I changed the world.

This acquisition plan, which was essentially a scheme to acquire companies with virtually no capital, drew widespread criticism after its announcement. Subsequently, the company received an inquiry letter from the stock exchange, and ultimately, the acquisition failed.

As expected, after trading resumed, Deep Space Technology's stock price plummeted to its daily limit, causing heavy losses for investors who held Deep Space Technology shares.

What's dramatic is that Deep Space Technology was subsequently embroiled in a shareholder infighting incident. In short, the second and third largest shareholders joined forces to try to oust the largest shareholder. In a fit of anger, the largest shareholder exposed the dirty secrets of the second and third largest shareholders. As a result, this self-inflicted internal strife directly revealed some of Deep Space Technology's unspeakable secrets and also brought to light the "fake accounting scandal," which involved the company's long-term falsification of business data.

In short, because the incident was so bizarre, dramatic, and full of twists and turns, it was widely publicized by various media outlets at the time. As a result, Deep Space Technology's stock price continued to fall, and it has now fallen to less than one-tenth of its listing price.

Tragically, under these circumstances, Deep Space Technology's stock turnover rate has remained below 0.1% for a long time, indicating that no funds are willing to enter the market to buy at the bottom.

This undoubtedly leaves large funds holding Deep Space Technology with no chance to extricate themselves from this quagmire.

Among them, two private equity funds under Southeast Securities suffered heavy losses, almost bankrupting themselves, due to their large investments in Deep Space Technology.

Among these two funds, one of which was a private equity fund called "Southeast Strong Selection" was managed by Sun Zhonghe at the time. Due to its heavy investment in Deep Space Technology, the fund had suffered losses of nearly halved.

"As for the company, we need to give an explanation to the investors, so I have already resigned from the company. I just completed the resignation procedures last month and announced to the public that it was for personal reasons." Sun Zhonghe's face was full of dejection.

"I heard that you had different opinions on the investment direction back then?" Zhang Jing asked.

"I used to be an analyst, so I'm quite sensitive to financial data. Although this stock was once heavily traded, after reviewing its financial analysis, I felt there was a lot of exaggeration involved, and some data was even problematic, but..."

Sun Zhonghe hesitated for a long time before finally sighing, "I signed an agreement, so there are some things I can't say. But there's one thing you should be able to find out from public channels: Shao Haixin, the investment director of Southeast Securities, is under investigation by regulatory authorities..."

The Shao Haixin that Sun Zhonghe mentioned was his immediate superior at Southeast Securities.

If it were anyone else, they might be skeptical of Sun Zhonghe's explanation, but for Zhang Jing, verifying the truth of such an event was as simple as a quick calculation. He soon confirmed that Sun Zhonghe was not lying.

As for the specific details, he didn't really need to know them clearly. It was mostly insider trading and the transfer of benefits. Whether in his previous life or this life, such things were always common in the capital market.

P.S.: I've been reading a ton of information about Western religions lately, and I'm completely absorbed... @-@

Chapter 607 The Big Short

Because of this understanding, Zhang Jing saw Sun Zhonghe's seemingly secretive statements, which might appear to others as such, as a reflection of his honesty and discreetness. If Sun Zhonghe were to casually reveal all the inside information about his supplier, Zhang Jing would hesitate, as he didn't want his own financial situation to be exposed in the future.

Therefore, Zhang Jing did not press further on this matter, but instead changed the subject: "So, what are the current plans between Germany and China?"

Sun Zhonghe shook his head with a wry smile: "To be honest, after something like this happened, it's not easy for me to find another job in the short term. Fortunately, I've made some money over the years, so I'm planning to take a break and spend some time with my children."

"Haha, I do have a new option here, Dezhong, why don't you listen to it?" Zhang Jing said with a smile. He naturally knew that the so-called spending time with the children was just a helpless move by Sun Zhonghe at this stage, and should not be taken seriously. Otherwise, he would not have needed to keep this appointment with him at all.

"Please speak, Chairman Zhang. I'm all ears." Sun Zhonghe knew that the important matter had arrived, and subconsciously sat up straight.

"Here's the thing, I want to set up a private investment fund. This fund will not raise funds from the public, so there is no need to disclose to public investors. It will only handle my personal finances and be directly responsible to me."

Sun Zhonghe was not surprised at all. In fact, before going to the meeting, he had learned about Zhang Jing's purpose from his friend Jiang Shanlin. The kind of private investment fund that Zhang Jing proposed was quite common in this world. After all, there are a lot of royal families, nobles and financial groups in various countries of this world with long history. The private wealth and family wealth that they need to manage are astronomical. Many royal families, nobles and financial groups have their own family investment funds to keep the secrets of their family wealth and to make their family wealth grow steadily.

At this point, Sun Zhonghe stopped mentioning things like "taking a break" and asked directly, "Chairman Zhang, there's no problem with you wanting to set up an investment fund, but do you have any more specific requirements?"

Zhang Jing nodded, but did not speak directly. Instead, he took out a document and pushed it over, smiling, "Some of the information that follows involves things that need to be kept confidential, so I hope you will take a look at this confidentiality agreement."

Zhang Jing naturally knew that the so-called confidentiality agreement was only for the honest, not the dishonest. However, it was precisely the honest who were being protected. To some extent, this agreement was just a hint that "what happens later cannot be said carelessly and must be kept secret." As the saying goes, a loud drum doesn't need a heavy hammer. For someone like Sun Zhonghe, that was enough.

Sun Zhonghe was not surprised. He picked up the document and glanced through it briefly. It was a simple confidentiality agreement with nothing superfluous. He had signed many similar agreements in his previous career. That's business; everyone follows the rules and doesn't feel offended. So he readily signed it.

Zhang Jing withdrew the confidentiality agreement, nodded, and continued, "The main investment direction of the investment fund is secondary market stocks, futures, bonds, foreign exchange, and other products. The investment direction is not limited to domestic or foreign markets."

"I will initially invest 3 million yuan in this investment fund, and new funds will be injected in the future as needed. I will not interfere with the specific investment projects; all of them will be handled by the fund manager. In addition, 10% of the investment returns will be set up as a bonus pool and used as commissions for the fund staff."

Sun Zhonghe nodded upon hearing this. Zhang Jing's profit-sharing ratio was considered quite generous in the industry. Although it couldn't compare to the extremely high returns of those star funds, it was quite considerable for a private investment fund. After all, most private and family-run investment funds in this world were known for their stability, and their profit-sharing incentives tended to be conservative. Especially given Sun Zhonghe's current state of being riddled with scandals, finding a good place to go would be extremely difficult.

However, he was unwilling to start from the bottom again at another company, which is why he previously said he was "taking a break".

For a fund manager like Sun Zhonghe with a professional blemish, such an opportunity is indeed rare. In the public fund industry, 3 million yuan is just a small fry, but in the family private equity sector, although it is still not large, it is not small either, especially since Zhang Jing said that this is only the initial investment.

He could understand, after all, he still had a stain on his record, and the fact that the other party could offer 3 million yuan without him even knowing him well was already a great sign of trust.

For him, this was also an excellent opportunity to prove himself and turn the tables.

Glancing at Sun Zhonghe's expression, Zhang Jing continued, "I hope you, Dezhong, can come and help me manage this fund. I won't interfere with your daily management affairs, but there's one thing I have some requirements regarding the short-to-medium term investment direction..."

........................

………………

"You want to short deep space exploration and related concepts?" Sun Zhonghe's expression was somewhat surprised, even somewhat hurried.

It has to be said that the concept of aerospace and deep space exploration has been rising for more than a decade. In fact, many people have formed a mindset of "always rising". For these stocks, every pullback will attract a large amount of chasing funds and be regarded as the starting point of the next rise.

Especially at this stage, with the recent announcement by the United Nations Scientific Exploration Agency that a breakthrough has been achieved in spaceflight engine technology, and the first experimental deep-space exploration via subspace routes has been completed, it seems the era of "great space exploration" is about to arrive. Many media outlets are even proclaiming that "humanity is entering a truly great future era." Recently, stocks related to deep space exploration, aerospace, and related industries have surged. Shorting at this juncture...

Sun Zhonghe couldn't help but doubt his previous decision. However, given the rare opportunity, he patiently explained the industrial logic behind it to Zhang Jing. Although related concepts in the secondary market were currently at historical highs, this did not mean their potential had been exhausted. On the contrary, due to breakthroughs in subspace technology, the valuations of many companies needed to be restructured, and they would have greater room for imagination...

Zhang Jing looked at the somewhat anxious Sun Zhonghe, a faint, enigmatic smile appearing on his face: "Dezhong, I understand what you're saying, but I still insist, and I do have my own reasons. That's why I had you sign that confidentiality agreement earlier..."

Chapter 608 I Can't Find a Reason to Refuse

Zhang Jing paused, then formed a secret seal in his sleeve. Unbeknownst to Sun Zhonghe, their conversation could no longer be heard from the surrounding area.

“I have definite information that subspace travel technology has some serious flaws that cannot be resolved in the short term. At least in the short term, the so-called great space voyage is impossible,” Zhang Jing said calmly.

These words were undoubtedly astonishing to Sun Zhonghe, instantly making Zhang Jing seem unfathomable in his eyes. In his understanding, top players in the capital market were extremely well-informed, often even more so than the top executives of the listed companies themselves. The information Zhang Jing spoke of, if it were in the capital market, would be nuclear-level news. If this information was true and hadn't yet been reflected in the capital market, it meant that Zhang Jing had channels to obtain this level of information before those top players.

What does this mean? It means that the person in front of us has an unfathomable background...

However, this defies common sense...

Sun Zhonghe preferred to believe that Zhang Jing was joking, but as he looked at Zhang Jing suspiciously, he didn't think that the man was joking with him.

“Perhaps you think I’m joking.” Zhang Jing seemed to see through Sun Zhonghe’s thoughts.

"However, this should be easy to determine. You can carefully observe the relevant industry trends in the secondary market over the next two days. I think some of the most well-informed funds will take action."

Zhang Jing paused, then continued, "Also, I suggest you pay attention to the news. There will be some news about the Beacon Tower in the Kuber Planetary Fragment Belt soon... um... not good news."

In fact, Zhang Jing believes that a sharp drop in related concepts in the secondary market is almost inevitable, and this will not change in the slightest whether he shorts the market or not. His 3 million yuan may seem like a lot, but when invested in the entire financial market, which is worth trillions, it is just an insignificant drop in the ocean, unable to create any waves, and he can only go with the flow.

He believed that what happened at Beacon Tower and the problems that arose during subspace travel could not possibly be kept secret from everyone, especially from well-informed large corporations.

Because a significant portion of these are sovereign wealth funds of various governments, royal funds, private family trusts of nobles, and other similar capital, even if they do not choose to short sell, this capital will inevitably flee, since such assets are inherently risk-averse.

In this situation, all he wanted to do was go with the flow and, incidentally, accumulate some wealth for himself. Consider it a small reward for saving the world.

After all, there will be many places where he needs money in the future, and he doesn't want to use methods that violate the rules too much to make money, as that would cross his own moral bottom line.

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhonghe was already largely convinced. He decided to carefully examine the changes in the market as soon as he got back. With his sensitivity to data, he knew that if there were really large funds at work, there would definitely be clues on the market. Combined with changes in commodity prices, news, and other data, the underlying intentions would be impossible to conceal.

Of course, this was only after Zhang Jing had pointed out this crucial information to him beforehand; without this information, everything would have been overlooked.

Thinking this through, he immediately shifted his perspective and recognized the opportunity here. As he had just mentioned, the long-term economic boom and the anticipated growth in the aerospace industry had led to a sustained bull market in related stocks that had lasted for over a decade. From a cyclical perspective, this was like a heavy object that had accumulated enormous potential energy, pushed to the top of a high mountain; a mere nudge would be enough to send it hurtling down...

This involves enormous financial risks, but also enormous potential profits.

“If it’s really as you say, Chairman Zhang, I think we need to speed things up!” Sun Zhonghe leaned forward and said urgently.

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. I need you, Dezhong, to complete the establishment of the fund as soon as possible. At this time, every minute is important."

“You’re right. If the information is accurate as you say, then this is indeed a huge opportunity.” Sun Zhonghe thought for a moment, then extended his hand: “Your terms are very generous. I can’t find a reason to refuse, Chairman Zhang.”

***

承和三十七年西历2016年3月31日14:45千罗集团东南创研院丙字楼3楼宏图数据科技

"We've reached the main gate, everyone be careful... Σ(つoωo)つ"

In the department's small group chat, some colleagues were exchanging information. At their workstations in the office area, everyone was completely silent, not a single person was moving around. Everyone was focused on their work.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Hongtu Data Technology, CEO Jiang Ran and a group of more than ten senior executives stood in a row. At the end of the line, Wu Zhaoyu, the director of the data business department, dressed smartly and wearing tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, also stood there with a big smile on his face, his eyes following the others as they stared in the direction of the entrance.

Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, accompanied by a steady voice explaining: "This is Hongtu Data Technology, an internally incubated company of ours. It's been doing quite well lately and is a successful example of our internal incubation..."

"Come on... Miss, this way please..."

Hearing the noise coming from the hallway, CEO Jiang Ran subconsciously adjusted his glasses and clothes, cleared his throat with a light cough, and put on a bright smile before leading a group of senior executives out to greet them…

As they stepped out of the gate, they saw a large group of people walking towards them from the corridor. Leading them was Zeng Qi, the dean of the Research and Development Institute, who was Jiang Ran's former superior and mentor.

As for the other bigwig accompanying Zeng Qi, Jiang Ran also recognized him. He was Fei Shiguang, the head of the Jiangdong headquarters. For Hongtu Technology, a company that had just emerged from its startup phase, these two were bigwigs they needed to rely on.

Of course, the most eye-catching person in the group was the young woman surrounded by everyone. She was tall and slender, with graceful figure and unique temperament. Wearing sunglasses, she was stunning at first glance.

Of course, he didn't dare look too closely; he knew in his heart that this must be Chairman An's only daughter, the group's eldest princess...

He lowered his head slightly, his smile widening, and strode forward...

Chapter 609 A Familiar Feeling

"Miss, this is Jiang Ran, the CEO of Hongtu Technology. Young Jiang holds a PhD from Beijing University of Technology and is highly professional in data processing and artificial intelligence..."

"Hello, Miss, just call me Xiao Jiang..." Jiang Ran's face was practically splitting with a smile as he reached out and grasped An Huiling's outstretched right hand, leaning forward and bowing slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jiang. You are truly young and accomplished." An Huiling smiled and shook hands with Jiang Ran lightly before withdrawing her hand. She herself was not yet 20 years old, making her one of the youngest people here, but the phrase "young and accomplished" did not sound arrogant coming from her.

Throughout the tour, many people perceived this young lady as composed, poised, and possessing an inherent aura. She was nothing like the naive fresh-out-of-school figure portrayed in rumors, leading many to secretly think that the group had a worthy successor…

After shaking hands with Jiang Ran, Jiang Ran naturally became the guide. As for the other executives, they didn't even have the right to be introduced; they simply bowed and greeted them from the sides. After all, An Huiling had visited more than a dozen of the 200+ companies in the innovation incubation park, so she would only chat with their main leaders for a few minutes. As for the others, she couldn't recognize them all, nor was there any need to get to know them.

A group of people surrounded An Huiling as they walked towards Hongtu Data Technology. Jiang Ran personally led the way, while the other company executives had been pushed to the back of the line...

"Look, this is our client wall: Beike Music, TravelBang, EPB, PanSky Software... Yes, our internal business is our foundation, and on this basis, we continuously expand our external client resources..."

"Miss, please look here. This is our R&D department. We are currently developing a new generation of data engine, which will greatly improve the performance of the previous generation engine in terms of data analysis and marketing. I will introduce it to you in detail in a moment..."