I have a debt of 3 trillion, and my creditors are begging me not to die.

Glencore CEO Lopez held a press conference.

Reporter: Sihai Investment's short selling of Glencore is clearly aimed at forcing you to settle with Qingshan Group. How does your company plan to respond?

Lopez replied with a laugh, “We don’t care at all. Yes, you heard right, we don’t care at all. We are a commodities trading company, and we make money mainly from commodities trading, not from manipulating stock prices. Whether our stock price is high or low, it doesn’t prevent us from paying dividends to our shareholders. So, even if they short our stock to the point of being worthless, we won’t care. We have our own objectives in this operation, and we will not stop until we achieve our goals.”

The reporter then asked: So what is your purpose? Would you mind telling us?

Lopez replied with a smile, "Of course it's convenient! Our goal is to acquire Qingshan Group's nickel mines in Indonesia. Either they deliver enough nickel, or they use the Indonesian nickel mines as compensation. Even if Yang Chen came to their rescue, or even if God came to their rescue, it wouldn't matter. I've got Qingshan Group in my grasp, I said it!"

The audience immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause. These foreigners had been holding back their anger for a long time, having been suppressed by Yang Chen, and now they finally had a chance to vent, so they were all very happy.

Then, major European media outlets began to hype up Lopez's remarks that looked down on Yang Chen, which excited Europeans to no end.

A French netizen commented: "That's exactly the mentality and spirit we need. Too many of our companies have succumbed to Yang Chen's tyranny; finally, a company that isn't afraid of him has emerged. Glencore is openly playing its cards against Yang Chen; what can he do about it?"

A Swiss netizen commented: "See? In the end, Europe, and even the entire Western world, will have to rely on us to prove our strength. Companies from all countries, watch closely. We'll only demonstrate once; learn how to deal with Yang Chen."

A German netizen commented: Glencore might get the minerals they want, but Yang Chen's shorting of Glencore will net him at least tens of billions of pounds, enough to buy a lot of nickel mines. The nickel from Russia just can't be used for futures delivery, not for battery manufacturing. They can simply use their profits to buy nickel from Russia; they won't suffer any loss, only Qingshan Group will.

Italian netizens: German netizens always pretend to be clear-headed. Everyone is happily sending blessings and congratulations, making you seem more knowledgeable and insightful, right? We just support Glencore taking down Yang Chen, are you unhappy about that?
A German netizen commented: "Are you out of your mind? This is a public platform where anyone can express their opinions. Just because someone's opinion differs from yours doesn't mean it's wrong? If that's your attitude, then I'll take your bet. I think we'll wait and see if Glencore succeeds!"

News of Glencore's president's press conference quickly reached China, and netizens flocked to Yang Chen's Weibo comment section to leave messages of support.

"Mr. Yang, Glencore is getting a bit arrogant. We have to make them pay the price this time, or they won't be afraid of you anymore!"

"They don't care about the stock price falling, which makes things difficult. Since it's difficult, let's not do anything about it, let's just take them down directly. Send over all the little mosquitoes and flies and give them a good beating."

"I just can't stand that foreigner's smug attitude. Boss Yang, we have a sword, so let's use it when necessary. There's no need to be polite to them. No one says we have to deal with them by legitimate means. Using a little bit of illegitimate means is harmless. The important thing is to get things done. The result is the most important thing, the process is not important."

……

Yang Chen did not reply to netizens, but he responded with his actions.

At the opening of the London Metal Exchange, Sihai Investment opened a short position of 1 tons of nickel.

The London Stock Exchange immediately notified Glencore CEO Lopez.

Lopez was in a meeting with shareholder representatives at the time. After hanging up the phone, he immediately laughed and said, "Yang Chen has opened a short position of 1 tons of nickel, haha... There are only 3 trading days left, it's no use no matter how many short positions he opens."

But as soon as he finished speaking, the price of nickel began to fall.

12, 11, 10, 9 million…

Lopez didn't expect nickel prices to fall so quickly, but he still felt it wasn't a big problem.

"Don't panic, everyone. We're in control now. We can choose to continue buying to push up nickel prices, or we can prepare margin to delay until the delivery date. Anyway, our target is the nickel mine in Indonesia owned by the Ching Sang Group, so it doesn't matter what the nickel price is in the futures market," Lopez said.

At this point, a shareholder representative said, "Including today, there are only three trading days left. We can continue to buy and go long, and make more money later. Don't you all agree?"

"Haha... Yeah! If there's money to be made, why not?"

"Since Yang Chen is giving us money to spend, we'll just accept it."

"Continue to buy and go long. This time, we not only want Qingshan Group's nickel mine, but also the money Yang Chen lost. How much money they made by shorting our company's stock price, we will make them give back in the futures market."

Seeing that the shareholders supported continuing to buy and go long, Lopez did not hesitate. However, this decision doomed them to a crushing defeat.

At Lopez's command, Glencore continued to buy long positions in the London trading market, attempting to push nickel prices back above 10 yuan/ton.

With the delivery date approaching, the long and short sides in the market have basically matched up, and no one dares to go long or short anymore. Only Sihai Group and Glencore can go it alone.

Sihai Investment Trading Room.

President Zhao Jing reported, "Chairman Yang, Glencore is buying. Should we continue to sell short?"

“Okay. Continue. You can short sell up to 20 tons,” Yang Chen said.

Zhao Jing nodded and replied, "Understood!"

At this moment, Li Changxiu, chairman of Xingchen Mining Group, called Yang Chen.

"Chairman Yang, as you instructed, we retrieved the nickel from Xingchen Battery that met the requirements of the London Metal Exchange, which was not yet used. Combined with the inventory in our warehouse, we now have a total of 160,000 tons of electrolytic nickel available for delivery. The workshop is working overtime and expects to produce about 30,000 tons within three days. The Er Mao factory is also secretly refining nickel; the machines are working overtime to mine nickel ore and refine it on-site. If you only need to delay for three days, we can provide you with 250,000-260,000 tons of nickel. Adding the 100,000 tons from Qingshan Group, that's more than enough for your needs," Li Changxiu reported.

Yang Chen replied, “Very good. You need to gather a maximum of 40 tons for me, and I will try my best to buy you an extra 1-2 days. We will split into three groups; you do your job, and I will do mine.”

“No problem!” Li Changxiu replied confidently.

Yang Chen's original plan was to force Glencore to negotiate by shorting Glencore's stock price. As long as Glencore did not have to use nickel mines as compensation from Qingshan Group, Yang Chen would stop shorting Glencore's stock price and pull the stock price back up for them.

However, Glencore stated that they did not care about the stock price, so Yang Chen had no choice but to implement Plan B.

Although Glencore conducted a thorough investigation of the nickel market, they had no idea that Star Mining had discovered a nickel mine in Er Mao's house, nor did they know that Star Mining had been secretly mixing nickel ore with gold mines and other materials to transport it back to the country.

Therefore, they did not include this portion of nickel in their statistics.

Originally, Yang Chen wanted to avoid the Er Mao family from being jealous, so he pretended that the nickel mine incident never happened and secretly finished mining it before letting it go.

However, in order to deal with Glencore, Yang Chen has no choice but to expose the nickel mine that Er Mao's family discovered.

Yang Chen set up four lines of defense at Er Mao's house, in the east, west, south, and north. Er Mao's family couldn't do anything wrong, so he would just give them some money as a token gesture later.

The London nickel exchange only does not recognize nickel from the Russian state, but it does recognize nickel from the Russian state. Yang Chen does not need to worry about not having enough nickel for delivery.

Soon, Sihai Investment placed a short order for 20 tons as Yang Chen requested.

Half an hour later, the price of nickel fell to 8 pesos per ton. Glencore's total long positions of 50 tons of nickel triggered the liquidation line, requiring them to replenish their margin; otherwise, the exchange would liquidate their long positions. At this point, Glencore's management and shareholders still believed that the problem was not serious and that they could simply replenish the margin and hold out until the delivery date.

Glencore replenished its margin, and at this point they dared not continue to buy long. They planned to hold the 50-ton long order until the delivery date, and then demand physical delivery from Qingshan Group and Sihai Investment.

Yang Chen's first step in his plan has been successful; now he's just waiting for the closing date.

Two days later, the nickel delivery date arrived.

The London Stock Exchange hasn't even opened yet, and netizens are already incredibly excited.

On various platforms, netizens from different countries left messages expressing their opinions.

A Swiss netizen commented: "Please remember today, everyone. This is a day worth remembering. Yang Chen, who left the Western world helpless, has finally been dealt with by our Swiss Glencore Group. Haha..."

A German netizen commented: "I really don't understand Yang Chen's actions. He knew that Glencore's goal was to acquire minerals, so why did he short sell? What's the difference between this and deliberately throwing his life away?"
A French netizen commented: "Finally, we get to see Yang Chen fail! It's been a long time coming. This proves that even the best people make mistakes, and Yang Chen's operation was clearly a blunder. He thought shorting to suppress nickel prices would save Qingshan Group, but Glencore is clearly demanding physical delivery, not cash settlement, forcing them to relinquish their mineral reserves. How could he possibly send another 20 tons?"
An Italian netizen commented: Glencore has made a fortune this time. But making money isn't the most important thing; the most important thing is that they can now control global nickel prices. Controlling nickel prices means controlling batteries, and controlling batteries means controlling the new energy vehicle industry. China's new energy vehicle industry can finally be put on pause. Glencore has made a great contribution and deserves to be remembered by the Western world forever.

A Chinese netizen commented: "Although I don't understand why Mr. Yang did this, I don't think he made a mistake. I believe he must have his own reasons, it's just that we ordinary people don't understand. Foreigners, don't be too happy yet, the one who laughs last laughs best."

South Korean netizens: Are you still not convinced? Don't you want to admit defeat? The outcome is already decided, what's the use of your arguing? Waiting for Yang Chen to face his first defeat. I'm in a good mood today, I'll eat lots of delicious kimchi later. Haha…

At this moment, leaders from relevant departments in the Dragon Kingdom were also nervously talking to Yang Chen on the phone.

"Chairman Yang, is everything alright? I didn't understand your later actions, but I believe you wouldn't have done that without a reason."

"Haha... Just trust me, that's all that matters. Tell the boss not to worry, I know what I'm doing, I can't lose."

"Haha... Okay, okay, okay, with Chairman Yang's words, we're relieved. We're just waiting to see Chairman Yang's amazing moves, and we're also curious to know how Chairman Yang will do it. So it's settled then, I'll report to the leader now and tell him not to worry."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Chen went to the Sihai Investment trading room to wait for the London Stock Exchange to open.

Soon the London Stock Exchange opened, and the exchange began matching long and short positions for settlement.

Glencore holds 50 tons of long positions, of which 10 tons are agreed to be settled in cash with other counterparties.

For the remaining 40 tons of over-orders, they demanded that Sihai Investment and Qingshan Group deliver electrolytic nickel in physical form, in accordance with the requirements of the London Metal Exchange.

If the two companies are unable to provide physical delivery, Qingshan Group will use Indonesian nickel ore as compensation, while Sihai Investment will use Er Mao's ore as compensation.

Both Sihai Investment and Qingshan Group responded that they accepted Glencore's request for physical delivery.

This completely baffled Glencore. Where did they get 40 tons of compliant electrolytic nickel for delivery?
Glencore CEO Lopez immediately called Yang Chen and asked bluntly, "You wouldn't be so unprofessional as to try to cheat us, would you? We have a very clear investigation; it's impossible for you to have 40 tons of nickel that meets the requirements for delivery."

Yang Chen laughed and said, "Do you think I'm like you? You may be shameless, but I still have my pride. If I say I have it, I mean it. 40 tons, not a penny less. You transfer the money to the exchange account, and we'll deliver it to your designated location immediately."

Lopez paused for a few seconds, then said, "Are you serious? Where did you get 40 tons of electrolytic nickel? Let me warn you, the mines owned by the Russians aren't recognized, so don't try to take advantage of the situation."

Yang Chen replied, "Of course I know that the nickel from the Russian company can't be used for delivery. I know way more than you do. Stop talking nonsense, transfer the money to the exchange account immediately, and we'll deliver the goods to you right away. Bye."

Lopez was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He immediately ordered his secretary to notify the executives and shareholders to hold a meeting, and those who could not come to the company could participate via video.

The meeting began half an hour later.

Lopez said nervously, "I called Yang Chen, and he confidently said that he had 40 tons of qualified electrolytic nickel available for delivery, and that we should immediately transfer the money to the exchange account so they could deliver it to our designated location immediately. What do you all think?"

Shareholders and executives immediately shared their opinions.

“He’s playing mind games with us, trying to scare us into choosing cash transactions.”

“That’s right! We won’t do cash transactions; we insist on them doing physical transactions.”

"Deposit the money into the exchange account and see what he gives us in return."

"Trying to play psychological warfare at this point is too naive."

"Ha ha……"

Lopez nodded and said, "Since everyone thinks so, let's play along."

Glencore currently holds a total of 40 tons of long positions, with a delivery price of 9.8 Eagle Dollars per ton, meaning they need to prepare 392 billion Eagle Dollars for delivery.

With such a large sum of cash, Glencore could not possibly prepare it immediately. They applied to the exchange to ensure that all funds would be in place by 3 p.m. tomorrow.

This was exactly what Yang Chen wanted. He just needed to buy Xingchen Mining an extra 1-2 days, and here came that extra day.

Both Sihai Investment and Qingshan Group replied that they would prepare to ship the goods immediately once the exchange notified them that it had received the money, thus gaining another day.

Gaining two more days would be enough time for Xingchen Mining and Qingshan Group to raise 400,000 tons of electrolytic nickel.

Nickel that was originally sold for 8000 Eagle Dollars per ton is now being sold to Glencore for 9.8 Eagle Dollars per ton, making an extra 9 Eagle Dollars per ton. They're making a killing!

Glencore has acquired 40 tons of nickel but can't sell it because other companies have spot available for 8000 pesos per ton. Who would buy their nickel, which costs 9.8 pesos per ton?

However, since they are engaged in bulk commodity trading, they cannot afford to hold onto their goods; ultimately, they have to sell them at low prices.

Looking at the world, the only company that can absorb these 40 tons of nickel is Starcell Battery, which controls the global supply of new energy vehicle batteries. Starcell Battery will then buy it back at a price of 8000 pesos per ton. Glencore will suffer a net loss of 360 billion pesos in this transaction.

For Yang Chen, this batch of nickel simply went out for a short while and returned to his own warehouse, but it earned him 360 billion Eagle Dollars.

Including the money he made from shorting Glencore's stock price, Yang Chen could earn at least 500 billion Hong Kong dollars from this move.

This is just the money earned from Glencore; Qingshan Group even sold him nickel mines in Indonesia at rock-bottom prices.

In short, Yang Chen definitely made a huge profit from this. (End of Chapter)