Chapter 144: Fierce Battle in the Stock Market (Part 4)

"I have a bad feeling about this. Has Silver Dragon taken the bait yet?" Luke Hans's intuition was far sharper than Wang Dongliang's. Lately, he had constantly heard Wang talking about how desperately Silver Dragon needed money and how they were pulling strings everywhere for a loan, yet for over a week, Silver Dragon's loan had still not materialized. The banks had practically offered terms on a silver platter, and yet Silver Dragon remained hesitant.

"They should have taken the bait by now. Perhaps they just need one final spark, and maybe it's time for us to fan the flames," Wang Dongliang hadn't thought that deeply into it; he was merely annoyed that Luke Hans had remained completely inactive lately.

Luke Hans frowned. He could read between the lines of Wang Dongliang's words, but upon reflection, it was indeed time to test the waters. "Start applying pressure tomorrow. Don't make Chu too comfortable."

Chu Dong had been somewhat overworked lately. Dark circles constantly rimmed his eyes. During the day, he mainly issued orders at the company, while at night, he studied documents, including the current status and development prospects of various enterprises, analyzing the truth and falsehoods of favorable news reports, and so on. The minimal rest time made even Li Youlan, who had always been hostile toward him, feel a twinge of sympathy.

"Xiaoxue, should I talk to my dad and see if he can help out?" Li Youlan said after washing her face before bed, turning to Tan Xue, who was helping Chu Dong prepare documents on the side.

"Better not. I don't think Brother Dong intends to ask others for help. What if your old man really treats Brother Dong as his son-in-law? What would I do?" Tan Xue replied thoughtlessly before going back to checking the documents.

Upon hearing this, Li Youlan's face turned red. To be fair, Li Tianming had indeed brought up the matter. When Li Youlan told her father that her boyfriend was Chu Dong, Li Tianming stopped forcing her to go on blind dates, but he still insisted that Chu Dong come home with her for a face-to-face meeting. Casually, he asked Li Youlan if Chu Dong was facing any difficulties and if there was anything he needed help with.

After brewing a cup of coffee for Tan Xue, Li Youlan sat beside her and helped organize the paperwork. Little Yu'er also ran over to join the excitement, only to be chased back to her room by Tan Xue to study.

Chu Dong lay in bed with a laptop resting on his legs, still browsing financial news on web pages. There had been quite a few reports about Silver Dragon lately, mostly positive, which was one of the reasons Silver Dragon's stock had remained relatively resilient.

Little Yu'er poked her head in for a quick look, and seeing that Chu Dong was busy, she left. The girl had become much more sensible lately; with both Chu Dong and Tan Xue busy, she was now completely capable of taking care of herself.

Early the next morning, the moment Chu Dong stepped into the company, George reported to him that Henghai had made its move. This strike was noticeably much more ruthless than before, directly hammering Silver Dragon's stock down to the limit-down board.

"Wait," Chu Dong uttered a single word after a long silence.

Just like melting snow, a massive wave of retail investors unexpectedly and gradually absorbed the shares sold off by Henghai. Recently, Silver Dragon's stock market had shown a tendency to pick up, rising from eleven yuan and ninety-six cents back to over thirteen yuan. Many people naturally knew nothing of the insider details; the moment they saw Silver Dragon's price drop again, they swarmed in immediately. Like ants nibbling away at an elephant, the volume thrown out by Henghai vanished into the vast ocean without even requiring Chu Dong to make a move.

Luke Hans had anticipated this long ago. Before the retail investors could fully recover their wits, another massive sell-off smashed Silver Dragon's stock down to the limit-down board once more. This time, retail investors lacked the courage to snap up the shares, with the majority adopting a wait-and-see approach. It was at this exact moment that Chu Dong decisively made his move.

He could wait no longer. If he waited any further, once the enthusiasm of the retail investors was extinguished and replaced by a lack of confidence, a terrifying wave of cutting losses would occur. By then, it would no longer be a battle between Silver Dragon and the Henghai Fund, but a confrontation against countless opponents.

Through a rapid series of counterattacks during this period, Chu Dong had managed to stockpile over three billion yuan in funds. While fully safeguarding the funding for the Aerospace Building, he finally possessed the capital to go toe-to-toe with Henghai. This was something even Luke Hans had not anticipated. In his impression, even if Chu Dong were driven to the absolute end of his rope, he would never condescend to act as a retail guerrilla investor just to make a quick buck—that would simply be too humiliating. Yet Chu Dong had done precisely that.

"How is it? Any movement from Silver Dragon?" Wang Dongliang watched as Chu Dong swallowed Henghai's second wave without so much as a blink, finding it difficult to read Chu Dong's strategy. He knew Chu Dong shouldn't have that much cash on hand, and there was still no news of Silver Dragon securing a loan from any bank. Anxious, he began calling the banks one by one.

"Nothing. They just keep saying they urgently need money and call several times a day, but there's no actual action."

After getting the same response from several consecutive banks, Wang Dongliang's expression began to darken. He knew he had been outmaneuvered by Chu Dong once again.

When Luke Hans learned the news, he finally understood. Chu Dong had genuinely cast aside his pride to play the stock market. Though somewhat depressed, he wasn't particularly worried, because he still held enough capital to crush Silver Dragon; it would simply cost him a little more effort.

The onslaught continued. Sell order after sell order was hurled out by the Henghai Fund like bricks. With two consecutive limit-down sessions, Silver Dragon's stock price was pushed perilously close to ten yuan. Fortunately, closing time arrived; otherwise, a large-scale sell-off by stock owners might have immediately followed.

"Boss, we need to find a familiar-looking expert to release some positive news right now, or tomorrow will be a disaster," George said, standing in Chu Dong's office with a solemn expression.

Chu Dong shook his head. "No, we don't do things like that."

Little Yu'er required no attention these days, and Tan Xue hadn't left even when off-duty time arrived. Sitting on the sofa opposite Chu Dong, she didn't quite understand his approach. From her perspective, the suggestion George had just offered was undoubtedly the wisest course of action.

Noticing Tan Xue's puzzled expression, Chu Dong offered a bitter smile. "George, there are some things you don't understand. In China, there are Chinese principles. This is my motherland. Even though I have never met the other retail investors, I cannot do such a thing. Once Silver Dragon finally collapses, the victims won't just be our company, but those ordinary retail investors who are full of affection and hope for Silver Dragon. We cannot speak of our hardships right now, because once we do, we will lose any chance of redemption, but I will never release fake news to the outside world, using false promises and lies to deceive others. Not for anything else, but simply because this place, here, is my home..."

Hearing this, George could only nod. The boss was the boss, and the boss had the final say. Even if he suffered a defeat, he wouldn't lose as much as the boss. As an employee, he disagreed with Chu Dong's approach, but as a friend, he knew how heavy the word "motherland" was in Chu Dong's heart.

In contrast to George's silence, Tan Xue was left in a state of profound shock. She truly could no longer fathom the man before her—unrestrained and playful at times, serious when working, a bit foolish, yet endearingly so. Just as Chu Dong spoke those words, she clearly saw responsibility, mission, and deep emotion shining in his eyes.

"I agree." Tan Xue had rarely been in absolute lockstep with Chu Dong on any matter, let alone giving such a poignant endorsement of his words and actions. Today was the most resolute she had ever been.

"Brother Dong, no matter what decision you make, I will support you. Even if we use the entire Silver Dragon as a gamble, I am willing to take that risk with you. Even if we lose everything and are reduced to destitution, I will wander the world by your side."

This was the first time Tan Xue had expressed her feelings toward Chu Dong so overtly. Previously, even though she had acknowledged in her heart that she was Chu Dong's fiancée, she had never voiced it aloud. This time, she knew that the man before her was worth accompanying for the rest of her life. Even if she had to give up wealth and glory, she would never feel lonely, because she had read the true definition of a man through Chu Dong.

With both the boss and the boss's wife speaking thus, George naturally had no choice. He shrugged and turned to leave.

The moment the market opened the next day, just as Luke Hans prepared to ramp up the pressure, Chu Dong struck first.

George and his team had made preparations the previous night. Right at the market open, they used the absolute minimum amount of time to sweep away the sell orders, pouring all their remaining capital into the fray to instantly catapult the stock market back up. Silver Dragon's stock price surged from a little over nine yuan straight to ten yuan and sixty cents. The vast multitude of retail investors naturally lacked the professional speed; just as they were still standing in line waiting to sell off their Silver Dragon shares, they immediately spotted a massive bullish green candlestick on the board and halted in their tracks. Exchanging bewildered glances, they retreated to the lounge areas to watch the market trajectory of Silver Dragon.

Chu Dong's opening strike was a success. Not only did it pacify the retail investors, but it also firmly restored their near-collapsed confidence. The massive wave of buying orders also delivered a profound shock to the Henghai Fund. Luke Hans had been far too confident in himself; he never imagined Chu Dong would pull off such a move—it was completely unexpected. Tallying up the Silver Dragon shares he currently held, he found they amounted to less than 2 percent. Even if these could be used to plug the gap against Chu Dong's current buying wave, the remainder was utterly incapable of stirring up any waves. Up to this point, it could be said that the Henghai Fund's covert acquisition of 28 percent of Silver Dragon's equity in an attempt to overthrow Chu Dong had completely bankrupted.

Everyone stared fixedly at the electronic screen displaying Silver Dragon's stock: ten yuan seventy-five cents, ten yuan eighty-three cents, ten yuan ninety, eleven yuan sixty... A long-absent bullish candlestick soared upward once more. Amidst cheers initiated by an unknown person, retail investors who had intended to sell off their Silver Dragon shares just moments before burst into cheers. Complete strangers even embraced one another, and more than one romance was forged right there on the spot.

Sharing in the jubilation were the dozen or so people inside the office prepared for George and his team by Silver Dragon. The previous tension was swept away entirely, and everyone queued up to high-five Chu Dong in celebration. As the final person passed before him, the group let out a cheer resembling the howl of wolves.

Tan Xue stood present, her large eyes glistening with tears. She witnessed not only a wise leader and a tightly knit band of brothers, but also that dense, inseparable camaraderie lingering thick in the air.

Celebration was mandatory. Chu Dong announced a 30 percent year-end bonus increase for George and his team as compensation for their efforts over these past few days. Naturally, another wave of cheers erupted; when a boss is generous, subordinates naturally work hard. According to the rules set by Chu Dong, 10 percent of all profits were allocated as employee compensation. This time, there had been no actual profits realized, leaving no formal way to calculate a commission, which was why he made this decision.

Just as George loudly demanded to know where they were going to get roaring drunk, a news broadcast on the television shattered the newly restored peace in the hearts of Chu Dong and Tan Xue.