I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

The conference has been going on for three hours.

The lecturer on stage was replaced by a middle-aged man wearing glasses. This guy's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and he talked about nothing but dry technical parameters.

What about the weight allocation of a multilayer perceptron, and the convergence speed of asynchronous gradient descent?

These technical terms were like a lullaby, making the investors in the audience yawn.

One chubby boss simply pulled his suit over his head and started snoring in his leather seat.

General Manager Zhu found Wang Xianqi chugging bottled water in the smoking room.

"Hurry up and get up there, don't rest." General Manager Zhu stubbed out his cigarette butt in the water-filled ashtray, his face turning pale.

"Mr. Zhu, my throat is practically burning. I've said everything I needed to say, there's nothing more to say." Wang Xianqi said with a bitter face, his tie askew.

He already said a lot at the last conference, and there are still people from the same group listening at this conference. If I continue to repeat the same content, those people definitely won't want to hear it.

“We have to keep talking, even if it’s smoky! That four-eyed guy up there is driving everyone away. The market outside is acting strangely right now. Our trading system isn’t making any money; in fact, it’s been constantly depositing margin. The slippage is too severe. We need time to wait for the market to reverse. As long as the conference isn’t over, the trading results on the screen aren’t the final results. You have to keep them firmly in place!” General Manager Zhu said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xianqi could only wipe his face and tidy his hair.

Ten minutes later.

"Everyone! We've just talked about technology, and now I'd like to talk to you about the future." Wang Xianqi's voice became excited again, like throwing a match into a powder keg.

"Many people ask, what exactly is AI in the future? I tell you, it's the steam engine of yesteryear, the iron heel of 18th-century British industrial reform! Back then, weavers felt machines were taking away their livelihoods, so they protested and rioted, and what happened? They all became cannon fodder of the era. The global financial market is now undergoing a reshuffling even more brutal than the Industrial Revolution. Today's traders, analysts, and even the CFOs of the companies sitting here today will be replaced by systems like 3X in the future..."

Saori's phone vibrated in the audience.

The text message from Chen Xi was very short: Delay the conference and don't let them end it early.

Saori looked at Wang Xianqi, who was speaking eloquently on stage, and then glanced at Jin Nana, who was wearing a black mask and idly fiddling with her nails.

She reached out and gently poked Jin Nana's waist.

Jin Nana turned around.

Saori pursed her lips.

Jin Nana raised an eyebrow knowingly, then cleared her throat and raised her hand amidst enthusiastic applause.

Just as Wang Xianqi was getting to the climax of his speech, someone asked a question, so he quickly signaled the sound engineer to turn down the background music.

"What insightful opinion does this beautiful woman wearing a mask have?"

"You just praised AI to the skies. But I have a question: if everyone in the world uses AI for trading, won't there be no real people in the market? It'll just be algorithms harvesting each other. It'll be like a casino full of robots playing dice. Tell me, can that casino still stay open? Who will be the one who loses in the end?"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

The initial enthusiasm was completely dampened by this one question.

Everyone couldn't help but think about this question.

Yes, if machines are the ones doing all the games in the future, will Soros, Buffett and the like all be laid off?
Saori, sitting to the side, chuckled to herself, then texted Chen Xi what Jin Nana had just said.

In the office building, Chen Xi looked at his phone with a smile on his face, then turned to Elaine beside him and asked her the question based on the text message.

"What would happen if everyone used quantitative trading in the future?" Elaine was suddenly stumped by this question.

She, along with those companies that use quantitative methods, is now like a player using cheat codes in a game.

Their current thinking is that using cheats is incredibly fun.

You don't need to operate it manually 24 hours a day. You just need to check the computer screen from time to time to see if the cheat is running properly.

They didn't even consider what would happen if everyone in the game used cheats.

However, this is a normal way of thinking, and even Chen Xi in his previous life didn't consider this issue much.

Everyone only thinks about one thing: I have a cheat code now, so I'm ahead of others.

I use cheats to dominate others because I have a powerful weapon.

If all the players who aren't cheating are killed, wouldn't that leave a bunch of cheaters dominating the game?

Chen Xi remembered a game called PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) from his previous life. When it was first released, it became a global phenomenon. However, this was followed by rampant cheating, which eventually led to a large number of players who weren't cheating choosing to quit the game.

The game starts with a maximum of 100 players, meaning that the game can only begin when there are 100 or nearly 100 players.

The large number of players leaving the game led to a decrease in the player base, making game queues extremely difficult. So the official team came up with a solution: using bots to fill the gaps left by real players.

However, AI is still AI, and its operational capabilities are limited, making it essentially a sitting duck in the game.

In the end, it's basically just cheaters killing each other, which greatly reduces the fun of the game.

In the end, it becomes a battle between cheaters, and the cheaters, unable to experience the thrill, will leave the game.

"I don't know, what do you think it would be like?" Elaine thought for a long time but still didn't know, so she asked in return.

"Quantitative algorithms are essentially about finding patterns. If the entire market were made of AI, everyone would be using similar logic to find that one-ten-thousandth of a second of profit. The market would become abnormally stable because any tiny arbitrage opportunity would be wiped out within 0.001 seconds. The candlestick chart would look like a straight line, devoid of any aesthetic appeal. Once a sudden event occurs that the model cannot explain, all the AIs will trigger their stop-loss orders and make the same move in the same millisecond—liquidation! At this point, there's no one left in the market to buy, and liquidity instantly dries up. This is Flash." Crash. Then another question arises: if the market is full of bots, who loses money? The capital market isn't a perpetual motion machine; it's a zero-sum game, and after deducting transaction fees, it can even be a negative-sum game. If everyone has top-tier AI, it becomes an arms race of computing power and latency. Companies with slightly weaker algorithms will be quickly devoured by those with stronger algorithms. In the end, the market might only have three or five giants with top-tier computing power left, staring at each other like deep-sea monsters, none daring to make the first move. Take the stock market as an example: the original purpose of stocks is to reflect a company's value. But AI doesn't care whether a company sells shovels or chips; it only cares about data characteristics. If it's all quantitative trading, stock prices might completely detach from fundamentals, becoming a string of purely mathematical symbols. No matter how good a company's performance is, if it doesn't trigger the AI's buy algorithm, the stock price will remain stagnant. This is a disaster for the real economy. In short: a fully quantitative market is a cold, extremely efficient, yet extremely fragile digital wasteland!

Chen Xi took a sip of tea and subconsciously reached into her pocket for a pack of cigarettes. But then she remembered the rules of her new mother-in-law's household and silently put the pack back in her pocket.

“That sounds reasonable, but nobody will listen to you. Everyone wants to take advantage of others, so who would hold back a sharp knife? People are selfish and greedy, and countries are always competing with each other. Nobody would consider these things and put down their blades.” Elaine’s words were very true.

Inside the hotel venue, Wang Xianqi was already stumped by the questions.

He stood under the spotlight, his scalp tingling.

Jin Nana's question was like a knife, directly tearing away the glamorous skin of the 3X platform.

If the venue is full of robots, who will lose money?

He wiped the sweat from his brow, forcing a smile, and said, "Madam, your logic is quite interesting. But technology is always about survival of the fittest. In the future, whoever has the strongest quantitative trading skills will be the winner."

"What if 3X's technology becomes number one in the world? Everyone invests in you, and other companies lose money and exit the market. Who will you profit from then on? Will you profit from your own losses? In a game without losers, where will your profits come from? It's like a casino—if no players go in and lose money, how will it make a profit to keep the casino running?" Jin Nana wasn't going to let him off the hook, her voice coming through her mask.

The audience was silent.

Investors aren't stupid; everyone's here to make money.

If there's only one assassin left in the arena with a sharp knife, but no easy target, what's the point of sharpening that knife?
They're definitely targeting certain investors.

Wang Xianqi's mind raced, and his Adam's apple bobbed twice.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, and he came up with a way to make things work out.

"You've hit the nail on the head! If that day truly comes, it will mean the technology is fully mature. Just like I said, AI will replace the vast majority of human labor. At that time, we won't be reaping the harvest, but rather ushering in an era of all-welfare computing power! Think about it, when AI farms, AI builds buildings, and AI manufactures goods in factories 24/7, the production cost of bread, cars, and even yachts will approach zero. Humans will no longer need to work hard for survival, and the world will enter a post-scarcity society. At that time, the 3X platform will no longer be a simple trading tool, but an automatic distribution center for global wealth."

At first, no one understood what the era of full-welfare computing power meant, but after Wang Xianqi explained it, everyone understood.

Isn't this the essence of XXX?

Wang Xianqi waved his arms, describing the dreamlike scene.

"Everyone's daily work consists of painting, writing poetry, and traveling the world. Resources will be precisely allocated by AI, and poverty will be completely eradicated. The happiest time in human history is right before our eyes!"

These words sounded so beautiful that many people in the audience once again became fervent in their eyes.

This is no longer about finance; it's about painting a picture of a utopian world for them.

Jin Nana let out a soft laugh.

"Professor Wang, I want to ask, since AI produces everything, who holds the control of this mother machine that produces everything? Is it certain companies or the state apparatus? In some places now, those with privileges can't even enjoy the most basic equal civil rights. Why should we believe that in the AI ​​era, they will hand over control and engage in some kind of welfare distribution? Who exactly controls the AI ​​future you speak of? If it's certain companies or the state apparatus, we won't be ushering in a happy time, but rather becoming digital serfs without even bargaining power. Is that right?"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence once again; even breathing could be clearly heard.

Wang Xianqi opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

He discovered that his theories, which he used to fool uneducated people, were as fragile as a piece of toilet paper soaked in water in front of this woman wearing a mask.

Saori looked at her best friend with surprise and secretly gave her a thumbs up. She was so eloquent!
No wonder Chen Xi never wanted to argue with her before.

Just then, General Manager Zhu returned. He had heard what was just said, and he quickly ran up to the two women, winking and saying, "My dear ladies, aren't you just undermining us?"

"Hmph, this is what happens when you waste our precious time. We've been sitting here for hours, and this guy on stage has been just making empty promises. The numbers on the screen keep changing, but where's the profit? Luckily, we were smart enough not to hand over the money directly to you, or it would have been gone long ago," Saori said coldly, arms crossed.

"Oh dear, please calm down, I've already asked the technical department to increase their investment..." Knowing he was in the wrong, General Manager Zhu could only suppress his anger and say things to appease the two women, feeling incredibly wronged.

"I'm telling you, if I don't see any profit today, I won't invest a single penny!" Saori persisted.

"Understood, understood. If you two feel bored, you can go for a walk. Maybe things will turn out well when you come back!" President Zhu didn't want the two to cause trouble, so he immediately tried to send them away.

"Do you even need to tell me? We'll just go shopping when we get tired of looking around. You go ahead and do your thing." Jin Nana glanced at President Zhu, waved her hand as if shooing away flies.

A short while later, their conversation was relayed to Chen Xi via text message.

"Hehehe." In the office building, Chen Xi kept laughing as he looked at the text message. Elaine, who was next to him, saw this and quickly asked, "Stop laughing like an idiot. I just received news. That fat guy from the Black Palace has issued the latest order to put pressure on the top brass of South Korea. Wall Street has launched a full-scale attack, and the amount of money entering the market now is enormous."

"OK, let's get started!" Chen Xi sat up and snapped his fingers.

The news that the Black House issued instructions to South Korea was like a super-dose of adrenaline, sending the global foreign exchange market into a frenzy.

From office buildings in London's financial district to financial companies on the streets of Seoul, everyone is glued to their phones.

"I'm rich! I knew America would make a move!" A short-term speculator in London gulped down a mouthful of coffee, his eyes bloodshot.

He just maxed out all the remaining leverage in his account and went all-in on P2P cryptocurrency.

In his eyes, this was money he had picked up for free.

As soon as the two countries shake hands, the kimchi won exchange rate will definitely surge like a rocket.

This fervent sentiment has spread throughout the world.

Countless retail investors who knew nothing about foreign exchange entered the market at this time.

They felt this was a golden opportunity, and if they didn't jump in now, they'd never be able to turn their lives around.

We live in the internet age, where messages can travel the world in seconds.

Everyone only knew one thing: the fat man from the Black Palace couldn't stand it anymore and took action. This script was exactly as they had originally predicted.

South Korea is a soft target, so they'll definitely compromise. Not buying now would be a huge mistake!
Inside the new mother-in-law's meeting room.

Looking at the profit curve on the big screen, Mr. Zhu was practically floating on air.

He patted his chest and jogged over to Jin Nana and Saori: "See that! This is 3X technology! This is the future!"

Wang Xianqi reached a climax on stage, his voice hoarse but still desperately trying to evoke emotion: "This is the dividend of the times! Ladies and gentlemen, the numbers in your accounts are just the beginning!"

The audience erupted in applause, and some people even started calling their wives at home, clamoring to move to a bigger villa.

Inside the office building.

Chen Xi leaned back in his chair, watching the flood of payments pouring in on the screen, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"This isn't a rise, it's a dead cat bounce. They're not taking chips, they're taking a bomb with a lit fuse."

Elaine's palms were sweaty.

Looking at the backend data, she saw that Wall Street institutions were taking advantage of the liquidity created by this news to frantically dump their coin positions on excited buyers.

“They’ve gone mad, the whole world has gone mad,” Elaine muttered to herself.

“He’s not crazy, he’s greedy.” Chen Xi shook his head.

Several hours later.

Seoul, negotiation room.

The heavy wooden door was finally pushed open.

Park Sung-hoon was the first to come out. He looked like he had no bones, and his face was ashen.

Without saying a word, he walked quickly toward the elevator with the help of his staff.

Immediately afterwards, the island nation issued an official announcement: negotiations broke down, and export controls were immediately expanded to cover all core semiconductor materials.

Almost at the same second, the blond fat man updated his social media: America only cares about its own interests. The cost of stationing troops must be increased fivefold, otherwise we have no reason to protect those who are unwilling to pay.

boom!
The global foreign exchange market was as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped on it.

The USD/KRW price jumped directly from 1145 to 1165 without any transition.

A huge, despairing vacuum appeared on the chart.

"What's going on? Why can't I buy anymore!" a speculator in London screamed, discovering that his stop-loss order was not being executed.

There's no one willing to take over.

Those retail investors who were originally shouting to buy at the bottom disappeared in an instant.

The market was flooded with sell orders, but not a single buy order could be found.

The servers on the 3X platform started screaming.

The 15-millisecond delay injected by Chen Xi became the final steel bar that broke the camel's back.

Mr. Zhu frantically tapped on his phone in the meeting room, trying to get the technical department to cancel the order and to liquidate the inventory to save the company.

But all he saw was a cold, impersonal message: Orders in queue... Liquidity depleted.

On the big screen, the originally fiery red curve drew a vertical straight line downwards, like a sharp knife that pierced through everyone's heart.

1170, 1180, 1200...

The exchange rate is like a meteorite falling from outer space, smashing all the support levels to pieces.

"My money! My money is gone!" Investors around the world cried out in despair.

Chen Xi sat up straight and pressed the Enter key on the keyboard.

"Close the net."

All clearing interfaces are open.

Every penny lost on the 3X platform flowed precisely into Chen Xi's hedge account through the mirror network within those few milliseconds.

This is no longer about making money.

This is like using an industrial vacuum cleaner to frantically bleed blood directly from the veins of President Zhu and that group of greedy people around the world.

"Buzz." Just then, Mr. Zhu's phone suddenly rang, and he quickly picked it up.

"What's going on now?" Thomas's anxious voice came through the phone.

"The money...the money is gone..." Mr. Zhu stammered nervously.

"Aren't there several plans? If a loss occurs, the system will stop the loss and stop the trade. Besides, isn't everything arranged? If a problem occurs, we'll connect to the virtual data display. What's the situation at the venue?" Thomas's mind was full of questions.

In quantitative trading, stop-loss points are all set in advance. What does it mean if the money is gone?
Like everyone else, he had misjudged the situation, thinking that South Korea would compromise in the negotiations, but the outcome was unexpected.

Even so, it's impossible to lose everything.

"The technical department says the transaction cannot be stopped... the virtual data cannot be transferred..." General Manager Zhu was also dumbfounded at this moment, because their technical department still hadn't found the reason.

“Damn it! Didn’t I tell you to split the money in two? Where’s the rest?” Thomas roared.

"Yes, the money is still there..." Mr. Zhu was jolted awake by the scolding and suddenly remembered that he still had half of the money.

"Immediately invest in the cryptocurrency market. The forex market has collapsed, but it's still booming there. Hurry up and reap the rewards. Recover as much loss as you can. With the money you have left, you can still make a profit. What we need is to keep the investors on site calm and use their money to fill the hole."

"Yes, yes, I'll arrange it right now!" General Manager Zhu rallied his spirits and quickly arranged for people to begin implementing the emergency plan.

What exactly happened, and why did the negotiations break down?

Has South Korea gone mad?

At this point, no one in the world understands this.

P.S.: This part about the new mother-in-law's forex trading wasn't originally planned for the book. I write in reverse chronological order, and adding such a large section slowed things down. The story in the book is similar to, but different from, the situation in 19. Some content has also been revised; this is purely for entertainment.

I'm combining this with events from 25 years ago, specifically the time I lost money in South Korea... I think I mentioned it in a previous book... Because I had several projects to support, which were quite expensive, I wanted to make some money to cover the losses...

When I was trading foreign exchange, the hotel I stayed at happened to be the venue for the bilateral talks. At that time, the Korean won was at its lowest point in ten years, and people like me wanted to jump in and make a fortune. Everyone thought the negotiations would succeed and we'd be rich, but...

I even sneaked around the conference room area for a bit. They assumed I was Korean and didn't stop me, but I didn't go inside. I don't know why, but they all thought I looked like one of their compatriots and kept speaking Korean to me. Based on my observation, the talks shouldn't have any major problems.

The result was that I lost money, just like 99% of people, because everyone thought it wouldn't be like 19, and that the Koreans wouldn't overturn the table. Because they did overturn the table once before, causing the Korean currency to depreciate wildly, and then they reconciled with the island nation. Overturning it again would be incredibly foolish.

The truth is, we were all wrong.

The ending was the same as General Manager Zhu's.

After losing money, the first thing that popped into my head was a scene from a TV series; it felt so real.

I wonder if anyone has seen the Hong Kong drama "The Greed of Man".

When the Ting family was involved in the Gulf War, they went on a short-selling spree in the stock market. Their thinking was that if the US attacked Iraq, a global war would break out, the global economy would collapse, and the Hang Seng Index would plummet. However, the moment the missiles fell, because the war was progressing so rapidly, the stock market experienced an unprecedented rebound, and the Ting family was instantly wiped out.

As for why Koreans dare to overturn the table, that will be covered in the next chapter. (End of this chapter)