Chapter 142: Fierce Battle in the Stock Market (2)

"Boss, the price has dropped to thirteen point eight, and there is some unidentified selling by a major player in small batches," George reported to Chu Dong, who was sitting to the side observing the market trends.

"Understood. Tech stocks are bearish right now; buy in two million shares," Chu Dong ordered his traders to build positions in tech stocks as if the volatility had nothing to do with him.

"For the third finance stock, increase volume by five hundred thousand; buy blue-chip stocks on a small scale; liquidate chemical stocks; hold cash and wait on mining stocks—once an opportunity arises, go all in..." With a grand strategy in mind, as if commanding thousands of troops, Chu Dong remained calm and composed.

"Boss, the price is now twelve point nine, and the major player is continuing to dump volume." George was not panicked; he was simply reporting the situation at regular intervals as instructed, helping Chu Dong maintain a clear grasp of the unfolding situation.

Nodding, Chu Dong offered no opinion. "Take small profits and exit. Continue buying energy stocks, liquidate tech..."

This was a battlefield without smoke or fire. Chu Dong led a dozen expert traders, managing hundreds of stocks at any given moment. By exploiting every possible opening, he was rapidly accumulating capital to prepare for the storm of retaliation expected from the Heng-Hai Fund.

There were no sudden windfalls. Every member of Chu Dong's team was operating at full capacity. Like a gentle spring rain slowly nourishing parched earth, the profits gradually gathered into streams and eventually into a lake. Over the course of the morning, under the pressure of the Heng-Hai Fund, the stock price of Silver Dragon had fallen from fourteen to just over eleven point seven. Fortunately, many retail investors still had faith in Silver Dragon, preventing a total market collapse.

In that single morning, Chu Dong's team had managed to rake in six hundred million.

The traders' techniques were one thing, but the primary factor was Chu Dong's overarching vision and his nuanced grasp of market shifts. He could foresee which stocks or sectors would experience certain fluctuations and exploited these movements to squeeze out profits bit by bit. Of course, the influx of capital was indispensable. Chu Dong had mobilized all available funds from Silver Dragon, even preemptively using money slated for other projects, planning to rotate it back later. It was an all-out effort.

Luke Hans, naturally, did not think Chu Dong would be the type to surrender. He did not underestimate Chu Dong's ability to manipulate the market for a second. By midday, he began using his vast financial resources to disrupt the market's normal fluctuations. After two consecutive miscalculations, Chu Dong immediately adjusted his strategy, shifting to obscure, unpopular stocks and buying them in bulk, while ignoring the high-profile, "hot" stocks, refusing to be tempted even by those that promised quick turnover profits.

This approach kept the profits coming, but the speed slowed by more than half. By the market close, they hadn't even reached three hundred million, totaling about one billion for the day including the morning session. Surprisingly, Silver Dragon's stock rebounded; just as it was about to test the ten-yuan mark, it jumped and closed at eleven point nine six—a small gesture of support from the general public for Silver Dragon's solid reputation.

That evening, Wang Dongliang and Luke Hans were highly pleased during dinner. They had anticipated that Chu Dong would mount a defense around the eleven-yuan mark, so the final rebound was expected. They had managed to turn the market upside down with less than one billion. In Luke Hans's estimation, from this day's engagement alone, Chu Dong's losses were well over one billion.

"Do you have connections in the banking sector?" Luke Hans asked Wang Dongliang while enjoying his steak.

"Why ask that? Isn't our funding secure?" Wang Dongliang was confused. The Heng-Hai Fund had over ten billion available; crushing Silver Dragon was easy, and they didn't need external support.

"We don't need it, but someone else does," Luke Hans smiled.

"You mean Silver Dragon?" Wang Dongliang began to understand. "Don't worry about that. I've already made the calls. I've spoken to the big four banks and several smaller ones; no one will lend to Silver Dragon anymore. Think about it—once I explain their current predicament, who would dare to lend to them?"

"No, no, I mean the exact opposite." Luke Hans swirled his vintage red wine. "You should find someone to continue lending to Silver Dragon."

"What do you mean? The less capital they have on hand, the less effort we spend. Why help them get a loan? Are you bored or something?"

"Do you think you hired me just to bankrupt Silver Dragon?" Luke Hans countered, looking at Wang Dongliang’s impatient expression with a proud smirk. "If it were just about bankruptcy, I wouldn't need to be here; any member of my team could do it. I want to defeat Chu—to defeat this arrogant man called a genius. I don't just want to trample Silver Dragon; I want to instill a fear of the stock market in Chu's heart so he never dares to step foot in it again. I want to completely shatter his confidence and destroy the last remnants of his courage."

Luke Hans's words resonated with Wang Dongliang, yet he still struggled to understand the logic of helping Chu Dong get a loan. "You're absolutely right, that's what I want too. But if he gets enough support, aren't we just failing to kill the snake? What if the brat recovers and becomes difficult to control?"

"Don't you realize? Silver Dragon must have some desperate constraint preventing them from mobilizing large funds to protect their share price. Otherwise, why would they sit by and watch it drop below eleven, only reacting when it neared the ten-yuan bottom line? This means Silver Dragon's capital is extremely tight. Even with the money Chu Dong made these past two days, it’s nowhere near enough to counter us. But helping him is different. Once he takes on more debt, Silver Dragon's liabilities increase. If the bank calls in the loans, how will he pay them back?" Luke Hans was truly vicious.

On the surface, he appeared to be helping Chu Dong raise money, but in reality, it was a lethal dose of poison. If the loan limit increased, Silver Dragon might fight the Heng-Hai Fund even harder. If Chu Dong failed and the share price plummeted, he would be left with nothing, his assets seized and auctioned by the banks, and he would be saddled with insurmountable debt. It was a ruthless plan.

"Good idea. You're truly thorough. This time, I’ll grind him into dust so he can never bark at me again." Wang Dongliang remembered the slap he received at the auction and felt his head boil. But a second thought occurred to him. He quickly expressed his concern to Luke Hans.

"I have to say, this is difficult. I already told everyone not to lend to Silver Dragon. Going back on my word now to ask them to lend to him... it doesn't look good."

"What does that matter?" Luke Hans didn't see the difficulty. "You can provide a general assessment of Silver Dragon's assets and their existing debt obligations. Even if the stock value drops, if the banks don't call the loans, their net assets should still be enough to keep them afloat. In other words, it will be another Chu Corporation—half-dead, but you can't quite kill it. If you increase the lending, the banks will secure Silver Dragon's prime assets. If they auction them off, they only stand to profit, not lose. See?" Seeing Wang Dongliang nod, he continued.

"For banks, their first priority is profit, and their second is the security of their capital. As long as you can guarantee those two points, what is there that a banker wouldn't do?"

"When you put it that way, it actually makes a lot of sense. How about I go give it a try?" Wang Dongliang finally understood what Luke Hans was after.

"Of course, try it, and you must succeed. Remember, don't make the loans too easy to get. Make sure the banks demand solid collateral for Silver Dragon's loans, and insist on higher interest rates so it doesn't look suspicious. I will slow down the pace over the next two days, waiting for your good news." Luke Hans's schemes were indeed calculating.

Over at Silver Dragon, things were not nearly as relaxed as at the Heng-Hai Fund. Ongoing projects could not be left unattended, and since Chu Dong was tied up, Tan Xue, who had been lazy lately, stepped back into the fray.

Chu Dong had mobilized all of Silver Dragon's funds, making the finance department the busiest place in the company. With large sums flowing in and out every second, they had to coordinate with Xie Yaomei, who was by Chu Dong's side, sending money to her the moment it hit the accounts. At one point, the massive Silver Dragon Group had less than a few hundred thousand left in liquid cash for emergencies. The finance manager's forehead had been soaked in sweat throughout the winter.

Tan Xue knew what Chu Dong was busy with, so even when she encountered problems, she tried her best to solve them on her own before turning to him. The Tianhang Building project was at a critical stage, and money was needed everywhere. Funding was the biggest hurdle; at times, project managers had to rely on personal connections to secure credit just to keep the construction going.

Tan Xue decided she needed to do something. Carrying her cute little bag, she drove to a bank they had collaborated with in the past to inquire about a loan.

Old Xie had very few hairs on his head, styled in a "local support for the central" comb-over, yet he insisted on using hair gel to make it slick and shiny. With his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked inherently cunning. He was the president of this bank.

Seeing Tan Xue arrive, a "brilliant" smile bloomed on his face, and he enthusiastically ushered her into his office.

"Little Xue, you don't come by often. How is your father lately? We haven't been in touch for a long time; I don't know how Elder Tan's health is. Be sure to convey my regards when you go back. Tell me whatever you need; we're all family here." Old Xie made small talk while brewing tea, acting like a long-lost relative.

"Thank you for your concern. Thanks to you, my father is doing well lately." Tan Xue placed her bag on the coffee table. "President Xie, I know you're busy, but I really have something to ask of you today. I wonder if it’s convenient..."