Due to the time zone difference, the American stock market opened from ten at night to five in the morning for China during winter. By nine fifty, Xia Lei was already in his study to begin his preparation.

Entering the American stock market would render Xia Lei unable to deliver a spectacular shock like what Soros had done to the stock markets of Thailand and Hong Kong. The scale of those markets was small in comparison to the world’s largest stock market. However, he could always gradually increase his foothold until he made a huge impact. Truthfully, Xia Lei hadn’t thought about the extent he could achieve but he had a goal. To maximize his influence!

The American capitalists had dominated a majority of the third-world stock market, mercilessly plundering all their wealth. On the other hand, no third-world capitalists had ever made the move to enter the American stock market. Regardless of the outcome, Xia Lei was willing to be the trailblazer!

In another room, three women gathered and talked.

“Is it alright for us to reject him like that?” Fan Fan looked a little concerned.

Liang Siyao reassured her with a smile. “Sister Fan Fan, there’s no need to be afraid. A man needs his own space and so do we. It’s alright to say no from time to time.”

But Fan Fan begged to differ. “But he has been away for some time. I’m sure he’s got needs. If we don’t indulge him, he might cheat on us. I find the way the four Italian ladies look at him a little odd.”

Liang Siyao knew the sisters’ background story but she wasn’t sure if she could reveal it to Long Bing and Fan Fan. The woman glanced at Long Bing and noticed that she was looking out of the window in a direction. Following her line of sight, Liang Siyao found her staring at a fence that separated the incomplete church.

“Ah Bing, what’s on your mind?” asked Liang Siyao.

It was only then that Long Bing snapped out of her daze. She replied, “Nothing.”

The other woman asked, “When are you leaving.”

“Tomorrow,” answered Long Bing.

“Do you really need to go?” Liang Siyao continued, “Think about your child. Think about Xia Lei.”

Long Bing could only huff a meek chuckle. Her eyes oozed with determination as she said, “I am a warrior of this country. The country needs me and I shall respond. There’s no need to keep advising me. I know what I’m doing.”

Liang Siyao hesitated but opted to reply, “Alright then, the Chinese Zodiac Team will help you in the dark.”

“Huh?” That garnered a bewildered stare from Long Bing.

Fan Fan too was equally shocked. “What? We have a Chinese Zodiac Battle Team?”

“I’m part of it. I’m the pig.” Liang Siyao studied their responses. “This team was formed by our father in law. If it wasn’t for their involvement, our husband would’ve been long dead...”

The secret was out, but not because of Liang Siyao’s selfish wish. She was merely heeding Xia Lei’s instruction to tell Fan Fan and Long Bing about its existence after dinner. To have Liang Siyao reveal it to them ensured that they would be able to stomach it better.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Xia Lei had already begun his mission.

He opened the stock trading software and began his manipulation. He dumped three stocks from the four female knights’ accounts and cashed it out. Then, he waited for the perfect time to strike.

Chlorella’s stock plummeted violently as soon as the market was opened.

Transactions entered Xia Lei’s vision and those numbers were quickly imprinted into his mind. His brain began to sort and calculate them immaculately. Ten minutes later, he was able to purchase an order worth five million in the lower position. As soon as his opponent tossed it away, he engulfed it within mere seconds.

A transaction of five million dollars was a significant amount. Abruptly, the stock price rose and some investors who were selling turned into spectators. Treasuries that cracked down on stocks immediately put up large purchase orders to resume their control over the stock prices.

This time, Xia Lei did nothing. Excessive greed would only alert his opponents. He switched to another account and used it to build a subtle position. For each purchase, the lowest price was calculated. Not only had he mastered the price trend well, but he had also perfected his pace and timing. Xia Lei knew when was the right time to purchase and to feign tossing. He even knew when prices were going to fall and the number of appropriate purchases!

If the scene before him could be described as a gamble, then he would be the sole player among everyone else who had already seen his opponent’s trump card.

One hour later, the four accounts made investments that totalled up to nearly forty million dollars into Chlorella. The large purchase immediately increased stock prices by three per cent. He had made every purchase at the lowest position. If he were to clean out his holdings, he would be able to obtain a profit of about five per cent and receive revenue of close to two million dollars!

Xia Lei’s move had breached the acting treasury for Chlorella Company’s policy, causing them to halt their operations temporarily.

He exited the software. It didn’t take long for him to obtain the IP of the treasury that was registered as Centennial Fund. It only took him a few minutes to gain access into their surveillance system.

Ten people were gathered in a meeting room.

A balding old man came on to screen and was not happy with the situation. “Did someone leak our information? How could that person purchase forty million? Tell me, what the hell is going on?”

“Mister Connor, we keep all confidential information well and secured. There’s no way information was leaked out. Maybe someone had high hopes and was confident enough to make bulk purchases. I notice that the other party owns four accounts under the Golden Bull Securities. I cannot confirm if it is a singular person behind this,” reported a Caucasian man. Judging from his tone, he was probably the assigned trader of Chlorella’s stock.

“You need to chase them out. They’re holding forty million of Chlorella’s stock. As soon as the project is announced, the stock value will rise by fivefold. In the future, it’ll increase by tenfold. We must not let them profit from this,” hissed Connor.

“Mister Connor, so you mean to continue tossing?”

“Yes, toss! Continue tossing!”

“We’ve got two hundred million worth of stock. How much should we toss out?” asked the trader.

Connor went silent. With a firm tone, he answered, “One hundred million.”

Following that, the few in the meeting room began to study and devise a plan to toss their stock.

By the end of their discussion, Xia Lei couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Ten minutes later, the four accounts under Golden Bull Securities had an additional one hundred million dollars in it. Centennial Fund also began suppressing Chlorella’s stock prices crazily. The stocks were tossed out skillfully, they began doing it little by little to gauge Xia Lei’s motives.

Xia Lei joined them, replicating their actions and tossing out his stocks. They were probing him so he was adamant on feigning a worrying impression that the stock prices would continue to drop. The feeling he gave off was that Xia Lei was planning to completely exit Chlorella’s stock holding.

As expected, as soon as he sold his ten million dollar inventory, they abruptly displayed a few days worth of selling orders. Their intentions were clear, they were trying to get rid of him in one swoop. In that split second, Xia Lei swallowed up Centennial Fund’s gigantic selling list in one go. One hundred million dollars worth of stocks were purchased by four accounts, leaving nothing behind.

Before this started, the Centennial Fund was Chlorella’s largest shareholder. But now, Xia Lei had taken the crown from them.

Xia Lei cackled. Admittedly, this wasn’t a fair fight. He had cheated his way through but he was happy with the outcome. In a capitalist world, there was a fine line between good and evil. The only thing that remained true was greed. Any capitalist would be willing to do anything for advantages and benefits!

Across the vast ocean, the Centennial Fund trader gripped his hair till his knuckles turned white. He seemed to be in pain. He had smashed a cup of coffee on to the floor spilling all of its contents. There were brown coffee stains against the tiles but his assistant made no move to clean it up. The assistant could only gape in horror as Chlorella’s stock began to grow in brilliant green as shown on screen.

Connor appeared. Immediately, he looked as if he had aged ten years ahead.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Mister Connor...” The trader chewed the insides of his cheek. “Those four accounts must be handled by the same person. They’re probably our rival and they know about the Jay Garrick project. It was too late when I realized their motive... I’m so sorry!”

Smack! Connor swayed his arms and slapped the trader’s cheek. “Fuck you!”

The man palmed his swollen cheek. “Mister Connor, the only way around this now is to have Chlorella hide that project. I foresee that the share prices will drop a few days later. We’ll see if he can keep holding on.”

“I guess that’s the only option we have now.” Connor’s expression darkened scarily. “Leave Chlorella’s stock as it is for now. Make relevant preparations. We’re going to attack a new share in China.”

“Mister Connor, do you mean the Vientiane Group from China?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Connor continued, “Vientiane Group is worth one hundred billion in the Chinese market. That share is a fat slab of meat, much more significant than Chlorella.”

“Got it, I’ll go make preparations now.” The trader turned around and left.

As soon as the trader made his exit, Xia Lei stopped spying on them. The man was perplexed. “Vientiane Group has entered the American market? What is Tianyin trying to do? Is she trying to expand into the Western market?”

After bidding farewell at the Boao Forum For Asia, Shentu Tianyin had ceased all contact with him and Xia Lei was starting to get used to the distance. However, he did not expect to come across her like this.

“Nevermind, Vientiane Group is not a small company. I’m sure Tianyin has her own reason behind the decision. She’s got many experts laying around, there’s nothing for me to worry about. Perhaps I should give her a call to warn her about Centennial’s intentions.” Xia Lei made a mental note.

A few minutes later, Xia Lei used a messenger app and dialled for a number he had freshly obtained.

It took a minute to get the call through. The woman who answered it had spoken with a standard American accent. “Hello, to whom am I speaking to?”

With a calm and unrushed tone, Xia Lei said, “Miss Isabelle, I’ve got a scoop for you.”

“Oh, is that so?” Isabelle chuckled briefly. “Do we need to meet physically? But I must make this clear that I won’t be able to pay you much.”

Xia Lei laughed. “Miss Isabelle, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not here for your money. On the contrary, I’m going to offer you one hundred thousand dollars.”

“What?” Isabelle gasped audibly.

Xia Lei explained, “One hundred thousand dollars with a guarantee that my information is legitimate. You won’t land yourself in trouble. All you need to do is report my information.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’ve got a hot body.”

“Hahaha! You’re so funny!”

The study door was abruptly pushed open and three women made their unannounced entry.