Dropping the Ball at the Critical Moment

"Then, what do you think is the lowest that the stock price of this company, Zhou's Special Spirit, will drop to today?"

"Who the heck knows!"

Seeing Tang Ao retreating in shock, Zhou Qiao'er couldn't help but laugh softly.

[Zhou Qiao'er is getting bolder by the day. This is out in the open! What if someone passes by… even if no one is around, what if a cat or dog comes by? It wouldn't be good at all!]

[According to the original plot, Ye Chen's bottom line should be a 35% drop. Once it hits that, he'll start harvesting, buying stocks like crazy to push the price up. Then, when it rises by 35%, he'll dump everything, causing Zhou's Special Spirit to hit the limit down!]

[At that point, no matter how much money Da Zhou Pharmaceutical throws in, they'll lose everything—it's all just making clothes for Ye Chen!]

Zhou Qiao'er glanced at Tang Ao gratefully, then started giving orders over the phone:

"Stop all stock buyback operations immediately!"

At the same time, in the highest-class five-star hotel in Dragon Kingdom, everything was on lockdown. Surrounded by powerful figures, Ye Chen stood at the center of the grand hall, with all the prominent entrepreneurs of Longquan City, excluding the Tang family, gathered around him.

"Today, you will witness history. This is also the gift I, Ye Chen, have prepared for you all."

Ye Chen raised his head, a proud smile creeping up his lips. This feeling of being at the center of attention—he hadn't felt it in so long:

"Today, I, Ye Chen, using the reputation Dragon King Hall has accumulated over the years, guarantee that as long as you follow my lead and obey my commands, every single one of you will profit handsomely alongside me!"

"Dragon King, don't worry. Forget about making money; even if it means losing everything, as long as it helps you, I won't hesitate!"

"Dragon King, I'm willing to give you 90% of the profits after it's all done. Please, don't turn it down!"

"Dragon King, I'm old now, and you know about Ruoxue's temper... She wouldn't ignore even my words unless something very urgent came up. As you know, Lin's Pharmaceuticals… she's the one calling the shots now. I'm just an old relic…"

Ye Chen frowned slightly. He had intended to use this occasion to provoke Lin Ruoxue, to show her just how powerful her bodyguard really was, hoping to change her negative impression of him. He hadn't even considered asking the Lin family for money.

The Lin family's assets were the smallest among all the companies present and not even worth mentioning. If not for Lin Ruoxue, Lin's grandfather wouldn't even qualify to be here.

Despite Lin Ruoxue's absence, Ye Chen graciously helped Lin's grandfather off the floor:

"Grandpa Lin, what are you saying? Ruoxue is destined to be my woman. Do you really think I'd care about Lin's Pharmaceuticals' little bit of money?"

Grandpa Lin nodded enthusiastically, smiling so wide that one of his front teeth popped out of his mouth.

This comical scene didn't draw any laughter. Instead, everyone present looked at Grandpa Lin with envy.

It was like the story of Fan Jin passing the imperial exam; those watching might have envied him more than anything else.

"The Lin family really raised a good granddaughter!"

"Dragon King, I have twin granddaughters who just turned 18. They haven't even held a boy's hand yet. Would you consider them?"

"Dragon King, my granddaughter was just born yesterday. Would you… be willing to wait a few years?"

"Enough!" Ye Chen frowned, and the room instantly fell silent. "I didn't invite you here today to discuss this. Right now, I need all of you to gather every bit of funding you can muster and join me in suppressing Zhou's Special Spirit's stock price. Don't stop until I give the word, and no one is allowed to act on their own or leave early. Otherwise... hmmph!"

As the stock price, which had briefly risen, started to fall again, the smile on Ye Chen's face grew wider.

In this situation, Da Zhou Pharmaceutical wouldn't just sit back and do nothing. They would most likely seek help from their partners to rescue the market!

The more money poured in to save the market, the more Ye Chen would profit!

The bigger the commotion, the more retail investors would get involved, inflating the pool of capital even further, allowing Ye Chen to make an even bigger profit!

He was confident that today's bloodless war would allow him to rake in at least five billion from Da Zhou Pharmaceutical and all the other retail investors!

Once he had the money...

Tang Ao, your Tang family will be the first target!

I'll turn you from a wealthy heir into a penniless loser. You'll go from living in a mansion to living in the sewers!

...

At the hospital, Dr. Chen's phone kept ringing incessantly.

His friends were all calling, devastated by their losses as Zhou's Special Spirit's stock plummeted.

But Dr. Chen, who had followed Tang Ao's advice and shorted Zhou's Special Spirit, had made a cool hundred thousand in just half an hour!

And now, as Zhou's Special Spirit's stock continued to fall, he was still raking in the profits!

Dr. Chen decided to take an hour off and focus on the stock market in his office. Every percentage point of fluctuation meant tens of thousands in profit or loss!

As the stock price steadily declined, Dr. Chen's heart raced.

He even toyed with the idea of taking out a loan to leverage his position further!

But, calming himself down, he resisted the urge.

This was a gift from the heavens.

This was an opportunity given to him by Tang Ao!

When Zhou's Special Spirit's stock dropped by 30%, Dr. Chen had already made two hundred thousand!

Now, with that amount of money, he could meet his girlfriend's family's demands!

Dr. Chen closed his eyes, ending his roller-coaster ride. With fifty thousand in his bank account and the stock still dropping...

Dr. Chen shut off his phone, feeling no regret.

One shouldn't be too greedy!

Excited, he called his girlfriend to tell her he'd visit her parents next week with the money. After hanging up, he relaxed and started carefully reviewing Zhou Ling'er's mother's surgical plan.

...

Across the ocean, in Da Zhou Pharmaceutical's headquarters, the mood in the conference room was grim as Zhou's Special Spirit's stock price continued to plummet.

"Miss Zhou Qiao'er, are we going to enter the market or not? If we don't act soon, Zhou's Special Spirit will hit the limit down and be forcibly delisted!"

"Miss Zhou Qiao'er, what are we waiting for? We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Using the excuse of going to the restroom, Zhou Qiao'er slipped away from Tang Ao and anxiously stared at the stock price of Zhou's Special Spirit on her phone.

It had dropped by 34%.

Just one more percentage point to go!

"Wait for my signal!" Zhou Qiao'er watched as the stock fell to 35%. She decisively gave the order, "Pour all our funds into buying Zhou's Special Spirit's stock—now!"

The head of the Sakura Nation division panicked: "Miss Zhou, you can't be reckless. This isn't just forty-six billion anymore; it's a full two hundred billion!"

"Miss Zhou Zhou Qiao'er, please reconsider. If this money is lost, our cash flow will be in serious trouble!"

Faced with Zhou Qiao'er's command, most of the division heads hesitated.

Zhou Qiao'er was so frustrated she wanted to scream.

How could they drop the ball at such a critical moment?