Ye Chen, Are You Not Afraid of a Fight to the Death?

Ye Chen's expression darkened instantly as he noticed the agents around him, their eyes nearly bloodshot with anxiety. Quickly, he spoke up, "You all know my abilities well. This is just a small fluctuation meant to attract retail investors. There's no need to panic. These fluctuations are necessary to ensure that all of you can make more money."

The room quieted down immediately after his words. The agents, though tense, nodded in agreement. However, Ye Chen secretly pulled his most trusted subordinate aside, his face grim. "What's going on?"

"It's... it's the Tang Corporation. They're dumping their stocks like crazy right now!"

"Tang Ao!?" Ye Chen's face turned even darker. "How much liquid capital do we have left?"

"Dragon King, we've already exhausted all our funds. There's nothing left... unless..."

"Damn it! How can Tang Ao be so lucky? If only he had sold a bit later... If we had managed to dump our stocks before him, he'd be the one suffering now!"

Ye Chen clenched his fists, his gaze sweeping over the agents representing various families. His earlier words were only meant to stabilize them. If they started selling off too, it would be difficult for the Dragon King Hall to maximize its profits.

In Ye Chen's view, self-preservation was paramount. This had always been his guiding principle.

Without hesitation, Ye Chen gave the order, "Dump all the Zhou's Special Ling stocks we hold."

His subordinate hesitated, glancing sympathetically at the agents in the lobby. "What about these people? Some of them... they've leveraged their positions dozens of times..."

"Business is war. Besides, their losses have nothing to do with me," Ye Chen replied coldly. At this point, he and the Dragon King Hall were guaranteed to profit, but... the Tang Corporation and Tang Ao would profit even more.

The profits were concentrated with those who acted first, and most of the spoils had been claimed by the Tang family. The Dragon King Hall was left to pick up the scraps.

Ye Chen could only blame luck. Tang Ao's luck was just too good—so good that Ye Chen was starting to wonder if Tang Ao had read the script of life beforehand.

"I understand."

The subordinate nodded and promptly relayed Ye Chen's orders.

Five minutes later, chaos erupted in the hotel lobby.

"Dragon King, what's happening? Why has Zhou's Special Ling's stock price dropped by twelve percentage points in just ten minutes instead of rebounding?"

"Dragon King, was this all part of your plan? I leveraged my position. If the price drops more than fifteen percent, I'll be forced to close out. Has something gone wrong?"

At this critical moment, it was Old Master Lin who stood up. "What's all this panic? Didn't Young Friend Ye just say this is normal fluctuation? Without this, how do you expect to attract retail investors? How do you expect us to reap the benefits?"

Old Master Lin's words once again calmed the room. No one dared voice their doubts anymore, and all eyes were fixed on the electronic display, waiting for the stock to rebound.

Ye Chen coldly observed the people around him, not saying a word. He knew that in less than ten minutes, these people would turn from allies to enemies. Some... those who had taken risky positions with high leverage... would find themselves contemplating a jump from the nearest rooftop tonight.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Zhou's Special Ling's stock price had plummeted by an astonishing forty percent!

It was an unprecedented and monumental crash!

Already, several people had sunk to the floor, their eyes red with despair.

One man, emboldened by desperation, approached Ye Chen. "Dragon King, I need you to explain what's going on. I leveraged my position fifty times. Now I've been forced to close out. Not only have I lost my entire million-dollar principal, but I'm also five million in debt!"

Without looking up, Ye Chen replied coldly, "Profit and risk go hand in hand. Do you really need me to explain such a simple concept?"

"Ye Chen!" The man's desperation turned to rage. "You're going to ruin me! Even if I sell everything I own, I can't cover this debt!"

"Oh? And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Dragon King, you invited us to invest in this. If you don't help us now, we'll all be doomed!"

Ye Chen's face twisted into a mocking smile. "You're asking me to cover your losses?"

Immediately, the dozen or so people who had leveraged their positions spoke up in unison, their eyes filled with desperate hope. "Exactly!"

"Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Dragon King, I apologize for my greed!"

"I knew the Dragon King wouldn't abandon us!"

Ye Chen's subordinate gave him a nod, signaling that the Dragon King Hall had successfully cashed out all its holdings. This meant that the Dragon King Hall had made over a hundred billion from this operation.

Yet, despite this success, Ye Chen's expression was darker than ever.

Seeing the growing discontent around him, the subordinate stepped forward, a menacing look on his face as he addressed the crowd. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Dragon King never said he'd cover your losses. We're all adults here. You made your choices; now it's time to face the consequences."

"Ye Chen, aren't you afraid we'll drag you down with us?" one of the men threatened.

"If someone wants to be disgraced, the Dragon King Hall is always ready to teach them a lesson in dignity. That goes for you, and it goes double for the Tang family. I'll make Tang Ao wish he were dead. The Tang family won't be sitting on their throne for long!"

With that, Ye Chen turned on his heel and strode out of the hotel lobby. No one dared to speak up against him.

Everyone present understood the weight of the name Dragon King Hall.

Anyone targeted by the Dragon King Hall was destined for a miserable end.

It was clear now that Ye Chen had no intention of helping them. At this point, anyone with a brain could see that Ye Chen's plan had collapsed.

And the reason for that collapse pointed directly to the Tang family!

When did the Tang family become so powerful!?

The mighty Dragon King, the meticulously planned scheme of the Dragon King Hall, had been shattered by a mere Tang family!

Before this, everyone here had believed that the Tang family was nothing more than an insect in the path of the Dragon King Hall. But now...

At that moment, the head of the Sun family, clinging to the last shred of hope, called out to Ye Chen. "Dragon King, will Zhou's Special Ling's stock still reach 125%?"

Ye Chen turned, his gaze sweeping the room. His arrogance remained undiminished, his powerful presence pressing down on everyone like a mountain. He spoke with unwavering confidence:

"It will, of course!"

"Does this mean the Dragon King has a backup plan!?"