Chapter 919
Where there is a "Young Phoenix," there must be a "Sleeping Dragon."
Monday, March 13, 2000, North American time.
9:30 a.m., New York Stock Exchange.
During the Nasdaq index's opening auction, it was as if an invisible giant hand had choked him, causing him to suffocate instantly. Panic spread like a plague among traders and institutional investors, transforming into countless cold, destructive commands that surged wildly into the trading system.
The opening bell tolled like a death knell.
On the screen, the curve representing the Nasdaq Composite Index is not falling, it's plummeting!
From the closing price of 5048.62 points last Friday, like a kite with a broken string or a huge bubble that has been burst, the market plummeted in just a few minutes after the opening bell at a speed that made people's hearts stop!
4879 points! The lowest point of the day!
The largest drop reached 209 points, a decrease of approximately 4.1%!
Behind the cold numbers lies the instantaneous evaporation of trillions of dollars in wealth, the cries of countless accounts being liquidated, and the deafening roar of market confidence being completely shattered!
Despite some funds attempting to buy the dip after the initial panic selling at the open, the index struggled to rise in subsequent trading, eventually closing at 4907.24 points, with the decline narrowing to 141 points (approximately 2.8%).
But this massive bearish candlestick is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of global financial markets.
The news swept through the global financial world like a hurricane, causing violent shocks and panic.
The last time the Nasdaq experienced such a devastating single-day plunge was back on October 19, 1987—a day forever remembered as "Black Monday" that triggered the global financial crisis.
Will history repeat itself?
Is a new round of global financial crisis brewing?
The seeds of panic were sown deep within the hearts of countless investors, growing wildly and uncontrollably.
At this moment, on the other side of the ocean in the East, in Shenzhen.
At three or four in the morning, all is quiet, which should be the time of deepest sleep.
However, for many, especially those closely connected to global financial markets, this night was destined to be sleepless.
Inside the presidential suite of Shenzhen's most luxurious five-star hotel.
The air was thick with the ambiguous scent of strong alcohol, expensive perfume, and lust.
Xiao Jun, shirtless, was sandwiched between two mainland 18th-tier actresses with hot figures and beautiful faces but exuding a strong sense of worldliness on the huge waterbed.
The hangover headache pounded like a dull thud, making him restless even in his sleep.
"Mr. Xiao! Mr. Xiao! Wake up! Something terrible has happened!"
A voice filled with suppressed anxiety, accompanied by relentless knocking, pierced through the heavy soundproof door and violently shattered Xiao Jun's chaotic dream.
"Damn it!" Xiao Jun suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, the dizziness from the hangover and the fury of being disturbed instantly igniting him.
Like an enraged lion, he shoved away the soft body beside him, jumped off the bed barefoot, grabbed a crumpled pair of pants from the floor and pulled them on, staggered to the door, and flung it open.
Standing outside the door was the director of the president's office of Little Prodigy Company, a middle-aged man in his early forties, dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair neatly combed.
Even in the early hours of the morning, his attire remained impeccable, but his face could no longer maintain its usual composure, instead filled with panic and solemnity.
"You better give me a fucking reason!" Xiao Jun pointed at the other man's nose, spitting almost onto his face, his voice hoarse and distorted with anger and a hangover. "If you can't convince me, you'd better get the hell out of here right now! Pack your things and disappear tomorrow! I, Xiao Jun, said that even Jesus couldn't stop me! Understand?!"
This director, surnamed Chen, is an old man who was parachuted in by Lu Yang from the headquarters of Century Group when Little Prodigy was founded.
Although his position is Director of the President's Office, which is equivalent to a director and slightly lower than the group's vice president, he has a powerful background and represents part of the board's will.
Even for Xiao Jun, as president, firing him would not be easy; he would have to give the board of directors a full and legitimate reason. This was an invisible shackle on the boundaries of Xiao Jun's power.
Faced with Xiao Jun's blatant threat and the overwhelming stench of alcohol, sweat, and perfume, Director Chen's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a hint of undisguised contempt flashing deep in his eyes.
But he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all his emotions, regaining his professional composure, even displaying a do-or-die spirit of neither servility nor arrogance:
"Mr. Xiao, I know it's very inappropriate to disturb your rest right now. But the situation is urgent, concerning the life and death of the company, and I must report to you immediately."
He ignored Xiao Jun's murderous glare, speaking clearly and rapidly, each word like an icicle piercing the air:
"At 9:30 PM North American time last night, the Nasdaq opened with an unprecedented panic sell-off! The index plummeted 209 points instantly, a drop of over 4%! As a leading Chinese concept stock listed on Nasdaq, especially a representative of technology stocks, our Little Prodigy Company..."
The voice paused for a moment, then took on a cruelly heavy tone, "...leading the entire sector in decline! It opened with a sharp drop of 11%! Although there was a slight rebound during the day, it was immediately met with even more intense selling pressure. By the close, the decline had widened to 15%, closing at $59.07 per share! This is a record low since the beginning of the year! The company's market value evaporated by more than $30 billion overnight!"
"Om-!"
Director Chen's words were like a thunderclap from the heavens, or a bucket of ice water at minus 100 degrees Celsius poured over Xiao Jun's head!
The raging anger that was burning just a second ago was instantly frozen and extinguished!
Xiao Jun froze on the spot, as if he had been frozen in place.
The rage and rage on his face receded rapidly like a receding tide, replaced by a deathly pallor.
His pupils suddenly dilated, filled with unbelievable horror and a blank, terrifying emptiness.
He could even clearly feel his heart pounding wildly and irregularly in his chest, almost bursting out of his ribs!
"You...what did you say?"
Xiao Jun's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of a parched throat, hoarse and trembling violently.
"59.07? Down...down 15%? 30 billion...US dollars...gone?"
He seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, and the trousers and belt he had just hastily pulled up slipped back onto the expensive carpet with a "thud".
He stood there naked, exposed to the cold light of the corridor by the door, looking utterly pathetic, his mind blank.
"what--!"
"ah--!"
The two young stars, who were startled awake, were initially bewildered by the scene at the door. But when they saw Xiao Jun's demeanor and the serious-looking man in a suit at the door, they immediately let out a piercing scream and frantically wrapped their naked bodies tightly in the blankets.
"Shut up! All of you shut the fuck up!!" Xiao Jun suddenly turned his head, his eyes fierce like a wild beast, glaring at them menacingly. That look made the two women instantly fall silent, trembling with fear, their screams stuck in their throats.
"Get out! All of you, get out of here! Now! Immediately!" Xiao Jun roared, like a wounded and trapped beast.
The two young stars, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, disregarded their shame and hurriedly crawled out of the covers. They grabbed their clothes scattered on the floor, and before they could even put them on properly, they clutched their clothes, heads down, and stumbled past Xiao Jun, rushing out of the presidential suite and disappearing at the end of the corridor.
Director Chen gently closed the door, shutting out the outside world.
Only Xiao Jun and Director Chen remained in the suite, amidst a scene of utter chaos and deathly silence.
Xiao Jun took a deep, deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs, trying to suppress the panic and dizziness that was almost tearing him apart.
Barefoot, he walked dejectedly back to the center of the room, stepping onto the cold floor.
suddenly!
He stopped abruptly, as if struck by something.
A strange and inappropriate expression appeared on his pale face.
It was a twisted mixture—shock, fear, but more than anything, a kind of ecstasy, like a drowning person grasping at a straw?! “Ha…haha…” A low, suppressed, owl-like laugh squeezed out of Xiao Jun’s throat.
He slowly raised his head, looking at the ornately decorated ceiling chandelier, his eyes becoming hazy and crazed.
Why should I panic?
Why should I panic?
"Haha...hahaha...Great news! This is absolutely fantastic news!" Xiao Jun suddenly spread his arms wide, his voice rising abruptly with a hysterical excitement. "Drinking leads to trouble? Not a chance! This is a godsend! It's heaven helping me! Hahaha!"
Director Chen stood to the side, impeccably dressed in a suit, staring blankly at the seemingly insane CEO before him. His contempt and disappointment had reached their peak, almost bursting forth as a cold laugh.
He thought coldly to himself, "Useless! He's a hopeless case! All he knows is eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring! The company's market value evaporated by 30 billion US dollars overnight, and the hard work of so many shareholders and employees vanished into thin air, and he can still laugh? 'A godsend'? If it weren't for President Lu's arrangements, with your character, I would have quit long ago! Clean up your mess? I'm having the worst luck ever!"
“Mr. Xiao,” Director Chen’s voice was icy cold as he abruptly interrupted Xiao Jun’s maniacal laughter, “The company’s stock price has plummeted, and its market value has shrunk by nearly 30 billion US dollars. This not only affects the company’s reputation but also directly impacts the interests of all shareholders, including yourself! Our most pressing issue now is how to respond? How to explain this to the board of directors? How to stabilize the market and investor confidence? How… how can you still be laughing?”
"Why can't I laugh?" Xiao Jun abruptly stopped laughing, turned around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Director Chen, a sickly smug look on his face. "Do you think that just because the stock price has fallen, I, as a major shareholder holding a lot of company shares, should be crying and begging for mercy? Should I be like I've lost my parents? Ha! Foolish! Superficial!"
He waved his arms excitedly, spitting as he spoke: "It's better if it falls! The more it falls, the better! Do you even know what bottom fishing is?! What accumulating shares at low prices is?! Now that the stock price has fallen to this ridiculous level, it's the perfect time for me to buy in on a massive scale! Buy more shares with less money! Understand?! As long as my shareholding percentage is high enough, no one can touch my position as president! No one can overthrow me!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he could already see himself turning the tide and holding absolute power: "You! Now! Right now! Get out of here! Who gave you the right to bother me in the middle of the night? Don't you have to go to work tomorrow? Get out! Don't keep me from getting enough sleep and conserving my energy!"
He yelled and roughly shoved Director Chen, forcibly pushing him out of the room.
"boom!!!"
Xiao Jun slammed the heavy solid wood door shut with all his might, making a deafening bang, as if trying to shut out all unpleasantness and reality.
Leaning against the cold door, Xiao Jun's frenzied excitement did not subside; on the contrary, it burned even brighter after he had driven away the "annoying flies."
A twisted, smug smile spread across his face, his eyes gleaming with the greedy light of a gambler seeing a perfect bet.
He rushed to the bedside table, grabbed his phone, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement, and quickly dialed an overseas number.
The call was connected almost instantly.
"It's me!" Xiao Jun's voice carried an undeniable command and barely suppressed excitement. "Listen! Tomorrow! No, today! As soon as the North American morning market opens, immediately! Use all available funds to buy on dips! Go all out to buy up Little Prodigy's stocks! I have only one requirement: Buy! Buy like crazy! Take as much as you can, understand?!"
In Xiao Jun's mind, which was completely blinded by greed and lust for power, the stock market crash was no longer a disaster, but a once-in-a-lifetime "golden opportunity".
He fantasized about taking advantage of the market crash to frantically increase his holdings at extremely low cost, thereby consolidating his controlling position and securing the presidency.
As for the $30 billion in market value that evaporated?
That's just wealth on paper! As long as he has the shares and remains the CEO, everything will come back to him!
The next day, March 14th, North American time.
The Nasdaq index did not bottom out and rebound as Xiao Jun had wished.
Panic, like a persistent ailment, continues to permeate the market.
After the market opened, the index dipped again. Although the decline was not as severe as the previous day, the slow, steady drop was like being cut by a dull knife, which was even more unsettling.
Xiao Jun's trusted trader stationed in the New York trading room broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the still-green, sluggish chart of Little Prodigy's stock on the screen.
He was not a gambler like Xiao Jun; he possessed the keenness and caution of a professional trader.
Following instructions to "buy the dip," he used nearly $1 million, only to find that the buying interest was like a stone thrown into the sea, unable to stop the stock price from falling. Instead, he found himself trapped. He felt a huge crisis.
He immediately dialed an overseas number, his voice trembling with barely concealed anxiety: "Boss! Something's not right! We've bought nearly $1 million as instructed, but... but the stock price just can't be held up! The selling pressure is still immense! The Nasdaq is still falling. Should we... should we pause? Wait and see? Or... change our strategy and wait for the best opportunity? I feel there's still room for it to drop further."
On the other end of the phone, Xiao Jun was sitting in the large but cold CEO's chair in the company's CEO office.
The previous night's frenzied excitement deflated instantly upon receiving this call, like a balloon punctured by a needle.
As he listened to his subordinates' anxious reports and stared at the glaring green of the "Little Prodigy" stock chart—a chart representing his life and fortune—on his computer screen, a chilling, unprecedented fear gripped his heart for the first time.
He was... a little confused.
The way things turned out didn't seem to be the "golden opportunity to buy at the bottom" that he had envisioned.
Instead of rising, the stock price continued to fall, and the decline was quite severe.
"Uh..." Xiao Jun opened his mouth, his throat a little dry. The resolute boldness he had last night was completely gone, replaced by deep hesitation and a hint of barely perceptible panic. "How about this... how about this..."
He tried to make his voice sound calm, "You...you make the decision. Buying at the bottom...we still have to buy! We must buy! This is our only chance to turn things around! But...we can...wait and see for a while..."
He uttered those words with difficulty, as if admitting that watching and waiting was tantamount to admitting defeat.
He took a deep breath and paced around the room several times, as if trying to bolster his courage, or perhaps issuing a hesitant command: "We must reserve enough funds! Just in case! Yes, just in case! That's all for today... Tomorrow! If it drops again tomorrow..."
He gritted his teeth, with the ruthlessness of a gambler raising his bet, "You just buy in another 5000 million US dollars! If it drops again the day after tomorrow... then keep going! Damn it, I have plenty of money! Did you hear me? Hold on! You have to hold on!"
He practically roared out the last few words, trying to use the volume to mask his inner turmoil and fear.
This time, he almost risked his life: the $1 million high-interest loan from Mu Qizhong, the $2 million he borrowed by mortgaging his Little Prodigy shares to HSBC in Hong Kong, and the $2 million he obtained by "smartly" following Lu Yang's advice to sell some shares in advance during the opening auction after the announcement of Century Group's share reduction—a total of $5 million!
This is his all-or-nothing gamble!
He fantasized that as long as he took advantage of this "temporary" stock price drop to frantically buy up shares in the secondary market and push his personal shareholding ratio to over 20%, then his position as president of a multi-billion dollar listed company would be as solid as a rock and no one could shake it!
What about the second young master of the Li family, what about foreign institutions? They all have to step aside!
"Boss, I understand," the trader on the other end of the phone replied helplessly. He could hear the underlying sternness in his boss's voice, but duty called, so he had no choice but to carry it out.
He paused, then added what he had observed, trying to offer his boss some empty comfort: "Also... Boss, there's something else. In the past few days, I've noticed that besides us, there seems to be another... or rather, several sizable funds in the market that are also consistently and discreetly buying up our company's stock at low prices. The volume isn't particularly huge, but it's very stable, like a planned accumulation."
"Huh?!" Xiao Jun's heart clenched. This sounded more like bad news! "Isn't this bad news? How can you say it's good news?" he asked anxiously, his voice trembling.
“Boss, although it sounds like other large funds entering the market to snap up shares might be detrimental to us, the trader tried to interpret it from a positive perspective, “On the other hand, since funds of this caliber are willing to enter the market at low prices, it means they are optimistic about the company's long-term value and believe that the current price is undervalued! This in itself reflects market confidence! With them supporting the market, our stock shouldn't fall too much! This… relatively speaking, isn't it also a positive for stabilizing market sentiment?”
"Yes, yes, yes! You're right! Absolutely right!" Xiao Jun seemed to have grasped at the last straw. His dim eyes instantly lit up again, and his previous hesitation and fear were replaced by a new vigilance and competitiveness directed at his "competitors." "That's it! Keep a close eye on them! Keep a close eye on those funds! Especially those accounts that suddenly increased their buying volume! If you find anyone maliciously acquiring large amounts of the company's stock, don't be polite! Grab it! Use money to drive the price up! Don't let anyone else snatch those precious chips! Understand? This is a matter of my life and death!"
In an instant, Xiao Jun thought of Li Er Gongzi from Hong Kong, with whom he had a grudge!
A strong intuition told him that this mysterious fund was very likely being manipulated by the Li family behind the scenes!
As it turns out, wherever Mr. Xiao, who calls himself "Phoenix Chick," appears, he is often accompanied by a true "Hidden Dragon."
Almost at the same time.
Hong Kong, Repulse Bay.
In Li Zekai's study, an expensive French antique desk lamp emitted a soft yet cold light.
He had just received another terrible trading report from New York.
"boom!!!"
A valuable Ming Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain teacup was slammed to the ground and shattered instantly, the scalding tea splashing onto the precious Persian carpet.
Li Zekai's face was ashen, his usual debonair demeanor completely gone. He roared into the phone like a wounded beast, sharp and furious:
"Damn it! Why did this happen?! Everything was on my side! That guy surnamed Lu was reducing his holdings, that idiot Xiao Jun was destroying his own foundation, and foreign investors were watching and waiting... How could a global stock market crash suddenly occur when I was making a perfectly good plan?! How could Nasdaq collapse so badly?! Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, and his eyes burned with a fierce resentment. His voice on the other end of the phone sounded more like a roar at an unseen god of fate.
"I don't believe it! The Nasdaq's decline must just be a temporary technical correction! Yes, it must just be temporary! It's an overreaction by the market! I don't believe it! I'm not convinced! Keep buying! Buy as much as it drops! Opportunities arise from declines! I want to show everyone who will have the last laugh!"
The words had barely left his mouth!
The study door was forcibly opened from the outside. (End of Chapter)