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Suning's eyes swept over the latest financial statement of Geli Poetry Company. The numbers in the cash flow column were still fluctuating with the growth of audio equipment orders, but his gaze had already penetrated the glass window of the office and landed on the red Xiali car that slowly drove by on the streets of Beijing in 1997.

The notification sound from the system still faintly echoed in my mind...

[Main quest completed, you can leave the instance at any time]

"Go back?" He chuckled softly at the empty office, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the desk. "With over twenty years of God's-eye view, why are you in such a hurry to go back?"

In the system space, the void area where items could be stored indefinitely was still empty. Su Ning stared at it, and a crazy idea gradually took shape:

Since the passage of time in the instance world is unrelated to the real world, and since he clearly remembers the outbreak points of every financial crisis and the moment when every asset bubble bursts, then this game should not end at the "Kingdom of Rhythmic Sound".

He wants to be a predator of this era, using information asymmetry to tear open the market and fill the system with the world's wealth...

Gold, in particular, this hard currency, will be his source of confidence to return to the real world.

……

Three days later, in a secret law firm in Central, Hong Kong, Su Ning signed the final document.

Three offshore company licenses, pointing to Blackstone Capital in the Cayman Islands, Aurora Fund in the British Virgin Islands, and Dingxin Investment in Hong Kong respectively, were presented to him.

The lawyer looked at the mysterious king in front of him and lowered his voice to remind him, "Mr. Su, the equity structure of these shell companies is nested in three layers, and the flow of funds can be traced back to Swiss private banks. They are absolutely safe."

Suning nodded, locked the document in his briefcase, which contained something even more important...

His hand-drawn "1997 Southeast Asia Sniper Map" features densely marked foreign exchange reserve data, foreign debt scale, and even the historical habits of central banks in intervening in the market next to the exchange rate fluctuation curves of the Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, and Philippine peso.

At the bottom of the map, two keywords are circled in red: "Buy in June, reap in July" and "Gold: Buy without limit below $380 per ounce".

……

In June 1997, the air in Bangkok was still filled with the celebratory atmosphere of the economic miracle.

Street billboards displayed the slogan "Southeast Asian Tiger," and bank counters were crowded with foreign tourists exchanging Thai baht.

However, no one noticed that several anonymous accounts from Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands were quietly dumping their Thai baht holdings through Standard Chartered and HSBC brokerage channels.

Suning sat in the trading room of Hong Kong Dingxin Investment, where six screens in front of him simultaneously displayed currency trend charts of Southeast Asian countries.

He spoke into the microphone in a deep voice, ordering: "Blackstone Capital account, use $2 million in margin to short the Thai baht against the US dollar with a leverage of 1:20, build the position in batches, and add 10% to the position for every 50 basis points it falls."

“Boss, the Thai baht exchange rate is still 25:1. The central bank just announced yesterday that it will defend the exchange rate at all costs. Is such an aggressive move a bit much…” Trader Xiao Zhang hesitated and stopped clicking the mouse.

Suning pointed to the data on Thailand's foreign exchange reserves on the screen: "They only have $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but they are burdened with $900 billion in short-term foreign debt. It's like someone trying to save face with credit cards; it won't last long."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Thai baht exchange rate on the screen suddenly jumped down, from 25.1:1 to 25.3:1.

Xiao Zhang looked up abruptly, but Su Ning added expressionlessly, "Notify Aurora Fund to simultaneously short Thai real estate stocks, especially Bangkok Land. Their debt ratio exceeds 80%, and they will burst when the bubble bursts."

"clear."

For the next two weeks, the market fell into an eerie calm.

The Thai baht rebounded slightly after intervention by the central bank, and Suning's account once suffered a floating loss of more than US$1500 million.

The atmosphere in the trading room grew increasingly tense until July 2nd.

The Bank of Thailand suddenly announced that it would abandon the fixed exchange rate system and adopt a floating exchange rate.

"It's here!" Suning suddenly sat up straight. The Thai baht on the screen was like a kite with a broken string, plummeting 19% in a single day, from 25:1 all the way down to 32:1.

Those institutions that were following the trend and going long the day before frantically sold off their shares, while Suning's account saw its unrealized losses instantly turn into profits, with the numbers soaring at a rate of six figures per second.

"Add more! Add the remaining $3 million in margin and raise the leverage to 1:30!" Suning's voice was filled with excitement. "At the same time, contact the Swiss Gold Exchange and purchase 100 tons of gold at $378 per ounce. Transfer the funds immediately and use the Zurich channel under the name of Dingxin Investment."

"Yes, Boss!"

A week later, the Thai baht exchange rate fell below 50:1, the Thai stock market crashed, and Bangkok Land's stock price plummeted by 70%.

When the exchange rate fell to 52:1, Suning pressed the close-out button, and its initial investment of $2 million grew to $47 billion in just one month.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, 100 tons of gold had been transported to Hong Kong via special logistics and, without anyone knowing, was stored in Suning's system space with a single click...

In that void, the first mountain of gold, gleaming with a cold light, finally rose up.

However, he did not stop there.

When the panic of the Thai baht's collapse spread to Indonesia, he used the same tactic again, shorting the Indonesian rupiah with $10 billion of his own money, while simultaneously shorting the stock of Bank Negara Indonesia.

当印尼盾汇率从2400:1跌至8000:1时，他再次收割，账户资金突破120亿美元。

Meanwhile, the gold in the system space also piled up to 500 tons due to his frenzied acquisitions.

……

In August 1998, before the smoke of war had cleared in Southeast Asia, international speculators had already set their sights on Hong Kong.

Suning stood once again in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the Central office building, looking down at the bustling crowd below, holding the latest foreign exchange reserve report from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in his hand...

US$980 billion is the foundation for defending the Hong Kong dollar and a "juicy target" in the eyes of international speculators.

“Boss, Soros’ Quantum Fund has started shorting the Hong Kong dollar. The Hang Seng Index futures have fallen from 11000 points to 10500 points. Should we follow suit?” Trader Xiao Li’s voice was tense.

Su Ning shook his head and drew a line on the Hang Seng Index K-line with his fingertip: "Don't rush. The Hong Kong government will not sit idly by. The central government's foreign exchange reserves are their backing. This battle will be even fiercer than in Southeast Asia. Notify all accounts to take out $5 million first and short the Hang Seng Index futures with a 1:10 leverage ratio to test the market reaction. But remember, diversify your positions and do not reveal your whereabouts."

On August 14, the Hong Kong government took action.

At 9:30 a.m., the Hang Seng Index plummeted immediately after the market opened, as international speculators frantically sold off blue-chip stocks in an attempt to lower the index and force the Hong Kong dollar to depreciate.

Just as the index was about to fall below 10000 points, a series of huge buy orders suddenly flooded in, forcibly pulling up the share prices of HSBC, Cheung Kong, and PCCW...

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority used its foreign exchange reserves to directly intervene in the market to buy up shares.

An uproar erupted in the trading room. Xiao Li stared at the buy orders on the screen, his voice trembling: "Boss, the government has intervened! Our short positions are already showing a floating loss of 3000 million. Should we close them?"

Suning suddenly laughed: "Close the position? No, add to the position. Invest another $5 million to short the Hang Seng Index, but this time only use 5 times leverage."

"But……"

"Do as I say."

"Yes, Boss!"

Over the next three days, the Hong Kong stock market became a bloodbath.

International speculators sell stocks during the day and dump them in the futures market at night.

The Hong Kong government is holding firm on the 10000-point mark, spending billions of US dollars daily to buy up blue-chip stocks.

The Hang Seng Index fluctuated wildly around 10000 points, and Suning's short position losses once expanded to $2 million, but he did not make any moves. He was waiting for a signal.

……

August 28th, the day of the decisive battle.

On that day, international speculators dumped over HK$1000 billion in sell orders, pushing the Hang Seng Index down to 9980 points, on the verge of breaking through.

Just then, Suning suddenly roared into the microphone: "Close all short positions! Immediately reverse course and use the $50 billion principal to go long on Hang Seng Index futures with a 1:15 leverage! At the same time, buy up blue-chip stocks: HSBC, Cheung Kong, Tencent—buy as many as you can!"

Xiao Li frantically operated the system, and just as he finished placing a long order, the Hang Seng Index on the screen suddenly surged...

The Hong Kong government, in conjunction with mainland funds, used more than US$200 billion of its reserves to not only absorb all the sell orders but also to boost the stock price.

At the close, the Hang Seng Index surged 585 points to settle at 10739.

"Close the position!" Suning called for a halt when the index reached 10700 points.

In this battle, he first made $4 million by shorting, and then made another $18 billion by going long, for a total of $22 billion.

More importantly, his acquisition of Tencent shares at a low price through Dingxin Investment laid the groundwork for even greater future developments.

On the night the battle ended, Suning contacted Hong Kong's largest gold refinery and, under the guise of "overseas investment for hedging," purchased 200 tons of gold in one go...

At this time, international gold prices rose to $400 per ounce due to risk aversion, but he didn't care and directly transferred $8 million to deposit the gold into the system space.

At this point, the system's gold reserves had reached 700 tons, piled up into a small mountain, its cold light making Suning's eyes shine.

……

In 1999, the Nasdaq dot-com bubble began to inflate.

Suning quietly entered Silicon Valley with $200 billion in funding.

Instead of blindly investing in companies hyped up by speculative hype, he went straight to the headquarters of Yahoo and Amazon. Using the name "Dingxin Investment," he bought 5% of Yahoo's shares at $15 per share and acquired 3% of Amazon's shares at $20 per share. "Boss, the market is all about .com companies right now. Yahoo and Amazon's stock prices have already tripled. Isn't that too high?" the accompanying investment manager wondered.

Suning pulled out a financial report: "Yahoo's user base is growing by 20% per month, and Amazon's revenue growth rate exceeds 100%. These two companies have substantial businesses, and the bubble hasn't peaked yet. We'll cash out once the Nasdaq index breaks through 5000 points."

In March 2000, the Nasdaq index reached a record high of 5132 points.

On that day, Suning ordered: "Clear out all Yahoo and Amazon stocks, sell them in 10 batches, and sell 10% for every 100 points increase."

When the index fell to 4500 points, all stocks were sold off.

Yahoo's stock price has risen to $110, and Amazon's to $80. From this single transaction, Suning has netted $120 billion.

Just one month after he cashed out, the Nasdaq bubble burst, the index plummeted by 78%, and countless investors who followed suit lost everything.

Meanwhile, Suning's sights had already been set on the mainland.

Through offshore companies, he acquired 12 prime plots of land in Lujiazui, Shanghai; Guomao, Beijing; and Nanshan, Shenzhen, each located in a future core business district.

“These lands don’t need to be developed. Just leave them there and wait for the golden age of real estate to come. A tenfold increase will be just the beginning,” he said to the real estate consultant beside him, standing on the construction site in Lujiazui and looking at the Huangpu River in the distance.

In 2004, Tencent went public in Hong Kong with an issue price of HK$3.7.

Suning, through Dingxin Investment, acquired an 8% stake in Tencent at HK$3 per share as a "strategic investor".

This investment saw its market value skyrocket to HK$100 billion ten years later.

Meanwhile, the amount of gold in the system space exceeded 1000 tons due to his continuous acquisitions.

Whenever the international gold price falls below $500 per ounce, he uses some of his funds to buy up gold. From the London Bullion Market Association to private gold vaults in Switzerland, from gold mines in South Africa to mines in Australia, his gold acquisition network spans the globe. Those heavy metals have piled up in the system space to form an unshakable fortress.

In 2010, Suning stood in his top-floor office in Central, Hong Kong, overlooking the night view of Victoria Harbour.

The computer screen on his desktop displayed his total assets: $1.2 trillion, including $5000 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $4000 billion in stocks and equity, and $2000 billion in real estate.

The 1000 tons of gold in the system space were worth $400 billion at the time, based on the price of $1200 per ounce.

He opened the system panel, and the "Leave the instance" button was still flashing, but he just smiled and closed the panel again.

The night view outside the window was dazzling, but in his eyes, none of it could compare to the cold light of the golden mountain in the system space.

Those were the spoils he had plundered in this virtual world over more than a decade, and also the capital and confidence he had to stir up trouble after returning to the real world.

“The game isn’t over yet.” He picked up the phone and dialed the trader’s number. “Notify all accounts to prepare to short the euro. We’re going to make another killing during the 2012 European debt crisis.”

A respectful reply came from the other end of the phone. Su Ning hung up, walked to the French windows, and reached out her hand to clench it in the air...

It was as if they had grasped the wealth of the entire era.

In this unregulated world, he is the emperor of capital, and the gold in the system space is his most secure crown.

……

In 2050, at a private research base deep in the Antarctic ice sheet, Suning swipes his finger across a "technology list" on a holographic screen, each item marked with a green "archived" label...

Stable operation technology of controlled nuclear fusion, commercial algorithms for quantum computers, AI humanoid robot technology, mass production process of room-temperature superconductors, gene editing targeted therapy solutions...

These cutting-edge technologies, which are capable of changing the course of human civilization, are now being imported into the system's storage space one by one in the form of data streams.

Outside the base, a biting wind of minus forty degrees Celsius whipped ice particles against the alloy bulkhead, while inside the temperature-controlled laboratory, the last "spacetime anchoring device" was undergoing a shutdown self-test.

Su Ning stared at the progress bar flashing on the screen, his gaze sweeping across the ice field he had bought, stretching across three degrees of longitude, outside the window…

This place is not only his technological reserve, but also his secret fortress for accumulating "ultimate wealth".

"Boss, the last batch of gold has been stored. The current system space reserves are 3800 tons." The AI ​​butler Afu's electronic voice echoed in the laboratory. "The core asset holdings of the world's major economies have all been cleared. The cash and equivalents are equivalent to 18 trillion US dollars and have been transferred to the ultimate confidential account of a Swiss bank."

Suning nodded and walked to the transparent culture chamber in the center of the laboratory.

Floating inside the capsule are "super rice varieties" cultivated using gene-editing technology...

The yield can reach 3000 kilograms per mu, and it can grow in extreme environments such as saline-alkali land and desert.

This is the core technology he "bought out" from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2045, and it is one of the treasures he considers "more precious than gold".

"Twenty years is too short, fifty years is enough," he murmured softly to the incubation chamber.

Slide your finger across the holographic screen to bring up a photo from when you first entered the game in 1997...

Back then, he was still worried about the cash flow of his company, Geli Poetry, but now he has become the "invisible emperor" of this world.

From making $3000 billion shorting the European debt crisis in 2012, to investing in the new energy sector in 2015 and acquiring controlling stakes in companies like Tesla, BYD, and CATL, to monopolizing half the global pandemic supply chain during the 2020 global pandemic by leveraging its pre-stockpiled vaccine production technology and medical supplies; from mastering quantum communication technology by 2030 and becoming a "technology supplier" to governments worldwide, to controlling 70% of global rare earth mining rights by 2040 and holding the lifeline of high-end manufacturing...

Over the past fifty years, he has acted like a precise hunter, seizing every opportunity of the times to continuously fill the system space with wealth and technology.

He never stopped plundering scientific and technological knowledge.

In 2025, under the guise of a "charitable donation," he invested $100 billion in MIT in exchange for exclusive rights to the "consciousness awakening" project in artificial intelligence; in 2035, through an offshore company, he acquired the solid-state battery R&D team of a top German automaker, bringing this technology—enabling electric vehicles to achieve a range exceeding 2000 kilometers—into his possession; and in 2048, he even "bought out" core data from NASA's Mars colonization program, including spacecraft propulsion systems and Mars base construction plans…

These technologies might take a century to develop in the real world, but he packaged them into "spoils of war."

"Boss, the system space is nearing saturation. Technical files, gold reserves, advanced equipment, and production lines have all been synchronized and can be disconnected at any time." The AI ​​butler Afu's notification interrupted his thoughts.

Suning looked up at the starry sky outside the laboratory dome.

For 50 years, he has witnessed the world move from the Internet age to the interstellar exploration age, and from a period of turmoil with frequent financial crises to a period of prosperity with technological explosion.

But he was always the plunderer standing behind the scenes.

Now, he has squeezed the world's wealth to its limit...

His stockpiled rare metals are hidden in the equity of global listed companies, the mining rights of core mineral resources, the technology patents of top scientific research institutions, and even under a certain ice sheet in Antarctica.

"It's time to go back." He took a deep breath and pressed the [Leave Instance] button on the holographic screen.

Instantly, the laboratory lights began to flicker, the data on the holographic screen was compressed at the speed of light, and the culture chamber, instruments, and even the ice field outside the window gradually became transparent and dissipated.

Thanks to Suning's tireless efforts, the system has now been restored to 99.9%...

Even his cultivation level has broken through to the early stage of Core Formation, and his understanding of cultivation techniques has reached a certain level.

Inside the system space, a mountain made of 3800 tons of gold exudes a cold light. In the adjacent "technology treasure trove," countless data streams flow like a galaxy, and $18 trillion in funds are stored in the system account, forming an insurmountable wealth pyramid for Suning.

As the last glimmer of light faded, Su Ning suddenly opened his eyes...

He was no longer in the Antarctic ice field laboratory, but in his mansion in the real world.

The view of West Lake from the window of the mansion remains stunningly beautiful...

Lying beside him was his confidante, Chen Xiaojun, whose phone screen displayed the date he left: June 20, 2014.

It's as if all of this was just a pointless, whimsical dream for Suning...

He raised his hand, and a phantom image of the system panel appeared in his palm.

[Wealth: $18 trillion + 3800 tons of gold]

[Technology: 1287 top-tier patents and core data]

[System repair progress 99.9%, please complete the final step as soon as possible.]

He knew that the plundering journey that began with the "Heavenly Path" instance was over.

But another legend belonging to the "super tycoon" has only just begun.

The wealth and technology hidden within the system space will become the sharp blade he uses to stir up this real world...

The first thing he wants to do is to use these "epoch-making" technologies to build his own business empire in the real world.

"Huh? Suning, what time is it?" Chen Xiaojun asked groggily.

"It's past four in the morning! You should get some more sleep," Su Ning explained, kissing Chen Xiaojun on the forehead.

Why did you wake up so early today?

"I had a very long dream, and I was frantically searching for you, but I was never able to find you."

"Fool! Dreams are always the opposite of reality. I will never leave you."

...(End of chapter)