million mu would be 300 billion!”

Fang Hong said calmly, “That’s only 30 billion a year. Not that much.”

Tian Jiayi: “Alright…”

The beautiful assistant did some quick mental math. Given Stellaris Capital’s current earning power, allocating 30 billion a year for reforestation didn’t seem like a huge deal.

It was just that the scale was truly outrageous.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi looked up some related information on her computer and said, “You said earlier that one mu absorbs 50 tons of carbon dioxide, but your figure was off by more than double. One mu of forest can absorb about 67 kilograms of carbon dioxide per day, which is about 24 tons a year. Assuming we can really conduct carbon trading in the future and the price per ton really sells for 50 RMB.”

Tian Jiayi opened the calculator on her laptop and began punching in numbers. “The carbon credits generated by one mu of forest would be worth about 1,200 RMB. For an area of 100 million mu, the annual carbon credits could reach 120 billion RMB…”

She wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t done the math, but the result was shocking. The beautiful assistant immediately looked up at Fang Hong, stunned. “By that calculation, wouldn’t we recoup our costs in less than three years?”

That…

If they were to swap the revenue rights of the carbon credits from 100 million mu of forest for the next twenty years, that would be a sum of 2.4 trillion RMB.

That…

Could reforestation really have such a terrifying return?

The beautiful assistant was completely dazed, shocked by the numbers she had just calculated.

Fang Hong, however, was very calm. He knew that in ten years, the total annual trading volume of the global carbon credit market would reach 865 billion euros, which at the exchange rate of the time would be equivalent to 6.3 trillion RMB. If he told Tian Jiayi that figure, she would probably be petrified on the spot.

Although the subsequent Russia-Ukraine crisis would lead to a global energy crisis, causing the Europeans and Americans to eat their words, China’s new energy strategy would be in full swing by then. The country would definitely be resolute in advancing its “dual carbon” goals. At that time, the domestic market would have a massive demand of roughly 2 trillion to 4 trillion RMB annually.

Finally, Fang Hong said with a smile, “So we have to do this. Carbon emission rights are development rights. This is a triple-win situation that benefits the country, the people, and ourselves. We must go all in, go big, and go hard!”

Hearing him say this, Tian Jiayi knew it was a done deal. She immediately asked, “Are we starting this year?”

Fang Hong nodded. “We start this year. Push it forward as fast as possible. By 2020, Stellaris Capital must achieve the target of one hundred million mu.”

Tian Jiayi: “Understood.”

In ten years, the concepts of carbon trading and carbon neutrality would take off. By then, Stellaris Capital would own the rights to 100 million mu of forest resources. He would have no problem giving the physical trees from the artificial forests to the state. After all, cutting them down would provoke public outrage, so it would be better to donate them to the state and earn some goodwill. Compared to selling carbon credit quotas, how much were the trees worth as an economic crop?

…

In the days that followed, as the new year began, the domestic capital market rebounded on the first trading day of the year before beginning a volatile downturn.

On Friday, January 14, after the A-share market closed, the central bank announced a 0.5 percentage point hike in the RMB deposit reserve ratio. This was the central bank’s fourth increase in the past three months and the first of 2011.

After this adjustment, the deposit reserve ratio for large commercial banks reached 19%, which would freeze over 350 billion yuan in funds from commercial banks.

Some industry insiders stated that there was still room for further increases in the deposit reserve ratio, and a differential reserve ratio would also be implemented. At the same time, with inflationary pressures high at the beginning of the year, the possibility of raising interest rates could not be ruled out.

Influenced by this news, when the A-share market opened on January 17, both markets had a gap down opening and immediately began a panic sell-off. The market was characterized by a brutal, one-sided sell-off throughout the day.

By the close, the three major indexes were all down. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -3.03% to close at 2706.66 points; the Shenzhen Component Index plunged by -4.55% to close at 11734.62 points; and the ChiNext board Index tumbled by -3.68% to close at 1028.16 points.

Today’s long bearish candle not only erased the entire rebound from late December of last year but also set a new recent low.

After a two-day rebound, economic data was released on Thursday. The market sold off again at the open, wiping out the two-day rebound and setting yet another new low. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down -2.92% for the day, with the index finishing at 2677.65 points.

It had broken below the 2700-point mark.

Then, on Friday, January 21, the market staged another violent rebound. The broader market index once surged over +2.51% during trading hours, ultimately closing with a gain of +1.41%.

Most investors were wailing in agony. This market was simply unplayable. If you bought in, you’d take a big loss; if you sold, the stock would take off. If you got angry and bought back in, you’d just take another loss from a big drop the next day.

Anyone who got the timing wrong this week was subjected to a torturous whipsaw.

…

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong had just enjoyed a spa service from Lin Yun. After leaving the therapy room, he sat in the lounge area for a while. A thought quickly came to him, so he opened his computer and searched for news online.

“Tencent’s mobile instant messaging social software really did launch today.” Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile as he read the news. He had made Quantum Beat intercept Tencent’s “WeChat” trademark, so now Tencent’s product was called “WeiLiao.”

After more than two, almost three months, Tencent’s WeiLiao was finally launched today, but Tencent’s stock price showed little reaction.

Fang Hong picked up an S1-Plus phone and downloaded the WeiLiao app to try it out.

Currently, the version of WeiLiao that Tencent officially launched today was the first one targeting TOS; the Android version would be released later.

Choosing to launch on the TOS version first was inevitable, as the best-selling smartphone in the entire Greater China region was currently the S1 phone from Stellar Universe Technology.

In fact, Tencent had made a difficult decision in choosing to launch on the TOS version first. They were genuinely worried about being targeted by Stellar Universe Technology, because that company, like Quantum Beat, shared a common label—the Qunxing ecosystem.

…

Chapter 451: Stellar Universe Technology’s Sensational 2010 Report Card

Tencent’s worries were not without reason. Both were investment companies under Stellaris Capital, which was the largest shareholder in each, holding stakes of over two-thirds.

By choosing to launch the TOS version first, Tencent was taking a gamble.

They were betting that Qin Feng of Stellar Universe Technology wouldn’t make a move against them. If he did, it would undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to the TOS ecosystem, whose foundations were still unsteady.

Xu Jingren, who was in charge of Quantum Beat, on the other hand, very much hoped that Qin Feng would delist WeiLiao, which would mean one less competitor.

However, Tencent’s gamble paid off.

Qin Feng did not jeopardize the reputation of the TOS ecosystem for the sake of Quantum Beat’s WeChat. Although he had given Quantum Beat’s WeChat team a lot of assistance due to their connection through Stellaris Capital, he would not prevent the proper launch of Tencent’s WeiLiao.

If Qin Feng had done so, it would inevitably make other developers wary of the TOS system, which would be extremely detrimental to the construction of the TOS ecosystem.

…

At that moment, Fang Hong successfully installed version 1.0 of Tencent’s WeiLiao on his phone. He then tried out the app. In the words of industry insiders and general users, it was a “low-spec knockoff version” of WeChat.

The initial release of WeiLiao version 1.0 had a simple interface and features—one might even call it crude.

The current version of WeiLiao only supported importing existing contacts via QQ number and offered only basic functions like instant messaging, photo sharing, and changing one’s profile picture.

They were really in a rush!

They had no choice; Quantum Beat’s WeChat was on a mad dash forward, and Tencent couldn’t afford to wait.

In reality, in just over half a month, the 1.x iteration of WeiLiao would also release an Android version, which would support automatic linking of phone contacts and group chat functions.

Even with the so-called 1.x version, it would still be inferior to Quantum Beat’s WeChat. At the very least, WeChat’s QR code scanning feature was not yet present in WeiLiao’s 1.x iteration.

Meanwhile, Quantum Beat’s WeChat team had long since prepared version 2.0, but they were still “squeezing the toothpaste”—it was ready but not yet released. This was mainly because competitors like Tencent were a bit slow on the uptake with their copying, and they were waiting for them.

Once their competitors had finished copying, they would immediately launch version 2.0 to maintain their lead.

WeChat’s 2.0 version update would introduce the new “People Nearby” feature, which was a surefire trump card, as it was hailed as a “hookup artifact.”

In addition to the new “People Nearby” function, the 2.0 update would also introduce new features like emoji.

“Hm…?”

As Fang Hong was about to close Tencent’s news page, he noticed another piece of industry news. It was an announcement from Quantum Beat’s WeChat team, revealing the latest registered user numbers for WeChat.

According to the disclosed data, as of January 20th, the number of registered WeChat users had reached thirty-six million, continuing its unparalleled growth rate.

Seeing this news, Fang Hong couldn’t help but chuckle. Xu Jingren really didn’t play by the rules. Tencent had just launched their product today, and he immediately followed up by flaunting his data. This move was like a dagger to Tencent’s heart.

The Pontiff in Red, President Zhou, would be smashing the like button for Xu Jingren!

The Pontiff in Red: See that Penguin? Stab it! Stab it to death!

…

Over the weekend, Stellar Universe Technology publicly disclosed the company’s sales figures for the 2010 fiscal year, which immediately became the biggest news of the day, with media outlets scrambling to report on it.

According to the data released by Stellar Universe Technology, the company’s total sales for 2010 amounted to ninety-two billion, five hundred and eighty-two million yuan.

Breaking down the revenue structure, the company’s first-generation smartphone, the S1 phone, sold a total of twenty-two million, two hundred and three thousand units throughout 2010, generating cumulative sales of eighty-three billion, nine hundred and twenty million yuan. This accounted for 90.64% of the company’s total sales, making it the absolute core business.

Next was the TOS App Store, with an annual revenue of seven billion, eight hundred and thirty-two million yuan, accounting for 8.46 percent.

Then came other business revenues, totaling around eight hundred and fifty million yuan.

The company’s net profit last year was thirteen billion, six hundred million yuan, for a net profit margin of 14.69%. This profit margin was relatively low, even significantly below market expectations. After all, everyone knew that the profit on Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone was not far behind Apple’s, at most a ten-percentage-point difference.

However, after reading the rest of the announcement, everyone had a moment of sudden realization. It turned out that Stellar Universe Technology had invested an astronomical figure of over fifty billion yuan in technology R&D alone last year. On top of that, the zero-interest installment plan for their phones also constituted a significant operating cost.

But without a doubt, the R&D investment had eaten up the lion’s share.

Outsiders were left speechless. Stellar Universe Technology was truly willing to spend a fortune on R&D; no wonder it was so successful.

Some people couldn’t even comprehend it. What kind of research and development required so much money?

This sensational data flooded the entire internet over the weekend, leading to a frenzy of reports from various media outlets. Major mainstream newspapers also covered the story, hailing Stellar Universe Technology as a model standard-bearer for the nation’s economic transformation and upgrading.

To be honest, when Fang Hong saw the mainstream media elevating Stellar Universe Technology to such heights, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. Keeping a low profile was quite nice, but its strength simply didn’t allow for it.

With sales exceeding ninety-two billion, five hundred million yuan, people found it hard to believe this was the achievement of a company that had only been established for three years.

Furthermore, with annual sales of over twenty-two million, two hundred thousand units, Stellar Universe Technology firmly secured its position as the largest domestic smartphone giant and the absolute industry leader. Competitors like Coolpad and Little Mi could only watch from a distance, left in the dust.

The sales figure of twenty-two million, two hundred thousand units also surpassed the twenty million, seven hundred thousand units sold of the iPhone 3GS, which Apple had released in 2009.

What shocked the market the most was the formidable consumption power of the Greater China region. One had to remember that the success of Apple’s iPhone 3GS was built on the global market, whereas Stellar Universe Technology’s S1 phone achieved this dazzling report card relying solely on the Greater China market.

According to data released a week ago by the American market research firm IDC, global smartphone sales in 2010 saw a year-on-year increase of +74.4%, reaching three hundred and six million, two hundred thousand units, breaking the three-hundred-million-unit mark. Among the drivers of this market expansion were Apple’s “iPhone” from the United States, Google’s “Android” operating system, and Stellar Universe Technology’s “TOS” from China.

With shipments of twenty-two million, two hundred and three thousand units last year, Stellar Universe Technology captured a global smartphone market share of about 7.25%. Although there was still a large gap compared to industry giants like Nokia, as a newcomer that had burst onto the scene, it had already garnered global attention.

While Stellar Universe Technology’s performance was making waves over the weekend, Fang Hong also made a point to check the performance of Apple’s iPhone 4. What he saw was something he was delighted to see. The global sales data for the iPhone 4 in 2010 was twenty-eight million, nine hundred thousand units. Benchmarking this against the thirty-nine million units from his previous life, the difference was over ten million units.

Roughly speaking, the emergence of Stellar Universe Technology in this life had intercepted Apple’s opportunity, costing the iPhone 4 ten million units and reducing its sales by over a quarter.

…

Chapter 452: Plenty of People are Eyeing the Huge Prize That is Stellar Universe Technology

Although Stellar Universe Technology’s global smartphone market share was only 7.25%, which wasn’t outstanding, it was by no means low. More importantly, its rise had been so rapid that many veteran giants hadn’t even had time to react.

Furthermore, its sales figures were not low at all. Because its products were expensive and positioned in the high-end market, they were only slightly cheaper than Apple’s.

The most crucial factor was its terrifyingly high market share in the domestic smartphone market. Within the Mainland market, the percentage skyrocketed by about tenfold, reaching a dominant 71%.

In other words, for every 100 smartphones sold in the country last year, 71 were products from Stellar Universe Technology.

This market share was a beautiful sight to behold.

However, Fang Hong understood that Stellar Universe Technology had benefited greatly from its first-mover advantage and the fact that the domestic smartphone market was just beginning to explode—it hadn’t even reached its true, massive boom yet.

After all, for brands like Little Mi, production capacity was a real problem.

Other manufacturers were also just starting to make their moves.

With the release of Stellar Universe Technology’s explosive earnings report, it would undoubtedly accelerate the speed and scale of investment by various players in the smartphone sector. Over the next two years, everyone would be showcasing their own unique strengths. This would include an unprecedented explosion of various unknown knockoff phones, which would in turn fuel the vigorous development of the domestic mobile internet.

In the current growth market environment, players didn’t even need to snipe at each other. There was a vast amount of unoccupied market space, and anyone who entered could make a profit; it was just a matter of how much. Consequently, there was little competitive conflict.

Even with its first-mover advantage, Stellar Universe Technology couldn’t possibly occupy every ecological niche.

Qin Feng had a very clear positioning for Stellar Universe Technology: focus on the high-end market and benchmark against Apple.

It was worth mentioning that, in Fang Hong’s previous life, Apple had used the iPhone 4 to open the doors to the Greater China market. But now, with Stellar Universe Technology bursting onto the scene and snatching the opportunity, not only had the iPhone 4 failed to penetrate the Greater China market, but its global sales, compared to the previous life’s data, had yet to break 30 million units.

Whether it could enter this year was still up in the air, as both sides were embroiled in lawsuits. Internationally, Stellar Universe Technology was completely defeated—that couldn’t be helped—but Qin Feng had never considered expanding overseas at this stage anyway.

As for the domestic lawsuits, with Stellaris Capital’s backing, that was another story entirely.

…

On Monday, January 24, the A-share market opened. Although the index fluctuated and ended up closing in the red, the Stellar Universe Technology concept stock sector surged today.

Goertek opened 4 percent higher during the call auction and immediately went on an aggressive offensive to hit the limit-up, with both volume and price rising in tandem. The stock had already seen a cumulative gain of nearly 400 percent since 2010, maintaining a strong continuation of its uptrend throughout the year.

Additionally, Laibao Hi-Tech, another supply chain enterprise cooperating with Stellar Universe Technology, also opened high and shot straight to its limit-up in seconds. Back in October of last year, after entering Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain, the stock’s price had more than doubled in just over a month, soaring from 21 yuan to 50 yuan.

Laibao Hi-Tech had also earned a spot on the list of monster stocks last year.

In the new year, the stock had experienced a month-long unilateral decline to around the 34 yuan level, a correction of over 32%. Today, spurred by the weekend’s news, it was pushed to its limit-up by market funds.

Essentially, in today’s A-share market, Stellar Universe Technology concept stocks were all in the green. Five individual stocks within the sector hit their limit-up. The profit potential of this sector was such that anyone who bought in at the call auction basically made a big profit.

For many domestic manufacturers, joining Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain meant a guaranteed surge in earnings. If the company was listed, its stock price would inevitably skyrocket.

This was not only due to the sharp increase in order volume but also because the profit margins were substantial.

Stellar Universe Technology’s smartphone profits were so high that market analysis once predicted they would be a close second to Apple’s, only slightly lower.

However, the recently disclosed information revealed that Stellar Universe Technology’s net profit margin was not even 15 percent. Besides reinvesting more than half of its profits into R&D, it also allocated a generous share of profits to its supply chain partners.

This was why Stellar Universe Technology’s concept stocks had soared. In particular, the stocks of manufacturers in its supply chain were being snatched up by institutional investors. This was because the logic was solid and irrefutable; the rise was based not on valuation, but on value.

Looking at valuation is about assessing a company’s future expectations, which is often more about telling stories. Looking at value, on the other hand, is about how much real money a company can make.

Joining Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain meant a tangible, expectation-exceeding growth in profits.

…

In the afternoon, inside the study on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

While giving her routine work report, Tian Jiayi said with a smile, “In a meeting at the company today, it was mentioned that various Mainland capital institutions have been approaching Qunxing to propose a listing for Stellar Universe Technology. There were many familiar faces, like Zhongtai Capital, Pengrui Capital, and so on. They’re all scrambling to hold the bag and prop up the market.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong crossed his legs, chuckled, and glanced at his beautiful assistant. “Plenty of people are eyeing the huge prize that is Stellar Universe Technology, huh?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Zhongtai Capital is even willing to offer a 35x P/E ratio to absorb the selling pressure. Compared to Apple’s current 15x P/E ratio, that’s a full 20 points higher. They’re terrified of not being able to get on board.”

For capital to offer a 35x P/E ratio for Stellar Universe Technology meant that the primary market had already raised the company’s valuation to 476 billion RMB, a twofold increase from last year’s valuation.

Stellar Universe Technology’s 2010 sales report, disclosed last weekend, was simply too explosive. Since the S1’s launch, market feedback had caused various analysis firms to continuously revise their forecasts upwards—from 5 million units to 10 million, then to 15 million, and further to 18 million.

In the end, it still exceeded expectations.

The final number for the year was 22.203 million units, capturing a 71% share of the Mainland’s smartphone sales for the entire year.

Fang Hong smiled. “Stellar Universe Technology has indeed performed exceptionally well, even exceeding my own expectations. Seeing this, we probably don’t even need to go the backdoor listing route. It’s just short of the two-year profitability requirement. We can adjust the plan and apply for a main board listing directly around 2012.”

With a net profit of 13.6 billion this year, according to the financial requirements for listing on the A-share market, a company needs a cumulative net profit of over 30 million yuan in the three years prior to issuance, and either a cumulative net operating cash flow of over 50 million yuan or cumulative operating revenue of over 300 million yuan in the same period.

Undoubtedly, Stellar Universe Technology met all these criteria; only the time requirement was left.

Other companies might wait two or three years without any result after applying for a listing, but for Stellar Universe Technology, it would definitely be a green light all the way. The company’s largest shareholder was currently Stellaris Capital; after the five billion B-round financing last year, Stellaris Capital’s stake had risen to 80 percent.

Moreover, the five top-tier “National team” institutions had already gotten on board with Stellaris Capital. Stellar Universe Technology’s path to an A-share listing was simply incomparable to the situation Wang Qingxiong faced when listing Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group back in the day.

Tian Jiayi looked at him and asked, “Are you sure you’re not taking the backdoor listing route?”

Fang Hong replied, “No rush. We’ll take it one year at a time. I know those capital institutions wanting to get on board are anxious. Let them be anxious.”

In reality, Stellar Universe Technology didn’t need to go public at all. If it needed financing, it could simply borrow from its parent, Qunxing. Stellaris Capital was absolutely capable of providing the funds without any pressure.

But Fang Hong still wanted to take Stellar Universe Technology public. First, it was to improve Stellaris Capital’s creditworthiness, and second, it was to distribute the cake.

…

Chapter 453: The Launch of the Third Listed Target in the Qunxing Ecosystem

“Speaking of which, I heard something strange about Stellar Universe Technology today, something you could even call extremely abnormal,” Tian Jiayi said with a charming smile. “It’s said that a few supply chain companies under Stellar Universe Technology thought the profit margins Stellar Universe Technology gave them were too high, and they hoped Qin Feng would lower them a bit. Who would’ve thought someone would complain about having too much profit these days?”

Fang Hong’s interest was piqued. He looked at his beautiful assistant and asked, “What did Qin Feng do?”

Tian Jiayi smiled. “If it’s abnormal for those supply chain companies to take the initiative to ask for a profit cut, then Qin Feng was just as abnormal. He flat-out refused their proposals. One side is complaining about getting too much profit and begging to have it cut, and the other side won’t even agree to it…”

As she spoke, the beautiful assistant shook her head, at a loss for words.

Fang Hong, however, remained calm. “A large part of Walmart’s secret to success can be attributed to its low-price strategy. When an industry doesn’t have exorbitant profits, it won’t attract too many new players. That’s why Walmart has no competitors, or at least none that pose a real threat.”

After a pause, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and smiled. “Those supply chain companies—do you really think they don’t want that profit? They’re afraid of being crushed by their peers in a race to the bottom. They’re afraid their orders will be snatched away and they’ll be squeezed out of Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain.”

Tian Jiayi was stunned for a moment. After some thought, she couldn’t help but say, “You mean, they’re afraid their competitors will proactively lower their own profits to approach Stellar Universe Technology?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “It’s simply the difference between gorging yourself in one meal and having food for every meal. Their line of thinking achieves a similar result to Walmart’s strategy. By lowering my profit margin, I effectively dissuade potential competitors who want to intercept my business. And given that our countrymen have the attribute of being the kings of the rat race, this is perfectly normal.”

Hearing his explanation, the beautiful assistant nodded in sudden realization. “I see. Your explanation actually makes sense.”

After a moment, Tian Jiayi asked again, puzzled, “But, in that case, where do their profits come from?”

Without hesitation, Fang Hong answered concisely, “By squeezing the employees, of course.”

Tian Jiayi was speechless.

She couldn’t refute it.

Fang Hong said deliberately, “That’s just how the world is. After multiple rounds of negotiations between all parties, the final outcome is always the transfer of the resulting costs or consequences to the weakest group. In this model, the employees will undoubtedly be the ones to bear the brunt. The manifestation of this is quite straightforward—low wages.”

The beautiful assistant couldn’t help but sigh softly.

It was the same in almost every industry. If you won’t do it, plenty of others will. This is the price, take it or leave it. If you quit in a fit of pique, someone will imminently pop up, clamoring that they’re willing to do it. In the end, it just becomes impotent rage.

In a word: involution!

Tian Jiayi said to herself, “In that case, Qin Feng is quite a straight shooter. But even so, the grassroots employees might not see an increase in their income. The profit still flows into the pockets of the Directors, Supervisors, and Senior Management.”

Fang Hong immediately corrected her, “No, no, you’re wrong about that. Whether Qin Feng is a straight shooter or not is beside the point. His primary motivation for not taking back the profit is definitely not so those supply chain companies can give their employees a raise. If they do get a raise, that’s just a side effect.”

The beautiful assistant looked at him curiously. Fang Hong continued, “Look, when Qin Feng allocates more profit to his supply chain companies, the outcome of the entire negotiation model changes drastically. When a supplier receives high profits, two results can occur. One, the boss pockets it all. Two, they enhance their company’s R&D capabilities or improve product quality—in short, they increase their competitiveness.”

Fang Hong elaborated, “If the boss chooses to pocket the money, the company’s competitiveness will decline, which in turn leads to the risk of being kicked out, because there are plenty of people who want a piece of this cake. If he wants to maintain the company’s competitiveness, he can’t just hoard the money. He has to spend it to improve R&D and product quality to maintain his competitive edge. That means he has to give his employees a raise. This way, the employees get to drink some of the dregs, which isn’t bad.”

At this point, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant, smiled, and added, “It’s true that employees are a vulnerable group, but being vulnerable doesn’t mean they’re stupid. ‘I’ll do as much work as you pay me for.’ If you don’t give me a raise, I’ll just slack off. What can you do about it? Fire me? For this pathetic salary, you think I’m afraid of being fired? If you fire me and hire someone new, you’ll find they’ll slack off just the same. So what do you do as the boss? You raise wages. That way, employees will be afraid of being fired, because no other place pays as well as you do.”

“What Qin Feng is doing is ensuring that Stellar Universe Technology’s supply chain can keep up with his pace. Anyone who can’t is immediately replaced. The profits you offer are tempting enough that those suppliers know there are plenty of others outside waiting to take their place. You dare to lie flat? You dare not to improve your competitiveness? If you do, just wait to be kicked out and replaced. This way, you also don’t have to worry about the suppliers below leveraging their position, because they can be replaced at any time.”

Fang Hong concluded, “Stellar Universe Technology is a high-tech company. It has to adopt a strategy opposite to that of a traditional company like Walmart. Only then can it always maintain its leading competitive position.”

Hearing his deconstruction of the situation, Tian Jiayi once again nodded with a look of sudden realization. “I see, I understand now.”

Fang Hong smiled. “A reasonable distribution of profits encourages healthy competition among the suppliers below and prevents them from slacking off. This benefits Stellar Universe Technology’s long-term strategy and gives it a greater say. Qin Feng is a very capable man, and I mean very capable. With Stellar Universe Technology in his hands, you could go a whole year without visiting and still sleep soundly.”

After a while, Tian Jiayi took a document out of her briefcase and handed it to Fang Hong. “There’s one more thing. There’s been a major development with ATL Group Company. They completed the spin-off of their power battery division back in October of last year, establishing Ningde Shidai. ATL has also completed its restructuring and is now pushing for a public listing on the ChiNext board. Xinhong Securities has already begun its pre-listing guidance.”

Fang Hong took the document and glanced at it. ATL’s IPO was once again being led and sponsored by Xinhong Securities, an old partner and a local brokerage firm from Xincheng.

As he scanned the list of institutional subscribers on the document, Fang Hong saw many familiar names. The two major capital institutions, Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital, were prominently featured. They were practically the “‘Heng and Ha’ generals” responsible for pumping up the price for the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies.

Liu Qizheng, who was in charge of Zhongtai Capital, and Xiao Quan, who helmed Pengrui Capital, were two men who even brazenly called themselves “tools” for the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies, playing the role of market makers despite not officially being them.

Many institutional investors would kill for a spot as one of these “tools,” because it meant money. There were profits to be made—guaranteed, stable profits.

…

Chapter 454: “You’re Saying That Young Man is the True Helmsman of Stellaris Capital?”

ATL Company applied for a listing on the ChiNext board this time. The company’s stock will be named “ATL Technology.” The IPO aims to raise 1.575 billion RMB by issuing 136.955 million shares, which represents 35% of the company’s total share capital. The IPO valuation is 4.5 billion RMB, with a total share capital of 391.3 million shares and an issue price set at 11.50 RMB per share.

Of the new shares issued in this IPO, one hundred million shares were allocated for offline subscriptions, which were primarily snapped up by institutional investors, accounting for about 73% of the issuance. The remaining 36.955 million shares were made available for online subscription to the general public of retail investors.

If there were no hiccups and everything proceeded smoothly, ATL Company would be listed on the ChiNext board in early March of this year.

“Also, the five major institutions and Stellaris Capital are officially signing the contract tomorrow.” Tian Jiayi brought this up with Fang Hong as she thought of it. Once the signing is complete, the five institutions will become shareholders of Stellaris Capital, with a combined stake of 35% of the company’s total share capital.

Fang Hong thought silently for a moment before looking at his beautiful assistant again and instructing, “Give Hua Yu a call later. Explain to the heads of the five institutions that I am the one who actually controls Stellaris Capital.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi was quite surprised. She couldn’t help but ask in astonishment, “Are you really going to do this?”

Fang Hong nodded with great certainty. “To avoid creating friction later on, we should defuse this bomb in advance. Let them make their decision with full knowledge of the facts. This will create a more solid foundation of trust for the future.”

Choosing to reveal this just before the agreement was to be signed was clearly a calculated move. Stellaris Capital was now a trillion-yuan-level entity, and its 80% stake in Stellar Universe Technology alone was extraordinary.

Faced with this sudden news, Fang Hong was very confident that the five institutions would still sign. They would definitely sign and become shareholders of Stellaris Capital.

This was because the agreement was based on Stellaris Capital’s net asset value in 2009, which was less than three hundred billion yuan at the time. Now, it was already at the trillion-yuan level.

Afterward, Tian Jiayi relayed this matter to Hua Yu.

Two hours later, Hua Yu met with Qin Gangyi, the representative for the five institutions.

“…Mr. Qin, that’s more or less the real situation at Stellaris Capital.” At that moment, Hua Yu was speaking face-to-face with Qin Gangyi in a private room. He had just explained that Fang Hong was the actual helmsman behind the scenes at Stellaris Capital.

“What did you say? This…” Upon hearing this news, Qin Gangyi was utterly shocked, showing a rare loss of composure. With a stunned expression, he said, “Are you telling me… that the young man named Fang Hong isn’t a puppet of your Hua family, but the real player moving the pieces?”

There was no one else here, so there was no need for pretense. Besides, everyone else thought the same thing.

If one looked through Stellaris Capital’s equity structure, the person it ultimately pointed to was indeed Fang Hong. But everyone was suffering from “darkness under the lamp” and didn’t take him seriously at all. Almost every institution considered him a puppet of the Huayang Group family.

“This joke has gone too far. President Hua, this joke is a bit much.” Qin Gangyi said, a mix of laughter and shock on his face. He clearly hadn’t recovered and couldn’t accept such an answer. A wet-behind-the-ears kid built a trillion-yuan conglomerate?

It was too outrageous, the stuff of legends. Even legends weren’t this ridiculous.

“Mr. Qin, I guarantee on my personal honor that not a single word I’ve said is false.” Hua Yu looked at him and said methodically, “Every development and major decision at Stellaris Capital, from its founding to this day, was established by Fang Hong. I am merely the executor. This includes bringing in the five institutions and also informing you of this now. Without him, Stellaris Capital would not be where it is today.”

Hearing this, the look on Qin Gangyi’s face suggested that this bombshell news was enough to shock him for an entire year. He opened his mouth to speak but didn’t know where to begin.

Hua Yu immediately added, “Two hours ago, Mr. Fang informed me and asked me to relay this to you. He wants to lay all his cards on the table before the agreement is signed, so the five institutions can make their decision accordingly.”

Qin Gangyi: “This…”

He could also see that Hua Yu didn’t seem to be joking, nor should he be making such a joke at this critical juncture.

But it was still hard to believe.

Finally, Qin Gangyi stared intently at Hua Yu and asked, “He, Fang Hong, that young man, directed everything at Stellaris Capital from behind the scenes?”

Hua Yu nodded with absolute certainty. “It’s the absolute truth.”

Then, Hua Yu continued with a smile, “Mr. Qin, in the IT and internet world, Huayang Group was once joked about as the kiss of death for any company it invested in. But starting with Quantum Beat, that changed completely, a turnaround so remarkable it was like seeing an iron tree blossom. And that’s not even mentioning the rise of Stellar Universe Technology. But an iron tree cannot blossom on its own. Huayang Group truly lacks the internet DNA. All of this was Fang Hong’s handiwork.”

Hua Yu added, “Even Huayang Group’s current growth momentum can be attributed to Fang Hong pointing out the strategic direction.”

Qin Gangyi was shocked once more.

Hua Yu said with emotion, “Mr. Qin, I understand how you feel right now. Even as a party involved, I am still utterly shocked by it all. But this is the truth. The truth is that Fang Hong single-handedly created Stellaris Capital. Because of him, Stellaris Capital has forged ahead, with clear goals and a distinct strategy, winning every battle. Without him, it would be like being deaf and blind. Stellaris Capital can do without anyone else, but it cannot be without him.”

After a long while, Qin Gangyi took a deep breath and raised a hand in a gesture of resignation. “Let me digest this news…”

Qin Gangyi thought it over and over, but no matter how he looked at it, he felt this was something impossible for a young man not yet thirty years old. Yet, Hua Yu’s attitude compelled him to believe it was the truth.

Finally, Qin Gangyi suddenly asked, “Why does he stay behind the scenes?”

Hearing this, Hua Yu thought for a moment and then smiled. “To be honest, that’s something I’d like to know too. He once said he likes peace and quiet, but perhaps… Mr. Qin, your reaction right now is the very reason he stays behind the scenes.”

People’s stereotype is that someone young and inexperienced is unreliable. Having Huayang Group as the public face is far more convincing than a young man in his twenties.

If that was true, to have such foresight and act on it… Qin Gangyi was even more astonished.

“This isn’t something you’d expect from someone his age. It’s incredible, inconceivable.” Qin Gangyi couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. He had lost count of how many times he had been amazed. He then looked at Hua Yu and asked, “I wonder, Mr. Hua, what is your assessment of this Fang Hong?”

Upon hearing the question, Hua Yu fell silent for a moment before replying, “This is how my father assesses him… A prodigy!”

A prodigy?

Qin Gangyi mulled it over and nodded. As if talking to himself, he said, “If what you say is true, then he is indeed a prodigy.”

After mulling it over, Qin Gangyi suddenly came to his senses. He immediately stood up and said, “This is a matter of great importance. Mr. Hua, I must take my leave now.”

With that, he strode away.

He had to get back quickly and discuss this with the other institutions. It was simply too significant. The information was too sudden, and it might even require a complete re-evaluation of Stellaris Capital. Many of their previous conclusions might have to be thrown out and re-examined from scratch.

In short, the current situation was this: the actual helmsman of the non-bank financial giant, Stellaris Capital, was a young man. Should they trust this young man? This was a critical question that urgently needed an answer.

And what’s more, this young man was precisely someone everyone had noticed before.

What does it mean to have “darkness under the lamp”?

This was “darkness under the lamp.”

Who would have ever thought…

Chapter 455: Strategic Investment in Stellaris Capital, Funds Snap Up Weibo Shares

The next day, Wednesday, January 26th.

Fang Hong was now patiently waiting for news. Meanwhile, the A-share market fluctuated before closing higher. Yesterday, the broader market had pulled back to a low of 2661.45 points, which would prove to be its lowest point for the next five months.

After the market closed, the Shanghai Composite Index finished up +1.17% at 2708.81 points, reclaiming the 2700-point mark.

On the individual stock front, Weibo closed up +2.47% today at 143.19 yuan per share, with a trading volume of 1.106 billion yuan.

After a period of intense volatility, the stock had stabilized over the past few trading days. Its daily trading volume had fallen from the usual five or even ten billion yuan to just over one billion, and it was no longer the most-traded stock in the market—a position it had previously held almost constantly.

However, Weibo’s stock price had now reached an inflection point.

Two hours after the market closed, around 5:00 PM, a major announcement concerning Stellaris Capital captured the immense attention of the entire capital market.

The company held a press conference to announce that five major state institutions were making a strategic investment in Stellaris Capital. Their combined stake would amount to 35% of the company’s total share capital. The agreement was signed and disclosed at the press conference that same day.

This news became the front-page headline in the capital markets. Fang Hong, currently at his Tranquil Heart Residence villa, was also reading the news. Unlike the outside world, he had already been informed at noon.

After Qin Gangyi met with Hua Yu yesterday, he immediately held an internal discussion with the five major institutions. Although they found it incredible that Stellaris Capital was helmed by such a young man, they consulted among themselves, requested instructions from their superiors, and received their latest directive.

It was a single word: Sign!

They would definitely sign. Setting everything else aside, signing the deal meant instantly turning one hundred billion yuan into assets worth over three hundred fifty billion.

There was no reason not to.

It is worth noting that, so far, only Qin Gangyi and the people from the five major ‘National Team’ institutions knew who the true helmsman behind Stellaris Capital was. Other institutions remained in a state of “darkness under the lamp,” as the five institutions had said nothing publicly.

Although Hua Yu had not stated it explicitly yesterday, at this level of communication, such things didn’t need to be spelled out.

After all, information has value, and an information advantage is worth a great deal.

…

The next day, Thursday, January 27th.

Including today, there were only four trading days left before the A-share market would close for the Spring Festival. Trading would resume on February 9th.

Today, the A-share market dipped first before rallying. It opened low, quickly pulled back, and once fell by over 1%, losing the 2700-point mark. However, it soon began a steady, unilateral climb, ultimately closing with a significant gain.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +1.49% at 2749.15 points.

Notably, Weibo formed a medium-length bullish candle on increased trading volume. Its share price surged by as much as +7.87% during trading hours, eventually closing up +5.43% at 150.97 yuan, with a trading volume of 3.021 billion yuan.

Over the next two days, the broader market index continued its rebound, posting consecutive bullish candles and rallying upward. Weibo’s performance resonated with the index, with gains of +2.29% and +4.82% respectively, pushing its stock price to 161.87 yuan.

With a four-day rally, Weibo showed strong signs of an upward breakout, and its trading volume had increased considerably.

Besides resonating with the broader market index, a crucial factor behind Weibo’s four-day rally was the major news from Wednesday, January 26th: the strategic investment in Stellaris Capital by the five major ‘National Team’ institutions.

Previously, in November of last year, Weibo had peaked at 218.11 yuan before suffering a brutal string of five consecutive limit-downs. Everyone knew the core reason was the overwhelming amount of unrealized profits, but the trigger for the sell-off was a long-winded online post targeting WeChat, the new mobile instant messaging software from Quantum Beat. The market worried that WeChat might be taken down, which in turn sent Weibo shares plummeting.

The reason why WeChat’s problems caused Weibo’s stock to crash was simple. After bottoming out at 72.87 yuan in October last year, Weibo had embarked on another fiery rally after the National Day holiday, with its stock price soaring to the current all-time high of 218.11 yuan. This rally, which nearly tripled the stock’s value, was fueled by the new expectations that WeChat’s explosive popularity had brought to Weibo.

Because WeChat and Weibo were interconnected and integrated, they complemented each other. While Weibo was currently driving traffic to WeChat, the new market expectation was that WeChat would inevitably be able to do the same for Weibo in the future.

New expectations and a new narrative emerged, causing Weibo’s stock to skyrocket.

Then, a single online post caused the stock to flash crash with five consecutive limit-downs, a classic case of “what makes you can also break you.”

But the recent strategic investment by the five major ‘National Team’ institutions in Stellaris Capital led some quick-thinking investors to a realization: Weibo’s parent company is Quantum Beat, and behind Quantum Beat is Stellaris Capital.

Now that five major ‘National Team’ institutions had strategically invested in Stellaris Capital, the power standing behind it was…

Another group of smart money in the market reacted quickly. They immediately realized that the possibility of WeChat being taken down was almost zero. The “almost” was just for the sake of rigor. At this point, who would dare to go to Xincheng and take down the WeChat team? Who would dare to touch them? And who even could?

Without a doubt, no one would dare!

With the potential off-market problem resolved, the only thing left was to prove it on the market, and WeChat’s current momentum was like the sun at midday.

Once the risk of WeChat being taken down was eliminated, that story could be told again. The stock price had been slashed in half, and the shares were now very cheap. Naturally, this triggered funds with foresight to snap up shares, leading to a four-day rally that had already seen the stock rise by over 15%.

The market’s quick-thinking smart money had already entered. However, the majority of retail investors saw Weibo’s rise as simply a technical rebound in resonance with the broader market. While not entirely wrong, they had clearly missed the main point.

The strategic investment by the five major ‘National Team’ institutions in Stellaris Capital was the true internal reason.

Once this news was out, Weibo’s stock was bound to go up, even if the index hadn’t staged a strong rebound.

Those who make money are always the minority in the market.

Moreover, investors today rarely study subjects like macroeconomics, monetary banking, or political economy. Books on these topics hardly sell, as very few investors are interested.

So, what is truly popular among investors?

The Dragon-Catching and Monster-Hunting Strategy, the K-line Limit-Up Strategy, and the now immensely popular “K-God’s Leading Stock Strategy”—these are what today’s investors love to study.

It’s rare for an investor nowadays not to know about “K-God’s Leading Stock Strategy.” Pick a few at random, and they could fluently recite the leading stock strategy’s mantras: “The first board sets the trend, the second confirms the leader, the third becomes a monster stock, and if there are three, there will be five…”

Looking at K-God’s Weibo account with its over forty million fans, at least thirty-five million of them were stockholders.

One could say that over a third, perhaps even close to half, of the country’s investors are now influenced by K-God. His leading stock strategy could be said to have been deeply ingrained in their minds.

Therefore, very, very few investors understood the real logic behind Weibo’s recent four-day upward turn. Even those who made money during the rally likely treated it as just a technical rebound.

…

Chapter 456: [Being Fleeced Is Inevitable, So Why Not Be the Fleecer?]

In the current domestic capital market environment, this was the typical state of stockholders, obsessed with all sorts of so-called “trading strategies.” It wasn’t until the Chinese A-share market entered a long and arduous bear market journey over the next two to three years and investors were brutally beaten down by the market that many of them gradually had a rude awakening.

It was also from around 2013 that domestic investors began to change significantly. Slowly but surely, more and more stockholders and investors started moving in a more professional direction.

Among the new generation of young investors entering the market, some remained infatuated with various trading strategies, but a faction split off to genuinely study the workings of the financial system, the macroeconomy, political economy, and more.

They started to become increasingly professional, and the structure of market participants began to shift. This was especially true ten years later, when the market became hyper-competitive. In essence, there were more and more smart people, and information was more readily available, making it much harder to fleece others.

How hyper-competitive did it get?

Often, a new concept would be hot for less than two days, and before you knew it, the price had already shot to the moon. You either had stocks that would hit the limit-up in seconds, making it impossible to get in on the profits, or the only ones you could get on were death traps. The moment you got in, bam, the sellers would dump all their shares on you, leaving you with a bagholder’s tears.

As for the present, the market’s rhythm was truly slow compared to a decade later.

Investors also generally didn’t study how overseas events would impact the A-share market. No one in the A-share market cared a bit about things like the Federal Reserve raising or lowering interest rates.

Most investors nowadays just squatted in stock forums, searching for rumors or signs of insider trading for this or that stock…

…

On February 1st, the last trading day before the Spring Festival, the three major indices were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index posted five consecutive positive days, so investors could finally have a good holiday.

It was worth mentioning that on this last trading day before the festival, Weibo had a strong start, weak finish with shrinking volume, closing with a slight drop of -0.15% at a price of 161.62 yuan. Its trading volume also shrank to two billion.

This Spring Festival, Fang Hong did not return to his hometown for the new year. Things were well taken care of there. With his Second Brother, Fang Ping, around, his hometown was also developing quite well, so there was no need for him to worry.

…

Saturday, February 5th.

Tranquil Heart Residence, second-floor trading room.

Fang Hong was alone in the trading room. It was the Spring Festival holiday, so Tranquil Heart Residence was much quieter than usual. Only Yifulei, Luo Lan, Tian Jiayi, and Yu Qiu had not gone home.

Everyone else had returned to celebrate the New Year.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi entered the trading room.

“The trading team responsible for Bitcoin sent a report. They have already secretly acquired over two point seven million Bitcoins. They expect to complete the task of accumulating the final four hundred and fifty thousand coins this month,” Tian Jiayi said as she walked in gracefully, pulling a chair over to sit next to Fang Hong.

The A-share market was currently closed for the Spring Festival, but Bitcoin traded every day.

“Mm, not bad.” Fang Hong was quite satisfied upon hearing this number. He then logged into an overseas website to check Bitcoin’s price trend. There were no Bitcoin trading platforms in China yet, so Fang Hong was accumulating Bitcoin domestically through third-party platforms like Taobao.

However, it was this very year that the first Bitcoin trading platform would be born in China.

And if all went as expected, Bitcoin would experience a major primary rally this year. Compared to the peak of $3.95 per coin last year, which was influenced by Fang Hong’s intervention, this year’s rally would be on a larger scale. The price was expected to hit an all-time high of $31.9 per coin, pushing Bitcoin’s total market cap to a height of 670 million US dollars.

The reason for this bull run was the launch of trading platforms this year that paired Bitcoin with the British pound, Polish currency, and other fiat currencies, which accelerated Bitcoin’s development. Subsequently, mainstream American media outlets, including Forbes, reported on Bitcoin, drawing in more speculators and fueling its explosive rise.

However, not long after Bitcoin surged to $31.9, the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, suffered a hacking incident. A shocking, catastrophic crash ensued, with a single Bitcoin selling for just one cent, whereas the regular price on the Mt. Gox platform before the hack had been around $15.

After this incident, Bitcoin transitioned from a bull to a bear market and remained bearish until the end of the year, with its price bottoming out at $2 twice.

Thinking of these issues, Fang Hong turned his head to glance at his beautiful assistant and said, “The Bitcoin we’re secretly increasing our holdings in, don’t keep it in custody on the Mt. Gox exchange website. The site’s security seems unreliable. Also, don’t hold them all in one place. Diversify them. Spending a little more on costs is fine; we’re not short on that kind of money.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

Fang Hong turned back to the computer screen. The real-time price of Bitcoin was displayed as $3.1. It had peaked at $3.3 during trading hours, while yesterday’s closing price was $2.2.

The current real-time daily gain was +40.90%, with an intra-day peak of +50%. Bitcoin’s current price volatility was absolutely outrageous.

However, for the group of people who were trapped and crushed at last year’s high, even if they sold at today’s peak price, they would still be down seventeen percent. In reality, most of them had already sold at a loss around the $1.5 mark and had not held on until now.

Last year, Fang Hong had smashed through Bitcoin’s price, causing a -95% drop in a single day that sent the price plummeting to $0.2. For a full month afterward, the price never broke past $0.5.

Six days ago, Bitcoin’s price was still at $0.9. Now it had risen to $3.3. From its starting point of $0.2 to today’s high, Bitcoin had soared by another 15.5 times.

Over a period of more than two months, only the last six days had seen this frantic surge, with massive fluctuations of dozens of percentage points every day.

Players in the crypto community were calling it exhilarating. Getting rich overnight and going broke overnight—both scenarios could happen with Bitcoin.

Sitting beside him, Tian Jiayi glanced at the Bitcoin K-line chart on the computer screen. She leaned in slightly, resting her delicate chin on her hand, and said as if to herself, “I really can’t understand what value this kind of virtual currency could have. It feels no different from game currency. Yet so many people are willing to speculate on it, and even you are getting involved. It’s all just a bubble…”

As she spoke, the beautiful assistant glanced at Fang Hong. He met her gaze, smiled, and turned back to the chart on the screen, speaking in a leisurely tone, “It can be summed up in one sentence: capital is greedy. I’m actually not against bubbles, but one must make full use of them.”

At this point, Fang Hong tilted his head again to look at his beautiful assistant and added, “I know Bitcoin is a bubble, but if a lot of people in the market are speculating on it, you just need to understand one principle: being fleeced is being fleeced, no matter who does it. So why not get in there and do the fleecing yourself?”

After a pause, Fang Hong continued with a smile, “You just need to pay attention to what the market is playing with. Whether it’s a virtual currency like Bitcoin or some other asset, you don’t have to understand why those things are worth so much money, but that doesn’t stop you from jumping in for a round of speculation. There’s no need to argue about whether it has value; it’s meaningless. Value or no value, it doesn’t matter. As long as someone’s trading it, as long as there’s a bagholder, we get in on it!”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but mutter, “I feel like you’re the only one playing. You’ve bought three point one five million of them. If you pump the price up, will you even be able to get out?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong spread his hands. “Who said I was going to pump it? Those with foresight are the ones who do the reaping. Now that we’ve accumulated enough coins, all that’s left is to lie back and wait quietly. Someone else will pump it up in the future. We just need to patiently wait for the right moment.”

…

Chapter 457: Slashed in Half Intraday, Slashed Again the Next Day

The next day was the weekend. After Bitcoin’s closing price locked in at $3.1 yesterday, it skyrocketed again today. Its intraday high hit $4.88 per coin, with the gains soaring to a staggering +57.42%. In one fell swoop, it broke through the previous high of $3.95 from last November, setting a new all-time high.

Bitcoin’s total market cap also surpassed the one hundred million dollar mark for the first time.

The merchants who had hoarded coins last year were crying themselves unconscious in the bathroom. Many of them had sold at a loss at the one-dollar mark. This was because they lacked any real conviction to hold on; in fact, some participants didn’t even believe in the thing at all. They were simply betting on K-God buying up Bitcoin, gambling that he would drive up the price so they could profit from the difference he created.

As it turned out, they lost their bet. K-God stopped buying and, in a reverse move, dumped the Bitcoin he had acquired, trapping and wiping out all the speculators.

Who could have known that just two months later, Bitcoin would surge from $0.2? Not only did it surge, but it also broke past $3.95 to set a new all-time high.

Calculated from its lowest point of $0.2 to today’s high of $4.88, the cumulative gain reached +2340%—a 23.4-fold increase in just two short months.

Who could have possibly predicted this?

The $3.95 high that Bitcoin reached last November was orchestrated by Fang Hong using his own influence to guide the market. This time was also Fang Hong’s masterpiece, but unlike the last time when he leveraged his influence as K-God, this time he secretly had his subordinates participate in the market with hard cash to drive the price up.

…

Monday, February 7th. In the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Around 5:00 PM, Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi were in the trading room together. At this moment, the beautiful assistant was sprawled on a beanbag chair. Her eyes were closed, and she lay perfectly still, not wanting to move, an expression of endless satisfaction on her face.

“Rested enough?” Fang Hong, sitting in front of a computer, turned his head to the left and smiled at his beautiful assistant in the sofa area. “If you’re about done, make the call. Start smashing the market!”

With that, he turned his gaze back to the screen, which displayed the real-time price chart for Bitcoin. The current intraday gain was 6 percentage points. At its peak during the day, the gain had reached +8.55%, hitting a price of $5.2 and setting yet another all-time high.

Tian Jiayi slowly opened her beautiful eyes and said languidly, “Smash it down to what level?”

She picked up her phone, ready to make the call. Staring at the screen, Fang Hong replied without turning his head, “Slash it in half.”

Right now, if you were to name the biggest market maker in Bitcoin, it would be Fang Hong. The scale of the shares he controlled was the largest among all Bitcoin players, bar none. It was no exaggeration to say that if he wanted Bitcoin to rise, it would rise; if he wanted it to fall, it would fall. He could dictate the price it rose or fell to; it all depended on his choice.

Cash was king!

With no other large funds entering the market to act as Fang Hong’s counterparty, the other small funds were completely powerless against him.

Bitcoin was decentralized, but now that meant removing others’ centers while strengthening Fang Hong’s. This was the so-called decentralization.

Meanwhile, the beautiful assistant, still lounging on the beanbag chair, made a call and said concisely, “Smash the market. Slash it in half.”

Then she hung up and tossed her phone aside.

Fang Hong watched Bitcoin’s real-time price trend. Its intraday line had been moving quite well, trending upward amidst fluctuations. But about two minutes later, the intraday line suddenly took a nosedive. The price, which had been up nearly 7 percentage points, turned negative in almost an instant.

Immediately after, the intraday line plunged in a nearly ninety-degree nosedive.

About thirty seconds later, Bitcoin’s price had crashed to the $1.9 mark, marking an intraday drop of -60.33%. In just half a minute, it had been slashed in half and then some. It then bounced back sharply to $2.67, but soon began another heavy sell-off.

Quite a few people were buying the dip today.

Being fleeced is being fleeced, no matter by whom. Might as well be the one doing the fleecing.

After a while, Fang Hong opened a Bitcoin forum to browse. There weren’t many Bitcoin players in the country at the moment; after all, there was a certain barrier to entry—first and foremost, one needed US dollars.

At this time, there were no Bitcoin trading platforms in the country yet.

But some people still got trapped.

Although it was a niche market, there were still people playing.

Unfortunately for those who went long today—whether they were domestic or overseas players in the crypto circle—if they didn’t close their positions in time, they were all trapped now.

Fang Hong was still short of gathering all the shares he wanted, so he had to resort to a violent shakeout.

At the moment, there were quite a few comments on the forum. Fang Hong glanced over them; dozens of new comments or posts had appeared.

[Bitcoin is starting to bury people!]

[Starting? It’s already buried them. The grass on their graves is already two meters high!]

[So damn exciting, slashed in half intraday—no, slashed in half in thirty seconds!]

[Broke out in a cold sweat. Luckily, I got out.]

[Crap, it got slashed in half in the time it takes to take a leak?]

[I’m done playing. Give me my money back.jpg]

[Placing orders, canceling orders, crying…]

[Doubled my money in two days and left. Thank god I knew when to take profits. Made over $7000… [Grinning emoji]]

[Be greedy when others are fearful. Buying the dip!]

[Listening to you just added ten years to my working life.]

[I’m in! It dropped so hard, there’s bound to be a revenge rebound tomorrow.]

…

Fang Hong saw that visitors could also comment on the forum, so he typed out a reply: [Dump your shares and run. Have a good New Year. It’s going to get slashed in half again tomorrow, at the very least. Trust me.]

[Got it. Going all-in now!]

[Tell me the truth, bro. Can you actually make money?]

[Don’t worry, bro. You’ll definitely profit. It’s a guaranteed win. If you lose money, at worst you can just pass the buck to a friend… [Funny Face emoji].]

[I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, don’t trick me… [Husky emoji]]

…

Fang Hong saw the few replies, shook his head with a laugh, and reined in his playful mood before closing the forum page.

No one would take a comment posted under visitor status seriously. It would be a different story if he posted from the K3478 Weibo account, but that was obviously not going to happen. It hadn’t been easy for K-God to shake off the “major player” label.

Bitcoin’s closing price for the day locked in at $2.05, a drop of -57.20%.

The next day, Tuesday, February 8th.

Bitcoin fluctuated widely within a range of plus or minus seven percentage points. Near 9:00 PM, its price was still up by about three percentage points.

At this moment, the bulls involved in the game had not yet realized the severity of the situation. They thought that after being slashed in half, Bitcoin should have stabilized, and they were all happily profit-taking.

Then, at around 9:22 PM, the trap was sprung!

Bitcoin’s real-time intraday line once again staged a vertical waterfall decline, panic-selling at a ninety-degree angle.

This sell-off was even faster. In just twelve short seconds, Bitcoin’s real-time price plunged to $0.8, marking an intraday drop of -60.97%. The closing price for the day ultimately locked in at $0.9, an intraday drop of -56.09%. Slashed in half, and then slashed in half again. In just two days, the cumulative loss reached -81.55%.

Without a doubt, it was Fang Hong who had orchestrated the sell-off. Only drastic price volatility could trigger a loosening of the shares.

The bulls who had bought the dip yesterday thought that after a 50% drop, they couldn’t lose much more. They never expected it could be slashed in half again the very next day. These two days were mainly aimed at killing off leveraged funds, as some speculators were genuinely bold enough to use leverage.

With the speculators who went long trapped at a high price, Fang Hong’s next instruction to his subordinates was to “draw” a downward-sloping consolidation channel for Bitcoin. The highs would not make new highs, while the lows would continuously set new lows.

He would rapidly suppress the price, then pull it back up, creating numerous long lower shadows.

This would allow the counterparty to take profits. Moreover, with no new highs and constant new lows, it would further motivate the counterparty to either take profits or use day trades to lower their cost basis. In short, they had to trade. And trading meant shares would change hands, which was how he could collect them.

Certainly, a small number of crypto traders might make money in this downtrend, but the vast majority, while trying to take profits, would inadvertently get their shares trapped and taken from them.

…

Chapter 458: WeChat Launches a New Version

Although Bitcoin’s dramatic booms and busts were discussed by some, they didn’t attract widespread attention. A portion of stockholders were just watching the show for entertainment.

Ever since K-God stopped playing, the level of attention was even lower than it had been last November.

February 9th, Wednesday.

After the holiday, the A-share market ushered in its first trading day of the post-Spring Festival period.

The market kicked off with a negative opening, gapping down and leaving many investors speechless. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.89% at 2774.06 points.

Weibo also plunged 5.65% today on heavy trading volume, with its stock price falling back to 152.5 yuan. Trading volume reached 3.382 billion yuan, and its market capitalization dropped to 80.6 billion yuan.

After dousing investors with cold water on the first day back, the A-share market did a complete reversal on the second day, rallying with an engulfing pattern. The two major exchanges even accelerated their gains in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, Weibo’s stock price surged.

At around 2:39 PM, Weibo’s stock was up over nine percent. “Go with the Flow,” a newly minted top-tier hot money trader in the A-share market, sent a message to his group: [Gonna make a move on Weibo. I’m about to ignite a rally and push it to the limit. You guys believe me…? [Shiba Inu emoji]]

Upon hearing this, the group chat immediately flooded with messages.

[Holy shit, for real?]

[Charge, charge, charge!]

[All aboard! All aboard!]

[Don’t doubt him. Master Flow definitely has the capital for it.]

[I think the Master’s net worth is over three hundred million now, right?]

[Damn it, I’m getting on board!]

[Weibo… holy shit… it’s hit the board!]

[It really sealed the limit-up, damn it!]

[@Go with the Flow, Master, did you really push it to the limit?]

[379 million to seal the limit-up in one minute, with 1.4 billion in limit orders on the board. Awesome!]

[Go with the Flow: Threw in nearly 100 million. Enough talk, here’s a screenshot.]

[Master, you’re a legend…]

[Fuck, I haven’t gotten on board yet!]

[Go with the Flow: I’ve traded Weibo so many times, and it’s never screwed me over once. If you believe in it, just go for it!]

[Master, is Weibo about to take off again?]

[Doubling is just the start. All aboard!]

[Break the board, I haven’t gotten on board yet!]

[Go with the Flow: I did a post-market analysis of Weibo during the Spring Festival and only then realized that some smart money had already moved in before the holiday. The logic for getting into Weibo this time is simple. The previous plunge, with consecutive limit-downs that slashed its value in half, was a double whammy on both its valuation and its narrative. Killing the valuation is easy to understand—it had indeed risen too fast. Killing the narrative was about the expectations for WeChat. But during my analysis over the holiday, I realized that the expectations for WeChat are back.]

[Back? What do you mean? I don’t get it.]

[Go with the Flow: Still don’t get it? Isn’t Weibo’s parent company Quantum Beat? And isn’t Quantum Beat’s parent company Stellaris Capital? What happened with Stellaris Capital recently? Didn’t the five major institutions make a strategic investment?]

[I know, that was before the holiday.]

[Go with the Flow: Then do you think WeChat, with such incredible backing, will be taken down? Is that even possible? Besides, China Unicom is already WeChat’s second-largest shareholder. Damn it, my reaction was too slow. I should have gotten in when Weibo panic-sold down to 106 and got slashed in half. If my hesitation back then was excusable, I definitely should have entered when that medium-length bullish candle appeared on January 27th before the holiday. Not getting in was a major mistake. Today’s engulfing pattern makes it a 100% certainty. Time to make some serious profit!]

By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index had broken through the 2800-point mark, rising 1.59% in a successful engulfing pattern rally to close at 2818.16 points.

As for Weibo, the individual stock also completed an engulfing pattern, soaring 10.00% on high volume to a price of 167.75 yuan. Its market capitalization reached 88.7 billion yuan, with a trading volume of 4.96 billion yuan.

An hour and a half after the market closed, the day’s Dragon-Tiger List data was released, and Weibo was prominently featured. The list showed a net purchase of 267 million yuan. Notably, the second-largest buyer’s seat was specially labeled with the name “Go with the Flow,” who had bought over 95 million yuan worth of shares that day.

Furthermore, the first, third, and fifth largest buyers were all institutional-only seats, while the fourth was another well-known hot money trader.

The release of Weibo’s Dragon-Tiger List data further boosted the stock’s popularity. It had to be said that the stock’s character was superb, as resilient as a cockroach that couldn’t be killed. It also had high trading volume, a high profile, a compelling story, and room for imagination, making it one of the few rare assets in the A-share market.

Looking across the A-share markets, Weibo was the only publicly listed company of its kind. Other well-known Mainland internet giants like the BAT triumvirate or NetEase were listed either as H-shares or on the US stock market. This left domestic investors with no easy way to invest in them, as the threshold for investing overseas was too high for most retail stockholders.

Thus, Weibo, which went public on the A-share market through a backdoor listing, became a hot commodity. The stock almost never lacked liquidity, as it attracted participation from retail investors, hot money, and institutional investors alike.

The next day, Friday, the A-share market opened and continued to post gains. After a slight gap down and a pullback, Weibo also trended higher, at one point surging to an intra-day high of 176.05 yuan, a gain of 4.94%. However, it pulled back in the afternoon.

This was due to resistance at the sub-high point of 176.97 yuan, which was the rebound high reached after the previous flash crash that had slashed its price in half. The stock’s rally was blocked here today, and it failed to break through in one go.

By the close, Weibo was up 2.39%, closing at 171.76 yuan. Today’s trading volume expanded further to 5.561 billion yuan, allowing it to retain its top spot for daily trading volume among all stocks in both markets.

It was worth mentioning that “Go with the Flow,” who had led the charge to seal the limit-up the day before, did not sell today. He chose to maintain a broader perspective.

On Saturday, the WeChat team under Quantum Beat released a new version of the app, adding the “People Nearby” feature. This new function became an instant hit upon launch and was widely praised by users.

What gossiping netizens were delighted to see was that the timing of the WeChat team’s update was so pointed. Just yesterday, Tencent’s “WeiLiao” had updated its app with a QR code scanner, basically copying all of WeChat’s existing features.

And then today, WeChat updated again with a brand-new feature.

The programmers on Tencent’s WeiLiao development team felt like cursing. They had just been assigned the task of working overtime to rush the development of a similar “People Nearby” feature. The programmers were in disarray, their hairlines receding ever further…

Meanwhile, in the capital markets, the hype around Weibo was building.

Quantum Beat continued to demonstrate its powerful innovative vitality to the industry, and the capital markets responded with even higher expectations.

WeChat wasn’t public, and no one knew when it would be. So, investors figured they might as well trade Weibo.

After all, if WeChat were to take off, it would be positive news for Weibo all the same.

And so, after the weekend, on Monday, February 14th, the A-share market began a new week of trading. Weibo opened 1.01% higher in the call auction and, without any pullback, immediately opened high and trended higher.

The broader market was also very strong today, with the Shanghai and Shenzhen main board indexes staging a short-squeeze rally. The two markets showed a unilateral upward trend, with a broad rally across individual stocks.

Weibo’s stock price also climbed steadily. The resistance at the 176.97 yuan sub-high point was easily broken today. Spurred by the positive news from the weekend and bolstered by market sentiment, the stock’s movement was in perfect resonance with the index, which was like a tiger growing wings, helping its price surge.

At around 11:27 AM, Weibo hit the limit-up, achieving two limit-ups in three days.

Chapter 459: Developing Our Own Valuation System

By the market close, Weibo had soared by its +10.00% limit-up, closing at 188.94 yuan. The daily trading volume expanded to 7.054 billion yuan, and its market capitalization rose to 99.95 billion yuan, just a hair’s breadth away from returning to the one hundred billion yuan mark.

The broader market index was also very strong today, with the Shanghai Composite Index even surpassing the 2900-point mark during intra-day trading.

All three major indices closed with significant gains. The Shanghai Composite Index surged by +2.54% to close at 2899.13 points; the Shenzhen Component Index jumped by +3.62% to close at 12737.80 points; and the ChiNext board Index rose by +1.40% to close at 1086.56 points.

Today, investors were also able to subscribe to the “ATL Technology” IPO. However, since this stock was applying for a listing on the ChiNext board, there was a certain threshold, and retail investors without ChiNext board permissions could not participate.

Of the 136.955 million shares in ATL Technology’s IPO offering, 36.955 million shares were allocated for online IPO subscription, accounting for 26.98% of the total issuance.

Investors with ChiNext board access subscribed without hesitation. In the minds of the vast majority of investors, winning an IPO subscription was a surefire way to make money, almost like winning the lottery. Although the probability was low, what if they won?

…

In the afternoon, Fang Hong arrived at Stellaris Capital, making his first visit to the company in the new year.

Most of the company’s current employees did not recognize him, to say nothing of the new hires. Only the executive management knew that he was the true super big boss behind Stellaris Capital.

Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi were both in Hua Yu’s office.

“…Whether it’s Weibo, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, or ATL, which is about to go public on the ChiNext board, and including other listed companies from the Qunxing ecosystem in the future, we must use market management methods to break free from the influence of benchmarking against the North American capital market and develop our own valuation system,” Fang Hong said, looking at Hua Yu from a single armchair in the office’s lounge area.

Then, Fang Hong added, “For ATL Technology, we didn’t set the issue price so low just to give institutions like Zhongtai and Pengrui shares at a rock-bottom price for free. If they can’t handle the market capitalization management, we’ll find new partners.”

“Understood.” Hua Yu nodded. After a moment of thought, he looked at Fang Hong and added, “But what does this have to do with the North American capital market?”

Fang Hong promptly explained in a methodical manner, “Those capital institutions in the country, whether they’re doing VC investment or PE equity investment, think that the Mainland’s monetary policy department can adjust corporate valuations through the risk-free rate. But in reality, it’s the US dollar’s nominal or real interest rate that determines global valuations. We can’t help it; the current global financial system is under US dollar hegemony.”

“In the current capital market environment, when Mainland investment institutions conduct primary market venture capital, whether they give a company a valuation of 25 times or 50 times its P/E ratio is not determined by the RMB interest rate, but by the USD interest rate. From what I’ve seen, very few domestic institutions have fully grasped this point.”

“I’ve read quite a few reports from brokerage firms these past few days. They basically extend their analysis from the bond department’s judgment on whether the RMB interest rate will be raised or lowered. The operating logic of global capital markets is pretty much the same everywhere and quite simple. Everyone has a benchmark for valuing Mainland companies. Whatever you want to do, there’s usually a benchmark for it in the North American capital market, and that decides what multiple your valuation gets.”

“In other words, the North American financial capital market stands at the very top of the world. A crucial reason for this is that the US financial market serves as an anchor for pricing global assets.”

At this point, Fang Hong paused for a moment before continuing, “Therefore, I want to break this situation. This is also the main reason why I want to get the Qunxing ecosystem’s quality assets listed, even when we’re not short on cash. And we must break away from the valuation system that benchmarks against the North American capital market. At the very least, we must and can achieve this for the listed companies of the Qunxing ecosystem.”

Hua Yu was suddenly enlightened. He now understood this deeper motive behind the big boss’s plan for market capitalization management of the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies. As for collaborating with external capital institutions, Hua Yu was very clear on that point. The world of finance always follows one rule: if you can use other people’s money to accomplish your goals, you should avoid using your own. Paying a little interest to others is of no consequence.

Fang Hong said with clear logic, “To break or tear open this system and establish our own valuation system, one crucial element is technology-driven, innovative enterprises. To be more specific, your company has to be the best in its industry, able to become the industry’s anchor. Then, all other latecomers, including investors, will use you as a bellwether.”

Beside him, Tian Jiayi listened, lost in thought, while Fang Hong continued in his unhurried tone, “Well then, if your financial market trades in RMB, then your valuations and your risk-free rate will become the benchmark references for everyone else’s valuations and risk-free rates.”

Hua Yu couldn’t help but nod.

Fang Hong continued, “This is also where the Americans are clever. The world’s innovations, the leading companies in every industry, get listed on the US stock market and are priced in US dollars. With the American financial system and American financial institutions participating in the trading, this system forms. You’ll find that the US dollar’s interest rate naturally comes to determine the pricing power for assets worldwide, whether it’s H-shares or A-shares.”

Hua Yu nodded and said, “That is indeed the case. The situation now is basically that when people invest in any industry, the first thing they think of is to find a benchmark reference in the North American capital market to see what P/E ratio multiple your valuation can reach.”

Fang Hong stated, “So, Stellaris Capital will list good companies on the A-share market and pump up their valuations. If Twitter has a 20x P/E ratio, why can’t Weibo exceed 20x? No, I refuse to play by your valuation rules. I’m going to push it to a 40x P/E ratio. If the capital market thinks it’s a massive bubble and investors are waiting for it to panic sell, then they can just wait. Wait one year, three years, five years, or even ten. Not only will it not come down, it can even keep rising.”

Of course, there was a prerequisite for doing this: it had to be a quality asset. The listed company itself had to have real substance, real capabilities. Based on this premise, the valuation of these companies would simply not be benchmarked against the US stock market. What Fang Hong wanted was for every investor who tried to use US market benchmarks for valuation to either sell too early or miss out on the rally entirely.

As for the cost of the high valuation? No problem, Stellaris Capital would cover it.

Where would the money come from? From fleecing overseas markets, of course. Fleece the US stock market and bring the profits back to support the valuations of the Qunxing ecosystem’s listed companies on the A-share market.

And who would manage the market? That’s what partners like Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital were for.

After a moment, Fang Hong smiled faintly. “In short, I don’t care if you’re angry. I just want to know if you’ll yield.”

Fang Hong wasn’t aiming for the grand feat of directly overthrowing the US-led global asset pricing power. That would be a long and arduous road. But with Stellaris Capital’s current strength, creating a corner of the world where a portion of assets did not follow American valuation and pricing rules was completely achievable.

At that moment, Hua Yu couldn’t help but say, “If this continues in the long run—for one, three, five, ten years—investors in the Mainland will eventually have to accept the facts. It must be said, this is a decision that requires a level of courage far beyond that of an ordinary person…”

Fang Hong clearly had that courage, and Hua Yu also believed he had the strength.

There was no other reason. Qunxing was simply loaded with money.

Within the Qunxing ecosystem’s asset pool, on their own turf, achieving this goal was no problem at all.

…

Chapter 460: Stellaris Capital Fled Again? Everyone, Run!

What Fang Hong wanted most was to smash the skulls of those investors who benchmarked against the North American capital markets when evaluating companies in the Qunxing ecosystem.

You think a 50x price-to-earnings ratio for this listed company is already too high, that the bubble is massive. You benchmark it against the US stock market, where its valuation should be around a 20x P/E ratio. Therefore, you believe it’s about to plummet and you should get out quickly.

So you cash out and leave, patiently waiting for its valuation to get crushed, for a regression to the mean before you buy the dip.

You wait for a year, but you don’t panic; you’re very patient. Then a second year passes, and the valuation is still hovering at a high 50x P/E ratio. You remain calm and choose to keep waiting. Then a third year goes by, and now you’re utterly astonished. Why hasn’t it dropped yet?

Three years turn into six, and you finally begin to question your existence. When you look at the latest price of this investment, you see it has already doubled or tripled from the initial rally point where you sold. Looking back over a longer period, your exit point now looks like an entry point.

After so many years of waiting, not only has the valuation not been crushed, but the growth in its fundamental value over the years has filled in the bubble. And the P/E ratio is still over 50x, even heading toward 60x.

The facts are right in front of you. You have no choice but to admit that your previous strategy of benchmarking against the US stock market was a severe misjudgment. You missed out on a monster bull stock, selling way too early.

So, who would argue with money?

When the time frame is extended, when the profit potential is laid bare, investors will naturally stop anchoring their evaluations to the North American capital markets—at least not for the core assets of the Qunxing ecosystem.

For investors to make money from a listed company, there are essentially two ways: one is to earn from its value, such as dividends; the other is to earn from its valuation, which is the bubble. The former represents the company’s tangible earnings and profit, while the latter represents expectations for the company’s future, reflected in a rising stock price.

Fang Hong’s plan was to focus on the valuation aspect. At its core, valuation is a gamble on belief. If a 50x P/E ratio is given and people believe in it, the price will hold. Fang Hong’s goal was to make investors have no choice but to believe.

Those who believe get rich. Those who don’t can only watch others get rich. If you don’t believe, aren’t you just turning your back on money?

Over the next few days, the A-share market entered a consolidation phase. The broader market index was unable to push higher after breaking the 2900-point mark, mainly because it had reached the resistance level of the previous December’s rebound high.

Weibo also encountered significant resistance in its rally toward the 200 yuan price level. On Friday, February 18th, Weibo’s stock price fell by -4.53% to close at 183.67 yuan, with a total trading volume of 5.782 billion yuan.

After the weekend, on Monday, February 21st, Weibo opened low and trended high, forming an engulfing pattern. It surged by +6.43% that day, with its stock price reaching 195.48 yuan. Its total market cap surpassed the one hundred billion yuan mark, and the daily trading volume exploded to 9.593 billion yuan.

This surge in trading volume for Weibo was heading toward the ten billion yuan level again. On that day, the total trading volume for the entire Shenzhen main board was 118 billion yuan, meaning Weibo alone accounted for 8.13% of it.

Investors in other sectors complained that Weibo’s trading volume was excessive. Its siphon effect made it a veritable cash-guzzling beast. A trading volume of 9.5 billion yuan could have triggered a wave of limit-ups in more than one industry sector, but in Weibo’s case, it only resulted in a gain of just over 6 percent.

Many retail investors who weren’t involved with Weibo were chanting, “Weibo must die, for when a whale falls, all life flourishes.” The next day, on Tuesday, February 22nd, their wish came true. The three major A-share indices tumbled on high volume. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -2.62%, falling below the 2900-point mark to close at 2855.52 points.

The investors who had been calling for Weibo’s demise got their wish, at least for today, as Weibo plunged by -8.21%. Its stock price fell back to 179.42 yuan, with a slightly reduced but still massive daily trading volume of 8.695 billion yuan.

The whale had fallen, but all life still died, crushed by the whale’s fall.

The market crash today was related to Stellaris Capital. It was currently the period for preliminary annual report disclosures, and many A-share listed companies began to release their latest quarterly institutional holdings.

Investors discovered that the stocks Stellaris Capital had entered in the second quarter of last year… had disappeared in the fourth quarter!

Qunxing had fled again!

Rumors began to spread like wildfire that Stellaris Capital had already gotten out in mid-November of last year when the broader market was at 3100 points.

This news suddenly went viral today, and the A-shares were scared witless. Investors who were slow on the uptake were terrified by the news and fled in a panic. Coupled with other negative news, the panic was so severe that the broader market index couldn’t be held up.

Most investors nowadays love to look for inside scoops or grapevine news.

The panic sell-off primarily hit weighted stocks, as those were the main holdings of Stellaris Capital. With such a massive amount of capital, they could only trade in large-cap stocks, which offered the liquidity needed for a smooth exit.

After the market closed that day, a flood of bearish sentiment appeared almost instantly.

Everyone had witnessed Stellaris Capital’s market strategy prowess. Back when the market crashed to just over 1600 points at the end of November 2008, Stellaris Capital had fearlessly bought the dip. They then made a perfect exit at over 3300 points, with some rumors even suggesting a precise exit at the peak of 3470 points.

But whether they exited at 3300 or 3470 points, Stellaris Capital had undoubtedly made a fortune.

Then, at the half-year mark last year, they once again successfully bought the dip at around 2300 points. The second half of the year saw a strong rebound rally, with the broader market surging to 3186 points.

Now, with Stellaris Capital’s holdings gone from the fourth-quarter reports, it was clear that this major institution was bearish on the future market trend and had already fled last year. It was even highly likely they had exited near the 3186-point mark, once again executing a perfect exit at the peak.

For an institution like Stellaris Capital, with such a formidable track record and labeled as “smart money” by investors, to withdraw, it was impossible not to cause a panic.

However, after the market plunged due to Stellaris Capital’s exit, it didn’t continue to plummet. Instead, it staged a rebound with several consecutive positive days, forming an engulfing pattern.

As for individual stocks, the capital involved in Weibo came full circle and decided that fucking Weibo was still the most reliable bet.

The stock’s character was superb. Its rebound was much stronger than the broader market’s. After plummeting by over eight percent, Weibo pulled off a four-day rally and broke through its previous high to calm everyone’s nerves. Over the next four trading days, it rose by +0.42%, +1.56%, +1.51%, and +7.07%, locking in a closing price of 198.86 yuan. Its daily trading volume once again broke the ten billion yuan mark.

On the fifth day, Weibo posted another gain for a five-consecutive-day rally. It rose by +1.65% on lower volume, breaking through the 200 yuan level to close at 202.15 yuan.

Looking back at Weibo’s trend, investors realized that since its upward reversal, it had unknowingly accumulated a gain of +47.03%. Calculated from its low of 106.07 yuan, which came after a series of limit-ups followed by its price being slashed in half, the cumulative gain was now 92.09%, nearly a double.

This recent ascent, while not as frantic as the rally after the National Day holiday in October of last year, was still a rare upward trend among weighted stocks.

For a large-cap stock with a total market cap in the hundreds of billions to rise by over 47 percent in just about twenty trading days was already considered remarkably strong.

Chapter 461: Stellaris Capital’s 2010 Annual Financial Report

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Tian Jiayi returned after clocking off, bringing with her Stellaris Capital’s 2010 annual report. She brought the documents to the second-floor study, where Fang Hong was.

“The company’s annual report is out.”

The beautiful assistant spoke as she placed the documents on the desk in front of Fang Hong. He immediately opened them for a look, and Tian Jiayi promptly explained, “The company’s total revenue for 2010 was 515.713 billion yuan, an 85.15% year-over-year increase. Net profit was 189.322 billion yuan, a 42.39% year-over-year increase. We’ve already tried our best to suppress the profit figures, but we just earned too much, too quickly. We couldn’t arrange enough spending to keep up. The net profit margin of 36.71% is already the lowest we could force it; we couldn’t push it down any further…”

If they hadn’t suppressed it, the net profit margin could have soared past 65%. Stellaris Capital was already splurging on a super-scale. The Jiuzhou Blue Arrow project, the covertly advanced Natural Science Foundation—each of those projects cost tens of billions.

Yet even with such “unrestrained extravagance,” the annual profit statement was still this brilliant.

Despite the enormous spending, the returns were even greater.

Fang Hong browsed the details of the financial report and said with a smile, “It’s not all bad. A larger base this year makes it easier for next year’s report. No problem there.”

Tian Jiayi suddenly retorted, “But what if we earn even more next year?”

Fang Hong: “Emmm…”

As for losing money? To be honest, the beautiful assistant didn’t believe it was possible, unless the global capital markets shut down completely. Otherwise, nothing could stop this guy from fleecing them.

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded with a thoughtful expression, “Good point.”

But it was indeed a problem, and Fang Hong soon thought of another angle. Although Stellaris Capital was not a publicly listed company, it still had to pay taxes. This meant it couldn’t hide much; once taxes were paid, people could see the whole picture from a single clue.

This was definitely a problem.

They could let the outside world know Stellaris Capital was rich, but they couldn’t let them know just how rich.

Fang Hong thought for a moment, then looked at his beautiful assistant and instructed, “Make a copy of the annual report and send it to Qin Gangyi tomorrow. Also, make a proposal to the higher-ups. Since the vast majority of our income comes from overseas markets, to avoid being targeted by the West and to better fleece them for more profits in the future, Stellaris Capital should adopt a strategy of tactical concealment and follow the policy of ‘making a fortune in silence.’ Therefore, we are requesting permission to technically conceal a portion of our financials, to be disclosed at an opportune time in the future.”

To put it plainly, Stellaris Capital would issue two reports from now on. Were they faking them? Of course not. It was just that one was for internal use and the other for external use. Both were real, that’s all.

Then, when it was time to pay taxes, they would do it based on the external report.

After all, Stellaris Capital wasn’t a publicly listed company.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but frown. “Will the higher-ups approve? After all, it means paying much less in actual taxes, a sum that could be in the tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions in the future.”

Fang Hong said with a calm expression, “Who said we’d pay less? Qunxing will definitely pay its taxes in full, not a single cent less. The hidden portion just won’t be reflected in Xincheng’s local tax revenue; it will go directly to the state tax bureau, right? The rates are still the same, so the actual amount won’t be a cent short. When it’s declassified in the future, we can just reimburse the Xincheng local government based on the actual situation, and that’ll be that.”

The taxes paid by a company don’t all go to the local tax bureau; the state tax bureau also takes a portion.

With Fang Hong’s explanation, Tian Jiayi understood immediately. Stellaris Capital’s annual tax payment would not decrease, but the amount the local tax bureau actually received would.

For example, if Stellaris Capital actually paid 50 billion in taxes this year, but the public report—the “external” one—showed a tax payment of 10 billion, the local tax bureau would get its 40%, which is 4 billion for Xincheng, and the state tax bureau would take the remaining 6 billion.

As for the other 40 billion? The state tax bureau would take all of it directly. This meant the local government would receive 16 billion less. Normally, 20 billion should have gone to the local tax bureau, but in reality, they would only get 4 billion.

Tian Jiayi became pensive. “In that case, the chances of approval from the higher-ups will increase dramatically. As for the future reimbursement, I doubt Xincheng would even accept it.”

Fang Hong smiled. The reimbursement would definitely be offered in the future, but Xincheng would certainly not accept it.

If they actually took it, with that kind of political awareness, how could they expect to advance?

A little while later, Tian Jiayi continued with the rest of her report. “As of the end of 2010, the company’s net assets were 1.813616 trillion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 187.03%; total assets were 2.078807 trillion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 145.29%; the debt scale was 265.191 billion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 22.99%, but the company’s debt ratio was 12.75%, a year-over-year decrease of 49.88%. Liquid cash reserves are 457.336 billion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 143.26%.”

Tian Jiayi added, “The company’s main assets are currently overseas US dollar assets, with a total nominal net value of 243 billion US dollars, accounting for 77.26% of the company’s total assets.”

Clearly, the fleecing of overseas markets accounted for the vast majority of this explosive annual earnings report.

Tian Jiayi suddenly looked at Fang Hong with a beaming smile. “May I ask, President Fang, your liquid cash reserves at the end of the year before last were 188 billion. Not only did they not decrease, but they’ve grown to 457.3 billion. The more you spend, the more money you have. I’m afraid you’ll never be able to spend it all in your lifetime. What are you going to do? Any thoughts, President Fang? Isn’t it just so annoying?”

Fang Hong turned his head to glance at his beautiful assistant. “You’ve said it all. What’s left for me to say?”

Tian Jiayi grinned cheekily. “I’ll say what you were going to say, so you have nothing to say.”

Fang Hong immediately replied, “The only way to shut that mouth of yours is to have you eat goose.”

A moment later, the beautiful assistant fell silent. Fang Hong tossed the financial report aside. The thought of having so much in liquid cash reserves meant it had to be spent. Since his beautiful assistant was so hardworking and capable, rewarding her with a few hundred million for producing the report wouldn’t be excessive at all. No problem whatsoever.

…

The next day, Thursday, March 3rd.

Stellaris Capital’s 2010 annual earnings report was delivered to Qin Gangyi. Staring at the financial data, his face was filled with shock. “Revenue of 515.71 billion in 2010, net assets of 1.81 trillion, overseas US dollar assets of 243 billion…”

Incredible!

Simply incredible!

Qin Gangyi stared at the document, unable to calm himself for a long time. The five major institutions’ strategic investment in Stellaris Capital had been valued at around 105 billion. With Stellaris Capital’s current net asset value of 1.81 trillion, the 35% stake held by the five major institutions was now worth 634.7 billion yuan. The net value had instantly increased fivefold right where it stood.

The key point was that Stellaris Capital held 243 billion US dollars in overseas assets, equivalent to 8.5% of the entire country’s foreign exchange reserves. If this money were to flow back into the country, it would, loosely speaking, add 1.6 trillion yuan to last year’s national GDP.

The nation’s total exports last year amounted to 1.6 trillion US dollars. The dollar assets held by Stellaris Capital were equivalent to 15.18% of the country’s total export value for that year.

This terrifying money-making ability left Qin Gangyi beyond shocked. Even a money printer working until it smoked couldn’t keep up.

Does this mean they can just lie back and count money from now on?

For the five major institutions, the most important thing was the asset appreciation, which meant an improvement in creditworthiness. The more net assets they had, the more currency could be derived. In down-to-earth terms, it meant they could borrow more from banking institutions. If you have enough collateral, you can borrow more money.

Therefore, by holding equity in Stellaris Capital, the more massive the company’s asset scale became, the larger the loans the five major institutions could secure with their stake. Whether the borrowed money was used for infrastructure or something else, the funds would be there. The bit of money from direct dividends was secondary in comparison.

…

Chapter 462: ATL Lists on the ChiNext Board

Fang Hong decided to prepare two sets of financial reports for Stellaris Capital. Although the Xincheng local tax bureau would collect significantly less tax as a result, the tax base for Stellaris Capital was simply enormous.

Even with a 30/70 split, where 70 percent went entirely to the state tax bureau and the remaining 30 percent was further split 40/60 between the Xincheng local tax bureau and the state tax bureau, the amount allocated to Xincheng was still huge. Stellaris Capital remained Xincheng’s number one taxpayer.

Moreover, even if Xincheng’s Leader found out about the situation later, he would not be displeased with Fang Hong in the slightest.

On the contrary, he would have to thank him.

In the future, the higher-ups would surely bring up the matter of a tax rebate to show they weren’t taking advantage of the local government; the decision had been made with the bigger picture in mind. At that time, Xincheng’s incumbent Leader would certainly refuse it, saying, “Xincheng’s economy is developing very well, our coffers are full, and we have no financial pressure. There’s no need for a rebate.”

With such a big-picture perspective, it would be hard not to get promoted, wouldn’t it?

…

Meanwhile, the A-share market’s two-day correction came to an end, ushering in an engulfing pattern rally on Friday, March 4th.

And today, Friday, the third company in the Qunxing ecosystem, ATL Technology, officially listed on the ChiNext board. During the morning call auction, it gapped up +20% with an opening price of 13.80 yuan. After the market opened, it immediately hit the limit-up, triggering a thirty-minute temporary halt. When trading resumed at 10:00 AM, it hit the limit-up again, triggering another halt. The stock price soared to 16.56 yuan, a gain of +44.00%, bringing its market cap up to 6.479 billion yuan.

Today’s trading volume was only 6.36 million yuan. The stockholders who had won an IPO subscription were all holding on.

Calculated at its temporarily halted price, ATL Technology now had a total market cap of over 6.4 billion yuan. Based on its issue price, its tradable float was only about 400 million yuan. Even at the current price of 16.56 yuan, the tradable float was just over 600 million yuan, nearly half that of Ruihe Pharmaceutical when it listed on the ChiNext board.

A small tradable float meant that it was easier to drive the price up and required less capital.

Today, the Shanghai Composite Index also closed with a gain of +1.35% at 2942.31 points.

Weibo, which had fallen -4.63% yesterday, once again saw a synergistic engulfing pattern rally along with the index, closing with a strong gain of +5.30% at 197.80 yuan. Its daily trading volume was 8.671 billion yuan, firmly securing its position as the stock with the highest trading volume across both markets.

…

After the weekend, it was Monday, March 7th.

Today, the three major indices of the A-share market all rose. The Shanghai Composite Index gapped up at the open, forming a bullish candlestick with no lower shadow and hitting a new high for the year. It rose steadily from the open, and the market experienced a broad rally. The index touched the 3000-point mark during trading hours and finally closed at 2966.21 points, up +1.83%.

Weibo also saw a significant increase in trading volume and a huge surge today. Its daily trading volume once again broke ten billion, reaching 10.1 billion yuan. During trading hours, its price peaked at 213.21 yuan, a gain of +7.79%. It ultimately closed at 209.76 yuan, up +6.05% for the day. Its market cap rose to 110.9 billion yuan, surpassing Zijin Mining Group for the same period and ranking 35th among all listed companies in the A-share market.

As a constituent stock of the CSI 300 Index and the Shenzhen 100 Index, Weibo, with its hundred-billion-yuan market cap, was undoubtedly a heavyweight large-cap stock.

While Weibo’s current stock price was just a step away from breaking its all-time high, the second listed company in the Qunxing ecosystem, Ruihe Pharmaceutical, appeared much weaker. This very recent IPO stock on the ChiNext board had a spectacular run during the major rally after the National Day holiday in October last year, decoupling from the ChiNext board Index and soaring. Its stock price hit its current all-time high of 78.69 yuan, marking a cumulative gain of +188.45% since its listing, with its market cap reaching a peak of 41.8 billion yuan.

Now, it had formed an M-shaped double top. After rebounding from 57.69 yuan in December last year to 78.24 yuan on January 13th of this year, the market trend reversed into a waterfall-like, one-sided panic sell. In just twelve trading days, the price plummeted from 78.24 yuan to 50.53 yuan, a drop of over 35 percent. It also broke below the December low of 57.69 yuan, setting a new low.

However, after the Spring Festival holiday, Ruihe Pharmaceutical also rebounded along with the market. Today, it closed up +2.14%, with its price recovering to 61.07 yuan, maintaining a market cap of around 32.4 billion yuan.

The 50.53 yuan level was now Ruihe Pharmaceutical’s new all-time low. It was unlikely to ever fall below this price again, as the 50-yuan mark was the iron bottom price for the stock’s market capitalization management.

It was just that the retail investors didn’t know this.

ATL Technology, which had listed last Friday, opened at the limit-up price today. Its price jumped to 18.22 yuan, and its market cap rose to 7.1 billion yuan. The entire day’s trading volume was a mere 1.59 million yuan; none of the stockholders who had won the IPO subscription sold.

In the next four trading days of the week, ATL Technology hit three more one-word limit-ups. By Thursday, its price reached a new high of 24.24 yuan. The trading volume also increased slightly to 3.18 million yuan. Some investors felt this was good enough and cashed out today. Those who won the IPO subscription and held until now realized a gain of +110%, doubling their money.

…

On Friday, ATL Technology gapped up +8.75% during the call auction; it didn’t open at the limit-up today.

After the market opened, the stock price quickly dived. Seeing that it hadn’t opened at the limit-up, the stockholders who won the IPO subscription began to waver. The dive triggered front-running from those cashing in on unrealized profits. In just three minutes, ATL Technology’s stock price dropped to 24.54 yuan, seemingly about to turn negative for the day.

However, it stopped falling at this price.

In the afternoon, the ten-thousand-lot bro arrived and performed a mid-air refueling.

Around 2:35 PM, ATL Technology’s stock rallied to 26.66 yuan, up +9.98%, and sealed the limit-up board tightly. The stock hit another all-time high, and its total market cap officially broke ten billion yuan, reaching 10.4 billion.

However, even with a market cap of ten billion, ATL Technology’s tradable float was still less than one billion yuan. The stock’s closing turnover for the day was 627 million yuan, with an astonishing turnover rate of 71.53%. Judging from this rate, almost all retail investors who had won the IPO subscription had cashed in their profits today.

Then, on Monday, March 14th, after a slight pullback on a lower open, ATL Technology quickly rallied again. Within twenty minutes of the open, its price surged to 29.33 yuan, marking its sixth consecutive day of hitting the limit. Its market cap soared to 11.4 billion yuan.

However, around 2:30 PM, ATL Technology’s sixth limit-up was broken, and it failed to hit the limit-up again. It ultimately closed with a gain of +4.65% at 27.90 yuan, with the day’s turnover shrinking to 362 million yuan.

The high of 29.33 yuan that ATL Technology reached today was basically its short-term peak for the next month. A period of correction would follow.

The market maker’s short-term iron bottom for this stock was the 20-yuan mark. In other words, as long as ATL Technology’s price corrected to 20 yuan, major institutional players would step in to prop up the market.

Further down the line, the center of gravity for this iron bottom price would continue to rise.

Fang Hong didn’t care about the specific volatility of the Qunxing ecosystem’s A-share listed companies. He also didn’t care how Zhongtai Capital and other partner institutions fleeced investors; how much money they could make was up to them.

But there was one rule: the trend must always be upward. All tops were temporary, and the price had to break through them later. Moreover, the time to break through a top could not exceed ten months.

What Fang Hong wanted was for the Qunxing ecosystem’s A-share listed companies to break free from being valued by benchmarking against the US stock market.

He wanted all investors who used the US dollar interest rate as an anchor to value the Qunxing ecosystem to see that their strategy of applying this logic to Qunxing’s core assets would fail.

Overvalued? Sold off? Waiting for a drop in valuation to buy the dip?

Sorry, it would never drop to your so-called “value low.” You could either choose to miss out on the rally and watch it keep climbing, if you were that against making money. If you were skeptical, go ahead and wait, year after year. Or, you could accept that the current valuation was reasonable, abandon the logic of benchmarking against the US market, and place your bet.

…

Chapter 463: The Rise of Kunpeng Technology

Tuesday, March 15th.

The broader market had only managed to stay above 3,000 points for a single day last Wednesday before falling. Today, during intra-day trading, the A-share market experienced a flash crash, with the Shanghai Composite Index plummeting by nearly three percent to a low of 2,850.95 points. The panic sell brought it down to the same level it had reached when the news of Stellaris Capital cashing out had dragged down the market.

However, after hitting this low, the market began to rebound in the afternoon, and the index’s decline continued to narrow.

By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index was down -1.41%, closing at 2,896.26 points. The daily K-line formed a “golden needle hitting the bottom” pattern, and it was the second pullback to the previous low. Judging from today’s K-line, there was still very strong support around the 2,850-point mark.

…

The next morning, at the Tranquil Heart Residence.

A visitor arrived today—none other than Chu Changxing, the founder of Kunpeng Technology.

At this moment, he was in a face-to-face meeting with Fang Hong in the large living room on the first floor. Chu Changxing said with great excitement, “K-God, your initial investment of ten million not only saved Kunpeng Technology but also led to success that has far exceeded our team’s most optimistic forecasts.”

Chu Changxing continued, “Since the launch of Kunpeng Technology’s first-generation commercial drone in mid-October last year, it has been on the market for five months. Cumulative sales have surpassed 750,000 units—758,600 to be exact.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but nod and smile, “Not bad.”

Seeing the big shot’s calm and composed demeanor, Chu Changxing sighed inwardly. As expected of a master, he’s so unruffled.

It made sense, given his net worth of tens of billions.

Today, Kunpeng Technology had become a newcomer in the commercial drone market and was already considered DJI’s number one rival. In just five months since its first product launch, it had sold over 750,000 units, averaging more than 150,000 units per month.

Moreover, sales were still skyrocketing.

Such an achievement not only made DJI feel the formidable advance of Kunpeng Technology but had also attracted the attention of numerous institutional investors.

The first-generation commercial drone launched by Kunpeng Technology was the industry’s first pre-assembled quadcopter that could be flown at a moment’s notice. It could take off within an hour of unboxing, and it wouldn’t disintegrate on its first crash. It was also a complete package, containing all the necessary elements for a drone: software, propellers, frame, gimbal, and remote controller.

The product’s simplicity and ease of use were two of the main reasons it was so sought after by the market upon its release. The other factor was its astonishingly low price of just 3,599 RMB, or about 547 US dollars, not accounting for exchange rate fluctuations.

Even a single S1-Plus smartphone retailed for more.

Thanks to its simplicity, user-friendliness, and incredibly cheap retail price, Kunpeng Technology’s first-generation product was in high demand in overseas markets.

That’s right, over 70% of sales came from foreign orders, while the domestic market was also experiencing rapid growth.

It was worth noting, however, that the price in overseas markets had been raised to 779 US dollars per unit, making it more expensive than in the Mainland.

This was to avoid the trouble of being accused of “dumping.”

Upon its launch, Kunpeng Technology’s first-generation commercial drone pried open the non-professional drone market and took off like a rocket, storming through the consumer-grade drone sector.

It stunned all competitors, new and old, including DJI. They couldn’t believe this product was being sold for just 3,599 RMB, or 5,118 RMB even with the overseas price hike.

Selling 750,000 units in five months might seem trivial compared to the S1 phone in the smartphone industry, but only industry insiders knew just how incredible these figures were.

Before this, drones were mainly used in professional fields. The products were highly specialized, had a high barrier to entry for operation, and were very expensive, which prevented them from becoming widespread.

To put it simply, the average person couldn’t play with these things; there was a barrier to entry.

But the launch of Kunpeng Technology’s product lowered the barrier to entry for drones to the level of ordinary consumers, rapidly creating an entirely new market.

Even an average person with no professional knowledge could easily master it, and the price was affordable for the general public.

Because of this, sales of Kunpeng Technology’s product had skyrocketed exponentially over the past five months, from less than 2,000 units in the first month to a staggering monthly sales volume of over 200,000 units now.

It not only quickly built brand recognition but also opened up a new market for the entire industry—the non-professional drone market. It brought commercial drone products to the mass market, creating a brand-new growth market for the whole sector.

Now, competitors, seeing Kunpeng Technology’s explosive success, also saw the opportunity and future trend here. They all began to focus their efforts on producing complete drone systems, targeting the non-professional drone market and the general public.

…

Back in the living room, Chu Changxing looked at Fang Hong and said, “Over the past five months, Kunpeng Technology’s total sales reached 3.538 billion yuan. Sales in the Mainland market accounted for 788 million yuan, while global overseas market sales reached 418 million US dollars, which is 2.75 billion yuan.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile. “And how are the competitors doing?”

Hearing this, Chu Changxing replied, “The competitors are also following the trend and focusing on complete drone systems. But they all think Kunpeng Technology will definitely go bankrupt playing this game. Their reasoning is that we’re not making money, we’re losing it, and we won’t last long.”

The competitors had also dismantled Kunpeng Technology’s first-generation product, studying nearly every component. Their conclusion was that it was absolutely impossible to make a profit selling this product at 3,599 yuan. Even with the overseas price increased to 5,118 yuan, it was unlikely to generate enough profit to cover operations costs.

Therefore, all the competitors were convinced that Kunpeng Technology was losing money on every unit sold—the more they sold, the more they lost. Once their capital ran into problems, a flash crash could happen overnight.

Chu Changxing said, “We’ve sacrificed profit margins to pursue market share, and the cost has been quite high. In the past five months, Kunpeng Technology has generated over 3.5 billion in sales, but the company’s current debt has reached 1.167 billion yuan. Our liquid funds are tight. And this is with the price increase in overseas markets; otherwise, the number would be much higher. We tried to get a bank loan a while ago, but it still hasn’t been approved, so…”

That was why he had come to K-God for support. A break in the capital chain would be extremely dangerous.

He hadn’t approached K-God earlier because getting money from him meant giving up equity. The last time he received a ten million yuan investment from K-God, it cost him 45% of his company’s shares.

So, as long as he could secure a loan, Chu Changxing would try his best not to seek equity financing to support the company’s development.

Fang Hong was inwardly supportive of this, though he wouldn’t say it out loud.

It showed that Chu Changxing had a good head on his shoulders. As the leader of a company, Fang Hong’s biggest fear was a mediocre helmsman.

Finally, Fang Hong said decisively, “Development can’t stop, and expansion can’t halt. Kunpeng Technology doesn’t need to worry about making a profit right now. I only care about its market share. Since you can’t get the money, I’ll provide the financial support. I’ll personally fund this A-round for Kunpeng Technology.”

…

Chapter 464: K-God Is So Generous!

Tranquil Heart Residence.

In the living room, Fang Hong pondered for a moment before saying, as if to himself, “…Let’s value Kunpeng Technology based on its current sales revenue. Assuming a 10% profit margin on that revenue and applying a 30x PE ratio, I’ll provide you with this financing.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Changxing couldn’t help but do a quick mental calculation. A 30x PE ratio, as Fang Hong proposed, would value Kunpeng Technology at over ten billion yuan, roughly 1.6 billion US dollars.

This valuation level put it directly in the unicorn category (valued at over one billion US dollars)!

Chu Changxing was stunned. After a moment, he looked at Fang Hong, at a loss for words.

K-God is so generous!

To offer a 30x PE valuation in an A-round, reaching a staggering 10.5 billion yuan—it was definitely an overvaluation given Kunpeng Technology’s current situation.

But Fang Hong was intentionally inflating the valuation. In the future, other investors would certainly be brought in. By pushing the valuation up, other investors would get less equity for the same amount of money. Likewise, when Fang Hong, or rather, Stellaris Capital, eventually exits, the selling price would be higher.

Chu Changxing felt he had gotten a huge bargain, a massive windfall.

From Fang Hong’s perspective, he seemed to be taking a loss, but it was a small one. The minor losses he was taking now would be recouped in the future with interest, and then some.

At that moment, Fang Hong calmly stated, “For this A-round, Kunpeng Technology will be valued at 10.5 billion yuan. Your founding team will have to give me 20% equity. Furthermore, my existing 45% stake must not be diluted; only the founding team’s equity will be diluted. Of course, I will sign a concerted action agreement with you.”

Chu Changxing couldn’t help but smile, replying crisply, “No problem. We’ll do it exactly as you say, K-God.”

He knew Fang Hong’s real name but preferred to call him K-God. Calling him by his name felt awkward. He was older than Fang Hong, so he couldn’t very well call him ‘little bro’. Calling him ‘bro’ would be even more cringe-worthy. ‘Mr. Fang’ sounded too formal and distant. All things considered, his online alias felt most appropriate.

Chu Changxing accepted Fang Hong’s A-round financing plan without a second thought. To be honest, the price K-God offered was so generous that he would have been embarrassed to even try to counter-offer.

A post-money valuation of 10.5 billion, giving up 20% equity, translated to a direct investment of 2.1 billion yuan, or roughly 319 million US dollars, exchange rate fluctuations aside.

An investment of 2.1 billion yuan, or 319 million US dollars, was unequivocally the largest single investment in the global commercial drone sector, setting a new record among its peers.

Once this capital was in hand, Kunpeng Technology’s current financial pressures would instantly and completely vanish.

Fang Hong said methodically, “I’ll have my people contact you later. The funds should be fully transferred to your company’s designated account in about a week.”

Chu Changxing nodded repeatedly, then said with a smile, “With this money, Kunpeng Technology can expand its development even further. We were hesitating about developing other applications, but once this funding arrives, there will be no need to hesitate.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong asked with interest, “Oh? In what direction?”

Chu Changxing immediately replied, “Besides consumer-grade drones, we plan to expand into other sub-sectors of the drone industry, such as agricultural applications like crop spraying.”

Fang Hong nodded and smiled. “You’re the helmsman, you call the shots.”

Well, that’s because our strategic direction happens to align with K-God’s. If it didn’t… that would be another story.

Chu Changxing was thrilled to hear this. K-God was a true angel investor, a genuine judge of talent, wasn’t he!

After quickly settling the A-round financing, Chu Changxing chatted for a little longer before taking his leave.

As soon as he left, Fang Hong called his beautiful assistant, telling her to prepare the funds and send someone to contact Kunpeng Technology to finalize the details of the A-round financing.

This round of financing was still being done in Fang Hong’s personal name, not through Stellaris Capital. Naturally, he was using his own money. Tian Jiayi knew his account passwords and was authorized to manage the funds.

Fang Hong’s personal net asset value now exceeded thirty billion yuan. He had previously spent nearly three billion on educational initiatives. The 2.1 billion for Kunpeng Technology’s A-round was just pocket change to him.

It was worth mentioning that among the primary market projects Fang Hong publicly managed as K-God, aside from Kunpeng Technology, there were also investments in biotechnology. These included Zhu Yingdong’s team at Zhejiang University, which researched using plant photosynthesis and thylakoids to slow the aging process, and Yue Lang’s team at South China University, which researched using mitochondrial light energy to reverse aging.

In addition, there were several other projects, including the ocean waste cleanup initiative.

Among the projects Fang Hong had invested in personally, the most successful by far was Kunpeng Technology, led by Chu Changxing. Given its current momentum, as long as Chu Changxing’s team didn’t make any dumb mistakes or major strategic blunders, it was essentially guaranteed to surpass DJI and become the hegemon of the global commercial drone market.

As for the other invested projects, such as those run by Yue Lang’s and Zhu Yingdong’s teams, whether they would succeed was another matter entirely.

Fang Hong simply felt they looked promising, so he threw some money in to secure a foothold.

What if they succeeded?

If a project like the one Yue Lang’s team was working on actually succeeded, the payoff would be incredible—worth more than ten Kunpeng Technologies combined.

However, compared to the other projects, which were far more cutting-edge, Kunpeng Technology had already begun capturing a large market share. After some thought, Fang Hong figured he could probably arrange for the company to go public by next year.

Without a doubt, he intended for Kunpeng Technology to list on the A-share market. It would be brought onto the A-share market as a premium asset of the Qunxing ecosystem to build the valuation framework for its core assets.

To get to a point where he could make other investors feel that “it doesn’t matter if they’re angry, only if they’re convinced,” he needed the backing of truly premium core assets, of top-tier companies. Only then would other companies in the industry treat them as an anchor.

If the company itself was terrible, no amount of hype would attract big money; any discerning investor would see it was just a game of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.

But core assets were different. The valuation bubble pushed up now could be absorbed and solidified over time as the company’s intrinsic value grew.

Therefore, you could only play this game with core assets, preferably with top-tier, leading enterprises in their industry.

For instance, Stellar Universe Technology, led by Qin Feng, was now a leading giant in the domestic smartphone industry. Similarly, Kunpeng Technology, led by Chu Changxing, was on track to surpass DJI and become a leading giant in the global commercial drone market.

However, to get Kunpeng Technology listed on the A-share market by next year, it would never pass the approval process through normal application channels.

This was because the company wasn’t profitable—and absolutely couldn’t afford to be right now. The current priority was to sacrifice profits in exchange for a larger market share.

So, it was obvious. If Kunpeng Technology were to list on the A-share market next year, it would have to be through a backdoor listing.

Chapter 465: [Only Children Make Choices; Adults Want It All]

On Saturday, March 19th.

Kunpeng Technology posted a message on its official Weibo account that caused a considerable stir in the investment circle. The post disclosed that the company had completed its A-round financing, raising 2.1 billion RMB, equivalent to approximately 319 million USD.

As soon as the news broke, tech media outlets rushed to report it. The VC world took notice, and competitors in the drone industry were shocked.

An A-round financing of 319 million USD had set a new global record for the largest single investment in the industry.

Almost everyone following the news was speculating about which VC firm was behind it, as Kunpeng Technology’s Weibo post only revealed the amount of the A-round financing, not the specific investors or how much equity was given up.

Some thought of Stellaris Capital, the firm known for being a “fool with too much money.” If this money-is-no-object investment giant had taken an interest, then it would all make sense.

However, the answer was revealed that very afternoon.

Chu Changxing, the founder and CEO of Kunpeng Technology, posted a message on his personal Weibo account:

[I met with K-God on Tuesday, and the A-round financing talks went very smoothly. K-God valued Kunpeng Technology at 10.5 billion. To be honest, I never expected Kunpeng Technology to be worth so much in K-God’s eyes. Looking back at the past ten months, K-God has undoubtedly been a true judge of talent for the Kunpeng Technology team. Without K-God’s initial ten million, Kunpeng Technology wouldn’t have survived. The other founders and I were getting ready to apply for jobs at DJI.]

Chu Changxing’s Weibo account didn’t have a large following—fewer than five hundred thousand followers, more than half of whom had come over because of K-God. The rest were fans and enthusiasts from the aerial photography community.

But his post certainly sent shockwaves through the venture capital circle.

It turned out not to be Stellaris Capital, but the big shot K3478. They were shocked that this person, K3478, had valued Kunpeng Technology at nearly 1.6 billion USD. Many in the investment circle had speculated that the company had been fully acquired by its investor in this financing round.

Another big shot who was a fool with too much money!

To think that 2.1 billion RMB was only for a 20% stake stunned the investment circle. Some gossiping netizens were also delighted to see it happen. Chu Changxing’s Weibo post garnered numerous comments, including some biting ones.

[@K3478, K-God, why are you such a tycoon… [Crying Laughing emoji]]

[As expected of The Tycoon God!]

[LOL, DJI will hate K-God’s guts when they see this post. Little Chu is ruthless, backstabbing his financial sponsor just like that.]

[DJI must be fuming (smirking face). If K-God hadn’t given them that ten million to keep them afloat, the team would have joined DJI. Kunpeng’s first-generation product might have been a DJI product. Instead, they became a formidable competitor.]

[When I saw the official account’s post this morning, I thought the investor was Stellaris Capital. It turned out to be K-God?]

[I think when it comes to being a tycoon, K-God and Stellaris Capital are birds of a feather.]

[I used to think K-God would crash and burn playing VC in the primary market, but he actually struck gold. Kunpeng Technology definitely has potential. But seriously, K-God, can you not be such a tycoon? I can’t take it anymore… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Competitors are dumbfounded. They were thinking Kunpeng Technology’s cash flow was about to collapse, but K-God came through with another lifeline at the critical moment. And it was a massive one.]

[The key is, with K-God’s attitude, he might just throw in another two billion-plus after this 2.1 billion is spent. After all, he’s already sunk so much money into it. If he doesn’t follow up, all his previous investments will go down the drain.]

[The pressure is on DJI now.]

…

The pressure was indeed on DJI. With such massive financial backing, Kunpeng Technology could continue to expand at a loss, forgoing profit for a long time. The market was still a growth market, so DJI’s earnings hadn’t yet been impacted by Kunpeng Technology’s rise.

The problem wasn’t the present, but the foreseeable future.

At this rate, Kunpeng Technology would sooner or later expand its borders into DJI’s territory, and direct competition would be inevitable.

The question now before DJI was this: with Kunpeng Technology sacrificing profits to seize market share, would DJI follow suit or not?

If they didn’t, their market share would eventually be eaten away. If they did, DJI would have to bring in outside capital.

Once you start to burn through cash, you definitely need the support of capital. DJI’s current profits couldn’t possibly withstand an onslaught like Kunpeng Technology’s, which had just raised an astronomical figure of 2.1 billion in a single financing round.

This was exactly the effect Fang Hong wanted. Only children make choices; adults want it all.

DJI had previously been rather cool toward capital. Stellaris Capital had wanted to invest in them before, but the company’s leader had politely declined. At the time, they had the confidence and were indeed not short of cash, so they didn’t need financing.

But times had changed. Kunpeng Technology had burst onto the scene. As long as DJI’s management team remained ambitious and enterprising, they would surely respond to this big move from Kunpeng Technology. Even if they were unwilling, they would be forced to join the cash-burning competition.

All Fang Hong had to do now was wait. Wait until DJI’s cash flow couldn’t hold up, until they were forced to bring in capital. Then Stellaris Capital could make a smooth entry.

In the commercial drone sector, he would have Kunpeng Technology in his left hand and DJI Technology in his right.

How could he lose? He couldn’t!

Perhaps DJI Technology would lose, or perhaps Kunpeng Technology would lose. It was possible for either of them to win or lose, but Fang Hong would be the winner no matter what.

Barring any surprises, the future landscape of the commercial drone market would likely involve the number one and number two players fighting ferociously, while the number three, four, five, and six players would inexplicably vanish from the market. At best, they would be relegated to the insignificant “Others” category.

It was worth mentioning that Kunpeng Technology had already been “bookmarked” by Stellaris Capital’s partner institutions, such as Zhongtai Capital and Pengrui Capital.

To most outsiders, Kunpeng Technology’s financing was the work of the ace K3478. But there was an information gap. Institutions like Pengrui Capital were obviously closer to the truth; they regarded the blogger K3478 as an operations account for Stellaris Capital.

Or to put it more directly, they saw it as Stellaris Capital investing in Chu Changxing.

The company would most likely go public on the A-share market, so partner institutions like Zhongtai Capital had quietly “bookmarked” it. They weren’t sure if the company would succeed.

But did that matter?

As long as it went public with Stellaris Capital providing a safety net, they could confidently pump up the price. In the eyes of Liu Qizheng, Xiao Quan, and the others, even if it were a worthless shell company, as long as Stellaris Capital promised to back them up, they would dare to push its valuation up tenfold or even higher.

This brought up the nature of their cooperation. Partner institutions like Pengrui Capital and Zhongtai Capital were responsible for acting as market makers for the Qunxing ecosystem’s core assets listed on the A-share market.

For example, they might pump up the price of a Qunxing ecosystem company to a 60x P/E ratio, with a valuation bubble equivalent to a 20x P/E ratio. If the company’s value eventually grew enough to absorb and justify that 20x bubble, it would be a win-win situation. Everyone made money, so everyone was happy.

But if the company’s value growth failed to absorb that 20x P/E ratio, Stellaris Capital would have to step in and provide a safety net. This was why institutions like Zhongtai Capital dared to be so aggressive in pushing up prices, as Stellaris Capital would cover for them.

For Stellaris Capital, they didn’t spend a single cent on market capitalization management. A verbal promise was all it took to get other capital institutions to achieve their strategic goals. As long as the listed companies didn’t run into problems, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t have to intervene with a safety net.

That’s the game of finance: first, use other people’s money to achieve your own goals. Keep your own money as a safety net—to be used by not being used.

Of course, a verbal promise from Stellaris Capital was extremely valuable. It was backed by the trustworthiness of this non-bank financial giant. A single promise was truly worth its weight in gold, no exaggeration.

…

Chapter 466: The Ten-Year, One-Hundred-Million-Mu Reforestation Plan Causes a Huge Sensation

The news that Kunpeng Technology had received 2.1 billion yuan in financing was a relatively minor affair, attracting attention only within the investment circle and the drone industry. It failed to break out of its niche circle and become a widely discussed topic.

But the very next day, a piece of news from Stellaris Capital truly left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

On the morning of Saturday, March 20th, Stellaris Capital held a press conference to announce a strategic plan called the “Ten-Year, One-Hundred-Million-Mu Reforestation” initiative.

According to the spokesperson, Stellaris Capital will carry out large-scale reforestation over the next ten years, primarily in the great Northwest of the country. The plan is to allocate 30 to 35 billion yuan annually to reforest over ten million mu of land each year. Stellaris Capital expects to invest a total of 400 billion yuan over the ten-year period.

Truly, it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to nurture people.

Good grief!

Damn it, everyone couldn’t help but exclaim, “Good grief!”

The reporters at the scene were all utterly dumbfounded, and anyone who heard the news was completely astonished. That same day, the story became the front-page headline for major media outlets, including mainstream news corporations.

[Stellaris Capital’s Ten-Year Reforestation Plan: A 400 Billion Yuan Investment to Reforest 100 Million Mu] — Global Net

[The Ten-Year, One-Hundred-Million-Mu Reforestation Plan Demonstrates a Great Enterprise’s Bold Vision and Immense Sense of Responsibility] — People’s Daily Online

[Stellaris Capital Officially Announces a Staggering 400 Billion Yuan Investment to Plant Trees Across 100 Million Mu Over Ten Years!] — Daily Economics

[Shocking! This Corporate Giant Is Actually Spending 400 Billion to Plant Trees!] — UC Headline News

…

Not only were media outlets of all sizes reporting on it, but the news also completely took over the internet, becoming the hottest topic of the weekend because the sum was simply astronomical.

[My friends and I were all stunned!]

[This… I don’t know what to say. Is this real news?]

[Oh my god, spending 400 billion to plant trees? Are you sure it’s 400 billion and not 40 million? I’m floored by this news.]

[It’s 400 billion over 10 years.]

[That’s still incredibly exaggerated, okay? It averages out to thirty or forty billion a year.]

[What’s environmental protection? This is environmental protection!]

[What’s the scale of one hundred million mu?]

[Let’s put it this way: it’s equivalent to more than 0.6% of the country’s total land area.]

[Just for this plan alone, I won’t even curse Stellaris Capital for fleecing me in the A-share market anymore. Other institutional investors fleece you and don’t do a single decent thing.]

[Truly badass!]

[The wealth of Stellaris Capital is absolutely beyond anyone’s imagination!]

…

Once announced, Stellaris Capital’s reforestation plan unsurprisingly received unanimous praise and commendation from society. Everyone viewed it as a philanthropic endeavor by the company for environmental protection.

And it was indeed good for the environment. Reforestation in the great Northwest would, at the very least, reduce sandstorms in the Beijing-Tianjin area.

It was a deed that would benefit the present and last for generations to come. No one dared to criticize it. Anyone who did would be immediately swarmed by people arguing with them online.

At the press conference, Stellaris Capital focused on public welfare and environmental protection, which was not wrong. As for their underlying strategy of positioning for future carbon trading, not a single word was mentioned. In fact, very few people even within Stellaris Capital knew about it.

The excuse was already prepared for ten years down the line, when they would cash out and make a fortune from the trees. They would just say they got lucky — that doing good deeds brought good rewards.

…

Meanwhile, the capital market had been lackluster recently. The A-share market had been range-bound for the past few days, with the broader market oscillating around the 2900-point mark, losing it one day and reclaiming it the next.

By Wednesday, March 23rd, after a week of consolidation, the A-share market began to break upward.

Weibo, which had also been in a correction for nearly ten trading days, pulled back slightly at the open this morning before quickly rallying. Within the first ten minutes of trading, it had surged by seven percentage points and was now consolidating at a high level.

The reason for today’s significant rise was soon found. A look at the news for Weibo revealed that an important announcement had been made this morning: the company would release its annual report tonight.

Clearly, funds were betting on a positive earnings report and were pushing the price up in advance.

However, it wasn’t easy for a stock like Weibo to hit the limit-up. Its trading volume was enormous. Yesterday’s full-day turnover was a staggering 5.6 billion yuan, and today, the turnover in just the first half-hour of trading had already exceeded 5 billion yuan.

The major capital institutions acting as market makers had not made a move yet. At the current price, any move from them would likely be to sell off heavily.

As time went on, the indexes also continued their choppy ascent.

After its rapid climb in the first half-hour, Weibo fluctuated at its highs. Each time it pulled back toward the intraday average price line, it found buying support.

After the market opened in the afternoon, Weibo traded at its highs for about ten minutes. Then, at 1:15 PM, a large order of 40 million yuan entered the market, sounding the horn for an assault on the price limit. The stock price quickly surged to a gain of +8.94%.

A minute later, around 1:16 PM, the ten-thousand-lot bro made a powerful appearance. A massive order of 15,000 lots, worth over 300 million yuan, swept the available shares. Weibo’s stock price instantly shot up to 210.95 yuan, hitting the +10.00% limit-up in seconds.

At the same time, shares rapidly changed hands at the limit-up price. The turnover in that minute was 736 million yuan, but in the next minute, it dropped sharply to just over 60 million yuan and continued to decrease. The value of limit orders piled up on the buy side soared to a massive 1.8 billion yuan.

Two minutes later, trading apps sent out push notifications:

[Weibo Hits Limit-Up in Afternoon Trading, Current Turnover at 10.5 Billion Yuan]

The stock’s popularity also skyrocketed, and it almost never dropped out of the top ten on the popularity ranking.

After sealing the limit-up, the price held firm without breaking until the market closed. The final turnover reached 10.7 billion yuan, once again making it the stock with the highest daily trading volume in both markets.

Evidently, today’s limit-up was a bet on Weibo’s earnings report tonight, with traders trying to get an initial position.

By the close, the three major indexes had all finished higher. The Shanghai Composite Index rose by +1.01% to close at 2948.48 points, suggesting that the correction was over and it was preparing to make another run at the 3000-point mark.

…

Around 8:00 PM, Weibo officially released its 2010 annual earnings report.

According to the report, Weibo’s net revenue for 2010 was 2.532 billion RMB, but it had a full-year loss of 598 million RMB. Some novice investors were confused, wondering how a company that brought in over 2.5 billion in revenue could still lose nearly 600 million, yet command a market capitalization of 111.5 billion.

During the earnings call, Weibo’s CEO stated that in 2011, the company would continue to improve the user experience and shift the focus of all major product lines to the mobile internet.

Currently, 70 percent of Weibo’s active users log in via mobile devices, and it was projected that advertising revenue from mobile would equal that from PCs in the first half of this year.

The earnings report also disclosed that 72 percent of Weibo’s annual revenue came from advertising. Most of Weibo’s ad revenue was currently from social media display ads, with brand advertisers as the primary clients.

At the same time, the latest user data was released. As of February of this year, Weibo’s registered user count had surpassed 350 million, with 39.2 million daily active users. Weibo’s user base and active user count continued to show steady growth.

…

Chapter 467: Swift Approval for the Technical Tax Concealment Plan

When the annual report was disclosed, Weibo’s performance was slightly better than market expectations, a modest outperformance.

The outperformance was mainly reflected in the number of registered users, which was the metric the market valued most. The market had expected 330 million users by February of this year, but the actual number exceeded that by 20 million.

As for the company’s operating losses, who even looks at that stuff?

Only novice investors just entering the market would look at and agonize over that. According to the latest annual report, Weibo’s static P/E ratio had reached a staggering 182. Many investors found it hard to believe that a company that lost nearly 600 million last year could see its stock price soar by more than tenfold, with its market cap reaching over 110 billion.

What everyone was trading on now was the dream. Its P/E ratio of over 180 would be more aptly called a “price-to-dream ratio.” If Weibo were to actually turn a profit at this point, its stock price would likely collapse. The capital market was focused on its growth potential and the vast possibilities of the mobile internet.

After all, China had a population of over 1.3 billion, the number of netizens was still growing explosively, and this was driving incremental growth in the mobile internet market.

Unlike in Fang Hong’s previous life, the current Weibo also had the support of WeChat next door, further expanding its expected potential.

Without a doubt, what was being hyped up with Weibo now was its valuation, which was surging far ahead of its value growth.

Therefore, the capital market didn’t care at all how much money Weibo was making. What mattered was the speed and scale of its user growth. If that exceeded expectations, the stock price would deliver an equally exceptional performance.

…

The next day, Thursday.

The A-share market opened, and Weibo started the day higher at 215.30 yuan during the call auction, a 2.06% increase. After the market opened, its price surged to 216.72 yuan, extending its gains to 2.73%, just a stone’s throw away from its previous high of 218.11.

However, 216.72 yuan turned out to be the day’s peak. After hitting that point, the stock began to fall back.

Short-term capital that had bet on the earnings report started taking profits and selling off after the high open. Despite this, the trading volume was not low at all, creating a situation of stagnant price on high volume. By the afternoon, Weibo’s stock price had turned negative for the day.

By the close, the stock had fallen 1.37% to 208.07 yuan, with a trading volume of 11 billion—300 million more than the previous day.

This inconsistency between price and volume led some technical analysts to turn bearish.

…

On Friday, Weibo opened 0.91% higher. After a five-minute pullback, it formed a direct engulfing pattern.

Around 10:27 AM, major stock market apps sent out a push notification:

[Weibo up over 5%, stock price hits new all-time high, current trading volume exceeds 4.7 billion yuan]

Investors who saw this notification couldn’t help but switch to Weibo’s intraday chart. Its price had already rallied to 221.79 yuan, with gains widening to 6.59%.

The previous peak of 218.11 yuan from last November had been broken, pushing Weibo’s market capitalization to a new all-time high of 117.3 billion yuan.

Since its recent upward turn, the stock had accumulated gains of 60.05%. Year-to-date, its gains reached 52.17%. Since the flash crash and consecutive limit-downs from the 218 yuan level, it had recovered from a low of 106.07 yuan, accumulating gains of 109.09% and effectively doubling in price.

After the consecutive limit-downs in November slashed the stock’s price in half, everyone thought 218.11 yuan was Weibo’s cosmic peak. No one expected it to double and hit a new all-time high in just over three months.

At the close, Weibo had surged 5.77% to close at 220.08 yuan. The total trading volume for the day was 8.65 billion yuan, forming a shrinking volume engulfing pattern rally.

The selling pressure today wasn’t heavy. Because it had withstood the heaviest selling pressure yesterday—stagnating on high volume without crashing—there was much less resistance to its rise today, and it had already broken through to a new high.

…

In the afternoon, at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

“Regarding your proposal for the company’s dual financial strategy, the higher-ups have responded.” Tian Jiayi sought out Fang Hong as soon as she returned. He was still in the trading room; Yifulei and the others had already finished their trading tasks for the day and had gone off to relax or work on other things.

Hearing this, Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and said with surprise, “That fast?”

Tian Jiayi sat down and nodded. “They approved it directly, without a single change.”

Fang Hong smiled. “Unexpected, but not unreasonable.”

His proposal would provide the state tax bureau with a substantial amount of additional tax revenue. The specific plan was a 30/70 split. Most of Stellaris Capital’s tax liability was concentrated in the fourth quarter, specifically generated in December.

For the 2010 fiscal year, Stellaris Capital’s actual full tax liability was 139.5 billion yuan. According to the 30/70 split plan, seventy percent of that amount, or 97.65 billion yuan, would not be publicly disclosed and would be paid directly to the state tax bureau.

The remaining thirty percent, 41.85 billion yuan, would be the publicly disclosed figure. Outsiders would see Stellaris Capital’s total tax payment for 2010 as 41.85 billion yuan, naturally unaware of the other undisclosed 97.65 billion.

Even the figure of 41.85 billion was astonishing.

Even at this amount, it was still far and away the number one taxpayer in Xincheng, leading the second-place company by a massive margin. The total tax payments of the top one hundred local enterprises in Xincheng combined did not even reach this figure.

Of this 41.85 billion yuan tax payment, the state and local tax bureaus would split it 60/40. The state tax bureau would take sixty percent, or 25.11 billion yuan, while the remaining 16.74 billion yuan would go to the Xincheng local tax bureau.

In other words, of the 139.5 billion yuan Stellaris Capital actually paid in taxes, the state tax bureau took 122.76 billion yuan, leaving 16.74 billion yuan for the Xincheng local tax bureau.

Without the technical concealment of seventy percent of the tax amount, the Xincheng local tax bureau would have received 55.8 billion yuan. Now, it was only getting 16.74 billion, a shortfall of 39.06 billion, which was naturally redirected to the state tax bureau.

This made it clear why the approval was granted, and so quickly. There was good reason for it.

For Xincheng, losing over 39 billion in tax revenue was certainly a silent loss, and a rather significant one at that.

However, the amount of tax Stellaris Capital paid was simply too enormous. Even with seventy percent of it undisclosed, this single company still contributed 16.74 billion in taxes to Xincheng. This figure accounted for a quarter of Xincheng’s entire fiscal revenue. Even by this measure, the rise of Stellaris Capital caused Xincheng’s fiscal revenue growth to surge by 27% year-over-year, placing it just behind the top-tier cities.

Evidently, Xincheng’s finances were not tight; its coffers were quite full.

If they hadn’t technically concealed the amount and had reported everything openly, the tax from Stellaris Capital alone would have surpassed all of Xincheng’s other fiscal revenue combined by several billion yuan. The year-over-year growth would have doubled, with absolute fiscal revenue breaking one hundred billion, putting it on par with Shenzhen.

Finally, Fang Hong mused, “Since it’s approved, let’s reissue the annual report.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

After the report was reissued, it would be absolutely impossible for outsiders to calculate the true scale of Stellaris Capital’s total assets based on the publicly available data. As it was not a publicly listed company, much of its important data did not need to be disclosed.

As for third-party institutions trying to look through to Stellaris Capital’s underlying assets?

The countless layers within were impossible to ever penetrate. There was just too much room to maneuver. For such a massive enterprise with its complex asset structure, intentional concealment, and special permission from above, no one would be able to get through.

Ultimately, they would most likely calculate Stellaris Capital’s current net asset value to be in the one trillion yuan range, when in reality, it was 1.81 trillion yuan.

…

Chapter 468: Setting Up Personal Accounts Overseas

After discussing company matters, Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant and said, “Oh, right, I’m hungry. Go and prepare some overseas investment accounts for me. And get a lot of alt accounts.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask, “For your personal use?”

Fang Hong nodded with a smile. “That’s right. The A-share market won’t have much to offer in the next few years. If I short the stock index futures, the market is still relatively small, and I’d have to be the biggest short-seller. There’s still a chance I’ll get flamed for it. Of course, I’m still going to short the futures.”

Only children make choices; adults want it all.

He had to make money, but he also had to maintain a good reputation, as he still needed to accumulate Reputation Value for future use, especially when he started making moves on global natural resources.

When it came to shorting stock index futures, Fang Hong’s idea was simple: since someone was going to get fleeced, it might as well be him doing the fleecing.

Making a fortune by shorting the A-share market would, to some extent, tarnish one’s reputation. However, there was a way to solve this problem—a very simple one. He would just donate the vast majority of the money he fleeced to the Education Assistance Fund.

Then, there would truly be no reason for anyone to curse him.

Fang Hong added, “…After thinking it over, my best bet is to go fleece the overseas capital markets for the big money.”

In reality, it didn’t matter to Fang Hong whether the market was in a bear or a bull phase; it wouldn’t stop him from making money. A bear market had its own ways of making money—by shorting the market—while a bull market meant going long.

As long as he could grasp the market’s direction and devise the right strategy, he could make a fortune.

His beautiful assistant nodded. “Alright, I’ll go prepare them for you.”

She had a good idea why Fang Hong was doing this. He had just established the educational assistance fund organization a short while ago. Tian Jiayi had already set the wheels in motion, and things were now in full swing.

The 2.76 billion yuan Fang Hong provided had to be spent entirely this year, with the goal of assisting 125,000 students from impoverished backgrounds. This was a massive number, and 2.76 billion yuan was only enough to cover one year of tuition and living expenses for these 125,000 students.

What about next year?

Therefore, Fang Hong had to keep making money. By taking out ten percent of this year’s profits, next year’s funding for student assistance would be secured.

Not only that, but the number of students in need of assistance was not limited to 125,000. The scale of aid would continue to expand. Next year, they planned to add 200,000 new recipients, which meant providing financial aid to 325,000 impoverished students.

By then, in 2012, there would be a funding gap of over 7 billion yuan. As the group of sponsored students grew in the future, the budget for the Education Assistance Fund would continue to expand.

So he had to work hard to make money, wielding his scythe with greater force. The funding gaps in the future were going to be huge.

He wouldn’t have as many scruples in the overseas markets. He would fleece them relentlessly. The only thing he had to be careful about was preventing the other side from pulling the plug out of spite, or getting out before they even thought about it.

…

After the weekend, the market opened on Monday, March 28th.

Weibo’s stock price opened 1.47% higher, setting another all-time high during the call auction. A little over half an hour after the market opened, Weibo’s stock surged to an all-time high of 226.61 yuan, with its gains widening to +2.96%, pushing its market cap to 119.8 billion yuan.

At the same time, the broader market index also opened higher and trended upward. Around 10:30 AM, the index crossed the 3000-point integer mark.

Simultaneously, the CSI 300 stock index futures surged to around 3333 points.

“Luo Lan, add twelve hundred short lots to the 300-futures index,” Fang Hong ordered from the second-floor trading room of the Tranquil Heart Residence as he watched the market. Luo Lan received the instruction and executed it as told.

At that moment, all the young women were seated in the trading room, actively trading.

While Tian Jiayi was arranging the overseas accounts, the short positions on the A-share stock index futures still had to be established. When the time came, Fang Hong would simply post on Weibo announcing that seventy percent of the profit he made from shorting the A-share index futures would be donated to educational charities.

He would instantly gain “criticism immunity,” and his Reputation Value would soar.

It was a win-win. Better to do the fleecing himself than be fleeced by others. He could support the Education Assistance Fund, make a small profit for himself, and earn some Reputation Value on the side.

Besides adding to his short positions on the index futures, Fang Hong continued to issue trading instructions to the young women, telling them to open new long positions in stocks. No matter how bad the market was or how bearish the index became in the next few years, there would always be individual stocks that bucked the trend and soared.

Following Fang Hong’s commands, the young women began building a position in new targets such as ST Guoxiang, Guanjiafu Home, Veken Elite, ST Jinrui, and others. Many of these were even Special Treatment stocks.

Today, the index once again touched the 3000-point threshold but failed to hold it. After the lunch break, the index surged higher then fell back.

As for individual stocks, the price of 226.61 yuan that Weibo hit in the morning remained its intraday high. Its gains had now narrowed to the +1.39% level, and the trading was relatively calm.

Around 2:37 PM, during late trading, Weibo’s stock price suddenly accelerated its decline and turned negative for the day.

This was because just two minutes earlier, an analyst from Zhongxin Securities had published a research report on Weibo. After a whole spiel analyzing everything from the PC internet to mobile internet trends, and from the growth rate of domestic netizens to the microblogging sub-industry, the report offered its final analysis.

The conclusion of the research report was: Weibo, bullish!

Target price: 293.95 yuan.

Total market cap: 155.5 billion yuan.

Based on today’s opening price, there was still an upside of more than thirty percent.

However, Weibo’s stock price seemed to be moving in the opposite direction. Before Zhongxin Securities’ report was released, its trend was relatively stable, and everyone assumed that with the broader market being weak today, the major funds in Weibo were unwilling to push the price up.

But as soon as the report from Zhongxin Securities came out, Weibo’s stock price took a dive and turned negative.

Some investors who hadn’t seen the news yet were a little bewildered, and the comment section of the stock forum was abuzz with discussion.

[Why did it just plummet?]

[Buy now, buy now! There’ll be an engulfing pattern tomorrow. This stock loves engulfing patterns!]

[What the hell? Was there some negative news?]

[Uh, Zhongxin Securities just released a research report on Weibo with a target price of 293.95 yuan. So, is this considered negative news or positive news… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Holy shit! That jinx Zhongxin is bullish on Weibo? I get it now, time to sell! Damn!]

[What’s going on? Isn’t this positive news? A target price of 293.95 yuan means more than thirty percent upside. Why did it dive?]

[You must be a newbie who just entered the market, right? Don’t ask, just dump your shares of this stock.]

[You people are obsessed with this metaphysical nonsense. I refuse to believe this crap. Be greedy when others are fearful. I’ve already gone in with a half position!]

[The last guy who didn’t believe, the grass on his grave is already two meters high. The A-share market humbles all doubters.]

…

In the end, Weibo closed down -1.63% at 216.50 yuan per share. The trading volume for the day was 8.173 billion yuan, a slight decrease from the previous day.

On Tuesday, the market pulled back again. Instead of the expected engulfing pattern, Weibo plummeted 6.60% on high volume, with transaction volume once again exceeding ten billion to reach 10.1 billion yuan.

It was only then that many novice investors began to realize—were they trapped?

Over the next two days, the broader market remained weak, and Weibo continued to fall. After hitting an all-time high, it immediately entered a four-day losing streak, with its stock price dropping below the 200 yuan mark.

The trapped investors couldn’t stop cursing Zhongxin Securities. Everyone attributed the decline in Weibo’s stock price to Zhongxin Securities coming out with bullish commentary.

As everyone knew, when Zhongxin was bullish, going the opposite way was usually the right move.

…

Chapter 469: Experts Are Bullish on A-shares? Let Me Add a Thousand Short Positions to Calm My Nerves!

Although Weibo’s stock performance in the secondary market suffered a jinx from Zhongxin Securities, leading to a four-day losing streak, the company had been exceptionally hot recently.

If the focus of the domestic internet last year was the 3Q War, then this year, the Libyan war and the great earthquake in Japan provided the answer—it was Weibo!

The occurrence of these major news events further spurred Weibo’s growth.

During the Libyan war that broke out this year, Weibo launched a “Live Battlefield Coverage” of the multinational military interference in Libya, placing it in a prominent advertising slot on the website’s homepage.

Having accumulated experience from the previous major H1N1 flu outbreak in North America, Weibo’s operations team was becoming increasingly adept at handling major international breaking news.

During the Libya incident, several reporters on the front lines and their colleagues used Weibo to instantly publish the latest information on the situation. These actions were considered the primary channel for the Chinese-speaking world to understand the developing conflict, and it marked the first time Weibo had live-streamed a war.

The same was true for this month’s great earthquake in neighboring Japan.

The Weibo operations team’s focus on these major events made the platform’s news delivery swifter than many official media outlets. If you wanted the latest updates on these major events, you went to Weibo!

From the Libyan war in February to the Japanese earthquake in March, Quantum Beat’s Weibo operations team reacted immediately to these major international emergencies, proving faster and more experienced than their competitors.

Leveraging these major international events also caused a surge in the frequency of netizens visiting Weibo, and the platform’s traffic skyrocketed.

It seemed that for this very reason, the capital market was particularly fond of Weibo. After the four-day losing streak brought on by Zhongxin Securities’ “jinx,” the stock’s price staged a brilliant engulfing pattern rally as April began.

The stock began to rebound from its decline on Friday, April 1, and continued its upward trend after the Qingming Festival holiday, posting a four-day rally. The gains were +4.01%, +1.88%, +3.72%, and +4.63% respectively. On Friday, April 8, the stock closed at 225.73 yuan, just 0.88 yuan shy of its previous high of 226.61 yuan, on the verge of setting a new all-time high.

During the same period as Weibo’s four-day rally, the A-share market index also rallied for four consecutive days and hit a new high. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up at 3030.02 points, successfully breaking and holding the 3000-point mark on its third attempt.

Over the next two days, after a market pullback, the index surged again in an engulfing pattern on April 13. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up +0.96% at 3050.40 points, with the closing price being the highest of the day, forming a strong bullish candlestick that signaled powerful momentum.

In terms of individual stocks, Weibo, after two days of adjustment along with the market, recorded a high-level limit-up on a massive trading volume of 13.1 billion yuan. The stock price surged to an all-time high of 239.78 yuan, raising its market capitalization to 126.8 billion yuan.

In terms of market capitalization, Weibo was now the fourth-largest internet company in China, second only to the “BAT” triumvirate. Its momentum in the capital markets was unmatched at the time.

Meanwhile, various brokerage firms, institutional investors, and financial media outlets were all bullish on the A-share market, singing its praises. Slogans like “The bull market is just getting started” and “The market at 3000 points is just the beginning; 5000 points is not a dream” were everywhere.

Thursday, April 14.

Inside the second-floor trading room of Tranquil Heart Residence, Yifulei, Lin Yun, Luo Lan, and the other young women were busy trading. Fang Hong, however, was watching a live stock commentary on a financial news program on one of the screens.

Host: [The A-share market has been performing brilliantly recently, and we’ve seen the broader market successfully stabilize above the crucial psychological mark of 3000 points. The market has been steadily climbing amidst fluctuations. However, with the ongoing disclosure of annual reports, we’ve noticed that Stellaris Capital, known by investors as ‘smart money,’ has disappeared from the quarterly holdings of major blue-chip stocks. It seems this investment firm is not optimistic about the market’s future. What are your thoughts on this, experts?]

Expert: [I believe Stellaris Capital’s withdrawal at this point is likely a severe misjudgment of the A-share market’s future. They will definitely be back chasing highs when the index charges past 3500 points…]

The host chuckled.

Expert: [Of course, some market voices calling for 5000 points after hitting 3000 are a bit overly optimistic. But I think we can be optimistic about reaching the 4000-point mark.]

Fang Hong watched the two experts pontificating and silently looked away. He turned to Luo Lan and said, “Little Lan, add another 1200 lots of short positions on the stock index futures.”

Luo Lan looked back, smiled, and nodded. “Okay, Bro Hong!”

Seeing the expert’s commentary, Fang Hong silently added another short position to calm his nerves. The contract value of the short positions held in his institutional account had already reached a scale of ten billion yuan.

Just then, Yifulei turned her head to look at Fang Hong and said, “Bro Hong, we’ve bought up to a 4.92% stake in ST Guoxiang. Buying any more will trigger a stake disclosure. Should we continue?”

Fang Hong replied, concise and to the point, “Mm, no need to buy more.”

As for the stock ST Guoxiang, Huaxia Fortune Land Development had been planning a backdoor listing using it as early as March 2009. The stock had soared, its price climbing to 19.58 yuan in April, a nearly seven-fold increase from its low in November 2008.

However, with the government’s tightening of real estate market regulations last year, ST Guoxiang began to plummet from early April. In just about thirty trading days, its price was slashed in half. It panic-sold down to 8.10 yuan in January of this year, a cumulative drop of over -58%. Its current price was hovering around 10 yuan.

Fang Hong’s logic for getting involved with this stock was simple: the backdoor listing of Huaxia Fortune Land Development. Barring any surprises, by the end of August this year, Huaxia Fortune would acquire the shell company through methods like an “asset swap” and a “private placement,” successfully completing the backdoor listing.

The future market trend for this stock would show a rally of over 35 times its adjusted price. Although it would plummet again later, that didn’t prevent him from holding it during its major growth phase.

In the coming years, the A-share market’s index performance would be among the worst globally, but even in the worst market, there would always be individual stocks that bucked the trend.

Being bearish on stock index futures didn’t mean one couldn’t go long on the market.

After the market closed, the women left the trading room one by one, but Fang Hong remained. He switched to Weibo’s stock chart and took a look. The stock had gapped up at the open, hitting a new all-time high of 241.62 yuan, but the opening price turned out to be the highest of the day.

After hitting its limit-up yesterday, it closed down -3.45% today at 231.50 yuan. Compared to yesterday’s trading volume of 13.1 billion yuan, today’s volume had shrunk to 11.6 billion.

After watching for a while, Fang Hong switched to view his own holdings.

His current long positions in the A-share market consisted of about 30 target stocks, including Dahua Technology, ST Jinrui, ST Guoxiang, Veken Elite, Guanfu Household, Moutai, and Gujing Gongjiu.

He had held stocks like Dahua Technology and Gujing Gongjiu since last year without selling, only performing some monthly day trades. Stocks like Veken Elite, Moutai, and Guanfu Household were all newly built positions.

A moment later, Fang Hong logged into his K3478 Weibo account, preparing to write a blog post.

Chapter 470: Openly Declaring a Bearish View

As April began, the expectations for imported inflation rapidly worsened. The high CPI data exacerbated market fears of stagflation, and another reserve requirement ratio hike by the central bank sent the broader market into a two-month-long steep decline.

Fang Hong took advantage of the situation, using the few long positions he held to buy several stocks in the consumer sector, including Moutai.

At the end of last November, Stellaris Capital had reduced its holdings in Moutai. The stock had since corrected by twenty percent, so Fang Hong opportunistically bought in when its price fell back to the 172 yuan level.

He hadn’t bought Moutai before because Stellaris Capital’s holdings were close to the disclosure threshold. But with Stellaris Capital having sold off a portion, Fang Hong could now build a position in his personal institutional account without crossing the five percent line, thus avoiding the need to disclose it as a related-party transaction.

Fang Hong had adjusted his portfolio and entered the consumer sector early precisely to brace for the broader market’s sharp decline over the next two months.

In such a situation, capital tends to flow into sectors with better defensive qualities, namely the consumer and banking sectors. However, Fang Hong didn’t touch the banking sector; while he wouldn’t lose much money, he wouldn’t make much either.

When the time came, public funds would begin their second-quarter position adjustments, adding to major consumer stocks for defensive purposes, leading to a strong performance in the food and beverage sector. Fang Hong was simply buying in advance of the public funds’ move, ready to dump his shares on the fund managers later.

At that moment, Fang Hong logged into his personal Weibo account. Amidst a market chorus of bullish commentary, he decided to sing a bearish tune. After the five major institutions’ strategic investment in Stellaris Capital, he no longer had to be wary of the regulators. Even if they saw his post, they could only pinch their noses and pretend they hadn’t.

After all, from the regulators’ perspective, the Weibo account “K3478” was an operations account for Stellaris Capital. Any content posted on it would be interpreted as the official stance of Stellaris Capital, not Fang Hong’s personal opinion. If they were to look for someone, it would be Hua Yu, the man at the helm of the company.

Fang Hong quickly typed out a blog post:

[I’ve made some portfolio adjustments recently. My long positions now only account for about 22% of my total capital, spread across 30 target stocks. Some are positions I’ve held since last year, while others are newly opened. My overall strategy this year is leaning towards a defensive approach.

My personal view on the future market trend for A-shares is generally bearish. Today, I added another thousand lots to my futures index short positions. The total contract value of my short positions is now around ten billion, I suppose. Let’s be open about it, no beating around the bush.

If I make a profit from shorting the stock index futures, I’ve decided to donate 70% of those profits to the Education Assistance Fund as a charitable contribution.

Also, I’ve been researching overseas markets recently and plan to take around ten billion in capital to go have some fun abroad.]

Fang Hong reviewed the post, then took screenshots of his futures index short positions and his 30 long positions, and published it all on Weibo.

He wasn’t worried about being targeted for doing this. The futures index had daily price limits, making it impossible for a sudden short squeeze to liquidate his position. As for his 30 long positions, they only made up 22% of his total assets—a little over a two-tenths position.

Crucially, Fang Hong knew his own influence. Imagine when K-God accurately predicted a market downturn—it would be another step toward deification. When investors saw that K-God favored those 30 specific stocks despite his bearish outlook on the market, their recognizability would instantly skyrocket.

If big money tried to crash his stocks, they would inevitably be shaken out. K-God now had over thirty million followers on Weibo alone, accounting for a quarter of all investors in the A-share market.

That kind of liquidity was simply terrifying.

Moreover, any market makers in the small-cap stocks K-God was holding—with the exception of large-caps like Moutai—should, unless they were out of their minds, be trying to spark a rally right now, not suppress the price.

A top star like K-God just endorsed your stock; why wouldn’t you go on an aggressive offensive and push it higher?

Hordes of retail investors would come rushing in eagerly. How could you possibly worry about not being able to offload your shares?

This, in turn, would reinforce K-God’s badass reputation. Everyone would see that K-God was indeed awesome; the stocks he picked could soar. Getting on board early meant a guaranteed huge win, creating a positive feedback loop.

After Fang Hong posted the update, he waited a moment and refreshed the page. A flood of comments and replies quickly appeared.

[First!]

[Got it, liquidating everything tomorrow!]

[K-God’s bus is leaving again, charge, charge, charge!]

[Just as I suspected! When I saw K-God’s Weibo post at the start of the year about the outlook for 2011, I felt he wasn’t optimistic about this year’s market. Today he’s openly declared he’s bearish, so I can stay in cash with peace of mind!]

[What do you mean ‘generally bearish’? He’s shorting ten billion in futures contracts, and you call that ‘generally’? He’s gone full short, okay… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Pretty much the entire internet is bullish, but K-God pops up to sing a bearish tune, holding ten billion in short contracts. Who should I believe?]

[Going all-in on ST Guoxiang tomorrow… [Greed emoji]]

[70% of profits from short positions donated to the Education Assistance Fund? K-God has a seriously long-term view this time!]

[Ten billion in short positions revealed is something I didn’t expect. Donating 70% of the profits to education charities is even more unexpected.]

[K-God, are you sure you didn’t add an extra zero? Are you sure it’s 70% and not 7%?]

[K3478 replied //: I double-checked. No extra zero.]

[6666666……]

[Well… it’s hard to find anything to criticize about him making money by shorting the market, especially since he revealed his hand to everyone in advance… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Going to play in the overseas markets?]

…

Fang Hong’s Weibo post sparked a huge discussion in the stock trading circle that day. After all, it was rare for K-God to be so explicitly bearish on the market, especially when the overall market sentiment was overwhelmingly bullish.

His decision to donate 70% of any profits from his short positions to educational charities was a huge surprise to everyone. It was an absolute majority of the profits dedicated to philanthropy.

Not only did this boost his Reputation Value, but it also left the retail investors in the A-share market with no real grounds for criticism. He had revealed his hand to the market in advance. Those who believed him could get out early, and those who didn’t could even become K-God’s counterparty and go long.

The next day, Friday, the A-share market opened lower, influenced by the news. After the opening, it trended high, with the index even hitting a new peak. But after more than half an hour, it surged higher then fell back, diving to turn negative for the day. The market fluctuated up and down, and in the afternoon, it pulled up to barely close in the green. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the day up +0.26%.

One had to admit, K-God’s influence was quite substantial.

After the weekend, on Monday, April 18th, the market opened low again. However, it once again opened low and trended high before falling back, then turning positive to close in the green in the afternoon. It was clear there was significant disagreement in the market.

But amidst these fluctuations, the index set a new high. The Shanghai Composite Index hit an intra-day peak of 3067.46 points, another new record, ultimately closing up +0.22% at 3057.33 points.

The fact that the market had closed in the green for two straight trading days after K-God’s bearish call gave some people high hopes for the future market trend, making them think K-God might be wrong this time.

When it should be weak but isn’t, it is strong, the bulls thought, time to add to their positions and go for it!

On Tuesday, April 19th, the A-share market opened low again. Seeing this, many investors rushed in to snap up shares. For the past two days, the market had a pattern of opening low and trending high. They could buy in the morning, sell on the surge, and buy back on the low open the next day. It seemed like easy money.

However, the market trend took a sharp turn today. After opening low, both markets immediately began a sell-off without even a rebound. The investors who had bought in the morning were a little bewildered.

What happened to opening low and trending high?

…

Chapter 471: Is This K-God? Whichever Stock He Points To, Rises!

By the time the morning session closed at 11:30 AM, the Shanghai Composite Index was locked at 2998.16 points. The 3000-point mark, which had been so arduously broken, saw seven or eight days of gains wiped out in a single morning.

Investors who had bought the dip that morning, betting on a low open and high close, were now completely numb. Under the T+1 trading system, once they bought in, their hands were tied. They couldn’t sell today even if they wanted to and could only hope their losses would be minimal.

Many stockholders were trying to find the reason for the market’s steep decline, scouring various stock forums for any inside information or rumors.

On the news front, the reason for the plunge soon emerged.

Rumor had it that, based on the current international and domestic environment, the authorities had not ruled out the possibility of further interest rate hikes. Personnel from the relevant departments indicated that short-term macroeconomic control of prices was intended to prevent the economy from overheating, and the central bank would control the money supply through the deposit reserve ratio.

There were also rumors that the central bank’s second-in-command had recently stated at the 2011 Economic and Trade Information Report Conference that curbing inflation was the current top priority for monetary policy. He also mentioned that achieving the full-year CPI control target of around 4% faced significant challenges, and there was still considerable room for future adjustments to the deposit reserve ratio.

In short, liquidity was about to be tightened.

The stock market, ever the honest one, reacted by dropping dead, smashing through the 3000-point mark just to calm its nerves.

When the market opened in the afternoon, the index did not continue to fall despite the negative news that had circulated at noon, as the morning’s plunge had already priced in these developments. After the afternoon opening, the decline halted and a rebound began, temporarily reclaiming the 3000-point mark, though it remained at risk of being breached again at any moment.

…

Around 1:51 PM, about twenty to thirty stocks across various sectors in both markets were performing unusually well, completely unaffected by the broader market.

ST-designated stocks like ST Guoxiang and ST Jinrui were up +5%, hitting their limit-up. In the afternoon, stocks such as Guanfu Household, Veken Elite, and Dahua Technology all attracted favor from capital, triggering a flurry of buying that sent their prices soaring.

These stocks were precisely the 30 long positions K-God had announced on Weibo three days prior. By around 2:22 PM, twenty-three of them had hit their limit-up and were sealed, and even Moutai had risen by three percent.

Among the 30 stocks K-God had announced, the ones that didn’t hit their limit-up were also all in the green for the day.

In fact, the pre-market performance of these 30 stocks had already exceeded expectations. Although they also saw a strong start followed by a weak finish at the open, it was mostly due to being dragged down by the panic in the broader market.

As the news emerged at midday, giving the market a couple of hours to digest it, the broader market stabilized after the afternoon open, and these stocks began to show abnormal volatility and surge.

Furthermore, many stockholders soon realized that these were the 30 target stocks K-God had announced. This led them to remember how, three days ago, K-God had revealed his bearish strategy for the market and made no secret of his large short positions in stock index futures.

Today’s market crash, triggered by tightening liquidity, undoubtedly proved once again that K-God’s judgment was far ahead of the vast majority of people in the market. It also reminded some of Stellaris Capital, the “smart money” institution.

That firm had exited the market long ago.

Gradually, the number of investors who believed the future market trend looked grim began to grow.

However, for most retail investors, what could they do even if they were bearish on the market? At best, they could avoid losing money or lose less, but they couldn’t make money. The high barrier to entry for stock index futures meant that the vast majority of retail investors could not short the market.

Their options were either to stay in cash and sit it out, or enter the market and take a beating.

But the investors declared, “We don’t want to stay in cash, we want to go all in!”

A portion of the investors quickly thought of K-God’s 30 long positions, and their eyes lit up instantly.

That’s right!

An awesome figure like K-God had accurately predicted the market’s decline. Even though he wasn’t optimistic about the future market trend, he still held long positions in 30 A-share stocks. This clearly meant he believed these stocks could surge against the trend.

The answer to the wealth code was right there, wasn’t it?

Since they could only go long and not short, all they had to do was trade K-God’s 30 target stocks!

Although only a small fraction of investors thought of this, and of that small fraction, most lacked the courage to act on it with hard cash, the number had to be further reduced.

However, K-God’s fan base was enormous. Even if it was just one percent of them, that still amounted to three to four hundred thousand retail investors. And even if each retail investor had an average of only 30,000 yuan in capital, that added up to another twelve to thirteen billion yuan of liquidity.

Such a massive amount of liquidity was more than enough to trigger a limit-up wave across several industry sectors.

Thus, when the market opened in the afternoon, K-God’s 30 target long stocks directly ignited a limit-up wave. By the time the market closed, twenty-six of them had finished at their limit-up, and the other four, which didn’t hit the limit, also closed with a medium-length bullish candle.

At the close, all three major stock indices ended the day lower. The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by -1.91% to close at 2999.04 points, once again losing the 3000-point mark.

In today’s lousy market, K-God’s 30 target long stocks were unmistakably prominent.

This was especially true when people recalled the scene with his previous 47 target stocks. Looking back, their subsequent rally had been incredibly fierce.

The market makers in these twenty or thirty stocks were also thrilled by this turn of events. Just as the authorities were about to tighten liquidity, their own stocks received a massive inflow of it.

Unsurprisingly, not a single one of these market makers chose to sell off heavily at this time. Instead, they opted to initiate a rally.

This was an opportunity not to be missed!

K-God truly was the A-share market’s top star, with no equal.

His influence was simply incredible.

Whichever stock he pointed to, rose!

These market makers knew that doing this would only further solidify K-God’s awesome reputation in the minds of investors. They were a bit envious and jealous, but they were still willing to start the rally.

After all, why would anyone argue with money?

By starting a rally now, with the popularity brought by K-God, the A-share market’s superstar, liquidity was not a concern. They wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to hold the bag when they sold off after pushing the price up. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to double the stock price from five yuan to ten and then sell off? How could that not be sweet?

…

In the afternoon, in the lounge area on the first floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong and Tian Jiayi were sitting in the lounge, discussing matters related to the Education Assistance Fund. Tian Jiayi held a document and said, “Regarding the finalized aid amounts, the fund’s management has already prepared a report.”

The beautiful assistant continued, “Let’s start with universities. The annual tuition for a regular university is generally between four thousand and six thousand yuan. Tuition for special majors is higher; for example, computer science, finance, and the like usually cost over ten thousand yuan.”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a regular or special major, just make it a flat seven thousand yuan. No refunds if there’s a surplus, and they’ll have to cover any deficit themselves. Conversely, they won’t have to return money if there’s any left over.”

With tuition calculated at 7,000 yuan a year, the total for four years of university would be 28,000 yuan.

Hearing him say this, Tian Jiayi immediately confirmed the figure before continuing, “University students live in dorms. Accommodation fees are generally between six hundred and two thousand yuan. If we calculate it at twelve hundred yuan, that’s four thousand eight hundred yuan for four years. The entrance physical examination fee should be about two hundred yuan.”

“Then let’s budget for twelve hundred yuan,” Fang Hong said crisply.

Tian Jiayi went on, “University is primarily about academics, so monthly living expenses are essential. Calculated at a standard of one thousand yuan per month, that’s twelve thousand yuan a year, and forty-eight thousand yuan for four years. Including other aspects, a rough estimate for the annual cost is likely between twenty thousand and twenty-two thousand yuan.”

…

Chapter 472: Finalized

The cost of supporting a university student, including tuition, accommodation, living expenses, and so on, came to about 20,000 yuan per year.

Fang Hong thought for a moment and made a decisive call, “Then let’s budget it at 22,000 yuan per person per year.”

Tian Jiayi said, “If we want to benefit more people, we could actually lower this amount by several thousand yuan. The living expenses alone could be reduced, since it’s calculated for twelve months, but students are usually home for a few months during the winter and summer breaks.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong shook his head and said methodically, “No need. Let’s stick with this amount. And from elementary school to university, every recipient who wins a spot will be given 22,000 yuan in financial aid annually.”

The beautiful assistant was stunned and subconsciously blurted out, “What did you say? The compulsory education stage from elementary to middle school doesn’t cost nearly that much.”

Fang Hong smiled and said, “Think outside the box. As long as we solve the problem at its source by ensuring the recipients are truly from disadvantaged groups, what are their family backgrounds like? Think about it.”

After a pause, Fang Hong said unhurriedly, “First, it’s highly unlikely they’re an only child. ‘The more children you have, the poorer you get; the poorer you get, the more children you have.’ So, nine out of ten people in this group will definitely have siblings, and more than one at that.”

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but look at him, lost in thought.

Fang Hong said with a smile, “We need to set up all sorts of barriers and guard strictly against the rich taking resources from the poor. But on the other hand, we also need to be reasonably lenient. The number of applicants is high and the spots are few, so we have to find a balance for the greatest possible fairness. If a student has three siblings, him winning a spot doesn’t mean his siblings will too. The probability of one family getting two or more spots is extremely low.”

“If you set the budget too tightly, their parents will definitely make the recipient squeeze out some resources to share with their siblings who didn’t get a spot. For example, they might take 600 yuan out of the original 1,200 yuan monthly food allowance, or from somewhere else.”

“In that case, it would seem like we’ve calculated the budget precisely, but in reality, the recipient would be in an awkward, half-supported state. They wouldn’t be able to develop as well, and the probability of them not succeeding in the future would increase. By setting the financial aid standard a bit higher, we’re not just sponsoring the recipient, but also their siblings and their family. This can be considered a form of indirect, targeted poverty alleviation.”

Tian Jiayi had a sudden realization. This was something she hadn’t considered, and neither had the fund’s management team.

Fang Hong said calmly, “As the saying goes, ‘the issue is not scarcity, but inequality.’ On this matter, we absolutely cannot focus solely on the individual recipient. We have to look at the recipient and their family as a whole. Why give the same amount for elementary and middle school? Because they most likely have several siblings. If you were their parent, what would you do?”

“Could you send one child to school but not the other? When there’s no money, none of them go, because it’s pointless to even think about it. But what happens when there is money? The parents will definitely think that if they send this child to school and not the other, the other child will grow up to resent them and their sibling. In this way, we would inadvertently be planting a time bomb in a family.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi understood Fang Hong’s intentions. It might seem like they were sponsoring one person, but they were actually helping several people in an impoverished family.

In other words, if there were 100,000 recipient spots, that was the official figure. But in reality, the number of students helped could be over 300,000. That’s because the recipients would, without a doubt, come from poor families, and poor families are typically rural families. Such families also have the characteristic of ‘the poorer you are, the more children you have,’ so they’re almost never an only child.

This was the reality of the situation. It was obvious that Fang Hong wasn’t just going through the motions. He either didn’t do something at all, or he did it by genuinely addressing real-world problems from a practical standpoint.

So the amount had to be set higher. Even a middle school student who won a spot would get a budget of 22,000 yuan a year. As a minor, the money would certainly be managed by their parents, who would inevitably use it to provide educational opportunities for the other siblings. They were bound to do so.

In this way, while it looked like they were helping one disadvantaged student, several others would also gain the opportunity for an education as a result.

At this point, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but say, “But in that case, isn’t the recipient shouldering this debt on behalf of their siblings? Our financial aid model requires them to pay it back if they become successful in the future.”

Fang Hong immediately replied, “If they become successful, is that still a problem? It won’t be a problem at all. Looking on the bright side, their siblings will owe them a favor, which could deepen their bond. Of course, on the flip side, there’s always the chance of ingrates. Good or bad, all we can do is throw up our hands and let fate decide. We can’t possibly account for everything. As for those who don’t become successful, they don’t have to pay back the financial aid, so the problem disappears entirely.”

Tian Jiayi: “Uh…”

It seemed that was indeed the case. The beautiful assistant was left speechless.

That’s right. If they succeeded, it wasn’t an issue. If they didn’t, they didn’t have to pay it back, and the issue was gone.

Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re still the one who thinks things through so thoroughly, and always based on the actual situation.”

Fang Hong smiled and said, “Anyway, we deliver the money. How they spend it is up to the parents. As the old sayings go, ‘an upright official can’t settle family disputes,’ and ‘every family has its own problems.’ We won’t get too entangled in that karma. If they manage the money well, their family will be harmonious and prosperous. If they don’t, the students will only resent their parents, not vent their anger on us. We can’t do a good deed and not only receive no gratitude but also end up being hated by the very people we helped. Wouldn’t that be a total loss? We don’t do business like that, haha.”

The beautiful assistant couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “That’s so you. People in finance are really different, always remembering to set up risk isolation for themselves.”

After a moment, Tian Jiayi thought for a while and said, as if to herself, “Based on the 22,000 yuan standard, you’ve provided 2.76 billion yuan in funding this year. The Education Assistance Fund needs a budget of 200 million for operational and management expenses. After deducting that, there’s 2.56 billion yuan left for student aid. At 22,000 yuan per person, that’s enough for about 116,300 spots.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Our goal is to reach a target of at least one million spots. But don’t disclose this target. Announcing a fixed number would be like putting ourselves on the spot. It’s enough that we know it internally. If the situation changes, we can adjust—or backtrack—anytime, so we don’t end up in a passive position.”

If they could officially support one million recipients, and considering the indirect help to their siblings, in reality, at least three million people would be able to receive a stable education because of Fang Hong.

The actual scale of the group being helped was definitely larger than the number of spots listed on paper.

…

Chapter 473: Disclosure, Reputation Soars

The next day.

Fang Hong posted an update about the Education Assistance Fund on his personal Weibo account, K3478:

[The matter of the financial aid amount has been settled. Each recipient will be sponsored with 22,000 yuan per year. If starting from the first year of university until graduation, that’s a total of 88,800 yuan. If starting from the first grade of primary school through university graduation, the total is 352,000 yuan. The official website for the Education Assistance Fund is now live. Here is the link. You can visit the site for more details or to make inquiries.]

This blog post quickly sparked heated discussions and was reported on by numerous media outlets.

Driven by traffic from Fang Hong’s Weibo, the number of visitors to the Education Assistance Fund’s official website surged.

The amount of aid—22,000 yuan per recipient per year—was undoubtedly what surprised people the most. They didn’t expect it to be so much, and even more surprisingly, the amount was the same for primary, middle, and high school students, as well as university students.

While 22,000 yuan for a university student wasn’t considered too outrageous, giving the same amount to a primary school student was shocking to many, as the nine-year compulsory education period doesn’t cost much.

The issue of the aid amount quickly became a hot topic of debate across the internet.

Some argued that the ceiling for educational expenses is incredibly high—some kindergartens can cost tens of thousands a year, while others only cost a few hundred. Others felt the arrangement was too careless and unreasonable, arguing that it would be more logical to set different aid amounts for different grade levels, as a more rational allocation of funds could help more people. Another group believed that since it was Fang Hong’s money, he could do whatever he wanted with it. As long as the money was genuinely put to good use, it was a good thing.

Regarding the aid amount, all sorts of opinions and views were debated online.

This was all within Fang Hong’s expectations. He did not offer any detailed public explanation, and he also had Tian Jiayi instruct the management of the educational assistance fund organization not to address the issue.

Otherwise, parents might take the financial aid awarded to their older son who won a spot and give a portion to their younger son who didn’t, then later shift the blame to the Education Assistance Fund, claiming it was the organization’s intention.

So, don’t ask. The answer is: it’s my money, and I can do what I want!

The money belongs to whoever wins the lottery. As for how the parents actually allocate it, that’s not something the fund can control.

In short, whether the public understood Fang Hong’s intentions for setting this amount or not, the Education Assistance Fund would offer no explanation and no comment.

Around two o’clock this afternoon, the educational assistance fund organization held a press conference, disclosing its budget for the year. The organization had received a total of 2.76 billion yuan. Of this, 200 million yuan would be used for its own various operational expenses, with the remaining 2.56 billion yuan going into the aid funding pool. Therefore, there would be approximately 116,300 aid spots available this year.

At the same time, the Secretary-General of the Education Assistance Fund further disclosed that starting today, applications for aid from impoverished students across the country would be accepted, with an application window of three months.

Once an application was submitted and verified, the applicant would be added to the candidate pool, and a lottery would then be held.

If, at the end of the application period, the total number of approved applicants was less than or equal to 116,300, no lottery would be needed, and all applicants would receive aid. If the number exceeded 116,300, a lottery would be held.

Without a doubt, the number of applicants would be far greater than 116,300.

After all, the matter had been brewing for so long and had gained significant influence. In the current internet age, with applications open nationwide, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were over a million applicants.

But this had to be made clear at the press conference.

And if the number of applicants far exceeded the 116,300 available spots, the final recipients would be determined by a lottery. The Education Assistance Fund headquarters would livestream the lottery publicly and publish the list of winners on its official website for verification. This way, no one could be deceived, as applicants could simply check the list to see if they had won.

The specific lottery rule was that applicants from the same province would be placed in one pool for the drawing. The 116,300 spots would be distributed proportionally among the provincial lottery pools.

For example, if there are 116,300 available spots and a total of 1,163,000 verified applicants nationwide, the distribution would be based on a 1-in-10 ratio. Each province would receive a quota of spots based on this ratio applied to its number of applicants. For instance, if Province A had 1,000 applicants, it would be allocated 100 spots; if Province B had 500 applicants, it would get 50 spots.

The public generally had no major objections to this plan; it was indeed the fairest solution under the circumstances.

The lottery would be conducted by the organization’s headquarters, not local branches. This would largely prevent potential for local corruption, and the drawing would be broadcast live.

The specific lottery rules didn’t involve putting all applicants into a single pool. Instead, it was based on provinces, with each province’s applicant pool being drawn from separately. The number of spots allocated to each province was proportional to its number of applicants. This ensured that whether a province had 1,000 applicants or 500, the probability of winning was the same. It also prevented a scenario where all 500 applicants from a single region could win.

The public strongly approved of this, recognizing that with limited resources, it was truly the most equitable distribution plan.

The rest was up to one’s own luck.

After the press conference, impoverished students from all over the country who knew about the fund began preparing their application materials, especially those in high school and university, who had a relative advantage in accessing information online.

As a result, this group was the quickest to act, and most of them applied directly through the official website’s online portal.

Meanwhile, the staff at the educational assistance fund organization’s offices, which were distributed across the country’s provinces, were also actively communicating and consulting with local schools to get the word out and encourage applications.

Some schools in some areas were very proactive and enthusiastic.

Others, seeing no benefit or decision-making power for themselves—they couldn’t interfere with the aid money or the selection of recipients—showed little interest and simply made excuses to decline.

Still others tried to make their cooperation conditional on the Education Assistance Fund providing a separate donation to the school, refusing to cooperate otherwise.

In the news, Fang Hong’s educational charity work had earned him widespread praise and acclaim.

In fact, society has many kind-hearted people. These slightly well-off individuals want to help others within their means, but all they can do is donate money directly. They don’t have the time or energy to get involved personally, so they have to rely on third-party charitable organizations.

The problem is that the current state of these third-party charities leaves much to be desired. Many of these kind-hearted people have lost all trust in them, feeling that after donating money, they just end up being huge suckers.

The people who truly need help never receive it. Faced with this reality, many have decided to hold back their charity.

But when these people saw the Education Assistance Fund that Fang Hong had established, especially its transparent operational model, many of them left comments and sent private messages on Fang Hong’s Weibo, asking him to open a channel for donations. They wanted to contribute money to the fund and entrust it to help more people in need.

…

Chapter 474: Going Long on the US Dollar Index with 25x Leverage

After the press conference for the Education Assistance Fund concluded, the private messages in Fang Hong’s Weibo account and the latest comments on his most recent post were flooded with suggestions from netizens to open a donation channel for the fund.

Such comments and private messages grew more and more numerous.

Soon, many media outlets also reported on the matter, further amplifying the calls for the Education Assistance Fund to open a donation channel.

[K-God, hurry up and open a donation channel.]

[If you do, I can donate a few hundred or a thousand. It’s not much.]

[Do good deeds, buy good stocks, reap good rewards.]

[Immortal Who Doesn’t Drink: I was lucky enough to start following K-God in early 2009, back when the market index was still at 1,800 points. One run on Shanqi Coking Coal tripled my heavy position. I not only recovered from being slashed in half in 2008 but also made a huge profit. I followed closely for the next few waves and made huge profits. I grew a pair and used leverage, and the result was an explosive profit. Now I’ve bought a house and a car, my wife is drop-dead gorgeous and incredibly kind, and I still have over seven or eight million in savings. Life is happy and fulfilling.]

[Immortal Who Doesn’t Drink: Meeting K-God completely changed the course of my life. But I often think back and wonder, why was I so lucky? Then I thought, since heaven has been so good to me, I must do good deeds, otherwise, my heart won’t be at ease. I’m just a rather superstitious person. So, if K-God opens a donation channel, I will definitely donate one million.]

[Good grief, a million just like that!]

[This old bro has really attained a broader perspective.]

[With that kind of mindset, you deserve to make that much money.]

[Circle this, the “gorgeous wife” is the key point… [Husky emoji]]

[Drop-dead gorgeous wife? I don’t believe it, unless you post a picture and let me see… [Shiba Inu emoji]]

[Halt, you fiend!]

[Hahaha, you guys are too much… [laughing-crying facepalm emoji]]

[Turns out I was the fiend all along… [Scared emoji]]

[To be fair, I think K-God should open a donation channel. What if he loses money on an investment in the future and can’t provide the funds? At least then, there would be a public donation channel to provide financial support.]

[Right, I completely agree. Although K-God is a genius, there’s a saying: better to be safe than sorry.]

…

As the news fermented over the past few days, the calls for the Education Assistance Fund to open a public donation channel grew louder and louder.

However, this put many third-party non-profit organizations in an awkward and rather unhappy position.

Right on cue, attacks from paid commenters followed. But K-God’s current momentum was too strong and his halo too bright; they didn’t dare to confront him head-on and had to avoid a direct clash.

If they were to openly attack the Education Assistance Fund, they would undoubtedly be torn to shreds by tens of thousands of netizens.

So, the paid commenters could only make their moves discreetly, questioning the Education Assistance Fund under the guise of ordinary netizens.

First, they would affirm and lavishly praise the fund, then express their concern that he was taking too big a step. What if K-God lost money on his investments in the future and couldn’t sustain the scholarship funding? What would happen to the students who were halfway through receiving their aid?

The implication was that this approach was inadvisable, the Education Assistance Fund was destined to be short-lived, and it would inevitably end in a complete mess.

This was the insinuation the paid commenters wanted to plant.

But something happened that stunned the patrons behind these paid commenters. When many enthusiastic onlooking netizens saw these “concerns,” they thought they made perfect sense. As a result, they began to even more strongly urge K-God to open a public donation channel, arguing that an additional source of funding would ensure the better operation of the Education Assistance Fund.

Instead of dying down, the calls for a donation channel surged even higher.

They had paid money to tarnish his name, but it ended up giving him a boost. The patrons behind the paid commenters were damn well furious. Why were netizens getting so hard to manipulate these days?

Fang Hong was, of course, keeping an eye on the public sentiment online during this time.

As the calls grew louder, on the afternoon of Thursday, April 28th, Fang Hong once again used his K3478 Weibo account to post a response:

[I’m just a kid who recently graduated from college. How can you ask me to bear a burden I shouldn’t have to at this age? Just kidding (Shiba Inu), but let’s drop the discussion about opening a public donation channel. The Education Assistance Fund will not solicit any funds from any group in society. This institution will only accept my personal capital injections.]

At that moment, Tian Jiayi, who was sitting next to him, saw him send out the Weibo post and couldn’t help but say, “You know, if Qin Gangyi saw the first sentence of your post, I think he’d find it hard to believe you were the one who single-handedly created Stellaris Capital.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong smiled and replied, “If even Qin Gangyi, who knows the situation, would think that, then it’s even more of a ‘darkness under the lamp’ situation for those who don’t. Isn’t that great?”

Tian Jiayi then asked, “But why won’t you accept public donations for the Education Assistance Fund? Judging by the current public sentiment, I think it’s possible you could raise tens of billions.”

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and said nonchalantly, “I can do whatever I want with my money. I can use that single sentence to easily deflect all the questions and ‘I’ll-teach-you-how-to-do-your-job’ arguments. If you raise funds from the public, can you still say that?”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong added, “It’s not worth the trouble for a few tens of billions in loose change.”

Tian Jiayi was speechless. So, an astronomical figure of tens of billions was just “a few tens of billions in loose change” in his eyes? But hearing him say it, his beautiful assistant couldn’t find a way to refute him.

For anyone else to say such a thing would be seen as boundless arrogance, and while it was the same for him, he had the ability to back it up.

His beautiful assistant knew how adept this man was at making money; he was practically a ruthless wealth-harvesting machine. Stellaris Capital’s financial report from last year showed that even after conscious efforts to suppress the figures, the momentum was almost unstoppable. The profits remained absurdly high.

Undoubtedly, in Fang Hong’s eyes, it was better to go to the capital market for a few more ruthless harvests than to accept public donations and all the constraints that came with them.

“Oh, right, the investment account for the overseas markets has been set up for you, and the funds have been allocated. It’s a total of 13.1 billion RMB, which is about 2 billion USD,” Tian Jiayi said, changing the subject.

The assets under Fang Hong’s personal name in the Mainland were not converted into foreign currency. Instead, they were simply bridged through their own company, Stellaris Capital.

To put it simply, the 13.1 billion RMB from Fang Hong’s personal account was transferred to Stellaris Capital’s corporate account. Then, Stellaris Capital directly wired 2 billion USD from its overseas assets to Fang Hong’s overseas investment account.

However, this overseas investment account was not in Fang Hong’s name but was held by a nominee. Arranging such things was incredibly simple for the current Stellaris Capital.

Moreover, a dedicated trading team from Stellaris Capital was assigned to handle these overseas investments; they only needed to execute Fang Hong’s instructions.

Fang Hong opened his laptop and took a look. Tian Jiayi, beside him, also leaned in for a peek. The screen displayed the US Dollar Index, which had now depreciated to the 73-dollar level. Back in June of last year, it had risen to a high of 88 dollars.

“Are you planning to enter the forex market with this money?” Tian Jiayi asked curiously.

“Yeah. I’ll go long on the US Dollar Index. It’s not going to fall any further,” Fang Hong said with a nod. He recalled information from his past life: in the coming days, the US Dollar Index would trade sideways around the 73-dollar mark for three or four days, hit a low of 72.7 dollars, and then begin to rebound. By mid-May, it would rise above 76 dollars before falling back again.

Fang Hong closed his laptop, turned to his beautiful assistant, and gave his instructions, “Go long with the 2 billion dollars, leveraged 25 times. Also, have the company adopt the same strategy for its positions on the US Dollar Index.”

Tian Jiayi nodded.

The plan was to close the position and open a short position in the middle or latter half of next month, reaping profits repeatedly.

Over the next month, the US Dollar Index would rise from 73 to 76 dollars. Although this was only about a four percent increase, by going long with 2 billion dollars leveraged 25 times, the returns would also be magnified 25 times. A net profit of over 2 billion USD within a month was a sure thing.

The volatility in the forex market was far lower than in the stock market, but the sheer volume of the forex market was incomparable. The daily trading volume in the global foreign exchange market was measured in the trillions of US dollars.

…

Chapter 475: Laying the Groundwork in the African Market

Speaking of the A-share market’s recent performance, as the end of April approached, the Chinese A-share market went into a panic sell-off marking a five-day losing streak, with the Shanghai Composite Index plummeting to 2887 points.

With this kind of pattern emerging, almost no one doubted anymore that 3067 points was the peak.

Many investors who had been holding out hope were now deeply regretting not taking K-God’s bearish outlook seriously. Three days before the market peaked at 3067 points, K-God had already posted on Weibo that he was not optimistic about the market.

The five-day panic sell-off was largely triggered by an announcement from an authoritative source, stating that the various regulations for the A-share International Board had been initially drafted. The preliminary condition for issuers was to be a Fortune Global 500 company.

The so-called A-share International Board was mainly designed to allow foreign-invested enterprises to enter the domestic market for financing and list within the country.

And in response, the A-share market sold off.

Regarding this “International Board” thing, various parties held different views.

For example, would the issuers be companies already listed overseas, or unlisted ones? Did the business activities of International Board companies need to be closely tied to the Mainland? If their business was closely tied, investors would be more familiar with them, and regulators would have a handle on any future violations. However, close ties would also mean direct competition with Mainland enterprises, especially impacting the banking sector.

During this current wave of selling, A-share investors had not yet realized the true power of the “International Board.” But Fang Hong, with his advantage of foresight, knew it all too well.

Ask the world, what is this “International Board”?

It simply makes investors beat their chests and stamp their feet in regret!

This year, the words “International Board” were like the Grim Reaper for the A-share market. Every time news of its progress was rumored, the market would plummet in response.

If nothing unexpected happened, in the coming month of May, the village chief’s single sentence, “We are getting closer to launching the International Board,” would cause the A-share market to plummet by 3% in response. In June, the relevant authorities would state that they would consider launching the International Board at an opportune time this year, and the A-share market would drop nearly 2% in response. In July, rumors would again circulate that the detailed rules for the International Board had been released, causing the A-share market to fall another 1%. By November, there would be more rumors that the A-share International Board was more or less ready and could be launched at any time, causing the broader market to plummet by 2.5%.

The most tragic event would come at the end of November. A rumor that the International Board was about to go through internal procedures, with an expected internal review by the regulators in mid-December, would deal a heavy blow to both A-shares and B-shares. The Shanghai Composite Index would crash by 3.3%, and B-shares would also dive by over 6%.

Such was the power of the words “International Board” this year. It got to the point where A-share investors’ faces would turn pale at the mere mention of them. As soon as they heard those words, there was only one thing to do: run!

However, there are two sides to every coin. Fang Hong had already taken a position in Dongmu Co. last month. This stock would rally against the market trend because it was an International Board concept stock. If nothing went wrong, Dongmu Co. would see a surge next month.

…

Stellaris Capital headquarters, in the Chairman of the Board’s office.

At 10 a.m., Fang Hong arrived at Stellaris Capital and was now in Hua Yu’s office.

“I came here this time to arrange a major new initiative. Starting this year, Stellaris Capital will actively get involved in the global resources sector.” Seated on a single sofa in the lounge area, Fang Hong looked at Hua Yu and said.

Hua Yu nodded without speaking, waiting for him to continue.

“The main focus will be on importing two major commodities: iron ore and oil,” Fang Hong continued. “As for exports, we will primarily export our infrastructure-building capabilities. Therefore, our focus will be on that continent.”

As he spoke, Fang Hong pointed to the world map hanging on the office wall. Hua Yu’s gaze followed, and then he turned back to Fang Hong. “Africa?”

Fang Hong nodded. “That’s right, Africa.”

Fang Hong added, “The domestic telecommunications equipment supplier, Huawei, followed a strategy of ‘surrounding the cities from the countryside’ in its overseas market expansion. This is an excellent strategy, and Stellaris Capital can absolutely follow the same path. Therefore, the African market must become our key strategic focus for overseas markets.”

Africa has a strong complementary relationship with the Mainland market. China can export its manufactured goods to Africa, and Africa can export its natural resources to the Greater China region market.

Don’t be fooled by Africa’s poverty—that’s just a common stereotype. Those at the very bottom are indeed struggling, some even facing famine.

However, the big chieftains are very wealthy.

Stellaris Capital can still provide all sorts of financial services to these big chieftains in the African market.

Most importantly, though, are the local natural resources and the opportunity to export infrastructure capabilities. This requires strategic foresight of more than ten, or even twenty, years. In a decade, various sectors in China will face overcapacity, which the domestic economic cycle will struggle to absorb.

The auto industry is a prime example. Severe overcapacity will eventually become untenable, leading to intense internal competition that will leave everyone feeling numb. The resulting frantic price cuts could be described as a bloodbath.

But this kind of involution is by no means the optimal solution; it’s a lose-lose situation for both companies and consumers. While massive car price cuts seem to benefit consumers with cheaper products, the reality is that most car companies will be competed into bankruptcy or crippling debt. This, in turn, will lead to mass unemployment, further dampening consumption and creating a vicious cycle, a death spiral.

In an era of overcapacity, the only way to escape this death spiral of involution is, without a doubt, to expand outward.

The ability to expand outward becomes the key.

As for which overseas markets to expand to, the developed regions like Europe and America are out of the question. In ten years, the general environment will be one of suppression. You think you can sell products to Europe and America to absorb excess capacity?

Without a doubt, it’s a pipe dream.

So, the answer becomes clear: focus on markets that Europeans and Americans look down on—Africa and the regions along the Silk Road.

If we can stabilize these underdeveloped and unstable regions and then promote development, we can export our infrastructure capabilities, our manufactured goods, and import their natural resources.

Once the infrastructure is in place, consumer potential can be unlocked. When cars have roads to drive on, people will have the desire to buy them.

The same logic applies to other goods like home appliances and furniture.

“Africa…” Hua Yu began, hesitant. After a moment, he continued, “The recent conflict in Libya makes it clear that it’s a difficult place to do business. Instability, turmoil, and uncertainty are the biggest problems. Western capital is steadily withdrawing from the African market.”

Everyone is trying to get out, yet you’re thinking of diving right in.

Besides, doing business there offers no guarantees. You might reach an agreement with a decision-maker today, even sign a contract, and be scheduled to start mining the day after tomorrow. But then, two days later, that decision-maker is overthrown, and the new one refuses to recognize the deal. Everything just goes down the drain.

And what’s more, you go over there, build up some infrastructure, and just when you’ve finished, it gets blown up a couple of days later. What’s the goddamn point?

“If they don’t retreat, how can we enter the field?” Fang Hong replied with a faint smile. “Turmoil and instability… that’s why we need strong security on the ground. The solution? Qunxing needs a private security company to protect its legitimate interests there.”

…

Chapter 476: To Crack a Tough Nut, You Need a Good Set of Teeth

Hearing this, Hua Yu was quite surprised. He knew the private security company Fang Hong mentioned was no ordinary security firm, but something more akin to organizations like Blackwater or Executive Outcomes. Such groups were also known by other names, like private security contractors or private military contractors.

“To crack a tough nut like this, you first need a good set of teeth,” Fang Hong said with a smile.

“What’s the specific plan?” Hua Yu asked.

“We’ll set up a private security company overseas, either through an acquisition or by founding a new one. Stellaris Capital will provide the financial and operational support from behind the scenes. We’ll primarily recruit foreign personnel,” Fang Hong explained methodically. “This force will be the security guarantee for Stellaris Capital’s future investments in the region.”

“Primarily foreign personnel?” Hua Yu hesitated slightly. Fang Hong immediately said, “Just do as I say. I’ll back you up if any problems arise.”

As long as the security company was controlled by Stellaris Capital, anyone who joined—even a CIA mole—could be made loyal to Fang Hong.

Once someone joined the security company controlled by Stellaris Capital, they effectively became Fang Hong’s subordinate. He could then use Item Cards on them, and one type of Item Card could increase a designated target’s loyalty.

At that point, what would it matter if the security company was staffed entirely by foreigners?

Even a CIA agent sent to infiltrate would have a “change of heart” and ultimately become the most steadfast international anti-American fighter.

Hua Yu was clearly worried that the security company would become uncontrollable, but Fang Hong wasn’t concerned in the slightest. With the Reputation Value and Achievement Points he had accumulated for so long, as soon as those foreign employees signed their contracts, he could boost their loyalty, ensuring they would be utterly devoted.

But of course, these were things he could not tell anyone.

Hearing that he had made his decision, Hua Yu could only nod. “Understood. I’ll handle it.”

Fang Hong added a reminder, “Once the security company is established, compile a list of the key management personnel and have Tian Jiayi give it to me.”

Hua Yu nodded again. “Understood.”

Fang Hong thought for a moment before saying, “As for the company’s budget, let’s start with an initial draft of five billion US dollars. We can increase it later as needed. We’ll start by building a force of three thousand, then slowly expand to ten thousand. Find a suitable location for the headquarters there, and later on, we’ll build an airport and get some third-generation fighter jets and so on.”

He said this so casually, yet it made Hua Yu’s heart pound. The big boss wasn’t playing small. He had never imagined that Stellaris Capital’s development would one day involve something like this.

“Remember, this is top secret,” Fang Hong emphasized. “On paper, the security company must have absolutely no connection to Stellaris Capital. We need to maintain a clear separation. It’s just a company in the security business, and its advertised scope will be accepting any security commissions from any person or organization in Africa.”

Without a powerful set of teeth, investing and planning in such a turbulent place would truly be like throwing money down the drain.

What if some small local country had a sudden internal conflict and might see a change in its decision-maker? If they requested security assistance, we could just parachute in to support them, and we could earn a service fee for the security job on the side. If they don’t have cash, they could pay with resources.

The security company wouldn’t directly take resources, of course, but it could facilitate a transfer. And who would receive them? The answer was self-evident.

Over the next while, Fang Hong continued to lay out various plans for the African market, including acquiring a local banking institution and funding all sorts of scientific and geological survey teams to go and explore the region’s natural resources.

The immediate task was to get a clear picture of the African continent. What resources were where? And in what quantities?

The goal was to create a complete resource distribution map.

As long as they shared the exploration data with the local tribal chiefs, they would surely welcome such survey teams. After all, they couldn’t do this kind of work themselves, and any resources discovered would belong to the chiefs.

What Qunxing would do was help them find the resource distributions for free. The mines would be theirs, but they would definitely want to open them and sell the minerals to make money. At that point, various trading caravans from back home would come to purchase them or partner in mineral development, with Stellaris Capital providing financial transaction services for both sides.

Among these trading caravans would be multinational trading companies that were, of course, also invested in by Stellaris Capital through nominee holdings.

Once a large, rich mineral deposit was discovered, be it iron ore or oil, developing and excavating it would require a massive workforce. A large population could lead to a settlement, which in a few years could develop into a small industrial mining town.

The corresponding infrastructure needs would naturally arise. A road would have to be built, right? How else could the extracted mineral resources be transported out? This would create a demand for infrastructure, and domestic construction companies could export their products.

With further development, the local people would have an income and a higher standard of living, and various other demands would follow. There would be a market for telecommunication services, as well as daily chemical and home appliance products. Larger items like cars could also become common.

The surplus manufacturing capacity from the Greater China region could be exported here. Cargo ships would arrive carrying various manufactured goods and return with all kinds of mineral products.

The economies of both sides would be connected, for mutual benefit.

This was the basis of Fang Hong’s confidence that it could work. It would genuinely develop the local economy and improve the living standards of the local people, freeing them from the suffering of famine.

When they could see their lives improving before their very eyes, they would naturally welcome and support you.

But for this model to run smoothly, it had to have a security guarantee, because the Yanks would one hundred percent try to cause trouble. Things couldn’t be in turmoil every other day, nor could the decision-maker change every few days.

So the security company had to be established, and it had to be strong. In the initial phase, it would provide security services to multinational trading companies and offer paid security support to local decision-makers.

Once things stabilized, it could train their troops until they could defend themselves and maintain stability in their region. The security company could then withdraw, earning a training fee in the process.

…

Finally, after laying out the broad strategic direction for the African market, Fang Hong shifted the topic back to Stellaris Capital’s primary business. He took a sip of water, looked at Hua Yu, and said, “Also, we can now reverse our strategy in the crude oil futures market. Close our long positions and open short positions.”

Hua Yu nodded. “Understood.”

Within Stellaris Capital’s overseas investment portfolio, its position in the international crude oil futures market was nearly twenty billion US dollars. The price of WTI crude futures had risen from sixty-five point five US dollars in May of last year to the current one hundred and thirteen US dollars, an increase of seventy-five percent in nearly a year.

Stellaris Capital had made a considerable profit. With April’s trading about to conclude, international oil prices would begin a downward cycle starting in May. Over the next three months, the price of crude oil futures would panic sell down to seventy-five US dollars per barrel.

For the next three years, the trend in international oil prices would basically be to fluctuate up and down within the seventy-five to one hundred and ten US dollar price range, with the range gradually narrowing. This would continue until 2014, when the Gulf tycoons would start a petroleum price war to help America contain the Bear.

The oil price would then drop unilaterally from one hundred and seven US dollars all the way down to below twenty-seven US dollars by early 2016. It got so bad that even America’s own shale oil industry couldn’t take it, leading to suspicions that the Gulf tycoons and the Bear were tacitly working together to crash oil prices in a joint effort to kill off the US shale oil industry.

…

Chapter 477: Famine is the Biggest Problem There

Inside the Chairman’s office at Stellaris Capital.

Fang Hong looked at the world map and said, “The higher-ups’ future global strategy seems to be centered on Central Asia as the hinterland, using the twin pillars of Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East as the backbone to form a super-large Asian economy. The primary cooperative region will be ASEAN, with efforts to also bring Africa and South America into the fold. This will create a multipolar world system underpinned by two major poles, with the other pole being the US.”

Hua Yu was quite shaken. Does the big boss always plan his global market strategy from such a high vantage point?

In truth, Fang Hong hadn’t revealed too much to him. At this point, the G7 Group was still called the G8 Group, with the Bear still a member. It would be a few more years before they were kicked out.

In the future, the primary leading body for this super-large Asian economy would likely be the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The subsequent establishment of the RMB Cross-border Service Center could be seen as a signal that preparations for decoupling from the financial system were complete.

The SCO would be the counterpart to the future G7 Group, while BRICS would be the counterpart to the G20 Group.

The G7 Group is led by America, with the City of London as Europe’s financial support, Germany and Japan as manufacturing powerhouses, France and Italy for political influence, and Canada as a stable supplier of energy and raw materials.

Within the SCO, the Rabbit and the Bear would undoubtedly take the lead in the future. The Rabbit holds an advantage in both manufacturing and finance, while the Bear provides political support, its strengths being a major supplier of energy and raw materials with significant influence over Central Asia. Central and Middle Eastern countries serve as both a source of energy and raw materials and as a consumer market.

Moreover, the members of the SCO are not only connected by land but are all Asian continental countries. This is the blueprint for a super-large economy, encompassing a complementary cycle of the four major trade sectors: design, production, consumption, and energy/raw materials.

Land-based powers will inevitably be revitalized in the future. The ultimate goal of high-speed rail is to wait for this day to arrive.

Although sea transport is cheap and has a huge capacity, as the supply of new energy continues to increase, the operating costs of high-speed rail will be continuously compressed. Even though the price per standard container will still be more expensive than sea freight, the time cost is crucial, especially for countries in ASEAN and South Asia.

These two regions are rich in fruit, which perishes easily, and preservation adds to the cost.

But if they switched to high-speed rail, it would be a direct 48-hour trip to Europe. The goods would already be filling the markets and selling while, with sea transport, the cargo would still be drifting at sea for over forty days.

Without a doubt, all of this requires a peaceful and stable Central Asia. This point is of utmost importance.

If there’s constant turmoil and fighting, business can’t be done.

The Rabbit did have its methods. Through its mediation and bridge-building, it managed to get two arch-enemies to shake hands, cease hostilities, make peace, and sit down to focus on development.

Fang Hong’s choice at this time to have Stellaris Capital enter through the African market, rather than Central Asia, was for a simple reason: Central Asia was indeed too difficult to handle right now. All sorts of powers were at play there, a chaotic free-for-all. Going there now would be no different from throwing money away.

The country’s current comprehensive national strength still needed more time to develop. After all, its GDP had only surpassed that of the Japanese last year. When the country launches its Belt and Road Initiative, Stellaris Capital can follow the national strategy and make its moves there.

But for now, the timing was wrong, and the situation wasn’t right, so a rash advance was out of the question.

At that moment, Fang Hong looked at Hua Yu and said, “How can Stellaris Capital successfully enter the African market and establish a foothold? We need to look at the biggest problem there. Is it war? Yes, but the most fundamental problem is famine. Hundreds of millions of people in Africa are still in a state of famine. That is the root of the problem.”

Hearing this, Hua Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Are you saying Stellaris Capital should start with food?”

Fang Hong immediately nodded. “Correct. To successfully open up the market here, the first thing we must do is make the local people welcome us. Cutting in from the food issue can win us a tremendous amount of goodwill. We need to let the locals know that if they welcome us, their famine problem can be solved, and they won’t have to go hungry.”

After a brief pause, Fang Hong continued, “Since last year, the political environment in Africa has begun to improve following the intervention of the United Nations. The situation in most areas is generally moving towards stability, which is a good thing.”

Fang Hong looked at Hua Yu. “The valuable things in Africa aren’t just mineral veins, but also land resources. With land, you can grow food. Stellaris Capital needs to start by forming several agricultural technology research teams from home and sending them to Africa to survey the geology. We’ll find land suitable for growing rice and other grains. Stellaris Capital will partner with multinational trading companies to go there, contract land, and start farming.”

Hearing Fang Hong’s plans, Hua Yu finally understood why a powerful security company was needed.

Fang Hong spoke in a measured tone, “We start with the food problem, but that doesn’t mean we spend our own money to buy grain and distribute it as charity. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. We’ll develop the land and produce grain locally. Our contractors will engage in large-scale farming, teach the locals how to farm, and hire them as workers. With jobs, they won’t go around causing trouble. The grain produced can be part of their wages.”

Africa possesses abundant natural resources—minerals, forestry, and more. Once their livelihood issues are resolved, it will surely become a major market for our domestic manufacturing. When Africa’s market demand opens up, the Mainland’s excess production capacity will find a new outlet. The living standards of the local people will also improve further. This is undoubtedly a win-win situation.

Fang Hong knew from his past life that some Chinese agricultural teams had gone to Africa and turned wastelands into fertile fields, producing tens of thousands of tons of rice and grain.

They helped establish a complete agricultural system for the locals at a low cost and dispatched teams of agricultural experts to provide tailored solutions.

Africa’s planting environment is very different from East Asia’s. Most areas have a savanna or desert climate, and some places have very little average annual rainfall. How can you grow rice without water? The answer is upland rice seeds. Moreover, they were tested in similar environments in China before being sent over.

After a moment, Hua Yu said with a smile, “Speaking of Africa, I remember a client whose company also does business there, probably running a factory. The Africans are very interesting. He said that as soon as the locals get their wages, the factory is empty the next day. They only come back to work after they’ve spent all their money. There’s a lot of land there, but many people would rather starve than farm. They don’t have a tradition of farming.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong replied nonchalantly, “It doesn’t matter. The traditional African way of life is one of hunting and gathering. We don’t need to try to change their lifestyle. What we need to do is prevent the locals from being hostile towards us. What we want is their land resources, to be able to engage in large-scale food production. We’re not seeking to profit from the grain itself. The ultimate goal is to profit from industrial raw materials, from manufacturing, and from finance.”

If Africans didn’t want to work, that was fine. Industrialized, large-scale machine-based food production would suffice.

The harvested grain could be directly exchanged for various resources on the spot and consumed locally. It was an excellent method of barter. Aside from any troublemaking by the US, the locals would surely have no reason to destroy the fertile fields being developed—that would mean starving themselves. Even if the locals were lazy, they weren’t foolish enough to do that.

…

Chapter 478: Keeping Pace with the Nation’s Global Strategic Layout

There was another major benefit to being able to produce large-scale food supplies in Africa.

Fang Hong knew that in a few years, the US would transition from an oil-importing nation to a net oil exporter, becoming a major resource-exporting power. Meanwhile, the Greater China region’s demand for oil imports was increasing by the day.

This would create a significant shift. As an oil-producing nation, the Saudi tycoons would grow resentful of the US. When the Americans were still importing oil, they were Saudi Arabia’s customers. But as the US became a net oil exporter, they would become competitors, not customers.

On the other hand, the great Eastern power’s oil consumption was a given, making it the Saudis’ biggest customer. How could they not cultivate good relations?

Besides resolving the issue of energy exports, the Gulf tycoons actually had another major problem: food security. Saudi Arabia appeared vast, but in reality, it had not a single lake or river within its borders, unlike most other Middle Eastern countries which had at least one.

Food security had thus become another of Saudi Arabia’s lingering apprehensions. In fact, eighty to ninety percent of the country’s food consumption relied on imports, and with a rapidly growing population, the pressure on its food supply was self-evident.

Currently, Saudi Arabia’s food supplier was Ukraine. However, when Russia and Ukraine started fighting ten years from now, it would be terrible news for the Saudis, as their main food supply would be cut off.

It was obvious that if Stellaris Capital could successfully develop its venture in Africa and produce large quantities of food there, it could sell that food to Saudi Arabia.

This would undoubtedly further solidify the Saudi tycoons’ resolve to partner with the Rabbit (China), thereby reducing resistance to future revitalization efforts in the Middle East.

It would remove another obstacle on the path to RMB settlement, as food security would give the Saudi tycoons one more reason to hold yuan.

This series of nodes naturally connected, all while keeping in step with the nation’s global strategic layout.

In short, it wasn’t yet time to enter the Middle East. The region was bound to remain chaotic for a while longer; its most tumultuous period had not yet arrived.

But for now, Stellaris Capital could break ground in the African market. If this venture could be quickly brought to life, it would be extremely beneficial for future expansion into the Middle East and Central Asia.

Setting other things aside, just being able to produce large-scale food supplies from the wastelands of Africa—combined with the war between Russia and Ukraine a decade later—would be a game-changer. Faced with the loss of a major food supplier, the Gulf tycoons would see that the African region to their southwest could solve their food shortage. This would undoubtedly have a massive influence on many of their decisions.

Fang Hong spent about two hours at Stellaris Capital. After a final inquiry about the company’s offshore funds, he left.

Opening up the African market would require a considerable amount of investment in the initial stages.

All those US dollars they had earned needed to be spent and converted into a range of tangible assets.

As of March this year, Stellaris Capital’s total offshore net asset value had exceeded 300 billion US dollars. Approximately 70% of that, or 210 billion US dollars, was held in US Treasury bonds.

With so much money that wasn’t being repatriated or converted into physical resources, holding US Treasuries was the only solution.

Keep it as cash in a bank?

Fang Hong would never dare to do that. He vividly remembered the Silicon Valley Bank incident from his past life. One day it was rated the best bank, the next day it was giving its executives bonuses, and the third day it declared bankruptcy…

If he had put the money in a bank that suffered the same fate as SVB, what if they pulled a “targeted demolition” and declared bankruptcy? His 300 billion US dollars would be insured for a mere 250,000 US dollars, which was no different from it all vanishing in an instant.

Wouldn’t that make one explode on the spot?

Even losing 300 million US dollars and only getting 250,000 back would be unbearable.

Without a doubt, for liquidity on the scale of hundreds of billions, the only options were to hold tangible assets or US Treasuries.

Compared to the probability of a bank going bankrupt, the probability of the US government going bankrupt was naturally far lower.

Although holding US Treasuries still meant being diluted and fleeced, the volatility was much lower. With a good strategy, one could even fleece them back. Most importantly, the US would never default on its debt or pull a 250,000-dollar stunt, as that would undermine the very foundation of the US dollar’s trustworthiness.

So, they held US Treasuries and sold them to cash out whenever they needed money.

Moreover, the trading volume of US treasuries was enormous; they could even be used directly in international oil transactions.

Currently, Stellaris Capital held over 200 billion in US Treasuries on one hand, while on the other, it used its existing funds with leverage to participate in market games. The principle of finance was to use other people’s money whenever possible, as long as the market gains could offset the holding cost.

To put it in down-to-earth terms, as long as you could keep making more money, you were good.

After leaving the company, Fang Hong returned to Tranquil Heart Residence.

At that moment, he was in the private therapy room at Tranquil Heart Residence, enjoying an SPA from Lin Yun.

However, his attention was on the Social Reputation System panel displayed before his eyes. The Africa plan and the security company it required would certainly consume a large number of Achievement Points.

This force was crucial, and the paramount quality for the managers controlling the security company was their loyalty.

“I’ve saved up this much in half a year?” Fang Hong looked at the Reputation System data before him. It showed his cumulative Reputation Value had reached 2.15 billion, and his available Achievement Points totaled 173.69 million.

He remembered checking last September when his Reputation Value and available Achievement Points were 1 billion and 45.92 million, respectively.

He hadn’t expected a net increase of 127.77 million Achievement Points in just about six months.

These 173.69 million Achievement Points could be exchanged for 1,736 Item Cards. Based on past experience, raising a single attribute to a satisfactory level would likely cost about 55 Item Cards.

In other words, if he used all these Achievement Points to increase the loyalty of the security company’s members, he could likely make 31 people absolutely loyal to Stellaris Capital.

Staring at the 173 million Achievement Points on the panel, Fang Hong murmured to himself, “The number of Achievement Points seems huge, but it’s only enough to create about thirty absolutely loyal subordinates. That’s not too bad, I guess…”

He didn’t need to increase the loyalty of every member of the security company. If he did, even twenty times the current amount of Achievement Points wouldn’t be enough.

In practice, he only needed to specifically raise the loyalty of the key top managers. As for the hired grunts, as long as the leaders didn’t cause trouble or betray him, the rank-and-file soldiers wouldn’t be an issue and couldn’t stir up much of a storm. They were willing to risk their lives for money, and US dollars could take care of that.

Thus, he only needed to boost the loyalty of fewer than ten top managers to ensure the entire security company was under his firm control.

If any of the high-level managers were unfortunately killed, he could just replace them and then raise the new person’s loyalty. As long as he maintained a reserve of Achievement Points, he wouldn’t face a situation where he lost control of the security company.

Chapter 479: Flash Crashes Across the Commodity Futures Market

Fang Hong had already made a decision on the long-term strategic layout for the global market. The next step was for his subordinates to draft a concrete, executable plan. Once approved, it would be implemented.

This global strategy for Stellaris Capital was undoubtedly a long-term plan spanning five to ten years. It also required concealing their true strategic objectives from the outside world, especially from Europeans and Americans, and most particularly, from the US.

Furthermore, the difficulties involved were immense.

For instance, regarding the food sector, Fang Hong knew very well that once they began agricultural development in Africa to solve its famine problem, America would undoubtedly become the biggest man-made obstacle.

This was because food was one of the key tools the US used to control the world.

America’s so-called “balancing strategy” involved creating regional conflicts, opposition, and division to achieve its own interests—a classic case of benefiting at others’ expense. In stark contrast, the great Eastern nation’s approach was to promote peace, seek common ground while reserving differences, and build a community with a shared future for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes—if you do well, I do well, and everyone does well.

One side wanted everyone to coexist peacefully and develop together, while the other wanted to create chaos to benefit at others’ expense.

To a certain extent, their diverging strategies were destined to be irreconcilable.

But there was no doubt that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. America’s actions were ultimately unpopular. While they could maintain control when strong, as soon as they showed signs of weakness, public sentiment would inevitably turn against them. No one is a fool.

Thus, America’s failure was inevitable, as it was impossible to remain at the peak forever. Time was also destined not to be on America’s side.

Fang Hong’s strategy for Stellaris Capital to establish a presence in the African market was clearly highly consistent with the nation’s global strategic policy. The better Stellaris Capital’s operations unfolded there, the more it would benefit the country’s global strategic layout. In turn, the smooth progress of the national strategy would facilitate Stellaris Capital’s expansion and operations in the global market.

While Stellaris Capital’s long-term strategic plans were being drafted, their current maneuvers in the global market had not ceased.

In the last few days of April, Hua Yu received an order from the big boss and instructed the company’s trading department to go fully bearish on several major commodities, including crude oil, silver, and copper.

Stellaris Capital was deeply involved in commodities like copper, silver, and crude oil.

Previously, their strategy in commodities had been to go long, and their long positions had yielded enormous profits.

It was worth noting that the price of silver futures had gone ballistic since the beginning of the year, surging from eighteen dollars per ounce in early August of last year to a peak of 49.56 dollars per ounce the day before yesterday, on April 28th.

In just over eight months, the price had increased by 175 percent. The price of copper had accumulated a 67 percent gain since June last year, and crude oil futures had risen by 77 percent since May last year.

According to the latest data, the price of WTI crude oil futures had reached a high of 114 dollars.

Stellaris Capital’s overseas investment department had also swiftly adjusted its strategy in recent days, switching from long to short. They sold off their commodity holdings and went short instead, continuing to adhere to the principle of making a fortune in silence.

Time moved into May.

On Monday, May 2nd, silver futures experienced a flash crash. The price plummeted from 48.599 dollars per ounce to 42.2 dollars per ounce, an intra-day drop of 13.67 percent, marking the largest single-day decline since 1980. It then rebounded sharply to 46.084 dollars per ounce, closing the day down 5.17 percent.

It was currently the May Day holiday, and the Chinese A-share market was closed today.

Fang Hong was also monitoring the trends in global commodities. This week’s massive drop in silver was just the beginning.

During the shocking intra-day flash crash, numerous silver futures investors were scrambling for a reason. The panic sell was caused by two major short-sellers. Stellaris Capital was one, and the other was none other than hedge fund tycoon George Soros, who was also shorting silver.

The news hadn’t broken yet, but Fang Hong, a transmigrator, already knew.

The next day, Tuesday, May 3rd, the news broke. Reports that hedge fund magnate George Soros was shorting silver spread like wildfire through the capital markets, triggering a panic sell-off.

Silver futures experienced another catastrophic crash today, with the price dropping to an intra-day low of 40.6 dollars per ounce, a decline of as much as 11.90 percent. It ultimately closed at 42.585 dollars per ounce, down 7.59 percent. Meanwhile, the price of WTI crude oil futures fell to 111.05 dollars per barrel, a drop of 2.17 percent.

On Wednesday, May 4th, silver futures flash-crashed for the third consecutive day. The price plunged to 39.388 dollars per ounce, closing down 7.50 percent. In the adjacent market, WTI crude oil futures fell by 1.63 percent to 109.24 dollars per barrel.

As time moved to Thursday, May 5th, the price of silver futures crashed catastrophically again. It hit a low of 34.25 dollars per ounce during the day, another intra-day drop of over thirteen percent, eventually closing at 36.24 dollars per ounce, a significant daily loss of 7.99 percent.

The crude oil futures market also collapsed today, breaking below the one hundred dollar mark. The price hit an intra-day low of 98.25 dollars per barrel, a drop of 10.06 percent, and finally closed at 99.80 dollars per barrel, down 8.64 percent.

Silver prices plummeted by more than twenty-five percent this week, and crude oil fell by nearly ten percent in a single day. Such a rare crash typically only occurs during unforeseen events, like the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991 or the sudden collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

In response to the market crash, the news media interviewed over twenty fund managers, interbank dealers, and traders, but none could determine the cause of the plunge. Market participants hadn’t detected any bank or fund orchestrating a massive sell-off to liquidate positions, nor was there any panic selling triggered by an erroneous trade, like the one that caused the stock market flash crash in May 2010.

As silver prices plummeted, institutional investors began to turn bearish on crude oil. Weak economic data, the impending end of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy, and easing political risks—this series of negative factors set the stage for a sell-off.

Most importantly, changes in computer-driven positions dragged the market into a massive wave of deep selling.

In just four days, Stellaris Capital had amassed a floating profit of over 2.8 billion dollars from its short positions in the global commodity market.

Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

In the study, Fang Hong instructed Tian Jiayi, who was sitting beside him, “Notify the trading department. If the price of silver futures drops to thirty-three dollars per ounce tomorrow, start closing out the short positions and switch to long.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. She mentally calculated that if the price of silver futures fell to thirty-three dollars tomorrow, it would be another plunge of nearly nine percent. The total drop over the five days this week would exceed thirty-two percent.

Since the first quarter of this year, the price of silver had been skyrocketing. The strong initial rally had created a massive bubble risk. A one-month gain of 34 percent, fueled by a heavy speculative atmosphere, was simply too frenzied. Such an over-extension was bound to lead to a market correction.

Secondly, the decline in silver prices was fanned by the death of bin Laden. This factor had a greater psychological impact on the market, but it could not be ignored.

However, Fang Hong knew full well that the price of silver was heading into a long bear market, a slow bleed that would last for years to come. Having the company close its short positions and go long was only to catch a rebound over the next three months, which could be around twenty-five percent.

Then, in late September of this year, starting on September 22nd, the price of silver futures would experience another three-day catastrophic crash. In just three days, the price would plummet from 40.44 dollars per ounce to 26.17 dollars per ounce, a cumulative drop of over thirty-five percent.

Chapter 480: Room-Temperature Superconductivity

After giving instructions for the slight adjustment of the company’s strategy in the global commodities market, Fang Hong turned his attention to laying the groundwork for cutting-edge technology. He looked at Tian Jiayi and said, “The company will increase R&D investment in the application of new materials, specifically room-temperature superconducting materials. We’ll establish a national-level superconductor research institute right here in Xincheng and recruit the most brilliant scholars in this field.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiayi asked, “What’s the expected investment?”

His beautiful assistant no longer questioned his reasoning. He always made the right decisions. And even in the absolute worst case, with his terrifying ability to make money, he had more than enough to “splurge.” In any case, the speed at which he earned money far outpaced the speed at which he spent it.

Fang Hong thought for a moment before replying, “Let’s start with a budget of three billion, and we’ll continue to add more later. Room-temperature superconductivity isn’t a new concept; research on it began in the last century. But we need to keep increasing our investment.”

At this, Fang Hong smiled at his beautiful assistant. “You’ve seen the movie Avatar, right? The RDA Corporation? Why do you think they were so dead set on going to war with the Na’vi? It was all for the room-temperature superconducting ore on the planet Pandora. Simply put, if we can develop this new material, it will undoubtedly trigger the Fourth Industrial Revolution and reshape almost every industry known to humankind.”

Superconducting material, in simple terms, means it’s super conductive, with zero electrical resistance.

For a superconducting material, electric current is the movement of electrons. As electrons move, they collide with atoms, causing the material to heat up and convert a portion of the electrical energy into thermal energy.

However, a superconducting state allows the material to have zero resistance, meaning that on a microscopic scale, electrons move completely unimpeded.

When there is no resistance, the material doesn’t heat up. And if it doesn’t heat up, there is no energy loss.

If room-temperature superconductivity could be achieved, the new energy industry would be the first to experience unprecedented growth. The new energy sector relies on electricity, but its widespread adoption has been slow. Even a decade later in Fang Hong’s previous life, when the new energy industry boomed, it still couldn’t be fully popularized.

This was because electrical devices are limited by the fact that electricity cannot be transmitted over long distances without significant loss. The farther the distance, the more energy is lost along the way.

Therefore, power plants are generally built near their consumers. While the wind and solar power in the great Northwest are impressive, they are too far away to serve the major power consumers in the eastern coastal cities, which have to rely on surrounding coal-fired power plants.

Consequently, electricity, when compared to oil and natural gas, is ultimately not as convenient.

Room-temperature superconductivity, however, is a material that achieves virtually zero resistance at room temperature.

Current superconducting materials need to be cooled to extremely low temperatures, one or two hundred degrees Celsius below zero at normal atmospheric pressure, to achieve superconductivity. This makes large-scale application and popularization seem impractical.

But with room-temperature superconducting materials, power transmission using these materials would have no energy loss. Photovoltaic electricity generated in Africa’s Sahara Desert could be transmitted to Xincheng, and global power grids could be easily interconnected.

Even if controlled nuclear fusion is not yet mastered, generators and superconducting energy storage made from these materials would lead to an astonishing increase in the efficiency of the power system.

Room-temperature superconducting materials could also be used in existing electronic devices, such as mobile phones, computers, cars—every device known to mankind that uses electricity. Their power would become ridiculously high, while their energy consumption would be shockingly low. With no resistance, there would be no need for heat dissipation. Phones would no longer get hot, and the absence of heat dissipation would mean very little energy is being wasted.

As a result, all electrical devices would not only require smaller batteries but would also achieve ultra-long battery life and ultra-high power output.

Take a smartphone battery of a certain size. If it currently provides twenty hours of use, switching to room-temperature superconducting materials could potentially double its battery life by saving the energy lost as heat.

Moreover, it wouldn’t just be electronic devices. In the future, cars and even houses floating in the sky would be commonplace. The floating mountains in the movie Avatar are the best illustration of this.

Superconductivity can achieve not only levitation but also suspension. As long as the superconducting material itself remains stable, you could go to the sky whenever you wanted.

The traffic pressure in megacities would vanish overnight, as room-temperature superconducting materials would allow the urban transport network to transform from a single ground-level plane into a three-dimensional network.

It would be like scenes from a sci-fi movie coming to life, with vehicles traveling at different altitudes throughout the city. That futuristic vision would become a reality.

By distributing vehicles that were once concentrated on a single plane—the ground—to different heights, even a metropolis with a population of over one hundred million would never experience traffic jams.

For example, if the ground-level traffic becomes unsustainable, a new transportation network could be established at an altitude of fifty meters. If that’s not enough, another plane could be planned at one hundred meters, and so on.

Undoubtedly, the new energy vehicle industry would also undergo a revolutionary change thanks to room-temperature superconductivity, and gasoline-powered cars would be completely relegated to the annals of history.

With room-temperature superconducting materials, military electromagnetic weapon systems would become highly feasible. Electromagnetic rifles, electromagnetic cannons—whether ship-borne, vehicle-mounted, or even installed on fighter jets—would all be possible. The revolution in superconducting energy storage brought about by these materials would lead to an unprecedented increase in energy utilization efficiency.

With room-temperature superconducting materials, research into controlled fusion could also take a great leap forward. And the realization of controlled nuclear fusion would make it much simpler for humanity to leave Earth and venture into deep space. Establishing larger space stations or building permanent human bases on the Moon or even Mars would no longer be a distant dream.

Thus, it is clear that once this new material, the room-temperature superconductor, is realized, it will inevitably fast-forward all of humanity into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The profound changes it would bring to human civilization might be even more pronounced than those brought by other signature technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computers.

The applications for room-temperature superconducting materials are so vast that Fang Hong was dead set on relentlessly pursuing this new material. Under normal circumstances, it might not be developed for another ten or twenty years.

But…

With cheat mode, the situation might be completely different.

Fang Hong mused that he needed to save up a good number of Achievement Points, select a top scholar in the field, and then use an Item Card to max out that scholar’s R&D capabilities. This would certainly increase the probability of developing a room-temperature superconducting material by a large margin.

The prospects of this new material were worth betting the farm on.

However, precisely because this new material’s impact on all of humanity would be so immense, it couldn’t be released publicly right away, even if developed quickly. The shock to various industries would be too great, triggering a massive reshuffle across countless sectors, and this influence would be global.

Without a doubt, Europe and America would launch a comprehensive and frantic campaign to suppress it, so the timing of its introduction and popularization would also be critical.

But of course, the sooner it could be developed, the better. Having the initiative in his own hands was key. Once it was developed, it could be applied first in the military domain, with electromagnetic weapon systems being the perfect platform.

Chapter 481: The Variable of a Technological Breakthrough is Like an Attack from a Higher Dimension

In the study of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

After Tian Jiayi finished making a memo about the new room-temperature superconductivity project as Fang Hong had instructed, she thought for a moment and then said, “The state is continuously increasing its support for the new energy vehicle sector. Shouldn’t we also expand the scale of our investments in this field?”

Stellaris Capital’s current footprint in the new energy sector was not particularly large. It only consisted of ATL Company, Ningde Shidai which had spun off from it, and a few other projects in the field.

However, in the new energy vehicle space specifically, they had neither invested in any related startups nor established their own company directly, as they had with Jiuzhou Blue Arrow.

Seeing her confusion, Fang Hong smiled and said, “Why settle for a bicycle? The current new energy vehicles and their technological systems can only run on the ground. If we’re going to do it, we’ll build new energy vehicles that can levitate and hang suspended.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but look astonished. She gazed at him and said, “You’re pinning your hopes on a breakthrough in room-temperature superconductivity. That’s something people started researching in the last century, and it still hasn’t made it out of the lab. It’s not that easy…”

Fang Hong smiled. “Have faith in our scientists. Who’s to say it won’t leave the lab in three to five years? Revolutionary technological breakthroughs often arrive without any warning; they just appear. We have to be prepared. We must stake our claim in the field of cutting-edge technology. We absolutely cannot be absent, nor can we fall behind.”

The impact of a variable like a technological breakthrough was immense. It could render all your previous meticulous plans pale and powerless. For instance, their series of arrangements in the African market were all solutions based on the technological context of the current era, requiring various diplomatic maneuvers, deception, and other tactics.

However, if a new technological breakthrough—say, the technology to synthesize starch from carbon dioxide—were to leave the lab right now, Stellaris Capital could abandon its food security plans for Africa entirely. They could just synthesize starch artificially, solving the food problem in an instant. They could directly export food to the famine-stricken regions of Africa, and the Gulf tycoons could just buy it from them.

Or take a breakthrough in room-temperature superconductivity. The establishment of a superconducting energy storage system could directly save the nation two-thirds of its electrical energy.

The current power system operates on a generate-as-you-go model. Electrical energy cannot be stored for long periods. Even existing storage methods rely on other forms of energy, such as the potential energy of water. Hydropower plants work by building dams to store water at a high elevation, thus storing potential energy. During off-peak hours, fewer turbines are operated, and during peak hours, more floodgates are opened to run more turbines.

But this method of energy storage was, after all, too primitive—a last resort. Today’s storage batteries, even when fully charged, degrade year by year even if unused. They simply cannot provide long-term storage.

Superconducting energy storage, however, can store electromagnetic energy directly. Its operating principle allows for a constant current, meaning the stored energy can be preserved almost losslessly and indefinitely, until it is needed.

A revolutionary technological breakthrough is comparable to an attack from a higher dimension.

At this moment, Fang Hong said, “We’re definitely going to get into new energy vehicles. Let’s start by setting up a new project company. With no historical baggage, we can take a completely new technological route and establish a new technological system with superconductivity at its core. Under this new system, new energy vehicles should be capable of dual-mode, air-and-ground operation. What does that mean? It means they can run on the ground, and they can also run while levitating or suspended.”

Fang Hong added with a smile, “Our job is to open up the possibilities; the scientists’ job is to make them a reality. The car won’t hit the market until the technology leaves the lab. We either don’t do it at all, or we go big.”

Tian Jiayi lowered her gaze to the folder on her lap, making a memo of everything he said.

Fang Hong already had a series of plans for this field in mind. When the time was right, the application of the technology would first be rolled out in Xincheng, their own base of operations. They would use superconducting technology to first transform Xincheng’s transportation network, upgrading it from its current two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional network.

Therefore, new energy vehicles supported by superconducting technology had to be dual-mode, meaning they would have two modes: ground mode and superconducting mode.

Ground mode would be just like a traditional car, with wheels to run on the ground. Otherwise, they would be restricted to limited areas, and consumers wouldn’t buy them. If a car couldn’t be driven in a different city or place, consumers would definitely not purchase it.

Superconducting mode would operate on a superconducting road network. The car would levitate using superconductivity, and its wheels would retract into the body like an airplane’s. It would then travel on road networks at different heights, thus diverting traffic flow. Traffic congestion in big cities would become a thing of the past, greatly improving the commuting efficiency of urban life.

However, to turn these plans into reality, the prerequisite was for room-temperature superconducting materials to leave the lab and be capable of mass production.

Once that happened, it would mean humanity would fast-forward directly into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It wouldn’t just be the transportation network getting an upgrade; nearly every industry would face a major reshuffle.

…

It was worth mentioning that on the very day the international crude oil futures market plummeted, the US Dollar Index, which had stopped its decline at 72.7, began to appreciate. On the day of the WTI crude oil futures crash, the US Dollar Index surged by +1.29%, closing at 74.07.

In Fang Hong’s personal overseas investment account, he had already completed his long position a few days prior, using 2 billion USD with 25x leverage. With the US Dollar Index appreciating by 1.29 percent, his floating profit increased by 645 million USD in a single day, equivalent to about 4.2 billion RMB.

His total floating profit reached 820 million USD, equivalent to about 5.4 billion RMB.

By May 6th, the sixth day since the flash crash of silver futures, the price plummeted again. During trading hours, it hit a low of 33.035 USD/ounce, a maximum drop of -8.84%. Tumbling from its peak of 49.56 USD/ounce, the cumulative decline reached a brutal -33.34%.

Today, as the price of silver futures fell to around 33 USD, Stellaris Capital began to close its short positions. Closing short positions meant buying shares from the market to settle, which caused the price of silver futures to rebound quickly after the sell-off.

The funds closing their positions today weren’t just from Stellaris Capital; other bears were also covering. This caused the price of silver futures to briefly turn positive after dropping nearly nine percent. Those holding short positions, especially those who had entered the market yesterday, were terrified.

Being caught in a short squeeze is a brutal experience, so they rushed to snap up shares to close their positions, which was what caused the price of silver futures to briefly move into positive territory.

However, the price fell back later, ultimately closing at 35.28 USD/ounce, a daily loss of -2.65%. On the same day, the US Dollar Index appreciated again by +0.88%, surging to 74.72.

Fang Hong’s personal account, with its 25x leveraged long position, saw its floating profit rate soar to +63.5% in just two days. The floating profit reached 1.27 billion USD, equivalent to about 8.35 billion RMB.

According to Fang Hong’s previous public promise on Weibo, 10% of his annual profits would be used for educational aid and support. The current profit from this Forex market intervention meant that 835 million RMB could be allocated for that purpose.

Fang Hong decided to post on Weibo to report the good news, his goal naturally being to earn Reputation Value and rack up Achievement Points.

…

Chapter 482: A Proactive Play

Although he had accumulated over 170 million Achievement Points, which could be exchanged for more than 1,700 Item Cards, there were many places where they were needed. The semiconductor industry chain would certainly consume a significant amount, as would the security company being established in Africa. The field of room-temperature superconductivity research would also undoubtedly be a major consumer.

Without using the Prestige System to enhance the R&D capabilities of his researchers, room-temperature superconductivity might not leave the lab for another decade or two, and Fang Hong had no desire to wait that long.

He had no choice but to use a cheat.

Fortunately, with the help of the Prestige System cheat, he could boost the researchers’ R&D abilities, which would drastically shorten the time required for a technological breakthrough.

The next day, on the morning of May 7th.

Fang Hong logged into his personal Weibo account and posted an update:

[It’s been a while since I entered the overseas market. I’ve been playing around in the international forex market and have so far made a profit of 1.27 billion US dollars, which is about 8.35 billion RMB. It’s a pretty good start. The education and student aid funds for next year should be secured.]

When it came to his moves in the international forex market, Fang Hong could be completely open about the asset class he was trading, though he would never reveal specific account information.

He didn’t need to worry about being targeted at all. It was a market with a daily trading volume of several trillion US dollars, bringing together hedge funds, multinational trade settlements, and more from all over the world.

It was a market teeming with titans and magnates of all kinds; tossing in tens of billions wouldn’t even make a splash. Naturally, he wasn’t concerned about being targeted, nor would anyone manipulate the forex market over his relatively small sum of money.

Fang Hong’s Weibo post quickly garnered widespread attention. People were utterly shocked by his profit-making ability, and the comment section below was buzzing with discussion.

[The A-share market is no longer big enough for K-God.]

[That’s insane, over 8 billion in just a few days.]

[Isn’t the forex market supposed to have low volatility?]

[The volatility is low, but the trading volume is huge, and you can use leverage. K-God definitely used leverage.]

[10% of 8.35 billion is 835 million. I think I suddenly understand why K-God doesn’t accept public donations. He doesn’t care about your few pennies… [Facepalm emoji]]

[At this rate, isn’t he on track to make 50 billion this year?]

[He might even blow past 50 billion.]

[Ever since I started following K-God, money has started to feel like play money…]

[Stop it already, you’re going to fleece the whole market! [laughing-crying facepalm emoji]]

[I really thought K-God would get schooled in the overseas markets, but it turns out I was just too naive.]

[He’s literally a merciless wealth-harvesting machine.]

[With this kind of profitability, he could probably surpass the annual profits of many Fortune 500 companies this year.]

[Maybe this is what a god is. We mortals can’t comprehend it.]

By Tuesday, May 10th, the virtual currency Bitcoin surged. The reason was the launch of a Bitcoin trading platform in Poland, which caused Bitcoin’s price to skyrocket by +52.63% intra-day, hitting an all-time high of $6 per coin. It ultimately closed at $5.8 per coin.

It was worth noting that Bitcoin’s price had been in a correction for about two months since February. After bottoming out at $0.6 on April 4th of last month, it had been on a steady rise. The gains up to this point had reached +900%. The correction ended because Fang Hong had finished accumulating the last of his shares over the past two-plus months.

His intervention had also brought some changes to Bitcoin’s trading volume. The liquidity was about ten times higher than it had been in Fang Hong’s previous life. Today, as Bitcoin rocketed up 52.63%, the total daily trading volume reached 3.26 million US dollars, about 20 million RMB.

The number itself didn’t seem high, but one couldn’t ignore the fact that virtual digital currencies were a niche market at the time.

It was precisely because the trading volume for Bitcoin had been “brushed up” by Fang Hong’s trading team that some financial institutions were surprised to find so many people willing to play with this thing.

So why not set up a platform and earn some transaction fees?

Thus, a financial institution in Poland launched a trading platform. Their thinking was, rather than you trading somewhere else, you might as well trade here. I’ll open a market for you, and for your trades, I’ll just charge you a small fee.

Over the next three days, Bitcoin continued to set new highs.

On May 11th, although it closed down -5.71%, the intra-day price hit $6.1 per coin. On May 12th, Bitcoin surged again by +14.55%, reaching an intra-day high of $6.5 per coin. On May 13th, Bitcoin exploded upward once more, hitting an all-time high of $8.4 intra-day and finally closing with a massive gain of +30.16% at $8.2 per coin.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization also climbed to a high of 172 million US dollars.

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong looked at the Bitcoin price chart on his laptop screen, then turned to his beautiful assistant sitting beside him and said, “The accumulation of shares is complete. Don’t touch those 3.15 million bitcoins. Have the trading team brush up the trading volume.”

At this moment, Fang Hong was basically the one manipulating Bitcoin. No major institutions had taken an interest yet. Besides Fang Hong, the other participants, to put it bluntly, were just a handful of small fry with hardly any pennies to their name. They were in no position to be Fang Hong’s counterparty.

Therefore, he had to take the initiative to drive the narrative.

He now had a trading team dedicated to doing nothing but manipulating the market and padding the data for Bitcoin.

Brushing up the trading volume meant using a large number of alt accounts to trade back and forth. On paper, it would make the liquidity look excellent. In time, more financial institutions would surely enter the fray. Even if they couldn’t see the value in this thing, it wouldn’t stop them from jumping in to speculate for a quick profit.

How to attract people to come and play?

Ensure liquidity and create the potential for profit.

Once the first real wave of opportunity for Bitcoin arrived and the market’s true liquidity was activated, Fang Hong could have his trading team stand down.

At that moment, Fang Hong thought for a while and said, “For now, maintain a liquidity of 3 to 10 million US dollars.”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “I’ll notify the trading team to execute it.”

Bitcoin trading was on a T+0 basis, with no limits on the number of trades one could make in a day. Theoretically, they could brush up the trading volume indefinitely, even generating hundreds of millions in volume with ease.

But of course, they couldn’t do that. The signs of manipulation would be too obvious. The transaction volume had to appear “reasonable.”

The next day, May 14th, Bitcoin’s price volatility was exceptionally intense. Intra-day trading saw it hit a new all-time high of $8.9 per coin, but it then suffered a flash crash, with panic selling driving it down to $5.8. Its greatest single-day drop reached -29.26%. It ultimately closed at $7.2, down -12.19% for the day.

The players in the crypto circle thought Bitcoin was about to crash and were getting ready to buy the dip once it fell below $1.

To their surprise, the very next day saw another explosive rally. The price hit a high of $10.9 per coin, an intra-day gain of up to +51.39%. It eventually closed at $10.6, up +47.22%. Bitcoin’s market capitalization soared to a new height of 222 million US dollars.

On May 15th, Bitcoin went on another mad tear, surging another +34.9% to reach $14.3. The total daily trading volume hit 6 million US dollars, and the market cap broke through 300 million US dollars.

The crypto players were utterly dumbfounded.

Chapter 483: An Insane, Illogical Rally

The one who initiated this Bitcoin rally was none other than Fang Hong.

It was a brute-force pump, plain and simple.

In short, cash is king, and it doesn’t need to reason with you.

Furthermore, Fang Hong had his trading team intentionally operate during overnight trading, creating the illusion that foreign capital was responsible for the speculative frenzy. In other words, this had absolutely nothing to do with K-God.

At that moment, the players in the crypto circle thought the rally had to be over, right?

The next day, May 16th, Bitcoin once again shattered the expectations of every player in the crypto community, staging another epic short-squeeze rally that left traders both at home and abroad with their scalps tingling.

On this day, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed from 14.3 US dollars per coin all the way to a new all-time high of 24.6 US dollars per coin. Its intra-day gain surged by a staggering +72.02%, and Bitcoin’s total market cap climbed to a height of 516 million US dollars.

It ultimately closed at 22.3 US dollars, ending the day with a gain of +55.94%.

…

On May 17th, Bitcoin’s chart showed signs of divergence between bulls and bears. It first fluctuated downward to 18.9 US dollars per coin, a drop of -15.25%, before rallying again during overnight trading. The price was pushed all the way up to 23.9 US dollars per coin, extending its gain to +7.17%. Just as the crypto community thought it was about to set another all-time high, the trend surged higher then fell back, finally closing at 21.7 US dollars per coin.

On that day, Bitcoin closed in the red, down -2.69%.

By now, most players in the crypto circle were just watching from the sidelines. The rise had been so ruthless that it was frightening to even look at.

To the onlookers, today’s trend felt like a fierce battle between bulls and bears. In reality, it was just Fang Hong’s trading team “drawing” the chart. A full 90% of the day’s trading volume was just data generated by his team wash trading through T+0.

Some people, unable to resist the temptation, did try to jump in and gamble, including players from both domestic and international markets.

As the market closed in the red today, the crypto players said: “This thing must be dead now, right?”

…

On May 18th, the price of Bitcoin continued its upward climb, once again setting an all-time high. The price peaked intra-day at 26.9 US dollars per coin, with a maximum daily gain of +23.96%. Bitcoin’s market cap soared to 565 million US dollars.

It finally closed at 25.6 US dollars, surging another +17.61% for the day, a sight that brought the players in the crypto circle to their knees.

This wave of Bitcoin’s rally began at 0.6 US dollars. In just over a month, it had been pumped to today’s price of 26.9 US dollars, an astonishing cumulative increase of 4388.33%, multiplying its value more than 43 times.

The insane pump also began to attract surprised gazes from people outside the crypto circle towards this digital currency.

It was worth noting that with Bitcoin’s current trend, Fang Hong knew it had already deviated from the trajectory of his previous life. At this same time in his past life, the price was still below 7 US dollars. He also knew that this was all due to his intervention.

Still, it wasn’t a major problem. No matter how he messed with it, it wouldn’t change Bitcoin’s overall trend for the next ten years.

Besides, he could just make it fall the same way it went up. This way, he could also give the crypto players an early taste of the excitement and let them witness what a brave man’s game truly was.

…

After midnight on May 19th.

Bitcoin’s trend entered the next trading day. By now, crypto players, whether domestic or foreign, were going absolutely wild.

They didn’t know why, and they didn’t know what was happening, but Bitcoin was just soaring, staging a massive short-squeeze rally every single day.

At this moment, a certain crypto chat group was unusually active late at night, with over 99 new messages appearing in no time.

[Holy shit, Bitcoin’s starting to pump again!]

[28 bucks, a new high.]

[Should I sell? I put in 9000 bucks on May 14th with a cost price of 6 bucks, and I’ve held it till now. Every time I look at the chart I can’t resist the urge to sell, but I’m afraid of selling too early.]

[????]

[Crap, what did you say? A cost price of 6 US dollars?]

[How did you manage to hold on?]

[Badass. If it were me, I would’ve run the next day.]

[This is a huge win, man! Up three and a half times in five days. Damn!]

[You have a cost basis of 6 US dollars, I have one of 26. We both have a bright future ahead of us.]

[A cost basis of 26 bucks? You even dared to chase it at that price. A true warrior!]

[Be greedy when others are fearful.]

[Charge, charge, charge! [I’m going to lose all my money meme]]

[Calm down, bro. With this thing, you really can lose it all in a single day.]

[This is so absurd. I don’t understand this trend, but I am greatly shaken.]

[Feels like we’re playing the greater fool theory. Are there really so many fools these days? Aren’t they afraid of getting wiped out?!]

[Pumping, it’s pumping hard again! 32 dollars, a new high! Holy shit, holy shit!]

[It’s already 36 dollars, hahaha! That’s a 40-point gain! So damn exciting! Awesome!]

[Short squeeze! Short squeeze! Short squeeze!]

[Damn it, I can’t take it anymore! Screw it, I’m all in! Even if I get wiped out!]

…

The major crypto communities were in a frenzy late into the night. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price surged to its highest point of the day, reaching 37.9 US dollars per coin, a maximum intra-day gain of 48.05%. It ultimately closed at 35.9 US dollars per coin, up +40.23% for the day.

Bitcoin’s total daily trading volume also set a new record, reaching 7.19 million US dollars.

The crypto circle, both in China and abroad, was ecstatic, and the carnival was non-stop.

As Bitcoin continued its insane rally, its peak market cap reached 796 million US dollars. That afternoon, North American time, mainstream Western media outlets like Forbes began to report on Bitcoin’s meteoric rise.

This attracted even more speculators to the market, and at the same time, drew the attention and piqued the intense interest of some hackers.

Fang Hong probably never anticipated that his secret market manipulation of Bitcoin to trigger this epic rally would attract hackers, and in doing so, laid the groundwork for the Mt. Gox exchange hacking incident set to erupt next month.

Meanwhile, as Bitcoin’s recent surge gained traction, attention from the investment circle skyrocketed. A considerable number of comments discussing Bitcoin appeared on Fang Hong’s Weibo.

The digital currency’s recent epic short-squeeze rally reminded many domestic crypto players, including some spectating stockholders, of K-God’s acquisition of Bitcoin several months ago.

After it surged another 40 points today, his Weibo comments section was flooded with messages about Bitcoin.

[@K3478, K-God, Bitcoin is skyrocketing!]

[Have to say, K-God’s predictions are practically divine. He was setting up his Bitcoin position months ago. It’s just a shame he didn’t hold on and rage-smashed it all down to the floor price.]

[This is the first time I’ve seen K-God sell too early. That’s a rare sight, haha!]

[If it weren’t for those hoarders, K-God would have made a killing on this wave too.]

[Looking at Bitcoin’s price of 35.9 dollars, K-God must be crying himself unconscious in the bathroom, kicking himself… [laughing-crying facepalm emoji]]

[I think it’s the merchants who got trapped and wiped out by K-God who are crying themselves unconscious in the bathroom and kicking themselves raw. After K-God trapped them, they definitely sold at a loss at the bottom. Looking at Bitcoin’s price now, they probably feel like dying.]

[That’s true. No matter what, the money he spent acquiring Bitcoin was less than 1% of his total net worth at the time, let alone now.]

[That’s a fair point. For K-God, selling Bitcoin too early doesn’t affect his money-making speed at all. Look, he just took a trip to the international forex market and made a profit of 1.27 billion US dollars, which is 474 million US dollars more than Bitcoin’s entire market cap right now.]

…

Chapter 484: The Sell-off Begins

Fang Hong saw the comments under his latest Weibo post. Only one word came to mind: “Hilarious.”

The clueless onlooking crowd still had no idea that K-God was the one who had orchestrated this epic Bitcoin rally.

The date was May 20th. Around 9 AM North American local time, Bitcoin continued its upward trend, breaking through the $40 mark for the first time, an intraday gain of +11.42%.

Today, two major events happened in the crypto circle, or rather, two pieces of major positive news.

Bitcoin was listed on two new trading platforms. One was from the Mainland, called “BTCC,” which stood for “Bitcoin China.” Its headquarters were in Shanghai, and it was the first Bitcoin exchange platform in the country.

Meanwhile, in Europe, an exchange for trading Bitcoin against the British pound also went live.

This massive surge pushed its market cap above eight hundred million dollars, and its daily trading volume continued to soar, catching the attention of numerous financial institutions and speculators.

The thinking of these institutional investors and speculators who entered the market was a testament to one fact: capital is greedy, but it isn’t opposed to bubbles—in fact, it seeks to exploit them fully.

You might not understand what value this virtual digital currency has, and you don’t have to care how big the bubble is. As long as plenty of people are speculating on it, someone’s going to get fleeced. So why not be the one doing the fleecing?

You just need to pay attention to what the market is playing with right now. Whatever it is, you don’t even have to understand why it’s worth so much. That doesn’t stop you from joining the speculation. There’s no need to get red in the face arguing with people—it’s pointless. As long as people are trading it, and as long as there are buyers, you just jump in and go for it.

As the two new Bitcoin exchanges were announced almost simultaneously in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, stimulated by the news, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed in response. More exchanges meant more participants would be joining.

Its price shot up from $40 to $52 per coin, today’s high, marking an intraday gain of +44.84%. This also sent Bitcoin’s total market cap soaring to a height of $1.092 billion.

It was an epic, continuous short-squeeze rally. In the last ten days, anyone who bought and held a long position for more than a day made a killing. The price never seemed to have a ceiling; it hit a new high every day. The sky was the limit.

The players in the entire crypto circle went absolutely insane.

This epic Bitcoin rally, which started when it bottomed out at $0.60 on April 4th of last month, had now reached $52 today. In less than two months, its cumulative gain reached a staggering +8566.66%, an 85-fold increase. One hundred thousand yuan invested would have turned into 8.6 million in less than two months.

For speculators, the dream of getting rich quick offered by such gains was a fatal attraction.

If you took the price from last May, when a programmer in Florida named Laszlo Hanyecz used ten thousand bitcoins to buy a pizza voucher, establishing the first fair exchange rate, one bitcoin was worth about $0.008.

Compared to that initial price of $0.008, Bitcoin’s high of $52 today represented a cumulative gain of +649,899.97% in one year, an increase of 6,498.9 times.

The buddy who spent ten thousand bitcoins on pizza was now famous. At Bitcoin’s peak price today of $52, ten thousand bitcoins were worth five hundred twenty thousand dollars.

Spending five hundred twenty thousand dollars on a pizza voucher—it was being called the most expensive pizza voucher in history.

The “Pizza Bro” became a hot topic of discussion among crypto players. They all said he was probably secretly banging his head against the bathroom door, crying enough tears to flush the toilet.

…

Xincheng, Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Fang Hong was looking at the latest price chart for Bitcoin on his laptop. The price was currently hovering around $50. He had noted the launch of the BTCC exchange in the Mainland, as well as the new exchange for trading Bitcoin against the British pound.

A moment later, Fang Hong picked up his phone and called the head of his trading team. “Start the sell-off.”

The reply from the other end was immediate. “Understood.”

Fang Hong didn’t hang up. He watched the Bitcoin price chart in silence.

Out of a simple sense of camaraderie with his countrymen, Fang Hong preferred that players from the Mainland didn’t get involved, or at least kept their involvement to a minimum. If they insisted on participating, he had no comment.

As for the crypto players from abroad, he didn’t even have that limited sense of camaraderie.

They were the ones he was going to fleece.

Someone has to foot the bill, right? Otherwise, how do you make money?

With BTCC now live, Fang Hong decided to teach the aspiring speculators in the Mainland a lesson. Before they decided to jump in and gamble, he would first let them witness just how thrilling Bitcoin could be. If even that couldn’t stop their speculation and dreams of striking it rich…

Then bring it on.

Anyone who could make a profit off K-God would have to be pretty badass.

Right now, Fang Hong was the absolute major player in Bitcoin. He had no counterparty.

So much for decentralization. It decentralized power from the many crypto players and centralized it under K-God. He alone decided which way the price would move.

Bitcoin has a total supply of twenty-one million coins. More than half had already been mined, but a large portion of them were in a “dormant” state—they were lost, their locations unknown. Perhaps someone forgot they had bitcoins, or remembered but couldn’t find them, left only to stare in frustration, unable to cash out.

Fang Hong secretly held 3.15 million coins, and this batch wasn’t going to move for now. So, the number of bitcoins actually circulating on the market was small. It didn’t take much money to influence the price.

The only way to change this was to mine new bitcoins. Indeed, the recent price surge had fueled a mining craze, as nearly half of all bitcoins had yet to be mined.

…

Just then, less than thirty seconds after Fang Hong made the call, the price of Bitcoin began a nosedive, plunging vertically like a ninety-degree line. In a single second, it dropped from $50 to the $45 mark, a -13.46% fall from its intraday high, narrowing its gain from the opening price to +25.34%.

Seeing the sudden sharp drop, many crypto players tried to buy the dip, thinking they could sell for a quick profit on the rebound. Thanks to the T+0 trading mechanism, they could sell immediately after buying.

This kind of sudden plunge usually had a brief rebound, and with Bitcoin’s massive volatility, even a small rebound could mean a five or six percent gain.

However…

The crypto players who went in to buy the dip only realized the gravity of the situation after they were already in.

At this moment, Bitcoin’s price showed no signs of a rebound at all. In the very next second, it plummeted further, crashing down to the $40 mark. Its loss from the intraday high widened to -23.07%, and its gain from the opening price narrowed to +11.42%.

After the bulls who bought the dip a second ago were trapped, another group of brave bulls rushed in to buy the new dip.

…

Chapter 485: The Ultimate Catastrophic Crash

A new batch of brave dip-buyers had just entered the market when, in a flash, the price of Bitcoin plunged to $33.50. The decline from the intraday high widened to -35.57%, and it was now down -6.68% from its opening price.

The dip-buying warriors had become martyrs once again.

Just a short while ago, it had been up over 44 percent, and now it was trading in the red.

Then, just as quickly, the price plunged again to $28.20. The decline from the intraday high expanded to -45.76%, and it was now down a steep -21.49% from its opening price.

In other words, if you had bought 100,000 at the peak, you would have already lost 45,700. If you had bought at the opening price and held on, your floating profit of over 44,000 would have turned into a floating loss of over 21,400.

Two seconds later, Bitcoin’s price plummeted to $25. Dropping more than 51 percent from the intraday high, it had officially been slashed in half. Compared to the opening price, it had also crashed by over 30 percent.

After plummeting from its intraday high, the market sentiment for Bitcoin turned completely bearish.

At this moment, the funds that had been buying the dip in the previous wave were now panic-selling at a loss. In a matter of seconds, bulls had turned into bears. At the same time, new dip-buying bulls took over, but as the price continued its brutal crash, they too were scared into selling at a loss, also turning into bears.

This cycle kept repeating itself: buy the dip, sell at a loss; the next batch buys the dip, sells at a loss; the batch after that buys the dip, sells at a loss…

Gradually, after a few cycles, no one dared to buy the dip anymore.

With no one left to absorb the selling pressure, the price of Bitcoin went into a freefall.

What was unfolding was an extremely brutal long squeeze. Fang Hong’s trading team didn’t even need to actively smash the market; the other funds were already slaughtering each other.

Bitcoin’s price plummeted from its peak: $20, $16, $11, $6, $4…

By the time the price dropped to $4, Bitcoin’s decline from the intraday high had widened to -92.3%, and the drop from its opening price was now -88.85%.

…

The crypto circle erupted into chaos. In a certain crypto community chat group:

[Catastrophic crash! This is the ultimate catastrophic crash!]

[That was a close call. Thank god I stayed out. This fucking crash is ruthless!]

[I got out at 48 bucks. I was heavily invested and made over ten percent profit. Holy fucking shit, does it have to be this thrilling? I was scared to death, my heart is still pounding. Thank god I got out.]

[This chart is heart-stopping.]

[Licking blood from a knife’s edge. Hah, tell me that isn’t exciting…]

[Family, I’m done for. I’m a corpse now. My cost price was 66 bucks. No different from going to zero.]

[Huh? Wait, what’s going on? The high was 52 bucks, how did you get to 66?]

[He probably did a reverse day trade, driving his cost basis higher and higher… [Crying Laughing emoji]]

[Let me calculate… from 66 bucks down to 4, that’s a loss of -93.93%… Ugh, yeah, that’s basically zero.]

[So tragic…]

[This is like driving in with a BMW and leaving with just the steering wheel.]

[Did you sell at a loss?]

[Sell my ass. What’s the point of selling here? Let me be your cautionary tale. I’m already a corpse. Do not disturb. Age: eighteen. Cause of death: Went all-in.]

[Ahhhhhh… spits blood!! I went to take a fucking dump and the price crashed from 52 bucks to 4! Holy fucking shit! Eight days ago, I bought in at 6 bucks and held for eight days, making millions. I just sold at a loss at 4.8 dollars. My floating profit of over 7.6x became a 20 percent loss. I’m not going to recover from this for a year!]

[Why didn’t you take profit?]

[Who the fuck knew it would crash this hard? The pain, the regret… I’m really… I’m crying my eyes out. pfft (Spitting Blood emoji)…]

…

Meanwhile, Fang Hong was watching Bitcoin’s price movements. It had now crashed to a price of $3.60. The total intraday amplitude had reached a terrifying 134.82%. The cumulative drop from the high was -93.07%, and the crash from the opening price was -89.97%.

If a bull holding shares had bought at the opening price, they would need a +897.22% rally from $3.60 just to break even. To get back to the high of $52, they would need a +1344.44% rally.

At this moment, Fang Hong spoke into the phone, which was still on an open line, giving instructions to the trader in charge of manipulating the Bitcoin market. “Alright, pump it. Pump it up to $30 fast, then smash it back down just as quickly.”

A surprised voice came from the other end of the line. “Boss, you… are you sure? The trading volume for today might exceed 50 million US dollars, and we might incur an extra loss of several million dollars.”

Fang Hong immediately retorted, “Am I short a few million?”

Hearing this, the trader immediately replied, “Understood!”

The call remained open. Fang Hong looked back at Bitcoin’s intraday line. After a moment, about ten seconds later, the price of Bitcoin suddenly shot up from $3.60 in a straight line, soaring upwards like a scallion being yanked from dry earth.

$6, $8, $16, $20, $27, $30…

In just 80 seconds, Bitcoin’s price was pumped from $3.60 to $30. This ferocious rally amounted to a +733% gain. If someone had bought the dip at $3.60, they would have multiplied their money by seven in less than a minute and a half.

Meanwhile, that dude who bought at $6 eight days ago, didn’t sell at $52, and then sold at a 20 percent loss at $4.80, could only watch in stunned silence as Bitcoin’s price shot straight up to $30, surging more than sevenfold.

“Holy fucking shit! I just fucking sold at a loss at 4.8 bucks and you pump it like this? Were you just waiting for my few measly pennies? Are you fucking insane? You son of a bitch…” A stream of expletives erupted from him. His blood pressure skyrocketed, and Bitcoin’s surging intraday line seemed to be a perfect reflection of it.

He was genuinely about to faint from rage.

Staring at the intraday line, the dude felt a profound sense of malice from the market.

Pain!

So much pain!

This was true pain!

At the same time, Bitcoin’s price stayed at $30 for less than three seconds before the intraday line turned and began to plummet again.

In just two minutes, the price crashed from $30 to $5, a drop of -83%. For those actively trading, some made a killing, while others got wrecked. It was a zero-sum game.

Every bit of profit one person made was flesh cut from another.

Wealth wasn’t destroyed, only transferred—from one person’s pocket to another’s.

Afterwards, once Bitcoin fell to the $5 level, it didn’t experience any explosive surges or crashes for several hours. Of course, this was relative to the terrifying 134% amplitude seen earlier.

In reality, it was still oscillating between $4 and $6, an amplitude of around 50%, which meant the price volatility was still incredibly intense.

Fang Hong had already hung up. Before ending the call, he had given the trader instructions on the subsequent price action, the specific closing price for the day, and even the trends for the next few days.

As time passed, Bitcoin’s price was pumped up again at the end of the day. It rallied from $4 to close at $27.50, a rally of +587.5%. Ultimately, the closing price for the day was $27.50, a drop of -23.40%.

The daily K-line that Bitcoin formed today was enough to make one’s scalp tingle. The bearish candle’s body, representing a -23.40% drop, was already a huge decline. But the most exaggerated part was the length of the upper and lower shadows, which were far longer than the candle’s body, adding up to an amplitude of over 134%.

This was the largest intraday amplitude in Bitcoin’s history. Crypto players thought the volatility of that huge negative candlestick from a few months ago would never be surpassed. They were too naive.

Compared to today’s K-line, that was dwarfed by comparison.

…

Chapter 486: Getting Rich and Going Broke Overnight, All at the Same Time

The next day, May 21st.

In the gym at Tranquil Heart Residence, Tian Jiayi stopped mid-stretch. She looked over at Fang Hong, who was also working out, and said, “Yesterday’s Bitcoin flash crash has caught the attention of many financial media outlets, both at home and abroad. It’s getting more coverage overseas.”

Fang Hong replied, “What about it?”

Tian Jiayi tilted her head toward him. “A lot of outlets are questioning the recent violent swings in Bitcoin, pointing to obvious manipulation. After the hype, the tide will recede, leaving a complete mess…”

Hearing this, Fang Hong laughed. “Hilarious. Any chump investor knows it’s obviously manipulated. Do they really need to analyze it? Who among the participants doesn’t know this? They know and are still willing to enter the game. There’s nothing more to say.”

Tian Jiayi said, “If digital currencies really do have a promising future, and people later find out what happened now, seeing that you made a fortune, won’t those who sold too early or got wrecked pin all their resentment on you?”

Fang Hong countered, “Why should I let them know?”

Uh…

The beautiful assistant’s face went blank, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words. After a pause, she tried to argue, “You currently hold fifteen percent of the total shares. You’ll have to cash out and exit eventually, right? With such a sudden increase in wealth, you can’t possibly hide the fact that you’ve earned so much, can you?”

Fang Hong immediately shot back, “What’s stopping me from buying it all back in a few years? Is there a rule that says I can’t buy back what I’ve dumped? Or that if I buy it, I have to publicly disclose my position? Who made that rule? Isn’t it up to me whether I disclose it or not?”

Uh…

The beautiful assistant was speechless again, unable to find a rebuttal.

Right now, K-God had absolutely nothing to do with all this commotion. As for making a killing on Bitcoin in the future, well, it was true that he had thrown away all his shares before. However, after two and a half years, he corrected his mistake and slowly started buying them back for the long haul. And what of it? Just because he sold now, did that mean he couldn’t buy it back in the future?

Fang Hong glanced at his beautiful assistant and smiled. “The truth is always held by a select few. Everything has its pros and cons, its two sides. Look at it from another angle: this intense, even brutal, volatility has, to a large extent, intimidated speculators who want to get rich quick here. It makes them reconsider whether they’re the scythe or the leek. Maybe they’ll get scared and stay away.”

At this point, Fang Hong paused, his smile unwavering, and added, “In the end, it’s still the same old story. Being reaped is being reaped, no matter who’s holding the scythe. It might as well be you. If I do the reaping, I can still set aside a large sum for educational charities. If others do it, they’ll just stuff it all in their pockets.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi let out a few chuckles. She met his gaze and said, “You…! You’re quite good at finding excuses to justify your reaping.”

Fang Hong simply spread his hands and shrugged.

…

In the early morning of May 22nd, a new daily K-line for Bitcoin began to form. After the previous day’s K-line closed at $27.50, it continued to rally today, reaching a high of $32.70, an intra-day increase of 18.9%.

However, it then began to plummet in a panic sell. The price dropped to a low of $17.30 that day, a 37.09% fall from its opening price and a 47.09% drop from its intra-day high. It ultimately closed at $20.30, down 23.40% for the day. The full-day amplitude reached 55.98%, and Bitcoin’s market capitalization shrank by $426 million.

…

On May 23rd, Bitcoin opened and rose to $23.30, a gain of 14.78%, before once again staging a brutal panic sell comparable to the one two days prior.

Intra-day, the price plummeted to $2.90, breaking the previous low of $3.60 and setting a new recent low. This represented a drop of 85.71% from the opening price and 87.55% from the intra-day high. The maximum full-day amplitude reached a terrifying 100.49%, once again surpassing one hundred percent.

Everyone witnessed just how frightening Bitcoin’s price volatility could be. The A-share stockholders looked at this and suddenly felt that a stock going from limit-up to limit-down was nothing special—it was just a twenty-percent loss, something that could happen in a second or two with Bitcoin.

Amid such extremely violent price swings, some got wrecked and wailed in despair, while others made a killing and exclaimed at the thrill. But today, a new voice emerged: a group of crypto circle players began calling for trading platforms to provide short-selling tools for Bitcoin, the sooner the better.

And the number of people echoing this call grew larger and larger.

Evidently, the crypto circle players felt it wasn’t exciting enough. They believed Bitcoin’s current trading mechanism was incomplete. At present, one could only go long. The earliest trading platforms had only been online for a year, and there were no short-selling tools yet. Players in the crypto circle could only make money by going long.

Seeing Bitcoin’s terrifying price volatility, what the crypto circle players thought of was the hope of making money by shorting. They watched the intra-day price swings, which could slash eighty to ninety percent off the value at a moment’s notice, yet they couldn’t sell short. It felt like they were losing out on hundreds of millions.

As Bitcoin’s price fell to $2.90, the subsequent trend confirmed this as the day’s low point, because after the massive sell-off came a massive rally—a true V-shaped recovery.

Ultimately, before the market closed for the day, Bitcoin’s price settled at $18.30. From its low of $2.90, this stretch represented a staggering gain of 531%, all within a single day.

Going broke overnight and getting rich overnight were happening simultaneously in the Bitcoin virtual currency market, constantly stimulating and raising the tolerance threshold of the crypto circle players.

If there was a pecking order of risk and volatility in the capital markets, it would be stock traders looking down on fund investors, futures traders looking down on stock traders, and options traders looking down on futures traders. But Bitcoin traders looked down on all of them.

Bitcoin’s intra-period price volatility could see it drop by over ninety percent at the drop of a hat, while its single-day gains could reach five or even seven times the initial value. If you benchmarked it against futures trading and applied similar leverage, say 50x, you could get liquidated instantly when trapped in a falling position, or make hundreds of times your investment in a single day when you made a killing.

Over the next four days, Bitcoin’s price followed the same pattern: a huge surge followed by a panic sell. After peaking at $52, it experienced seven consecutive days of decline, with the daily amplitude exceeding 50% each day.

May 24th, Bitcoin plunged -33.33%, closing at $12.20, with an intraday amplitude of 57.25%.

May 25th, Bitcoin fell -6.56%, closing at $11.40, with an intraday amplitude of 54.58%.

May 26th, Bitcoin plunged -17.54%, closing at $9.40, with an intraday amplitude of 65.30%.

May 27th, Bitcoin plummeted -50.00%, closing at $4.70, with an intraday amplitude of 87.18%. That day, it hit a low of $1.90 intra-day, setting another new recent low.

Bitcoin’s trading volume during these few days was at a minimum of thirty million dollars, reaching a high of fifty-seven million dollars. Compared to the less than one million dollars in daily trading volume last month, liquidity had exploded by several dozen times.

And as more and more crypto circle players continued to call for platforms to introduce short-selling tools, the existing major trading platforms began working overtime to design them.

You could say they got their wish.

For the trading platforms, an additional derivative tool meant another channel for making money. In any case, the platform’s transaction fees were a guaranteed profit.

You’d have to be an idiot not to take free money.

The current trading volume was also quite substantial. Did it matter that most of the data was generated by Fang Hong’s traders?

Padded data was still data, and it came at a cost. As long as a transaction occurred, there was a transaction cost. The greater the trading volume, the more the trading platforms earned.

…

Chapter 487: Hacker Attack

On the following day, May 28th, Bitcoin’s price continued to fluctuate violently. It first dropped from its opening price of $4.7 to $2.6, an intra-day decline of -44.68%, before starting another frenzied rally.

Its price surged from an intra-day low of $2.6 to a high of $10.7, achieving a maximum intra-day gain of +127.66%. Starting from the intra-day low of $2.6, a theoretical one-way long position could have yielded up to +311.53%.

The daily volatility range once again broke the record of 134.82% set on May 20th when it peaked at $52, reaching a staggering 172.34%.

It ultimately closed at $9.6, a full-day increase of +104.26%. After seven consecutive days of plummeting prices, it finally saw a vengeful rally, doubling in value in a single day.

The crypto community was calling it thrilling!

Over the next three days, Bitcoin’s bullish trend continued its rebound. It surged by +33.33% on May 29th, +14.98% on May 30th, and another +9.40% on the last day of the month, with Bitcoin’s price recovering to $16.1.

However, the trading volume gradually decreased over these few days, generally staying around ten million US dollars daily, as Fang Hong’s trading team was no longer inflating the trading data.

Entering June, on Wednesday, June 1st, Bitcoin, after four consecutive days of gains, closed with a loss of -7.71%.

News was spreading in the crypto circle abroad: “Mt. Gox” was about to launch the first-ever short-selling tool for Bitcoin, allowing participants to short it.

The so-called “Mt. Gox” was the Bitcoin exchange platform Mt. Gox. The platform was a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. Because its name sounded similar to a certain phrase in Chinese, domestic crypto players jokingly nicknamed it “Men Tou Gou,” a name that eventually stuck through common use.

…

On Thursday, June 2nd, Bitcoin surged to a price of $16.9, reaching a gain of +14.19%, when it suddenly began to dive. The reason for the plunge was the launch of Bitcoin’s first short-selling tool by the Mt. Gox exchange.

This cryptocurrency had officially entered an era where it could be shorted.

The players in the crypto circle were quite “considerate.” The moment the news spread, they initiated a massive sell-off as a sign of respect. That day, the price crashed from an intra-day high of $16.9 all the way down to $4.7.

It marked a drop of -72.19% from its intra-day high and -68.24% from its opening price.

As thrilling as ever.

After the panic sell brought Bitcoin’s price down to $4.7 during trading hours, it began a short squeeze-style rebound of +104.25%, surging up to $9.6 and ultimately closing at that price. It ended the day with a loss of -35.13%, with a daily volatility range of 82.18%.

After entering June, Fang Hong paid even closer attention to Bitcoin’s trend. His main concern was the 3.15 million Bitcoin shares he had gone to great lengths to accumulate. If nothing unexpected happened, the Mt. Gox exchange was about to get hit hard by a hacker attack, which would also sow the seeds for its future bankruptcy.

The shares Fang Hong held were not on the Mt. Gox platform. He did have some there, but those were just for manipulating Bitcoin’s price movements. It wasn’t a major issue, as their corresponding value was less than ten million US dollars. He could cash out for now and hold onto the dollars.

After all of Fang Hong’s manipulations, the speculative atmosphere in the market had been activated. The trading sentiment was over a hundred times more active than last year, with the average daily trading volume over the past month maintaining a level in the tens of millions of US dollars.

After getting a taste of short-selling on the first day the tool was released, the players shorting Bitcoin were quickly hammered.

This was because, over the next three days from June 3rd to 5th, Bitcoin once again saw three consecutive positive days, with massive gains of +10.34%, +18.94%, and +49.24% respectively. Bitcoin’s price soared to a high of $18.9, breaking the peak of its recent rebound.

It then corrected for a day, dropping by -11.64% to close at $16.7.

But immediately after, following one day of correction, Bitcoin began to rise again. After a +10.78% surge on June 7th, it entered a frenzied short squeeze over the next two days. The short-sellers were getting their heads bashed in.

This was because two new cryptocurrency exchanges had come online, expanding the pool of new investors.

On June 8th and 9th, Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed by +52.08% and +39.33% respectively, closing at $39.2. Its total market cap once again surpassed eight hundred million US dollars, and its price briefly surged to a high of $41.2. The bullish momentum gave the impression that it was about to break its all-time high of $52.

This was something no one had expected. In just fourteen days, Bitcoin had soared from $1.9 to a high of $41.2, a cumulative surge of +2068.42%—an increase of over twenty times.

With such a meteoric rise, more and more people were betting on it breaking the $52 all-time high.

However, over the next two days, Bitcoin corrected downwards, falling by -2.52% and -7.71%.

On Saturday, June 11th, Bitcoin experienced another flash crash. It plummeted from its opening price of $35 to around $15, once again getting slashed in half as if it were routine, eventually hitting a low of $14.6 in a panic sell for a crash of -58.28%.

…

Finally, the inevitable arrived.

On June 20th, the Mt. Gox exchange was hit by a hacker attack. The hackers exploited a security vulnerability in the platform to transfer Bitcoins from its offline “cold wallet.” A shocking market event unfolded: a single Bitcoin was selling for just one cent, whereas its normal market price had been around $15.

That day, crypto forums both in China and abroad caused an uproar.

[Crap, are my Bitcoins gone?]

[What the hell is going on? Why were my Bitcoins sold for 1 cent?]

[Did Mt. Gox glitch out?]

[Why can’t I trade anymore?]

[Explosive news from overseas, Mt. Gox got hacked. The founder, Mark Karpelès, posted on Twitter urging users to change their passwords immediately. The exchange has been shut down!]

[????]

[Crap——!]

[Latest news, Mark announced that today’s trades were made during an irregular period and all bulk transactions are void.]

[I woke up in the middle of the fucking night, checked my account, and my 20,000 US dollars had gone to zero!]

[A lot of people got hit. Many in the foreign crypto community are also posting that their Bitcoin wallets were hacked!]

…

The next day, news of the Mt. Gox hack was reported by numerous financial media outlets in Europe and America. This cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2010, currently had over a million registered users worldwide, and its daily trading volume had already reached several million US dollars.

This time, it had truly broken out of the crypto circle.

Mt. Gox’s founder, Mark Karpelès, immediately issued a statement assuring users that their funds were safe. His management team also repeatedly guaranteed the platform’s financial security.

At present, Mt. Gox was still a giant in the Bitcoin market, and many people believed these problems were only temporary. Moreover, the founder of Mt. Gox was a well-respected figure in the crypto community.

But for Mt. Gox and cryptocurrency to go mainstream in this manner was not a good thing. The security of digital currencies was now being questioned by investors.

Media reporters abroad contacted the Mt. Gox management team, hoping they would disclose specific data, such as how many Bitcoins were lost.

However, the Mt. Gox management team deflected their requests, citing the need to investigate system vulnerabilities, compile statistics, and so on.

This caused quite a few people to panic.

It implied that the number of stolen Bitcoins was very large.

In reality, the Mt. Gox management team knew they had screwed up big time. The platform had lost a total of about 850,000 Bitcoins—around 750,000 belonging to users and 100,000 belonging to the company.

Calculated at the current price of $15 per coin, the total value was $12.75 million.

For the Mt. Gox platform, while this wasn’t enough to cause bankruptcy, it was still a massive, unbearable loss.

The most critical issue was a potential time bomb: what if the price of Bitcoin rose and Mt. Gox couldn’t recover the lost coins? What if the price rose to $1,500 per coin?

That would be $1.275 billion. Even selling the entire Mt. Gox platform wouldn’t be enough to cover the losses.

…

Chapter 488: Make It Go Bankrupt at Light Speed

That afternoon, at Tranquil Heart Residence.

Fang Hong was following the news about the hacking of the Mt. Gox exchange. The related reports had already crossed the ocean and reached the Mainland.

Just then, his beautiful assistant, having returned from the company, brought him some rather surprising news: “Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s top five investment banks, has sent someone to our door. They want to partner with Stellaris Capital.”

Fang Hong said, “If they want to invest in Stellaris Capital, then forget it.”

Stellaris Capital’s ownership structure must be one hundred percent purely Chinese. Tian Jiayi immediately shook her head and said, “This time, the people from Merrill Lynch aren’t here to invest in Stellaris Capital, but to cooperate with us on an asset management plan.”

Fang Hong looked at his beautiful assistant in surprise. “Asset management?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “The representative from Merrill Lynch claims they want to entrust a sum of five billion US dollars to Stellaris Capital for asset management. It can be used to invest in any kind of asset, but with the condition that it must be invested overseas. Stellaris can take a 35% cut of the profits.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but cross his arms and ponder in silence.

After a moment, his beautiful assistant noticed his contemplative expression and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is there a problem?”

Fang Hong chuckled. “These Wall Street types… I can’t help but suspect they’re fishing for me, setting a trap…”

Tian Jiayi looked astonished. She lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, then looked up at Fang Hong uncertainly. “You mean… Merrill Lynch wants to use these five billion dollars to track the specific movements of Stellaris Capital’s various overseas equity investments, then anchor them, and then carry out a targeted takedown?”

Fang Hong smiled and asked in return, “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi seemed to be speaking to herself. “If we accept this five-billion-dollar asset management plan, our next moves might direct these funds into some of the assets Stellaris Capital is already involved in. That would make it easier for Wall Street to track the specific movements of Stellaris Capital’s financial assets in the global market. Then, after fattening us up over the years, they could slaughter us with a targeted takedown. A single move could send us right back to square one.”

As she spoke, Tian Jiayi’s beautiful eyes widened, and she subconsciously muttered, “How sinister…”

At that moment, Fang Hong suddenly made a decision. “Notify Hua Yu. Stellaris Capital accepts Merrill Lynch’s fifty-billion-dollar asset management proposal.”

As soon as he said this, Tian Jiayi looked at Fang Hong, her face a canvas of question marks. “You’re accepting it?”

She was sure she hadn’t misheard and couldn’t help but ask, “You suspect it’s a trap, and you’re still accepting it?”

Fang Hong spread his hands. “Just because I suspect it? Refusing will only make them pay more attention and become more vigilant. Who knows what other dirty tricks they might pull? By accepting, you can feign a bit of naivety. By accepting, you can even lead them into a ditch. By accepting, you can indirectly benefit from the global influence and convenience that comes with one of the world’s top five investment banks. Why not accept?”

Hearing him say this, Tian Jiayi realized how naive she was compared to Fang Hong. She had only thought one step ahead, while he was already operating on a completely different level.

With Merrill Lynch as a partner, some of Stellaris Capital’s global strategies that were difficult to implement could now be set in motion. He had thought of the currently hacked Mt. Gox exchange, for instance, immediately after Tian Jiayi brought him the news from Merrill Lynch.

Fang Hong crossed his legs and smiled. “We already have the first destination for these funds. We’re going to acquire the Mt. Gox exchange. It would be even better if we could lead Merrill Lynch, and even other Wall Street institutions, down the path of cryptocurrency.”

Tian Jiayi said, “But we’re holding 3.15 million Bitcoins right now…”

Fang Hong replied calmly, “It’s not a big deal. No matter what happens, it won’t impact Stellaris Capital’s overseas funds and assets. Besides, our cost price for these 3.15 million Bitcoins is less than two dollars each. In the worst-case scenario, can’t I just treat them like game currency?”

Fang Hong added, “But if we can lead Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street financial institutions down this path and activate the entire cryptocurrency market, even if we don’t touch those 3.15 million Bitcoins, we can still make a lot of money using newly mined ones. Anyway, it’s not our money, it’s Merrill Lynch’s. Taking a 35% performance fee is pretty sweet, isn’t it?”

Most importantly, this would further strengthen Fang Hong’s actual control over the cryptocurrency market. In short, it was about further decentralizing others to centralize himself.

Besides, since it was Merrill Lynch’s money, Fang Hong could really let loose in the crypto circle without any inhibitions. If a major investment bank like Merrill Lynch published an article hyping up cryptocurrency—they wouldn’t even need to hype it, a simple rumor would be enough to send it soaring.

Right now, there was only Bitcoin. Later, there would be Ethereum and all sorts of other miscellaneous cryptocurrencies. A chaotic dance of demons—the harvesting would be exhilarating.

After a moment, Tian Jiayi asked curiously, “The Mt. Gox exchange was just hacked, and you want to acquire it?”

Fang Hong immediately smiled. “If it hadn’t been hacked, it would be harder to acquire. The hack has actually created an opportunity for us.”

Tian Jiayi then asked, “How do you plan to acquire it?”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “First, make the Mt. Gox platform go bankrupt at light speed.”

Tian Jiayi asked curiously, “Bankrupt at light speed?”

Fang Hong smiled. “I’m guessing the number of Bitcoins Mt. Gox lost this time is not small. The forums in the crypto community are in an uproar. Mt. Gox lost so many of its users’ Bitcoins. If it can’t recover them, it has to compensate the users. If it can’t afford to compensate them, it can only go bankrupt. Only when it’s bankrupt can we take over. And once we take over, we can be the users’ ‘White Knight.’ Mark Karpelès can’t afford to pay, but we can. Or rather, Merrill Lynch can.”

If Merrill Lynch were to give five billion dollars to Stellaris Capital for an asset management plan, that money would be invested in their cryptocurrency market strategy. So of course, Merrill Lynch would be the one footing the bill for the compensation.

Hearing this, the beautiful assistant couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s just like you. Spending Merrill Lynch’s money to win over the users’ goodwill.”

If Merrill Lynch really did hand over five billion dollars to Stellaris Capital, once the contract was signed, it would be out of their hands. They could pull their funding midway, sure, but then they’d have to sell at a loss. In any case, Stellaris Capital wouldn’t lose money. At worst, they’d have worked for nothing and wouldn’t get a performance fee.

…

As time went on, after receiving Fang Hong’s authorization, Hua Yu began further discussions with the people from Merrill Lynch, actively pushing forward the cooperation on the asset management plan. Both sides wore friendly smiles, but in their hearts, they were each trying to anticipate the other’s anticipation, each with their own agenda, ready to screw the other over at the first opportunity.

On the weekend of June 26th, the hacked Mt. Gox exchange resumed trading today after being closed for six days.

Fang Hong’s Bitcoin trading team was currently watching the overnight trading session. The big boss had already gone to sleep, and the head of the trading team had received specific market manipulation instructions from Fang Hong three hours earlier.

Tonight’s mission could be summed up in two words: short squeeze!

…

Chapter 489: Might As Well Go All-In Short And Die

As the Mt.Gox exchange, which had been closed for six days, reopened for trading, the price of Bitcoin plummeted from $17.5 to $14 right at the open, a drop of -20%, getting heavily shorted from the get-go.

After the hacking incident, the Mt.Gox management team’s vague statements had caused panic to gradually build among the community. Some speculators saw an “opportunity” to make a killing by short-selling.

And the Mt.Gox platform now happened to offer the tools for shorting.

But the short-sellers hadn’t even been happy for half a minute before they were stunned.

After Bitcoin’s price plunged to the $14 level, it immediately kicked off a short-squeeze rally.

The price action was like a vertical rocket. Bitcoin’s price was pulled up by $8 in one go, skyrocketing from $14 straight to the $22 mark.

Not only did this engulf the previous 20% loss, but it also flipped into a massive rally of +25.71%, marking a total increase of +57.14% from its bottom at $14.

This trend left the bears utterly numb. In the time it took to take a sip of water, their substantial floating profits were wiped out and turned into floating losses that just kept growing.

Being short-squeezed is actually more terrifying than short-selling, because a price increase has no theoretical limit.

Once caught in a short squeeze, you either have to add more to your security deposit or buy shares from the market at a higher price to close your position and accept the loss.

If someone had opened a short position at $17.5 and the price now rose to $22, the short-seller’s unrealized loss would immediately hit the -32% level, and that was without even using leverage.

If they had used leverage, they would have been liquidated long ago.

And closing the position at the current $22 price to cut losses would immediately turn the -32% unrealized loss into a realized loss. If they didn’t want to close the position, they had to add more to their security deposit.

But what if the short squeeze continued?

The unrealized loss would expand further, and they would have to continuously add to their security deposit to avoid being forcibly liquidated.

In reality, the vast majority of bears didn’t dare to be stubborn; they all rushed to close their positions and cut their losses. Everyone had witnessed the extreme volatility of Bitcoin’s price. Any who had dared to be hard-headed and defiant had already seen their wallets go to zero.

As the short-sellers closed their positions to cut their losses, they had to buy back shares from the market to do so. This made the shares highly sought after, further pushing Bitcoin’s price upward and creating a positive feedback loop.

The terror of a short squeeze lies in the reinforcement of this positive feedback loop: to close positions, one must buy shares from the market. Eager to stop their losses, they are willing to pay higher prices. Then, all the bears scramble for shares in a stampede to close their positions, causing the price to surge even further. This, in turn, intensifies the panic, making them even more desperate to close out at high prices and stop their losses quickly…

After Fang Hong’s Trading team set the “tempo,” they no longer needed to actively push the price up. Market sentiment was now self-reinforcing through this positive feedback loop, continuously driving the price higher.

Bitcoin’s price soon skyrocketed all the way to $27.9, with its gains expanding to the 59.43% level.

The bears were annihilated. The money they lost naturally transferred into the pockets of the bulls, who made an absolute killing.

After being squeezed by the market, the former bears also flipped and became bulls.

It was all just a gamble, anyway.

With such violent price fluctuations, no sane investor would dare to get involved. Ninety-nine percent of the participants who dared to play had the mentality of gamblers, dreaming of getting rich overnight, hoping to turn their bicycle into a motorcycle.

In the end, Bitcoin closed the day at $26.8, up +53.14%, with an intraday volatility of 79.73%.

…

On the second day, Bitcoin’s price trend saw a pullback of ten percentage points. A ten percent drop could only be called a pullback in the face of Bitcoin’s volatility; in the A-share market, that would be an immediate limit-down.

After pulling back ten percent, Bitcoin’s price once again entered a short-squeeze rally.

It continued its volatile climb, pushing up to an intraday high of $43.7 and posting a gain of +63.06% before pausing. The previous sub-high of $41.2, set on June 8th, was broken today.

Ultimately, Bitcoin closed the day at $41.5, a massive surge of +54.85%. For two days straight, it printed huge bullish candles of over 50%, with a cumulative gain of +137%, more than doubling its value.

One thing was for sure: Bitcoin’s price explosion was definitely not good news for the Mt.Gox exchange. Right now, Mt.Gox was the last to want the price to skyrocket, as they had lost 750,000 of their users’ bitcoins.

If they were to compensate at the previous price of $15 per coin, they would theoretically have to pay out $11.25 million. But now that the price had soared to $41.5, the compensation amount had ballooned to $31.125 million.

Mt.Gox either had to recover the bitcoins or pay compensation at the corresponding price.

But the 750,000 bitcoins lost from users and the 100,000 bitcoins the platform held for itself had all vanished without a trace. Now that was true decentralization.

…

On June 28th, Bitcoin’s price engaged in another short squeeze, hitting a maximum intraday gain of +27.27%. The price reached a peak of $52.82, breaking its all-time high, and its market capitalization soared to $1.109 billion.

The crypto circle was in a frenzy. Major forums and chat groups, both in China and abroad, were buzzing with excitement.

[Awesome, an all-time high!]

[Doubled in three days!]

[It’s either a massive pump or a massive dump. This is insane.]

[My little heart can’t take it.]

[I really can’t see what value this thing has, to be hyped up so crazily.]

[Ever since I got into the crypto circle, taking a limit-down hit in the A-share market doesn’t even faze me anymore… [Facepalm emoji]]

[Holy shit, they’re burying people, run!]

[Damn it, my cost basis is 52, I’m already trapped 15 points down!]

[Hurry up and sell at a loss and go to sleep. Be careful it doesn’t go to zero.]

[A double top is forming, run!]

[Just go all-in short. Fuck it, might as well die.]

…

After rising to the $52.82 level, Bitcoin’s price staged a terrifying plunge, panic selling all the way down to $35.8. The gain of +27.27% turned into a sharp drop of -13.73%, a fall of -32.22% from its latest all-time high.

At the same time, the short-selling pressure mounted, as more and more people remembered the catastrophic crash on June 8th, when the price had plummeted from $52 to $3.6.

However, the short-sellers found that after dropping to $35.8, the price couldn’t be pushed down any further. Instead, the trading volume was steadily increasing, and the price consolidated in a narrow range around the $36 mark.

About ten minutes later, the long squeeze crash that the bears had anticipated did not happen. Instead, the price began to surge.

After bottoming out at $35.8, Bitcoin’s price went on a tear, shooting up vertically to close in the green. It quickly broke through the previous intraday high of $52.82 to set a new all-time high, continuing the short squeeze uninterrupted.

The traders who had opened heavy short positions felt their scalps tingle. With every second of hesitation, their losses expanded.

After breaking the intraday previous high, Bitcoin’s price raced ahead, continuously setting new records: $55, $60, $67, $70, all the way up to a high of $71.52. This marked a maximum intraday gain of +72.33%, pushing its nominal market capitalization past the $1.5 billion mark.

It finally closed at $68.51, a staggering +65.08% surge for the day. Short-sellers were absolutely decimated, while those who went long made a killing. This kind of price action from Bitcoin was repeatedly pushing the participants’ excitement threshold to new heights.

…

Chapter 490: Missing Out on a Rally Is Even Worse Than Losing Money

The next day, June 29th.

In the living room of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa, Tian Jiayi reported to Fang Hong, “The Bitcoin trader told me that the funds are almost depleted.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong immediately instructed, “Then transfer three hundred million US dollars from my personal overseas account. Continue the short squeeze. If it’s not enough, we’ll just transfer more.”

Tian Jiayi paused for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

Fang Hong then asked, “How did the talks with the people from Merrill Lynch go?”

Tian Jiayi replied concisely, “Very smoothly.”

The beautiful assistant, thinking about Bitcoin’s current high price, couldn’t help but ask, “Are you pushing Bitcoin this high so that Merrill Lynch’s funds will buy out your position at the top?”

Seeing Fang Hong smile without answering, Tian Jiayi was stunned.

So that was really it…

Fang Hong said calmly, “Merrill Lynch is entrusting me with their money, so I will definitely help them make a profit. After all, I get a thirty-five percent cut of the profits. But let’s torment them a little first. Either way, I win.”

He would drive the price of Bitcoin up and then sell off his position. Merrill Lynch’s managed funds would absorb the sell-off. If they angrily demanded to pull their funding, he would let them. They could take back whatever was left.

That would be equivalent to harvesting Merrill Lynch, and they were the ones who had delivered themselves to his doorstep to be harvested.

If they didn’t pull their funding, they would have to endure the unrealized losses on their Bitcoin position, and they still wouldn’t be able to skip the annual management fees for that fund.

At this moment, the price of Bitcoin was hovering around the seventy-dollar mark.

After the Trading team received the three-hundred-million-dollar liquidity injection, they immediately got to work.

Around 10:45 PM, the price of Bitcoin once again initiated a short-squeeze rally, driven by absolute financial power. In just ten minutes, its price was pushed to an all-time high of $102.60, marking a maximum intraday gain of +49.73%. The price of Bitcoin had broken the one-hundred-dollar barrier for the first time, reaching a nominal market capitalization of 2.15 billion US dollars.

It ultimately closed at $96.17, a massive single-day gain of +40.38%. The series of four consecutive massive bullish candles was as beautiful as a picture, and the cumulative four-day gain was nearly 4.5 times.

Players in the crypto circle had never imagined that after a hacker attack on the Mt. Gox exchange, Bitcoin would not only avoid a crash but would instead surge upward with an insane, irrational momentum.

The person suffering the most right now was none other than Mark Karpelès, the founder of the Mt. Gox exchange. With Bitcoin’s price soaring like this, he felt like dying. It was as if he were being roasted over an open fire.

The Mt. Gox management team even considered finding an excuse to shut down the exchange.

But it was useless, and they couldn’t do it.

Because Mt. Gox wasn’t the only Bitcoin exchange anymore. Shutting it down would accomplish nothing and would only put them in a more passive position.

The Mt. Gox exchange had lost seven hundred and fifty thousand of its users’ Bitcoins. At today’s latest price, their value had reached 72.12 million US dollars. What Mt. Gox feared most right now was being sued by its users.

…

Over the next few days, Bitcoin continued its explosive short-squeeze rally.

On June 30th, Bitcoin surged +27.20%, closing at $122.33, with a nominal market cap of 2.568 billion US dollars.

On July 1st, Bitcoin surged +33.13%, closing at $162.86, with a nominal market cap of 3.42 billion US dollars.

On July 2nd, Bitcoin surged +20.79%, closing at $196.71, with a nominal market cap of 4.13 billion US dollars.

On July 3rd, Bitcoin surged +15.85%, closing at $227.89, with a nominal market cap of 4.785 billion US dollars.

By the market close on July 3rd, Bitcoin had completed an inconceivable one-sided rally. Its price trend repeatedly shattered the cognitive limits of every player in the crypto circle. It also became the focus of the global capital markets, widely reported on by major media outlets.

More and more people who didn’t trade Bitcoin were becoming aware of it simply because its rise was too insane.

It truly was a case of having no upper limit, just non-stop rising.

Seeing Bitcoin’s price trend, the Mt. Gox exchange felt like dying. They were being roasted over a fire, howling in agony. The entire crypto community was in a state of euphoria, with everyone’s attention focused on just how high Bitcoin could go. Outside the crypto circle, more and more people gathered to watch the spectacle.

Amid this euphoric state, one thing was being overlooked: the users who had entrusted Mt. Gox with their seven hundred and fifty thousand lost Bitcoins. An increasing number of them were starting to demand their Bitcoin back. They would accept cash as well, but at the current market price.

At the current market price of $227.89 per coin, the total of seven hundred and fifty thousand Bitcoins was worth 170.91 million US dollars. Even if the founder of Mt. Gox sold the shirt off his back, he couldn’t afford to pay. He couldn’t even come up with seventeen million US dollars.

The situation now was that a portion of the users who had lost their Bitcoin were desperate to take profits. From a cost basis of around fifteen dollars, the price had now skyrocketed by over fourteen times.

These users also knew that if their coins hadn’t been lost, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to hold on this long. They might have closed their positions when the exchange reopened and the price first surged over fifty percent. They might have even sold at a loss during the twenty-percent panic sell.

But there were no “buts”!

The reality was that Mt. Gox was responsible, and the users didn’t care about the what-ifs.

And now that the price had risen so much, these users knew they had unexpectedly become rich. At a time like this, they were extremely eager to sell and cash out because they firmly believed that Bitcoin would inevitably crash.

In fact, nearly ninety-nine percent of participants thought the same way: Bitcoin would definitely crash.

During the past eight consecutive days of explosive gains, someone had predicted a crash almost every single day. Every sudden dive made people feel that the catastrophic crash of June 8th was about to repeat itself in the next second.

But Bitcoin’s price just kept surging, defying the bears and rising madly all the way.

Deep down, every player in the crypto circle believed that the day of the crash would come, but the allure of the rally was fatal. At first, they resisted the temptation and stayed out, but every time they opened the Bitcoin chart…

Missing out on a rally was even worse than losing money.

Eventually, someone couldn’t resist and jumped in to gamble. They made some money, hesitated, then jumped in again and made more…

Gradually, they lost control, moving from a light position to a heavy one…

They became more and more excited, more and more feverish, and the dream of striking it rich began to burn brightly.

With Bitcoin’s surge, the pressure on the Mt. Gox exchange grew day by day. Faced with demands from their users, they were now resorting to all sorts of excuses, prevarications, and delays.

…

On July 4th, Bitcoin first pulled back by 11.68 percentage points, with the price dropping to $201.27. It felt like it was about to collapse, but then it started another explosive short-squeeze rally.

At around 2:20 AM that night, the price of Bitcoin broke through the historic three-hundred-dollar mark, hitting an intraday high of $302.56, an intraday gain of +32.76%. Bitcoin’s nominal market cap was refreshed to 6.353 billion US dollars.

In just nine days, the price had risen from $17.50 to its current all-time high, a 16.28-fold increase.

Bitcoin’s performance was shattering the perceptions and imaginations of crypto players every single day. No one who traded crypto back in April when the price was at sixty cents could have imagined it would reach a height of three hundred dollars.

In just three months, from sixty cents to $302.56, the cumulative gain was +50326.66%—a more than five-hundred-fold increase in three months.

…

Chapter 491: Blue Fox International

That afternoon.

Inside the study on the second floor of Tranquil Heart Residence.

Tian Jiayi, who had just returned from the company, went up to the second floor. She entered the study and closed the door behind her. The matter she had to report today was a top company secret. Looking at Fang Hong, she said, “Lately, Hua Yu has made significant progress in setting up the security company.”

It was worth mentioning that this security company was a clandestine operation of Stellaris Capital. On the surface, it had no connection to the company, but in reality, it was secretly controlled and funded by Stellaris Capital behind the scenes.

Tian Jiayi sat down in front of him and continued, “We’ve fully acquired a private overseas security company. It’s now been officially renamed Blue Fox International.”

Fang Hong nodded. “The name isn’t too important. What matters is getting the organization up and running as quickly as possible. This directly affects the timeline for Stellaris Capital’s business expansion in the African market.”

When it came to overseas investment, there was a simple rule: if you invested in a place beyond the reach of your cannons, you were just a fat sheep.

And so, Blue Fox International was born.

Without adequate security, the staff sent over by the company might even lose their lives. Without sufficient protection, employees wouldn’t dare go there to conduct business, and partners would also have reservations.

Therefore, before actually starting operations, it was essential to have a force on the ground that could intervene and provide security at any time.

Moreover, the security agency to which this force belonged had to be under their absolute control.

Why did no one in Africa dare to seize the mines and businesses contracted by Dà Máo? Because Dà Máo’s Wagner mercenary group was watching over them! Armored vehicles, high-caliber machine guns, armed drones, assault guns, and more—this was the language the local militants understood.

In a chaotic place like Iraq, why did no one dare to touch the American oil companies? Did they really think Blackwater wouldn’t open fire?

When regular military forces couldn’t conveniently step in, organizations like Blackwater and Wagner were needed to do the dirty work.

While there are many countries and regions in the world with sound legal systems and stable order, it’s undeniable that there are also many places where the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—prevails, and crime runs rampant. To invest in such places, Stellaris Capital needed its own Wagner Group or Blackwater.

Obviously, if Stellaris Capital wanted to realize its strategy of investing in overseas markets and avoid becoming someone else’s fat sheep, it had to have its own security force.

Tian Jiayi handed a file to Fang Hong and said, “The current leader of Blue Fox International is an executive from the original company, Harold Leo. He’s currently acting as the interim head. He’s very capable, but he’s an American. Hua Yu intends to replace him.”

Fang Hong had just opened the file when he heard this. He immediately replied, “If he’s capable, then there’s no need to replace him. Just drop the ‘interim’ from his title.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but remind him, “Are you sure? His file shows that not only is he an American, but he also has a background in the US military.”

Fang Hong was concise and to the point. “That settles it. Just do as I say. Follow my instructions. If any problems arise, I’ll be the one to back you up. Hua Yu won’t have to take the blame.”

Seeing his insistence, Tian Jiayi could only nod. “Alright, I understand.”

At that moment, Fang Hong was looking at Harold Leo’s file, but he wasn’t actually reading it. Displayed on his retina was the information interface of the Fame System. He immediately spent seven hundred thousand Achievement Points to redeem seventy “Loyalty-type” Item Cards and used them on Harold Leo, instantly maxing out his “Loyalty Index.”

Fang Hong thought to himself, So what if he has a US military background? So what if he were on active duty? I have a cheat system!

A moment later, the Fame System’s interface vanished from his retina. Only then did Fang Hong truly start to read the file. Besides Harold Leo, there were files on several other individuals, all of whom were part of Blue Fox International’s current management.

For now, Fang Hong had only raised Harold Leo’s Loyalty Index. He wasn’t in a hurry with the others.

They hadn’t been finalized yet.

Ensuring the leader of Blue Fox International wasn’t a “traitor” would basically solve ninety percent of the organization’s potential problems.

After a moment, Fang Hong closed the file and asked, “Has the necessary funding for Blue Fox International been arranged?”

Tian Jiayi immediately replied, “About one billion US dollars will be available in half a month.”

How to safely transfer the funds from Stellaris Capital to Blue Fox International, while also ensuring Stellaris was properly insulated from it, was a rather complicated matter.

However, it wasn’t a major problem.

Money makes the world go ’round. While money isn’t everything, it is incredibly useful. The extra expense could just be considered a cost of capital. The one thing Stellaris Capital didn’t lack was money, so it was best if the problem could be solved with it.

Fang Hong gave his instructions in an orderly manner, “Inform Harold Leo that five billion US dollars in funding support will be made available this year. He should expand personnel and procure equipment as quickly as possible. Blue Fox International is to be benchmarked against peers like Blackwater and Wagner, and even surpass them.”

In short: the money would arrive soon, so he needed to recruit troops and buy horses.

Furthermore, there was a rule for those who joined Blue Fox International: during their contract period, members were not allowed to accept any medals, awards, or honorary decorations in the name of any country.

Joining Blue Fox International meant living a life of danger, and the rewards were naturally very attractive. The current internal compensation package offered a monthly salary for a regular frontline employee starting at ten thousand US dollars and capped at twenty-four thousand US dollars. In addition, various bonuses ranging from fifteen thousand to seventy thousand US dollars would be awarded based on individual performance.

In the unfortunate event of death in combat, a maximum of two million US dollars in compensation would be given to the deceased’s relatives. If there were no relatives, it would be handled according to their will.

The compensation package at Blue Fox International was absolutely top-tier in the industry, leading the pack.

It’s worth mentioning that, thanks to portrayals in movies and TV shows, most people assume this line of work is synonymous with “earning millions a year.” Since it’s a life-or-death profession with the constant risk of dying, the pay must be high.

But the reality was different from what most people imagined. For a well-known company in the industry like “Blackwater International,” the average pay for a regular mercenary was only about eight thousand US dollars a month. Including various benefits, that came to around one hundred fifty thousand US dollars a year—and that’s before any living expenses.

In every industry, there’s always a small minority at the top of the pyramid who naturally receive the highest compensation.

But these are, after all, a minority.

Blue Fox International was not taking a purely elite route; it was going for numbers.

Of course, they would also build a top-tier elite team, but that was just a structural component. The main focus was on quantity and scale.

There’s no comparison without contrast. A regular frontline employee at Blue Fox International started at ten thousand US dollars, directly surpassing Blackwater’s average. A regular frontline employee at Blue Fox International could earn close to two hundred thousand US dollars a year, while elite employees could indeed reach the million-dollar-a-year level.

The reason for offering such high compensation to members of Blue Fox International was to live up to one slogan: Fight for money!

I pay you handsomely, and you risk your life for me. That was the extent of their relationship.

…

Chapter 492: Mt. Gox Declares Bankruptcy

Blue Fox International was backed by the powerful financial support of Stellaris Capital, which was the fundamental guarantee for maintaining its security forces.

The average equipment cost for an ordinary member was around twenty-two thousand US dollars. Of course, different types of soldiers required different equipment configurations, which meant varying costs.

Fang Hong’s requirement for Blue Fox International was to expand to a scale of one thousand front-line employees within the year, and to five thousand within the next three years. This was just for front-line employees; including members in other non-front-line positions, the total size of Blue Fox International was to reach about six thousand five hundred people.

The final size of Blue Fox International was to be maintained at around ten thousand members, which was comparable to a reinforced combined-arms brigade and would be more or less sufficient.

If business development in the local area went well and required more security, they would simply expand their numbers.

The scale of Blue Fox International was primarily determined by the scale of Stellaris Capital’s business expansion in the region; the two were positively correlated.

Without a doubt, once such a security force was established, they would be able to act with near impunity in the local areas, fearing almost no threat. The only conceivable threats would be from NATO or the Americans personally intervening.

The current game was a “proxy” model, so direct intervention was unlikely. At most, they would send Blackwater.

But Blackwater was certainly not foolish; they wouldn’t dare to take on such a contract.

A security force like Blue Fox International, while lacking an official title, was practically a standard, fully organized force. It was well-equipped and would even have its own airport and air assets in the future.

This was a security force of ten thousand people—not something just anyone could afford to maintain.

Just the annual salaries and bonuses for these members would cost close to three billion US dollars. To maintain stable operations, an annual expenditure of anything less than ten billion dollars would not suffice.

This was especially true for equipment, where maintenance costs often exceeded procurement costs because maintenance was a long-term expense.

However, even an annual budget of over ten billion dollars was a small matter for Stellaris Capital.

In short, when developing markets and investing in turbulent overseas regions, without adequate security forces as a guarantee, all investments would be like fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. These necessary expenses could not be scrimped on.

Once this security force entered Africa and established a firm foothold, Stellaris Capital could send its employees there to develop the market. This included setting up various financial services, though even then, Stellaris Capital would not act directly. It would continue to operate from behind the scenes, using nominally held multinational corporations to conduct various businesses.

Besides establishing financial services, this would naturally include numerous mining contracting companies, manufacturing and export companies, and so on.

The first thing these multinational corporations would do after arriving would be to seek security services from Blue Fox International. This was particularly true for businesses contracting to operate mines in highly volatile areas.

They would pay a fee to entrust Blue Fox International with providing security, ensuring the stable operation of their mines. Large-caliber machine guns and mortars would be set up at the mine entrances, a powerful deterrent to ensure that not just any small fry would dare to cause trouble.

As long as the funds were available, Harold Leo could handle member recruitment and equipment procurement. The initial budget for Blue Fox International’s equipment procurement was two billion US dollars, which was a massive order.

With so many arms companies around the world, as long as the money was there, getting the equipment would not be a problem.

Essentially, after Fang Hong used his system’s cheat to solve the loyalty issue of its key management, removing that major concern, almost all of Blue Fox International’s other problems could be solved with money.

The affairs of Blue Fox International were progressing steadily, and any new developments were reported to Fang Hong.

…

Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market.

After an epic nine-day surge that saw Bitcoin set an unprecedented all-time high of $302.56, it finally experienced a major drop the following day. On July 5th, the price of Bitcoin plummeted during trading hours, hitting a low of $171.92, an intra-day dive of up to -39.94%.

However, after the plunge, just as everyone thought it was headed for a catastrophic crash that would begin with it being slashed in half, the price of Bitcoin stopped falling after its -39.94% drop and began to rebound. During the significant rally, some who went long by buying the dip made a twenty-six percent profit.

Ultimately, Bitcoin closed the day at $216.97, a loss of -24.20%.

Over the next three days, Bitcoin’s price action reversed into an upward engulfing pattern, rising by +8.54%, +10.73%, and +10.35% respectively. On July 8th, it closed at $287.75, having hit a high of $300.49 that day, just about two dollars shy of a new all-time high.

The attempt to set a new high failed, and on July 9th, it staged another flash crash, plummeting by as much as -38.79% during trading hours. However, it was pulled back up to close at $237.85, finishing the day down -17.34%.

Players in the crypto circle could only look on in awe at Bitcoin. Every time they thought it was about to die, it somehow survived.

The huge negative candlestick on July 5th seemed to signal a collapse, but the price recovered and immediately posted three consecutive positive days, nearly setting a new high. Today’s negative candlestick was almost identical to the one on July 5th. They thought this had to be the real collapse, but it once again staged a similar rebound.

Using the trend from July 5th as a reference, the next move should have been a continued rebound. Many participants, developing a path dependency, boldly went long, expecting a repeat of the post-July 5th price action.

They were in for a big shock!

On July 10th, the Mt. Gox exchange, currently the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, began to show signs of going bust.

Recently, a large number of users began to report online that they were encountering difficulties with withdrawals and frozen funds on the Mt. Gox exchange. Although the Mt. Gox management team repeatedly assured everyone of the platform’s financial security, people began to panic.

In reality, the trouble facing the Mt. Gox management team was growing. The users whose seven hundred fifty thousand bitcoins had been lost by the platform began to put the squeeze on the Mt. Gox exchange en masse.

During the previous nine-day surge, these users had remained relatively calm, as the nominal value of their assets was skyrocketing.

But the situation had now changed.

They were getting desperate!

Bitcoin’s upward momentum seemed to be stalling, and it looked like it could crash at any moment. The massive gains they had on paper could soon go to zero. How could they not be anxious?

Thus, more and more users demanded that the Mt. Gox exchange either compensate them for their losses or return their bitcoins.

Even at the current price of $237.85 per bitcoin, let alone the peak of $300, compensating for seven hundred fifty thousand bitcoins would require the Mt. Gox exchange to come up with one hundred seventy-eight million dollars.

Without a doubt, the Mt. Gox platform could not afford it; they couldn’t even produce twenty million dollars.

…

The next day, July 11th, a piece of news emerged that shocked the entire crypto circle.

Mt. Gox officially filed for bankruptcy with a Japanese court and, for the first time, publicly disclosed the hacking incident. The person in charge claimed that a total of eight hundred fifty thousand bitcoins had been “lost,” with one hundred thousand belonging to the company and the other seven hundred fifty thousand belonging to users.

Based on yesterday’s price of $237.85, the loss amounted to one hundred ninety million dollars.

Completely unable to compensate its users, Mt. Gox declared bankruptcy that very day. When the owners of the seven hundred fifty thousand bitcoins heard the news, they were frozen in shock.

Simultaneously, the price of Bitcoin crashed. The market participants who had gone long, expecting another upward engulfing rally, were also frozen in shock.

…

Chapter 493: The Bagholder Is on Their Way

The bankruptcy announcement of Mt. Gox caused the price of Bitcoin to plummet from 237.57 dollars all the way down to 80.05 dollars that day. The panic sell-off reached a staggering -72.15 percent, wiping out over 3.3 billion dollars from Bitcoin’s nominal market capitalization.

After the crash, it rebounded to 117.99 dollars, closing the day at the line where its value was slashed in half, down -50.39 percent.

The collapse of Bitcoin was both unexpected and logical. Participants knew a crash was inevitable; the when was never a surprise. The only thing they hadn’t counted on was being the ones left holding the bag.

On the same day as the Bitcoin crash, a major event that caught the attention of the investment circle also occurred in the domestic capital market.

That afternoon, Stellaris Capital officially announced that it had reached a private asset management plan with Merrill Lynch for as much as eight billion dollars.

That’s right, an additional three billion dollars had been added since their previous discussion.

The news sparked huge interest within the circle. Merrill Lynch was one of the world’s top five investment banks, and Stellaris Capital was a domestic capital giant that had risen rapidly in recent years. Their partnership was hailed by outsiders as an alliance of East and West, a union of titans.

“When will Merrill Lynch’s funds arrive?” Fang Hong asked Tian Jiayi, who had returned to report to him. The recent wild rally that pushed Bitcoin’s price to 300 dollars had been orchestrated by Fang Hong’s team.

So far, not only had they not profited from launching this epic market trend, but they had also accrued a net unrealized loss of 672 million dollars. Judging by the current floating loss, this market manipulation had not only failed to make money but had resulted in a catastrophic loss.

But this was only the first step. The immediate goal—to quickly bankrupt Mt. Gox—had been achieved.

This was just the beginning. Fang Hong never intended to sell off his holdings to the players in the crypto circle. How many pennies did they have? How could they possibly absorb this kind of selling pressure?

So, who was he planning to sell to?

Did you even have to ask?

Merrill Lynch, of course. Weren’t they already on their way with eight billion dollars?

It would be a true disservice to their kind intentions not to harvest the chumps who delivered themselves right to his doorstep.

Fang Hong never believed for a second that they were coming to cooperate in good faith. They wanted to use eight billion dollars as bait to lure out Stellaris Capital, fatten it up, and then deliver a precise, targeted takedown?

Just then, Tian Jiayi replied, “Merrill Lynch’s funds will be fully transferred within the next month.”

Fang Hong nodded. “Hmm, the timing is about right. Also, we need to properly segregate Merrill Lynch’s funds from our own. At the same time, have Stellaris Capital send people to acquire the Mt. Gox exchange. Once Merrill Lynch’s funds are in, have them invest that money into the exchange.”

Right now, the Mt. Gox management team had chosen to declare bankruptcy, lie flat, and let things be, effectively writing off the 750,000 bitcoins lost by users.

For the players in the crypto circle, this was obviously bad news.

At this moment, Stellaris Capital would emerge as a “White Knight” to clean up the mess, restructure the Mt. Gox exchange, and prop the cryptocurrency market back up. Every player in the crypto circle would be grateful, and Merrill Lynch would also be dragged in to provide an endorsement.

The strategy thereafter was simple: launch another, even more ferocious rally, and only then begin to sell off. Not only would this cover their current unrealized losses, but it would also yield a handsome profit. And most crucially, it would trap Merrill Lynch’s capital at the very peak of the market.

Then, he would smash the price of Bitcoin into the basement.

Once Merrill Lynch’s money was thoroughly trapped, they would undoubtedly be furious. But would they sell at a loss?

Definitely not!

Because selling at a loss would be utterly meaningless by then. What else could Merrill Lynch do to break even? They would have to hype up cryptocurrency, of course. Even if they didn’t believe in it themselves, they would be forced to promote it, claiming it had a boundless future.

“Harvesting Wall Street’s chumps like this will create a huge feud. You’d better not go abroad in the future,” Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but say. No wonder this guy wanted to control everything from behind the scenes.

Hua Yu was taking all the heat, right?

Fang Hong smiled and said, “They’re allowed to harvest everyone else’s chumps, but I’m not allowed to harvest theirs? They insisted on serving themselves up on a platter. It was hard to refuse such kindness.”

That Wall Street crowd was up to no good from the start. As a transmigrator, he knew better than anyone just how unscrupulously they operated.

Meanwhile, after the Bitcoin price collapsed and the Mt. Gox exchange declared bankruptcy, more negative news followed. Reports emerged that very day suggesting the main cause of the hacking incident was Mt. Gox’s chaotic management and technical vulnerabilities.

Specifically, the Mt. Gox trading system had major flaws that allowed hackers to attack it and transfer stolen bitcoins to their own accounts, and these vulnerabilities had never been fixed in time.

Furthermore, the Mt. Gox management team was also accused of lacking professionalism and effective management of company funds.

As the incident broke out of its niche circle and began to ferment, it sparked wider discussions. Commentators from the investment circle pointed out that the Mt. Gox incident was not just about technical loopholes and management issues; it also touched upon the problem of regulation in the cryptocurrency market.

The current Bitcoin market had virtually no regulatory bodies or laws, making it difficult to effectively protect the rights of exchanges and investors.

This was, in fact, true.

The Mt. Gox hacking incident was bound to have a profound impact on the entire cryptocurrency market. After this event, investors would certainly re-evaluate the security and reliability of cryptocurrencies.

But on the other hand, it would also accelerate the market’s development and push cryptocurrency technology forward. This was all within Fang Hong’s predictions. By giving it a push from behind the scenes, he was making a forward-looking move, taking one step while seeing ten steps ahead.

Through this incident, especially by trapping Merrill Lynch and dragging one of the world’s top five investment banks into the mess, they would be forced to champion cryptocurrency to break even on their investment. This would inevitably drive people to further recognize the potential of Bitcoin and other future cryptocurrencies in the financial sector, thereby promoting deeper discussions about blockchain technology and digital currencies.

That was the high-EQ way to put it.

The low-EQ way was that it would accelerate the harvesting of chumps.

Just tell the story, blow the hype, and that would be that.

For now, however, the Mt. Gox incident had dealt a severe blow to confidence in the Bitcoin market. As the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, its bankruptcy announcement not only made participants question the security and reliability of Bitcoin but also exacerbated the panic.

After being slashed in half, Bitcoin’s price collapsed again the next day, July 12th. Slashed in half after already being slashed in half, everyone was frantically shorting it. Its price plummeted to 54.89 dollars, another violent drop of -53.48 percent for the day. In just three days, the price had plunged from over 300 dollars to its current 54.89 dollars, wiping out 5.1 billion dollars from Bitcoin’s nominal market capitalization.

The unrealized losses on the shares held by Fang Hong’s Bitcoin trading team also continued to expand. However, this was a floating loss, not a realized one.

The trading team below him couldn’t comprehend the big boss’s strategy. They racked their brains but couldn’t figure out how they were supposed to exit with a profit. They couldn’t sell off during a rally because the market had no capacity to absorb the selling pressure. Any large-scale sell-off would surely crash the price, further increasing their net losses.

Clearly, the trading team had no idea that the real bagholder was on their way. They would never have guessed that the big boss was planning to harvest the chumps from Merrill Lynch.

Chapter 494: Stellaris Enters the Market

Over the next two days, after being slashed in half consecutively, Bitcoin’s price stabilized at around fifty-five dollars. This was because Fang Hong’s trading team was supporting the market to prop up the price. At the same time, Stellaris Capital had sent people abroad to negotiate with Mark Karpelès, the founder of the Mt. Gox exchange.

Naturally, the discussion was about acquiring and then restructuring the Mt. Gox exchange.

Currently, no one was willing to take over Mt. Gox. Large institutional investors still found cryptocurrency to be unreliable and lacked interest in it.

But Fang Hong knew just how explosive the future cryptocurrency market would be. The Mt. Gox exchange was currently the world’s largest digital currency trading platform, with a user base of one million. After restructuring, it could easily be revitalized. In the future, the daily trading volume in the digital currency market would often reach the level of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the transaction fees alone would be a massive source of income.

The key was that setting a trap for Merrill Lynch to step into was crucial. If they didn’t drag a top Wall Street institution into the water, Stellaris Capital brazenly swooping in to acquire the Mt. Gox exchange would be a complete giveaway, a surefire way to hand it over for free, just waiting for a targeted takedown by Wall Street.

However, dragging Merrill Lynch into the water was another matter entirely.

If Wall Street capital wanted to launch a takedown, but they themselves were stuck waist-deep in the mess, the explosion would leave them half-crippled, or perhaps even completely wiped out.

That meant they could only adopt another strategy. Even if they hated Stellaris Capital to the bone and wanted to retaliate, they would have to pull themselves out first. Before that, they would have to maintain a “superficial partnership.”

…

July 15, morning.

Inside the trading room on the second floor of the Tranquil Heart Residence villa.

Yifulei, Luo Lan, and the other women were in the trading room, executing Fang Hong’s trading instructions. Their operations were in the A-share market. After peaking at 3067.46 points on April 18, the A-shares had experienced a two-month-long unilateral panic sell. The broader market continued to fall until it hit 2610.99 points on June 20, not only wiping out all the year’s gains but also causing the annual K-line to turn negative for the year.

Over the past half-month, the broader market had rebounded from 2610 points, climbing to the 2820-point level.

Fang Hong had naturally played this rebound rally, but starting today, he was already cashing out and withdrawing. This was because it was merely a rebound, not a reversal. In the coming late July, the A-shares would begin a new main downtrend wave, and the previous low of 2610 points would be quickly broken.

It was worth mentioning that for this half-month rebound, Fang Hong had only used his personal account and had not involved Stellaris Capital’s off-market funds.

Because it was meaningless!

With Stellaris Capital’s massive fund size, playing short-term strategies wouldn’t earn more than a few pennies, so it was better not to do it at all. A large-scale entry would only help others break even on their losing positions, and they certainly wouldn’t do something so foolish.

During a bear market, it was best to honestly hold onto cash and wait patiently. For the next two to three years, Stellaris Capital couldn’t rely on the A-share market for revenue, but there were great opportunities in overseas markets, which would also be the core source of income for the next few years.

A moment later, Fang Hong’s cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Tian Jiayi.

He answered the call, and the voice of his beautiful assistant, who was at the company, came through the phone: “News from Japan. The acquisition of the Mt. Gox exchange has been settled—a full acquisition for twenty-seven million US dollars.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong nodded and replied, “Alright, got it.”

It was worth noting that Stellaris Capital’s acquisition of Mt. Gox did not assume liability for the 750,000 Bitcoins that the platform had previously lost. This was a takeover after bankruptcy and restructuring; the previous problems and a series of creditor’s rights and debt disputes were all severed after the bankruptcy and had absolutely nothing to do with the new owner. Stellaris wouldn’t be foolish enough to take that on.

However, the Mt. Gox exchange was still operating normally.

A lightning-fast bankruptcy was followed by a lightning-fast reorganization. As soon as Stellaris Capital took over, it immediately began injecting capital, providing five hundred million US dollars in liquid funds to resolve the issues of users having difficulty withdrawing and funds being frozen on the Mt. Gox exchange.

It was foreseeable that users would quickly rush to cash out their money, but Fang Hong wasn’t worried at all. Let them withdraw. What was the total nominal market capitalization of Bitcoin? Besides, half of the coins hadn’t even been mined yet, and of those that had, not many were in actual circulation. Fang Hong himself secretly held 3.15 million coins, which was why he could so easily trigger a major market trend.

After hanging up with Tian Jiayi, Fang Hong immediately called the head of the Bitcoin trading team and instructed him to start another short squeeze tomorrow to launch the third wave of the super rally!

The first main uptrend wave had crazily surged from 0.6 dollars to the fifty-two-dollar mark, a cumulative increase of over 86.66 times. This rally activated Bitcoin’s trading volume and also laid the groundwork for the hacker attack on the Mt. Gox exchange.

The second main uptrend wave had pushed the price from 17.5 dollars to 302.56 dollars, a cumulative increase of over 16.28 times. From its starting point of 0.6 dollars, the cumulative increase was over 503.26 times. This rally was meant to bankrupt the Mt. Gox exchange, and that goal had now been achieved.

And the upcoming third main uptrend wave for Bitcoin, starting from the current fifty-dollar price level, had a clear objective: to dig a trap for Merrill Lynch, ensnaring their funds. At the same time, it would cover the losses from Fang Hong’s personal overseas account used to manipulate the Bitcoin market and allow him to withdraw his capital and profits, leaving Merrill Lynch stuck at a high price on the mountaintop.

As time went on, a few hours later, users of the Mt. Gox exchange around the world discovered that they could successfully withdraw from their accounts. Many users didn’t think much of it and immediately cashed out.

Meanwhile, this issue was also being discussed on domestic and international forums in the crypto circle, though not extensively.

Today, Bitcoin closed down by 8.82%, with the price settling at $50.31, giving it a nominal market capitalization of $1.056 billion.

Just after midnight, as the time turned to Saturday, July 16, the price of Bitcoin suddenly stopped falling at $50.31 and began to rise rapidly, quickly climbing to the seventy-dollar mark. The gains widened to the 39.13% level.

Subsequently, it began to fluctuate in the price range between seventy and eighty dollars.

It’s worth mentioning that Bitcoin trading not only continues as usual over the weekend but also runs 24 hours a day without interruption. Therefore, this asset has no concept of a gap up opening or a gap down opening, and naturally, no chart gaps either. The closing price of one day immediately becomes the opening price of the next.

As time passed, dawn gradually broke over the Eastern Hemisphere.

Around 10 AM, Mark Karpelès, the founder of the Mt. Gox exchange, released a message, revealing to the public that the platform had been taken over by Stellaris Capital, a financial institution from China, and that they had injected five hundred million US dollars of liquid funds into Mt. Gox.

As soon as this news appeared, it spread rapidly throughout the Bitcoin community. Many foreign Bitcoin participants were not familiar with Stellaris Capital and had not even heard of this financial institution.

But as someone in the community provided some background, they learned that this was a financial giant from the Greater China region, a behemoth with an asset scale of over one hundred fifty billion US dollars.

This news spread like wildfire in the domestic crypto community. Foreigners might not be familiar with Stellaris Capital, but Chinese crypto players knew it all too well. Most of them were also stock investors, and practically no investor was unaware of Stellaris Capital.

The crypto players exclaimed that they had found the reason for today’s big rally.

…

Chapter 495: You Harvested All Our Money!

The news that Stellaris Capital had taken over the Mt. Gox exchange was seen by crypto circle players as the largest intervention by a global financial institution into the digital currency market to date. It also drew the attention of the capital markets.

If most people in the investment circle had previously paid little attention to the cryptocurrency market, the news of Stellaris Capital’s acquisition of the Mt. Gox exchange sent the capital world’s focus on it soaring.

No matter how dismissive or disdainful they had been before, they had to respect the judgment of Stellaris Capital, an institution known as “smart money.” After all, its ability to make money was undeniable.

Also soaring was the price of Bitcoin, which had now rocketed to one hundred US dollars, its intraday gain expanding to +98.76% in an epic short-squeeze rally. Bitcoin communities at home and abroad were in an uproar.

And the price of Bitcoin was still skyrocketing.

“Go up, go up, can it go any higher?” In an apartment in some city, a crypto trader stared at Bitcoin’s price chart, his entire body trembling with excitement.

“Haha! It’s at one hundred and twenty bucks! Holy shit!” He was overcome with excitement as he looked at the latest price. Bitcoin’s intraday gain had now expanded to +138.52%. His cost price was only around fifty US dollars, and his heavy long position had already multiplied by 1.38 times.

In another city, a different crypto trader was in utter agony. In stark contrast, he watched Bitcoin’s price chart and couldn’t help but wail, “Stop rising, stop rising, damn it! It’s one hundred and fifty bucks, why is it still going up?”

He felt like he was about to collapse watching the price. He was short, having opened a heavy short position directly at one hundred and twenty-five US dollars.

He believed that after doubling in a single day, Bitcoin was bound to drop back, so he decisively went short.

The result was a trend that was breaking him. Bitcoin’s price soared to one hundred and fifty US dollars, its intraday gain expanding to +298.15%. The trader roared in defiance, “I don’t believe you can keep rising forever! Adding to my security deposit!”

He remained steadfastly bearish.

And then…

Amid fluctuations, Bitcoin’s price repeatedly hit new intraday highs. Its上下 jumps deeply affected his emotions. Every fallback made him hope for a repeat of the previous waterfall-like panic selling, but after every small dive, the price would immediately be pulled back up, even hitting a new intraday high. In an instant, his hopeful expression twisted into a mask of pain.

“How the hell are you still rising? Are you insane?! Still a short squeeze? I’m about to be driven insane!” The short-seller wailed in front of his screen as he watched Bitcoin hit yet another intraday high.

Five minutes later, amid the fluctuations, Bitcoin’s price once again shot up in a rapid short squeeze,冲ing to one hundred and sixty-five US dollars, expanding its intraday gain to +227.96%.

“It’s over. It’s all over. Going to zero!” The short-seller’s face turned ashen as he stared at his account.

He had been liquidated. With no more money to add to his security deposit, liquidation was the only outcome.

In the past few days, when Bitcoin’s price had plummeted repeatedly, he had made a fortune, turning tens of thousands into over a million.

But today, shorting it again, he had been wiped out in a single day. Not only had he lost all his profits, but his principal was gone too, and he was even tens of thousands in debt.

He had started by just testing the waters with a light position. But as Bitcoin’s price kept rising, his bearish conviction grew stronger. No asset could only go up and never come down. The higher it rose, the greater the opportunity to profit from a short position, so he kept adding to his stake.

Never before had an asset continued to rise after gaining more than 1.5 times in a single day. It was sure to fall back on the same day, and might even crash. The probability of profiting from a short was higher.

But today’s Bitcoin price action completely defied his understanding—in fact, it defied everyone’s understanding. No one could have imagined it would more than triple in a single day, especially from a base of around fifty US dollars.

At this moment, the bulls and bears in the Bitcoin speculation game were experiencing a world of ice and fire. Everyone was numb.

Those who went long were making an insane amount of money; those who went short were numb from losing.

Get rich overnight for the bulls, go broke overnight for the bears.

Two hours later, Stellaris Capital released an announcement confirming Mark Karpelès’s news. The acquisition of the Mt. Gox exchange was now solid proof.

In the announcement, Stellaris Capital stated that the acquisition was aimed at exploring the potential and significance of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the financial sector. Furthermore, after acquiring the Mt. Gox exchange, Stellaris Capital would further upgrade the platform’s security systems, fix vulnerabilities, and enhance its safety and reliability.

As soon as the news broke, Bitcoin’s price plummeted -30% from its intraday high, diving rapidly to one hundred and eighteen US dollars.

Stellaris Capital’s announcement was seen as the realization of expectations, triggering a massive sell-off.

But the panic selling stopped after the price hit one hundred and eighteen US dollars. Then, an even more violent short-squeeze rally began, breaking past the intraday high once again and continuing to climb amidst fluctuations.

It rose all the way until the early morning hours, when the day’s closing price was locked in at 207.76 US dollars. The intraday gain reached a staggering +312.96%—a more than threefold increase in a single day, forming a rare, massive bullish candle without upper or lower shadows.

Moreover, after midnight, the price continued to surge,冲ing all the way to 237.13 US dollars. The new day’s gain had already expanded to +14.13%. Calculated from yesterday’s opening price, the cumulative gain had reached a height of +371.33%.

Bitcoin communities at home and abroad were in an uproar.

[It’s going crazy, it’s going crazy!]

[Bitcoin keeps raising my threshold for insanity again and again.]

[Twenty-four hours ago, the price was at fifty bucks. Now it’s shot up to two hundred and thirty-seven bucks. This is fucking insane.]

[If you like someone, tell them to play Bitcoin, because they can get rich. If you hate someone, tell them to play Bitcoin, because they can go broke.]

[What’s going on? Why is everyone on the forum wailing? Didn’t it skyrocket today?]

[It’s precisely because it skyrocketed that the wails of agony are heard everywhere. They all went short. These are the corpses of the short-sellers… (facepalm.jpg)]

[The short-sellers got their heads bashed in, haha.]

[Who the hell could have imagined that Bitcoin would skyrocket threefold in one day from a base of fifty dollars?]

[I’ve witnessed a feast of harvesting and being harvested. Truly insane!]

[Did everyone lose money? Was everyone a short-seller? Weren’t there any longs? If everyone lost money, who made it all?]

[Hahaha, guys, I’m going legit! Went long with fifty thousand US dollars at 25x leverage around the $50 mark. Cashed out with 4.37 million US dollars! I’m out, guys, already withdrew the cash. I hereby announce my retirement at the age of twenty-seven, haha!]

[Holy shit?]

[Making a killing.]

[Damn, you made 4.37 million bucks in one day? That’s over twenty-eight million RMB! Instant financial freedom, holy shit!]

[This is the most I’ve ever seen anyone make in the crypto circle forums. Badass!]

[You harvested all our money!]

[Truly a case of getting rich overnight.]

[Ten years a wage slave, still just a pawn; one all-in bet and you live like a king!]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m going to lose all my money!]

[Going all-in truly is a form of wisdom… (facepalm)]

[Going all-in with 25x leverage on top of that. What a fucking hardcore person. If it had dipped even a little, he would have exploded on the spot.]

[But there are no ifs. The guy ascended on the spot.]

[Making over twenty-eight million is definitely enough for financial freedom.]

[Don’t worry, he’ll be back.]

Chapter 496: Blue Fox International Moves into Somalia

After skyrocketing by more than three hundred percent intraday yesterday, the price of Bitcoin surged to a high of $237.13 today before plummeting. It then panic-sold all the way down to $117.24, effectively getting slashed in half from its intraday high.

It finally rebounded to $137.88 by the end of the day, marking a steep drop of 33.64%. However, on the following day, July 17th, it surged again by 19.97%, rising to $165.41.

In the days that followed, Bitcoin’s price began to fluctuate within a range of $125 to $185.

The price volatility remained immense, with intraday ranges of ten or even twenty-odd percent being commonplace.

The impact of Stellaris Capital’s entry into the market extended far beyond Bitcoin itself, arguably having a profound effect on the entire cryptocurrency industry.

After all, a non-bank financial giant of this magnitude harvesting the Mt. Gox exchange was unprecedented since Bitcoin’s inception. Previously, it had all been minor skirmishes, as if the crypto community was operating in its own little bubble, with players gaming amongst themselves.

Now, the intervention of a financial giant like Stellaris Capital was a massive piece of positive news for the cryptocurrency market, which was still a niche and fringe space.

With this, the players in the crypto circle began to hype it up relentlessly.

For example, they touted Bitcoin’s “scarcity.” The total supply of Bitcoin is fixed at twenty-one million coins, and while the supply is fixed, demand is constantly increasing. Only about ten million coins were currently in circulation, with over ten million yet to be mined. And of the ten million in circulation, many were in a “dormant” state. To put it simply, many people who held Bitcoin had either forgotten about them or lost access to them.

Then they hyped up the increasing public acceptance. With a financial giant from the mainstream capital markets now involved, a new wave of investors was on its way. People’s enthusiasm for and reception of Bitcoin were rising sharply, and the global user base for the digital currency market was expected to exceed ten million this year.

In short, the price of Bitcoin was definitely going to skyrocket in the future.

However, not all voices were bullish. There were also plenty of opposing views. For instance, some pointed to the mining cycle; the complex algorithms behind mining would affect the circulation speed of new coins and could halve the value of existing Bitcoin holdings.

Others raised the issue of cryptocurrency regulation. The regulatory stance of various countries on this emerging asset class was still unclear and varied widely. Any new regulation could potentially impact its value.

Some in the investment circle believed that Stellaris Capital’s rash entry into this nascent asset class was extremely risky, as policy uncertainty was the greatest risk of all.

This analysis from some industry insiders was not without reason. In fact, the risk was a certainty. If you were targeted by the Europeans and Americans, a single regulation could indeed leave you completely screwed. Losing your money would be the least of your worries.

And that was precisely why they had to drag Merrill Lynch into the mess…

Of course, the outside world was completely unaware of Stellaris Capital’s strategic intentions.

One month later.

In Kismaayo, a city in southern Somalia, far away in East Africa.

A helicopter flew over Kismaayo. Among the personnel inside was none other than Harold Leo, the leader of Blue Fox International.

“Boss, are we really setting up our headquarters in a chaotic place like Somalia?” a man next to him shouted. The helicopter’s noise was so loud that he had to raise his voice.

“It is because of the chaos that this is the most suitable place for Blue Fox International’s headquarters,” Harold Leo replied, looking down at the city below. Kismaayo was a southern port city in Somalia and the country’s third-largest city.

Geographically, it was located 528 kilometers southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, at the mouth of the Jubba River. The city was founded in 1872 and its southern district served as the local commercial hub and an important market for bananas.

It also had a modern slaughterhouse, large meat and fish canneries, and small factories like tanneries.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a deep-water port project was completed, allowing ocean-going vessels to dock. Its main exports were bananas, as well as livestock, leather, and canned foods. There were also roads connecting it to Mogadishu and an airfield.

Blue Fox International chose to establish its headquarters in this region precisely because it was chaotic enough that might makes right.

Furthermore, Kismaayo was by the sea, had a deep-water port capable of accommodating ocean-going vessels, and an airfield. These were all excellent conditions.

If the need arose in the future, the port and airfield provided the foundational infrastructure to bring in some warships or third-generation fighter jets after a few upgrades.

Harold Leo asked, “When does the cargo ship arrive in port?”

His subordinate immediately answered, “In three hours.”

“Return to base,” Harold Leo ordered.

The helicopter immediately banked left and gradually flew into the distance.

At around 5:00 PM local time, a large cargo ship was approaching the city’s deep-water port from the sea east of Kismaayo.

But just then, six or seven small skiffs appeared on the water. Each carried several men armed with AK-47s. The skiffs steadily closed in on the cargo ship, and moments later, the ship’s alarm blared.

Pirates!

However, the cargo ship ignored them, maintaining its speed and continuing towards the port as before.

“Son of a bitch!” a middle-aged man on the ship cursed, then immediately grabbed a microphone. “Ike, give them our welcome ceremony!”

“Roger that, Captain!”

At that moment, the Somali pirates assumed it was an ordinary cargo ship. They were completely unaware that it was carrying over two hundred mercenaries armed to theteeth, and that the cargo consisted of “language” the pirates would understand very well. They also failed to realize that the helicopter on the deck of this large cargo ship was an attack helicopter, merely painted to look civilian rather than military.

Of course, their perspective also played a role, as they couldn’t get a clear look at the helicopter.

A few moments later, several men boarded the helicopter on the ship’s deck, and it quickly took off.

“Target confirmed! Target locked!”

“Fire!”

A surface-to-surface attack missile screamed through the air, trailing a long plume of smoke as it precisely struck one of the small skiffs.

A massive fireball erupted.

The pirates on the other skiffs were scared witless by the sight. Realizing they had hit a steel plate, they turned and fled without a second thought, their skiffs speeding away at full throttle.

This was no damn civilian ship—it had an attack helicopter!

“Commander, the threat is neutralized. Should we pursue and engage all targets?”

“Return to base. The deterrent effect has been achieved. Missiles are expensive.”

“Roger that, Commander!”

The helicopter slowly landed back on the deck. The surrounding pirates dared not approach again. Though pirates were ruthless, they weren’t stupid. This was clearly not a problem that a couple of AK-47s could solve.

The large cargo ship docked smoothly. Dozens of fully-armed mercenaries were the first to disembark, their weapons loaded and ready as they secured the area. The locals all kept their distance, watching with cold indifference. Among them were some pirates, but no one dared to cause trouble.

A short while later, a line of AMG-produced military Humvees drove off the cargo ship along a pre-laid ramp. They were painted with the large letters “BFIS”—the abbreviation for Blue Fox International. It was all American-made equipment, primarily procured from several of the American military-industrial giants like General Dynamics.

Harold Leo’s background as a retired US military officer wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Under normal circumstances, acquiring this equipment would have required considerable effort, but it had actually gone much more smoothly than expected.

Of course, the most crucial and effective tool was still the greenbacks. Without cash, no amount of connections would work.

After all, a two-billion-dollar procurement order, with more to come, was not a common sight.

For now, the US still viewed the private security company Blue Fox International as one of their own “teammates.” Why not let someone else foot the bill for this kind of work? In the future, missions that were inconvenient for the US military to handle could be outsourced to these security companies. The military-industrial giants in North America were also very welcoming; after all, it was a major client, and there was money to be made. Besides, the equipment wasn’t top secret.

Chapter 497: Still, A Failsafe is Necessary

The sudden emergence of a private security company called “Blue Fox International” in the chaotic land of Somalia, Africa—and its plan to establish a headquarters there—immediately attracted the covert attention of various parties.

If it were just an ordinary mercenary group, it wouldn’t have drawn much notice. But Blue Fox International, judging by its scale and equipment, appeared far from simple. Its arsenal consisted entirely of standardized American-made equipment, with a preliminary estimated total value of over one billion US dollars.

America was firmly made the scapegoat.

All parties immediately suspected that America was one hundred percent behind Blue Fox International. The key was that America itself had no intention of explaining, and even they believed it to be the case.

This was a result Fang Hong was happy to see. He wanted to get Blue Fox International’s security forces established as quickly as possible.

At this moment, at the port of Kismaayo, after Blue Fox International’s men docked, their Humvees, infantry fighting vehicles, and other equipment, along with the more than two hundred front-line employees armed to the teeth, departed the port in a grand procession. They headed toward the location of their headquarters to assemble and make camp.

An attack helicopter circled overhead as the ground convoy, carrying over two hundred mercenaries, drove toward the headquarters. Their journey was unobstructed; no one came out to stop them, nor did they dare.

There were only some onlookers discussing among themselves, their expressions a mixture of astonishment, indifference, curiosity, or a sense of detachment.

Blue Fox International was able to establish its headquarters here because it had naturally smoothed things over with the authorities and obtained a permit. Anyway, the government might be overthrown and replaced in a while, but it didn’t matter who came to power. Once they were in, they were in. The hardware they brought with them would make their permit extremely persuasive and instill a strong sense of contractual obligation.

…

“Commander, this place where birds don’t even shit is going to be our new home base?” At a site southwest of Kismaayo, Leo’s deputy looked at the barren land before them. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but some scattered ruins and weeds.

“What kind of engineering team could turn this godforsaken place into a reality within a year?” The sunglass-wearing Harold Leo held a roll of blueprints, which were for the Blue Fox International headquarters.

It was a standard military base, complete with an airstrip.

His deputy, with a frown, surveyed the site and said without hesitation, “To complete construction in such a short time, guaranteeing both quality and efficiency, I think only a Chinese engineering team on this planet can do it.”

Hearing this, Harold Leo rolled up the blueprints, turned toward the temporary camp, and said while waving the roll, “Then go find them. Go now.”

The deputy immediately followed and replied, “Understood, Commander.”

He then began to make arrangements. There were, after all, many construction and engineering companies from China in Africa.

The next day, Blue Fox International issued a public announcement for competitive bidding, essentially shouting out to the world with a megaphone that they were building a headquarters in Kismaayo, Somalia, and anyone interested in the project should come bid.

The budget for Blue Fox International’s headquarters construction project was 1.2 billion US dollars—a massive project by any measure.

A couple of days after the tender was issued, several local African branches of Chinese multinational construction groups got wind of the news.

…

Hua’an Infrastructure Office.

Two middle-aged men were discussing the matter in an office, specifically the tender for the Blue Fox International headquarters construction.

“Old Liu, what’s the deal with this Blue Fox International Security Company? To think they’d spend 750 million US dollars, which is about seven or eight billion RMB, to build a headquarters in a place like Kismaayo…”

“They’re definitely the Americans’ hired muscle, no doubt about it.”

“Makes sense. The US can’t get directly involved, so they’re taking a roundabout approach, heh…”

“But the requirements for their tender are quite interesting. They’re very stringent, and most importantly, the timeline is way too tight. I don’t think any European or American construction team could finish it on schedule.”

“Just because the Europeans and Americans can’t do it doesn’t mean our Hua’an Infrastructure can’t. If you ask me, several of our domestic competitors could pull it off.”

“True, but do you think we can get a project like this? Would they actually give it to us?”

“Good point.”

“But then again, if our European and American counterparts can’t do it, is Blue Fox International just going to scrap the project?”

“You mean…?”

“Since Blue Fox International is holding a public tender, and we at Hua’an meet the qualifications, why not just try our luck? What if we win the bid? At worst, we’ll just go through the motions and see what happens.”

“That makes sense. I think it’s worth a shot. Let’s report it to headquarters.”

…

Three days later.

News of the advance team of Blue Fox International setting up in Kismaayo reached the big boss behind the scenes, Fang Hong.

Xincheng, Huayang Mountain Villa, Tranquil Heart Residence.

“…Currently, over 470 people have entered Kismaayo, including more than 390 armed employees. Recruitment is still ongoing. Additionally, the bidding for the headquarters base has begun, with six construction groups participating, four of which are from the Mainland. That’s about it for the latest developments on Blue Fox International.” In the study on the second floor, Tian Jiayi was briefing Fang Hong on the company’s progress.

“Leo’s efficiency is even greater than I imagined. Excellent.” Fang Hong nodded in satisfaction. After a moment of thought, he looked at Tian Jiayi and gave an order, “Draft a top-secret plan. The company needs to increase its investment in fields like artificial intelligence and electronic information.”

At this point, Fang Hong immediately added with emphasis, “Note, what I mean is that on the surface, Qunxing’s investments will be aimed at civilian and commercial applications. In reality, the investment in these emerging technologies must have potential military applications. This must be kept highly confidential. At the same time, ensure proper risk isolation. Stellaris Capital will just provide financial support from behind the scenes.”

To be on the safe side, he still needed to take precautions and have a failsafe!

The ultimate goal of Fang Hong’s arrangement was to upgrade Blue Fox International’s security forces toward unmanned operations in the future.

The reasoning was simple: those mercenaries couldn’t necessarily be trusted.

In the future, if the Americans discovered that Blue Fox International wasn’t listening to them at all, and was even hindering some of their local arrangements, what if they got annoyed? If they lost their patience and branded Blue Fox International an “illegal violent organization” or even listed it as a “terrorist armed group,” issuing a call to arms for various parties to eliminate it, or even intervening directly?

Under such circumstances, Blue Fox International’s front-line mercenaries would surely be scared and flee. After all, they were recruited with money and fought for money.

A team like that could fall apart easily. They weren’t afraid of fighting disorderly mobs, but facing a power like the US or even NATO, which possessed integrated capabilities across sea, land, air, space, cyber, and information domains…

Confronting such a force would be an absolute slaughter. In that scenario, Blue Fox International’s mercenaries would be the disorderly mob.

Since they fought for money, they had to be alive to spend it.

So, he couldn’t expect them to fight to the death.

Obviously, if that situation really occurred, Fang Hong couldn’t hope that the mercenaries wouldn’t flee, unless he maxed out the Loyalty attribute for every single member. But that was clearly impossible; even tens of billions of Achievement Points wouldn’t be enough.

Besides, if they died, the Achievement Points wouldn’t be refunded.

Therefore, the solution was for Blue Fox International to possess a high-tech armed force that was unmanned and intelligent.

…

Chapter 498: Swarm Drone System

When Blue Fox International’s security forces were structured to be unmanned and intelligent, there was no need to worry about them turning tail and running. The only thing to ensure was the loyalty of the few people operating these intelligent armed forces from behind the scenes.

Given the current level of technology, creating a purely intelligent ground-based mechanical armed force was somewhat unrealistic. And even if you poured points into the researchers’ R&D Index, it would still take a considerable amount of time.

But in the strategic layout for the African market, it wouldn’t be long before Blue Fox International was targeted by the Americans. The window of opportunity was not very wide, and this couldn’t solve the immediate problem.

However, there was a type of equipment that could solve this pressing need—one that was low-cost, exceptionally effective, and possessed the technological foundation to be realized in the present day.

Swarm drones!

In a non-combat state, these miniaturized drones would lie dormant in a “hive,” and this “hive” could be disguised as an inconspicuous roadside box, a moving vehicle, or various other forms.

When a combat mission needed to be executed, they would pour out from the “hive.” Their armaments could include light weapons like pistols or even missiles; one missile per drone would be sufficient.

Their strength lay in numbers. One per drone meant a thousand drones carried a thousand missiles.

Moreover, these low-cost swarm drones should be disposable consumables, launched with no intention of recovery. The drone itself was a weapon, capable of conducting suicide attacks. It could dive-bomb a target from high altitude, using kinetic energy to inflict damage. During its dive, it should also be able to self-destruct, utilizing the energy from its battery.

This swarm drone combat system was absolutely a new type of warfare capable of changing the modern battlefield. Drone operators wouldn’t need to go to the front lines; they could control the entire field from behind the scenes.

And there would be no need for one person to control a single drone; that would require an immense amount of manpower.

Instead, much like a professional gamer playing StarCraft, an operator could assign a group of drones into a squadron, lock onto a target, and issue an attack command. After that, they wouldn’t need to manage it further. The drone swarm would receive the order and execute it, spontaneously launching an attack upon identifying the target.

Alternatively, if the operator changed their mind, they could cancel the squadron’s orders, dragging them back on the screen. The drone swarm would immediately return, and the operator could then select new targets and issue new attack commands, which the drones would carry out instantly.

The operator controlling the drone swarms would be like a battlefield commander, and the drones would be the soldiers at his disposal.

Whether for offense, defense, or even urban warfare, swarm drones were up to the task. At only a few dozen centimeters in length, they could fly into any remote, out-of-the-way place without issue. And they were cheap; under mass production, each unit would cost only a few thousand yuan.

Deploying over ten thousand drones at once would only cost a few tens of millions of yuan. Factoring in the cost of weapons and ammunition, even if the price were tripled, it would still be just over one hundred million.

For a conflict that required deploying tens of thousands of swarm drones, the combat losses for a conventional engagement could amount to over a billion, or even more.

The Americans’ Tomahawk missile, for instance, costs nearly one million US dollars each. The cost of firing ten Tomahawk missiles would be equivalent to the cost price of ten thousand swarm drones.

The core advantage of a swarm drone combat system in a showdown against traditional warfare methods would be its absolute superiority in the attrition ratio. The enemy would be constantly losing personnel and suffering unacceptable combat losses, while one’s own swarm drones were endless, blotting out the sky.

The enemy’s losses would only mount, making their eventual defeat inevitable.

Furthermore, unlike humans, swarm drones would not experience fear, hesitation, or other emotions.

Most crucially, compared to overly fanciful and impractical intelligent armed robots, swarm drones had the technological foundation to be realized today. This was something that could be developed very quickly.

And there was one organization that had the right conditions.

In the study, Fang Hong turned to his beautiful assistant and said, “Contact Chu Changxing, the helmsman of Kunpeng Technology, right now. Tell him to come see me tomorrow.”

Tian Jiayi nodded and immediately got up to call Chu Changxing.

The swarm drone system was a perfect secret R&D project for Kunpeng Technology. The company already had a respectable technological heritage. As for the lack of money and tight budget, that was no problem. The financial sponsor lacked many things, but money was the one thing he had in abundance. He could provide as much as was needed.

However, Chu Changxing might not agree to Kunpeng Technology taking on this task. He had never intended for Kunpeng to enter the military sector; he had positioned Kunpeng Technology as a commercial drone company.

If they did this, they would certainly become a target for American sanctions in the future, which would undoubtedly affect Kunpeng Technology’s strategy in the global commercial drone market.

This project was meant to be kept secret for a considerable period anyway. The swarm drones would have no official connection to Kunpeng Technology; on the surface, the company would remain a high-tech enterprise focused on making commercial drones.

But just to be safe, Fang Hong decided that Chu Changxing should not have any objections to his decision.

At that moment, the interface of the Prestige System appeared before Fang Hong’s retina. He immediately redeemed seventy “Loyalty” type Item Cards and designated them for use on Chu Changxing.

With this, Chu Changxing would no longer have any objections to the big boss’s decisions. Even if he had his own ideas, he would firmly execute whatever the big boss decided.

With the system’s help, everything was easy. It saved him a lot of worry and effort, sparing him the need to waste his breath reasoning or presenting facts to him.

Following that, Fang Hong then redeemed another one hundred “R&D-type” Item Cards, designating them to enhance Chu Changxing. This gave his intelligence an epic-level upgrade, boosting his technical development capabilities to get the swarm drones developed as soon as possible.

With everything quickly settled, the Prestige System interface vanished from his retina.

…

The next morning.

Upon receiving the message, Chu Changxing arrived punctually at the Tranquil Heart Residence villa. He and Fang Hong were now seated in the first-floor living room. After dismissing the maids, they began to discuss serious business; it was best that the maids didn’t know what they were about to talk about.

“Boss, what did you need to see me for?” Chu Changxing asked.

Hearing this, Fang Hong was secretly surprised. He was calling him Boss now. It used to be K-God. It must have been because of the Item Cards.

Fang Hong didn’t dwell on the issue and got straight to the point. “I need your company to set up a special, secret R&D department to develop a swarm drone combat system for military purposes. It must be kept absolutely confidential.”

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise appeared in Chu Changxing’s eyes. He seemed to hesitate, but after a moment, he nodded. “Adding a secret project like this is not a problem, but the company’s current funds are likely insufficient. Kunpeng Technology is still in a cash-burning war with DJI…”

Fang Hong smiled and said, “Money is not an issue. I’ll provide as much as you need, and it won’t go through Kunpeng Technology’s books. In other words, not a single cent of the funding required for this R&D mission will be reflected on Kunpeng Technology’s profit and loss statement. The future technological dividends will belong to Kunpeng. I have only one requirement: get the swarm drone technology developed as soon as possible, and ensure it can be mass-produced at an average cost below ten thousand RMB per unit.”

…

Chapter 499: Opening Up Possibilities in the Arms Business

Chu Changxing thought for a moment, then looked at Fang Hong and replied, “If there’s no financial pressure, I think we can get it done in a year and a half. The company’s existing technology reserves are already mature. It’s just a matter of making adjustments—basically, adding an airborne attack module and tweaking the existing flight control system.”

His answer was firm and confident.

Fang Hong was instantly satisfied. “Excellent. Getting it done in less than two years is even earlier than my three-year estimate.”

Just then, Chu Changxing added, “But Boss, we don’t have the relevant permits. That’s a problem. We might need to use some weapons during testing, like firearms, bombs, and so on…”

Doing such things in the Mainland without the proper licenses was a serious crime.

Fang Hong said calmly, “That’s not an issue. You can do the theoretical work in the Mainland, and we’ll conduct the actual experiments and tests overseas. I’ll handle that for you.”

Hearing the big boss say this, Chu Changxing nodded. “Then I have no more questions.”

Fang Hong already had a plan for the testing phase. It would be done in Somalia and handled by Blue Fox International. The technology’s origin could also be attributed to Blue Fox International.

In other words, the technology would have absolutely nothing to do with Kunpeng Technology.

In the future, if Kunpeng Technology were to develop it, it would be through “reverse engineering,” thus creating a closed loop.

After a moment, Fang Hong said, “Furthermore, the mass production of these swarm drones must be modular. The modules should be produced in different locations by different companies. Once manufactured, they must be exportable under normal regulations. Then, the modules must be able to be assembled overseas. This is a must.”

Chu Changxing nodded in response. “Understood.”

This way, by placing orders for components with various manufacturing companies, those firms would have no idea they were for military use.

After the parts were produced, they would be exported normally, pass through several intermediary transactions, and then be shipped to the port of Kismaayo in Somalia for unloading. Final assembly would take place at Blue Fox International’s headquarters base.

They only needed to do this once. Future production capacity could be sourced directly from abroad.

Without a doubt, the core technology of this swarm drone was its intelligent flight control system.

This was software, so it didn’t require cumbersome transportation. It was a small target. When upgrades were needed, the system could even be updated via wireless transmission, which was much simpler than dealing with physical drones, more technologically advanced, and harder for others to copy.

In the future, Blue Fox International might even be able to get into the arms business to become self-sufficient, eliminating the need for Stellaris Capital to secretly channel funds to support it.

It might even turn a profit.

Swarm drones, as a new type of combat weapon, would have a potential customer base in the Gulf tycoons of the Middle East. Those princes were utter rookies on the battlefield; the idea of sitting indoors and controlling drones to fight would surely be incredibly appealing to them.

Even if they pursued this, the Americans might sanction Blue Fox International and demand that no one buy their technology.

But in this world, if there is a will on both sides, there is no deal that cannot be made.

If an open approach doesn’t work, what about a covert one?

If the Gulf tycoons were tempted, the technology could later be spun as a breakthrough achieved by their own tech teams.

At that point, the Americans would have nothing to say, right?

In reality, Blue Fox International would be providing technical support behind the scenes. Then, the swarm drones wouldn’t need to be ordered from the Mainland. The Gulf tycoons could set up their own production lines and allocate a portion of the production capacity to Blue Fox International.

Besides, the closest distance between the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia is only about one to two hundred kilometers. They’re practically next door, making transportation convenient.

Again, as long as both parties are willing, no business is impossible, no matter how difficult.

After receiving his new secret mission from Fang Hong, Chu Changxing took his leave and immediately began to secretly establish a swarm drone R&D department, which he would personally lead.

It didn’t require a large staff; the secret R&D department would only need a team of less than thirty people.

With the plan in motion, Fang Hong just had to wait for news in the coming days.

A week later, Hua’an Infrastructure bid on Blue Fox International’s headquarters base project, mostly just to go through the motions. To their utter surprise, they actually won the 750 million US dollar project!

This caught Hua’an Infrastructure completely off guard.

At the time, several European and American construction companies, including South Korea’s Samsung Group, had also participated. The Samsung Group was involved in more than just phones and semiconductors.

But in the end, these Western construction companies all withdrew their bids. It wasn’t that they didn’t want the project, but they couldn’t meet Blue Fox International’s requirements. The profit margin wasn’t very attractive either, which made them even less interested. Plus, the location was rather chaotic—a lawless region like Somalia.

The only bidders willing to take the job were several Chinese construction groups. In the end, it turned into a bidding war among a few Chinese companies.

The Western construction companies didn’t want it, as it wasn’t very profitable.

However, the Chinese were hyper-competitive.

Low profits?

No problem, there was still a profit to be made. As long as there’s a profit, they’ll take it!

As long as you dared to put out the contract, they dared to accept it.

In the end, the project went to Hua’an Infrastructure Group. They would be responsible for building Blue Fox International’s headquarters and had to complete the project within a year.

You couldn’t blame these Chinese construction groups for being so eager. There were simply too many construction companies domestically, making the market incredibly competitive.

Forget about profit; as long as the calculations showed they wouldn’t lose money, they were willing to do it, just to utilize their excess production capacity.

Landing such a large order would also create a great number of jobs.

Everyone has their own difficulties, their own needs, and their own way of keeping score.

Fang Hong had more ideas for the development of Blue Fox International as a security force. The arms business was an area where new possibilities could be explored.

Since they could sell swarm drones in the future, as technology progressed, more intelligent equipment could be secretly rolled out through the Blue Fox International window, building a highly unmanned, intelligent armed legion.

They could still follow the same model: secretly transfer technology to Blue Fox International, have them showcase it to the world, and then have the Mainland’s R&D institutions complete the “reverse engineering,” allowing the technology to be unveiled openly and officially later on.

Let Blue Fox International bear all the risks alone, including any future international pressure. Let it go as far as it can.

In Fang Hong’s eyes, Blue Fox International was not indispensable. It was an important piece, but not so important that it had to be saved at all costs. If it really couldn’t withstand the pressure in the future, they would just disband it on the spot, destroy all technical data, and sacrifice the chariot to save the king.

However, if it could withstand the pressure from all sides and survive tenaciously, it would surely become a force that could stir up global events, perhaps even becoming a local hegemon in certain regions.

Chapter 500: It’s an Affront to Providence Not to Harvest the Chumps at Your Door

Fang Hong had temporarily set aside the matter of Blue Fox International. The clandestine operation was still in its preliminary stages. Any grander ideas for the future would depend on how far Blue Fox International could actually go.

Supporting Blue Fox International’s growth wasn’t Fang Hong’s ultimate goal; it was merely a means to an end, and a means that had to be kept out of the light at that.

In the days that followed, Fang Hong focused on two recent developments. One was the impending conclusion of the first round of applications for the three-month Education Assistance Fund, which would be followed by a public lottery to determine the final recipients.

This was a matter of earning Reputation Value. The need for the system’s functions was growing rapidly, so he had to accumulate as much Reputation Value and Achievement Points as possible—the more, the better.

The other matter was that the eight billion dollars in asset management funds entrusted to him by Merrill Lynch had now been fully transferred.

The money had arrived. It would be a crime against nature not to harvest these chumps who had delivered themselves right to his doorstep.

…

Saturday, July 30th.

The Bitcoin trading team received their latest directive from the big boss. It consisted of just two words: short squeeze!

That evening, the trading platform that had seen Bitcoin’s price oscillate between $130 and $180 for nearly half a month made a direct breakthrough. The price shot up from $132.99, swiftly breaking the $200 mark, with an intraday gain of +50.38%.

And it was still climbing. The once-dormant crypto circle was buzzing with excitement again. Both domestic and international Bitcoin community forums were electrified by the price surge and the short squeeze.

[What’s going on?]

[It broke through! The July 17th high of 237.13 has been broken! Holy shit, it just smashed right through!]

[Let’s go, guys! The major players are making their move!]

[Man! A massive 80 percent surge, and it’s still going up?]

[Bitcoin’s back in crazy surge mode. With this momentum, is it going to hit an all-time high today?]

[This is a good position to open a short!]

[Take it from me, bro, don’t just blindly bet against it. The last guy who went all-in on a heavy short position, proclaiming he’d rather die, is now cold in his grave. The grass on his grave is already two meters high.]

[Charge, charge, charge! I’m gonna lose all my money!]

[Why do the major players always like to pull this stuff in the middle of the night?]

[It’s the middle of the night for us, but broad daylight overseas. That must mean it’s big money from abroad.]

[Awesome! It’s up 90 percent now. A perfect day to wipe out the damn shorts.]

[With this kind of unstoppable momentum, wouldn’t it be an injustice if it didn’t set a new all-time high just to calm our nerves?]

…

By now, Bitcoin’s price had rocketed to the $268 mark, extending its intraday gain to 101.52%. It had already doubled in a single day.

Half an hour later, Bitcoin’s rally pushed the price to $303, expanding the gain to +127.83%, surpassing its previous historical peak of $302.56 to set a new all-time high.

Bitcoin community forums at home and abroad were in a state of all-night pandemonium, and the capital markets were taking notice.

No one had expected that just nineteen days after Mt. Gox declared bankruptcy and Bitcoin’s price had crashed, it would set a new all-time high. From its post-crash low of $50 to its current price, it had soared by over 500%.

Ultimately, Bitcoin reached its intraday peak for the day: $316.67.

The maximum intraday gain hit an astonishing 138.11%. The final closing price was locked in at $306.59, ending the day with a massive surge of +130.54%. Bitcoin’s total nominal market capitalization rose to $6.438 billion.

…

Meanwhile, far away in Manhattan, in the Western Hemisphere.

Several Wall Street institutional investors were plotting to backstab Stellaris Capital, and Merrill Lynch was among them. Fang Hong’s suspicions were spot on. These Wall Street players intended to use the eight billion dollars as bait. Under the guise of a cooperative asset management plan, their real objective was to figure out where Stellaris Capital’s “main force” was hiding.

Once they pinpointed it, they would execute a “targeted takedown.” Their philosophy was simple: Stellaris Capital could harvest profits ninety-nine times, but Wall Street only needed to harvest Stellaris Capital once to make them lose everything, with no chance of recovery.

However, they clearly failed to realize that Fang Hong had already anticipated their anticipation. As a transmigrator, he had a pretty good idea of the unscrupulous way of doing business those Anglo-Saxons were known for.

The Crude Oil Treasure incident, the “Demon Nickel” incident, the Silicon Valley Bank targeted takedown incident—all these events from his past life were still vivid in his memory.

An eye for an eye?

Fang Hong had no intention of simply retaliating. His plan was to strike first, then defend against their counter-attack, and after his initial strike, find an opportunity to strike again.

This current plot to fleece Merrill Lynch was him taking that first strike.

…

After hitting a new all-time high with an epic, doubling bullish candle, Bitcoin’s price corrected for three days.

On Wednesday, August 3rd, Bitcoin fell to $238.28, a drop of -12.54%, before once again launching into a short-squeeze rally. It quickly rallied to $272.45, turning positive for the day, and then continued to squeeze shorts all the way up.

Bitcoin’s price kept setting new all-time highs: $320 (+17.45%), $350 (+28.46%), $380 (+39.48%), $425 (+55.99%)… It continued until it reached its intraday peak of $462.70, a maximum gain of +69.83%, before the rally finally ceased.

In the end, Bitcoin closed the day at $452.07, a massive gain of +65.93%. Its nominal market capitalization soared to $9.493 billion, just a stone’s throw from the ten-billion-dollar mark.

…

In the villa at Tranquil Heart Residence.

Seeing Fang Hong, Tian Jiayi couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What price are you planning to push Bitcoin to before you let Merrill Lynch’s funds hold the bag?”

It had already been pumped to over $450.

Fang Hong smiled. “Actually, I wanted to push Bitcoin’s price above the international price of gold, but then I thought there was no need. The conditions aren’t right. Unless Merrill Lynch had given me twenty billion dollars, pushing it higher would just increase the cost of manipulating the market.”

Hearing his idea of pushing it past the price of gold, his beautiful assistant was momentarily speechless. That would mean Bitcoin would have to surge another 2.6 times from its latest closing price to surpass the international gold price.

Speaking of which, the price of gold had just hit an all-time high yesterday. Gold had been in a bull market for eleven years, rising from around $252 per ounce at the turn of the millennium to its current all-time high of $1,632 per ounce.

Since the beginning of 2011, the gold price trend had been nothing short of spectacular, rising rapidly.

Especially in the coming month of August, the price of gold would experience an accelerated surge, eventually peaking at $1,920 per ounce before beginning a four-year decline.

After a moment, Fang Hong looked at Tian Jiayi and said in a grave tone, “I remember that Hua Yu’s wife and child are currently traveling abroad, and his big brother has a child studying overseas, right?”

Tian Jiayi nodded. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

Fang Hong immediately said, “Then notify Hua Yu at once. His wife and child must return to the country within a week. His big brother’s child should come back too. There’s no need to study abroad; transfer to a school in the Mainland. From now on, the important, immediate family members of their clan should not go abroad unless absolutely necessary.”

Tian Jiayi stared at him in shock. “Is it that serious?”

Fang Hong said, “Not going abroad is one of the necessary prices their family must pay for owning 10% of Stellaris Capital’s shares. Otherwise, they might suffer the pain of losing a family member. We refuse to be compradors, so we’re destined to never see eye-to-eye with Wall Street. We have to guard against their moves in the market, but we must be even more vigilant against their dirty tricks outside of it. Don’t overestimate their sense of decency, because they have no bottom line.”

Hearing this, Tian Jiayi looked at him with worry. “Then you need to be even more careful yourself.”

Fang Hong met her gaze for a moment and said with a smile, “Ha~, but aren’t I just the ‘puppet’? Who would take a puppet seriously? Besides, I won’t be going abroad either.”

…

UNTITLED

Hit a Reading Slump? Don’t Panic!

Chapter 167: We at Stellaris Like to Feast Heartily and Drink Deeply

Chapter 168: I Just Wanted to Die

Chapter 169: Return to Lingyang County

Chapter 170: Oh Crap, We’ve Run Into an Insider. How Are We Supposed to Bullshit Him Now?

Chapter 171: The Blueprint

Chapter 172: The Ideal is Grand, The Reality is Simpler

Chapter 173: The News Is Announced, and the Whole Village Erupts

Chapter 174: Master the Laws of Finance and Making Money is Like Drinking Water

Chapter 175: A Bustling Crowd, All Drawn by Profit

Chapter 176: We Can Just Create Futures Contracts

Chapter 177: Return to Xincheng

Chapter 178: Building a Self-Sufficient Full-Chain Semiconductor Industry

Chapter 179: The Seven Major Semiconductor Materials

Chapter 0: Some Adjustments

Chapter 180: The Difficulty of Semiconductors Is More Than Just Lithography Machines

Chapter 181: Account Breaks 500 Million for the First Time

Chapter 182: Are We Really Going This Big?
Chapter 183: Fang Hong’s Personal Trader
Chapter 184: K-God’s Happy Trading Room

Chapter 185: Immense Influence, A Talk with the Brokerage?

Chapter 186: Back on the Dragon-Tiger List, Sparking Heated Discussion

Chapter 187

Chapter 188: A Vertical Ascent

Chapter 189: The Brokerage’s Proprietary Trading Desk Secretly Copies K-God’s Homework

Chapter 190: Among All the Hot Money in the A-Share Market, I Only Respect K-God

Chapter 191: Paid Trolls Aren’t an Exclusive Business

Chapter 192: Fei Liang, Copying Homework Like a Pro

Chapter 193: K-God Hit the Board, Bros, Charge!

Chapter 194: Ten Thousand-Fold Accomplishment Achieved, Time to Flaunt It on Weibo

Chapter 195: The Stock Trading Circle is in an Uproar

Chapter 196: Adjusting the Trading Strategy

Chapter 197: Can’t Understand the Master’s Moves, But Dare Not Question

Chapter 198: [Retail Investor: What Happened to “If There’s a Third, There Must Be a Fifth”?]

Chapter 199: Trading Room Hardware Upgrade

Chapter 200: These Rich People Are So Tacky, It’s Enviable

Chapter 201: A Strategic Stake in Radiance Glass

Chapter 202: Meeting the Chairman of Radiance

Chapter 203: Shaking Up the Investment World

Chapter 204: The Capital Arrives, Stellaris Capital Goes on a Buying Spree for Core Assets

Chapter 205: If You Can’t See Me on the Dragon-Tiger List, Here’s Something More Exciting

Chapter 206: K-God’s Terrifying Rallying Power

Chapter 207: Big Money Forces Its Way In

Chapter 208: Forced to Make a Profit Through Tears

Chapter 209: Shandong Juli’s Giant Power, K-God Forced to Double His Money

Chapter 210: Stellaris Capital Goes Bust? Rumor Has It They Got Wrecked on Overseas Investments!

Chapter 211: Extreme Haggling, the Major Entertainment Companies Panic

Chapter 212: Paying Your Own Employees a Bonus with Someone Else’s Money

Chapter 213: Consecutive Limit-ups in Defiance of Regulation

Chapter 214: 【Don’t Panic, Everyone. It’s Just a Technical Adjustment】

Chapter 215: Brutal A-Share Sell-off

Chapter 216: Another Bloodbath

Chapter 217: Buying the Dip on Shandong Juli: The Boss’s Wealth Code Reward

Chapter 218: The Helmsman Makes Another Powerful Move to Seal the Earth-to-Sky Board

Chapter 219: The New Meme Taking the Stock Trading Circle by Storm

Chapter 220: Rising Amidst Doubt
Chapter 221: A 1.5 Billion Valuation
Chapter 222: The Performance Bet Agreement

Chapter 223: Bulls Won’t Die, Shorts Won’t Stop

Chapter 224: This Team Has a Master Guiding Them

Chapter 225: The One-Word Soul-Severing Blade Reappears

Chapter 226: Please Don’t Drop, It’s Over, We’re Screwed

Chapter 227: The Emotionless Wealth-Harvesting Machine

Chapter 228: Hengtong Pharmaceutical Group (210)

Chapter 229: Less Than Two Billion Is Enough to Acquire Hengtong

Chapter 230: Reaching a Consensus (4/10)

Chapter 231: Wang Qingxiong is Completely Finished This Time

Chapter 232: Wiped Clean

Chapter 233: The Shocked Tian Jiayi

Chapter 234: Hua Yongming: This Fang Hong is Unassailable (810)

Chapter 235: A Rewarding Wealth Code (910)

Chapter 236: No Comparison, No Pain

Chapter 237: A Look Ahead at Core Leadership Adjustments

Chapter 238: Since the Terms Have Been Triggered, Let’s Follow Procedure

Chapter 239: A White Knight?

Chapter 240: Stellaris Capital’s First-Half Performance Report

Chapter 241: This is the Power of Backing

Chapter 242: Major Domestic Entertainment Companies Cry Foul

Chapter 243: Yixing Video Project Progress
Chapter 244: Hou Junda’s Report
Chapter 245: Only Schemes Win Hearts

Chapter 246: The Arrangement for a Parachuted-in Leader

Chapter 247: An Industry Sensation: Stellaris Capital Scores Another Massive Win Overseas?

Chapter 248: The ChiNext Board is About to Launch, A Forward-Looking Layout

Chapter 249: Out With the Old, In With the New

Chapter 250: Juggernaut IPO, Waterfall Decline!

Chapter 251: Aggressively Bottom-Fishing with a Full Position

Chapter 252: Winning Effortlessly Feels Great, and It Always Feels Great to Win Effortlessly!

Chapter 253: A Weibo Post to Send the Retail Investors into a Frenzy

Chapter 254: Outrageous Profits That Caused a Sensation in the Circle

Chapter 255: Capital Operations (✗), Building a Fortune from Nothing (✓)

Chapter 256: This Strategic Plan Is Worth a Hundred Billion, and That’s No Exaggeration

Chapter 257: Could There Be a Hidden Meaning Behind K-God’s Weibo Account?

Chapter 258: A Mind-Blowing Play

Chapter 259: The Tire Special Safeguard Case

Chapter 260: Cutting Ties with Wang Qingxiong is Cutting Ties with Original Sin

Chapter 261: A Confession Without Prompting

Chapter 262: The Mirror-Inverted One-Word Soul-Severing Blade

Chapter 263: Creating a Monster Stock

Chapter 264: K-God Returns, Has the Market Bottomed Out?

Chapter 265: The K-God Effect Has That Stock God Buffett Feel to It

Chapter 266: Shifting to a Trend Trading Strategy

Chapter 267: Be Cruel to Your Enemies, Be Kind to Your Own

Chapter 268: Ruihe Declares Default, the Showdown Is Here!

Chapter 269: Taken Away Right After Stepping Out

Chapter 270: Utterly Disgraced

Chapter 271: Charge! K-God Has Dropped a New Wealth Code!

Chapter 272: Once You’re in the A-Share Market, It’s as Deep as the Sea

Chapter 273: You Can’t Even Imagine His Happiness

Chapter 274: One by One, None of You Will Escape

Chapter 275: [Spicy A-shares: All In. Drawing the Prize at Year-End. Bless Me, K-God.]

Chapter 276: Bringing in the Xincheng State-owned Assets Office

Chapter 277: Is Wanke a Fat Piece of Meat?

Chapter 278: Plant the Seed and Wait for it to Sprout

Chapter 279: Unleashing the Power of Cash

Chapter 280: Recruit Them to Build Recyclable Rockets?

Chapter 281: The Eight Major Strategic Investment Directions

Chapter 282: Connecting with the Six Major Film Companies

Chapter 283: So You’re Always Right, Huh?
Chapter 284: Backed by a Big Shot
Chapter 285: Employment Contract
Chapter 286: Jiuzhou Blue Arrow

Chapter 287: Massive Investment in Cutting-Edge Tech? Successfully Grabs America’s Attention

Chapter 288: Time to Speculate on the M&A Concept

Chapter 289: Spinning Off Weibo for a Backdoor Listing

Chapter 290: Equity Transfer

Chapter 291: Rejecting Foreign Investment

Chapter 292: Once You’re On Board, You Have to Do Your Part

Chapter 293: “The Power of Cash” is Jiuzhou Blue Arrow’s Greatest Advantage Right Now

Chapter 294: Dongbai’s Ten Consecutive Limit-Ups

Chapter 295: The ChiNext Board Commences Trading

Chapter 296: The Unexpected Power of Market Consensus

Chapter 297: It’s Still Alive? This is the Universe’s Overall Leader?

Chapter 298: Instant Flash Crash

Chapter 299: It’s All Your Fault, You Let Him Flex Again

Chapter 300: Insane Profits, Crushing Losses

Chapter 301: Facing Off Head-On

Chapter 302: Stellaris Capital’s Complete Exit from the A-Share Market

Chapter 303: A New Market Concept: The K-God Concept Stock

Chapter 304: Strive for National-Level Aerospace Engineering Projects

Chapter 305: Investing in Jingdong, Big Qiang is a Solid Bet

Chapter 306: The Very Definition of “Lavish”!

Chapter 307: [Year-End Finale, Ninety Thousand Times Since Entering the Market]

Chapter 308: Spicy A-shares’ Surprise
Chapter 309: Blacklisted
Chapter 310: Becoming Xincheng’s Top Taxpayer

Chapter 311: Why Do You Need Risk Hedging Tools for a Sure-Win Game?

Chapter 312: Fang Hong’s Surprise

Chapter 313: Whoever Releases First Has a Huge Advantage

Chapter 314: This Year Is Stellar Universe Technology’s Golden Window

Chapter 315: Your Financial Sponsor Has Another Big Move for You

Chapter 316: 【It’s Already Generous Enough Not to Slaughter the Donkey After the Grind】

Chapter 317: [This Major Player Is Such a Show-off, Brothers, Let’s Crush Him!]

Chapter 318: Rumors of Weibo’s Backdoor Listing Emerge, Sending the A-Share Market into a Frenzy

Chapter 319: The Shell Resource Is Decided

Chapter 320: Stellaris’s 2009 Fiscal Year Results Are Out

Chapter 321: A Blazing Start

Chapter 322: Stellar Universe Technology’s Press Conference Arrives as Scheduled

Chapter 323: A Stunning Debut

Chapter 324: Is This Really a Domestically-Made Smartphone?

Chapter 325: Walk the Opponent’s Path and Leave Them with Nowhere to Go

Chapter 326: Unified Pricing
Chapter 327: Competing Reports
Chapter 328: The Packed Offline Store
Chapter 329: The Launch

Chapter 330: Unprecedented Sales Frenzy (Bonus Chapter)

Chapter 331: Flagship Phones Sell Out and Scalpers Go Wild

Chapter 332: First Week’s Sales Figures Released

Chapter 333: Managing the Market Capitalization of Qunxing Ecosystem Companies

Chapter 334: A Taotie Feast for Shareholders

Chapter 335: The Main Force is Showing Off Its Control

Chapter 336: The Launch of Stock Index Futures

Chapter 337: Shorting It All the Way Down

Chapter 338: The Fickle Short-Term Trader

Chapter 339: Stock Index Futures—Whoever Treats It Like a Lamb is the Lamb to Be Slaughtered

Chapter 340: Could Stock Index Futures be Targeted?

Chapter 341: “You old bastard, you trapped your grandpa at the top again!”

Chapter 342: iPhone Hit by “Leak-gate,” Qin Feng Strikes First

Chapter 343: Win-Win, the Kind Where You Win Twice

Chapter 344: Striving to Win the Mainland Lawsuit

Chapter 345: The Time to Go All-In on the Mobile Internet Has Come

Chapter 346: A New Project: WeChat?

Chapter 347: First, We Must Solve the ‘Can It Be Done’ Problem

Chapter 348: Unlocking the Ten Billion Achievement

Chapter 349: K-God Actually Replied, and Even Invited Us to Meet!

Chapter 350: Going to Xincheng to Meet the Big Shot

Chapter 351: DJI is Strong, But Innovation Can Break Through

Chapter 352: Not Bad, I’ll Invest!
Chapter 353: Additional Conditions
Chapter 354: Significant Future Potential
Chapter 355: I Want Them All

Chapter 356: My Solution is Simple and Unadorned

Chapter 357: The Japanese Who Put Their Points in the Wrong Tech Tree

Chapter 358: Market Capitalization Management

Chapter 359: “Qunxing Ecosystem” Core Assets

Chapter 360: A Tragic Case of “Wild Fists Beating the Master” May Unfold

Chapter 361: Let’s Go Big Today

Chapter 362: The Day of the U.S. Stock Market Flash Crash

Chapter 363: US Exchanges Scramble to Shift the Blame

Chapter 364: Made a Killing

Chapter 365: You Can’t Just Do Whatever You Want, Even If You Have Money!

Chapter 366: The Anxious President Zeng

Chapter 367: A Lightning-Fast Deal, Both Sides Afraid the Other Would Renege

Chapter 368: Pushing for ATL’s ChiNext Board Listing

Chapter 369: Too Many Submitted Projects

Chapter 370: Time for the Company to Get to Work in the A-share Market

Chapter 371: A Preview of the Year’s Top Monster Stock

Chapter 372: Whether He’s Satisfied Is His Business; Whether We Reform Is My Call

Chapter 373: The Boss Is Giving Out Wealth Codes Again

Chapter 374: I Thought You Were a Good Guy, Turns Out You’re a Scoundrel

Chapter 375: Don’t Cower, Just Do It! Go All-In, and Be Done With It!

Chapter 376: Being a Little Bolder is Better Than Anything

Chapter 377: They’re All Fucking Crazy, Is This K-God’s Influence?

Chapter 378: [Attention from the Village Chief]

Chapter 379: Just Fucking Do It! If Stock Trading Isn’t Thrilling, Even Making Money Is Pointless!

Chapter 380: [Major Positive News, Major Positive News]

Chapter 381: Everyone’s Numb

Chapter 382: Secretly Promoting Someone Isn’t the Goal, It’s a Means

Chapter 383: The Major Players Are Lurking Right Beside Me!

Chapter 384: Dawn is Near; Look Up and See Only the Rising Sun

Chapter 385: A Feast for Holders, A Lament for Those Who Missed Out

Chapter 386: Holy Shit, This Guy’s an Expert!

Chapter 387: Gaining Great Renown

Chapter 388: Limit-Up All the Way, Don’t Stop!

Chapter 389: Making Money is Simpler Than Drinking Water

Chapter 390: That’s Not Being a Fox, That’s Wisdom

Chapter 391: The Master is a Freaking Genius

Chapter 392: You Gotta Have Faith in the Leader!

Chapter 393: One Wave Higher Than the Last

Chapter 394: Officially Renamed Weibo

Chapter 395: Two Submitted Projects on Reversing Aging

Chapter 396: Video Conference

Chapter 397: The Solution

Chapter 398: Buy the Copyright for This Novel Series

Chapter 399: Bake a Pie and Let Everyone Smell the Aroma

Chapter 400: We’ll Cultivate a New Generation Ourselves!

Chapter 401: Two Solutions

Chapter 402: The News Sends Shockwaves Through the Industry

Chapter 403: Time to Cash in the Profits

Chapter 404: Ruihe Pharmaceutical Lists on the ChiNext Board

Chapter 405: Am I the only one who thinks K-God’s moves are a lot like a certain Qunxing’s?

Chapter 406: How to Spend the Money Is a Problem

Chapter 407: If We’re Going to Play, Let’s Go Big

Chapter 408: Time for an Epic Upgrade
Chapter 409: Returning to Xincheng University
Chapter 410: Is Your Organization Reliable?
Chapter 411: The “Mirror of the Sky” Project

Chapter 412: If It’s Just a Matter of Funding, It’s Not a Big Problem

Chapter 413: Youkefang, Chuangke Fang, Jiuzhou Xing

Chapter 414: It’s Good to Have a Big Tree for Shade

Chapter 415: The Capital Market Is Scared Witless

Chapter 416: From Refusing to Lend to Fighting Over the Loan

Chapter 417: Exceeding Expectations

Chapter 418: The WeChat Product Launch Conference

Chapter 419: Challenging the Current Domestic Social Media Hegemon, Tencent?

Chapter 420: The Internet Industry Circle Is Truly Bustling This Year

Chapter 421: Explosive Registration Numbers and Tencent’s Stock Flash Crash

Chapter 422: A Super Bull Market Unfolds After the Holiday

Chapter 423: WeChat is a huge hit, why is Weibo’s stock price soaring?

Chapter 424: Let’s Start by Following the Americans Across the River

Chapter 425: More Funding Required
Chapter 426: The Pressure Is Now on Tencent
Chapter 427: Hitting a New All-Time High

Chapter 428: Quantum Beat Straying from Its Proper Business?

Chapter 429: Popular Leader, Infuriating Leader

Chapter 430: Only Magic Can Defeat Magic

Chapter 431: Time to Set Up Another Super Wealth-Harvesting Machine

Chapter 432: K-God’s Giveaway Ignites a Nationwide Sensation

Chapter 433: Popularity Off the Charts

Chapter 434: 129 Million, 2.58 Million Per Person, The Draw is On

Chapter 435: A New Nickname—The Tycoon God!

Chapter 436: Breaking a Hundred Billion Market Cap

Chapter 437: The Curse of the Two Oil Giants Returns

Chapter 438: A Think Piece Triggers a Stock Flash Crash

Chapter 439: Reluctance to Sell Was Expected

Chapter 440: K-God, Are You Playing with Money Like It’s Play Money?

Chapter 441: So, You’re Reluctant to Sell? I’m Not Playing Anymore. Have All My Coins.

Chapter 442: The Announcement of the Sky Mirror Project

Chapter 443: Applied Research of Electromagnetic Weapons

Chapter 444: Speeding Up the “Eastern Super Ring” Research

Chapter 445: Perceptual Computing and the 2010 Finale

Chapter 446: A Financial Approach to Solving This Problem

Chapter 447: Can’t Diss This One, Next!

Chapter 448: A Crafty Angle

Chapter 449: Have You Heard of Carbon Emissions Tax?

Chapter 450: The Numbers Are Shocking

Chapter 451: Stellar Universe Technology’s Sensational 2010 Report Card

Chapter 452: Plenty of People are Eyeing the Huge Prize That is Stellar Universe Technology

Chapter 453: The Launch of the Third Listed Target in the Qunxing Ecosystem

Chapter 454: “You’re Saying That Young Man is the True Helmsman of Stellaris Capital?”

Chapter 455: Strategic Investment in Stellaris Capital, Funds Snap Up Weibo Shares

Chapter 456: [Being Fleeced Is Inevitable, So Why Not Be the Fleecer?]

Chapter 457: Slashed in Half Intraday, Slashed Again the Next Day

Chapter 458: WeChat Launches a New Version

Chapter 459: Developing Our Own Valuation System

Chapter 460: Stellaris Capital Fled Again? Everyone, Run!

Chapter 461: Stellaris Capital’s 2010 Annual Financial Report

Chapter 462: ATL Lists on the ChiNext Board
Chapter 463: The Rise of Kunpeng Technology
Chapter 464: K-God Is So Generous!

Chapter 465: [Only Children Make Choices; Adults Want It All]

Chapter 466: The Ten-Year, One-Hundred-Million-Mu Reforestation Plan Causes a Huge Sensation

Chapter 467: Swift Approval for the Technical Tax Concealment Plan

Chapter 468: Setting Up Personal Accounts Overseas

Chapter 469: Experts Are Bullish on A-shares? Let Me Add a Thousand Short Positions to Calm My Nerves!

Chapter 470: Openly Declaring a Bearish View

Chapter 471: Is This K-God? Whichever Stock He Points To, Rises!

Chapter 472: Finalized

Chapter 473: Disclosure, Reputation Soars

Chapter 474: Going Long on the US Dollar Index with 25x Leverage

Chapter 475: Laying the Groundwork in the African Market

Chapter 476: To Crack a Tough Nut, You Need a Good Set of Teeth

Chapter 477: Famine is the Biggest Problem There

Chapter 478: Keeping Pace with the Nation’s Global Strategic Layout

Chapter 479: Flash Crashes Across the Commodity Futures Market

Chapter 480: Room-Temperature Superconductivity

Chapter 481: The Variable of a Technological Breakthrough is Like an Attack from a Higher Dimension

Chapter 482: A Proactive Play
Chapter 483: An Insane, Illogical Rally
Chapter 484: The Sell-off Begins
Chapter 485: The Ultimate Catastrophic Crash

Chapter 486: Getting Rich and Going Broke Overnight, All at the Same Time

Chapter 487: Hacker Attack

Chapter 488: Make It Go Bankrupt at Light Speed

Chapter 489: Might As Well Go All-In Short And Die

Chapter 490: Missing Out on a Rally Is Even Worse Than Losing Money

Chapter 491: Blue Fox International
Chapter 492: Mt. Gox Declares Bankruptcy
Chapter 493: The Bagholder Is on Their Way
Chapter 494: Stellaris Enters the Market
Chapter 495: You Harvested All Our Money!

Chapter 496: Blue Fox International Moves into Somalia

Chapter 497: Still, A Failsafe is Necessary

Chapter 498: Swarm Drone System

Chapter 499: Opening Up Possibilities in the Arms Business

Chapter 500: It’s an Affront to Providence Not to Harvest the Chumps at Your Door