Chapter 496: Eve of the Financial Storm
After everyone returned to Cloud Summit, Zhou Muchen and the others held a lavish welcome banquet for Liu Yutong and her two companions.
They specially selected many precious ingredients and invited a top-tier chef to prepare a sumptuous dinner.
Chen Mo, the veteran trader, also attended the banquet. He too had dark circles under his eyes—clearly, he hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
God knows how he’d been getting through this period. That was nearly five billion in capital!
While he had managed funds exceeding a hundred million before, this was his first time trading with nearly five billion. With leverage added, the terrifying sum reached over thirty billion US dollars.
Of course, besides the worry, there was even more exhilaration.
If they could successfully fleece the other side of the ocean this time, he would become a legend in investment circles.
Even with a master strategist behind him, it wouldn’t diminish his status as a legend in the trading world.
Therefore, he attached great importance to this opportunity, and not just because of the generous commission.
What he hadn’t expected was that ever since Liu Yutong went to BS Province some time ago, she had practically gone incommunicado.
Though he operated according to her prior instructions, he had been on tenterhooks the entire time. Combined with staying up late due to time zone differences, that’s how he developed those dark circles.
Now that Liu Yutong had returned, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Beyond that, he felt admiration!
He and his team had learned about what Liu Yutong had done in BS Province.
Like everyone else, he couldn’t help but suspect whether Liu Yutong had opened her Heaven’s Eye, but it was merely a passing thought that he didn’t dwell on.
After all, they were all atheists who didn’t easily believe in such mystical nonsense.
However, this didn’t affect his admiration for Liu Yutong.
Capable, courageous, ambitious, compassionate… um… also a bit ruthless…
No wonder she could be so successful, making so many young masters willingly acknowledge her as their leader.
Walls have ears, and he had now also learned that Liu Yutong actually commanded a thousand-member syndicate in her hands.
When he first heard this news, he was nearly shocked speechless.
No wonder he had felt such immense pressure when he first met Liu Yutong—everything made sense now.
Seeing Chen Mo’s haggard appearance, Liu Yutong couldn’t help but smile. She raised her glass and said, “Chen Mo, you’ve worked hard during this time.”
Chen Mo hurriedly picked up his glass, somewhat overwhelmed by the attention. “Not at all, not at all. Compared to what you’ve done in BS Province, my pressure is nothing.”
“Miss Liu, I’ve actually had a question weighing on my mind for a long time.”
Everyone at the table fell silent, looking at Chen Mo curiously.
“Go ahead,” Liu Yutong gestured for him to continue.
“It’s about the timing and target selection for this short-selling operation—do you have some inside information?” Chen Mo asked.
Liu Yutong shook her head, then spoke a profound statement: “What inside information? I merely wanted everyone to see the cracks that had long existed in that wall. As for the storm that followed… that was heaven… opening its eyes!”
Everyone at the table was shaken to the core.
They all seemed to grasp the meaning of her words.
Liu Yutong was telling them that she never gambled on luck, but rather waited for an inevitable event and positioned herself on the winning side in advance.
What powerful confidence!
Several seconds passed.
Only then did Chen Mo let out a long breath, downed his drink in one gulp, and shook his head with a bitter smile. “Miss Liu, I understand now. I thought I was a decent trader before, but now I realize what ‘there’s always a bigger fish’ means. Working with you, I’ve learned more than in the past ten years combined.”
These words came from the bottom of his heart.
Liu Yutong had not only given him a chance to create a legend but had also reshaped his understanding of financial markets.
True masters never analyze indices—they learn to perceive trends and stand atop the wave before the tide even arrives.
Liu Yutong offered no further explanation. She wasn’t about to tell everyone she’d just been talking nonsense.
Her pretense of profound wisdom was precisely to establish absolute confidence and trust in her, especially among key executors like Chen Mo.
Only then could they cooperate with her more effectively.
Liu Yutong stood up, raised her glass once more, and looked at everyone.
“Everyone, the cracks have always been there. It’s just that most people choose to turn a blind eye or cling to wishful thinking.”
“What we need to do is seize this opportunity to elevate our wealth to a height that will make the world gasp in astonishment!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Time passed bit by bit.
News reports about the earthquake gradually decreased, while financial news and updates became more frequent.
More and more people seemed to have caught wind of something, sensing the abnormality.
Nevertheless, they still firmly believed that the other side of the ocean would once again resort to their usual shameless tactics—firing up the money printers.
Using printed cash, they would transfer their crisis onto the entire world through so-called quantitative easing, making all countries and investors holding US dollar assets pay for the mess they had created.
In reality, this global financial crisis did resemble a runaway wild horse, its destructive power and chain reactions far exceeding most people’s imaginations.
It was not a simple liquidity crisis, but a massive collapse of credit at the core of the financial system.
Those complex derivatives that once represented financial innovation—such as mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, and so on—were now spreading across the world like a virus.
Liu Yutong had been staying in a guest room at Cloud Summit lately, visiting the top floor for updates almost every night during market hours.
Several months later.
The top-floor operations center.
On the massive electronic screen in the room, red and green candlestick charts flickered violently.
The traders in the room were busy executing orders, each with a tense expression on their face.
Because they knew the critical moment Liu Yutong had mentioned was approaching, and they themselves could feel it.
That night, as Liu Yutong just came upstairs.
Chen Mo, the veteran trader recruited from Hong Kong, immediately rushed forward upon seeing Liu Yutong’s group enter, too rushed for pleasantries, and rapidly briefed her on the situation.
“Miss Liu, you’ve returned at just the right time. The situation is changing drastically right now!”
Chen Mo essentially ignored the Yunshan Society members behind Liu Yutong—he simply didn’t have time for them. He hurriedly led Liu Yutong to the main console and pointed at several key curves and data points on the screen, saying:
“Based on the indicators you instructed us to monitor closely, Lehman’s credit default swap spreads have spiraled out of control in the past forty-eight hours, just breaking through five hundred basis points. This means market expectations of their default have reached an extreme. More importantly, the commercial paper market has practically frozen—they can’t obtain any liquidity through short-term financing!”
Liu Yutong’s eyes were glued to the screen, her heart surging with emotion.
Everything matched her memories from her previous life.
“What time is it now on the other side of the ocean? Any latest updates from the intelligence team?”
“It’s currently Thursday afternoon, just past three o’clock, on the other side of the ocean.”
“Based on information gathered by our intelligence team and market rumors, Lehman is in complete chaos internally. They’re making their final struggles, but the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department seem ready to abandon them. This aligns basically with your assessment.”
“Thursday afternoon…”
Liu Yutong pondered this timing. According to the time on the other side of the ocean, tomorrow would be their so-called Black Friday, right?
It would also be the moment when the dominoes began to fall.
At this thought, she immediately issued her orders.
“Command all traders to immediately check the margin on all short positions and prepare for the… earth-shattering tsunami that might occur when the market opens Friday!”