The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Mr. Xie and his group caught up with Ling Yun in a few steps and asked him about the situation with great curiosity.

"Could you tell everyone what the real reason is for the sudden plunge in international oil prices? Everyone is completely baffled."

"That's right, the current trend in international oil prices is very strange. Past experience doesn't seem to be working anymore; it's really hard to predict."

Ling Yun turned to look at President Xie and the others, hesitated for a moment, and then explained the reason.

"As I just mentioned, the current international economic and financial markets are volatile and unpredictable, and conventional factors such as the South Ossetia War are no longer able to influence the trend of international oil prices."

"At this stage, there are three main factors that can truly influence the trend of international oil prices. The first factor is the US presidential election, which has reached a critical stage. This year is a US election year."

"Whether it's a donkey or an elephant, if both parties' candidates want to gain more votes, they must bring down the skyrocketing oil prices. On this point, both parties share the same goal..."

Mr. Xie and his colleagues were completely dumbfounded, their faces filled with astonishment.

"Ah! The sudden plunge in international oil prices is actually related to the US election? How come I didn't think of that?"

"That's so true. The United States is a country where people live on wheels; the price of oil affects everyone!"

"With oil prices so insane this year, if neither presidential candidate makes a concrete commitment on this issue, they can basically say goodbye to the presidency."

As they were talking, they arrived at the trading area.

Ling Yun paused for a moment, quickly went to his workstation, turned on his computer, and checked the international oil price trend and related financial news.

At this point, international oil prices had fallen to $113.8 and were still falling, with a very firm downward trend.

However, international financial news reports do not mention any sudden events that could cause a rapid drop in international oil prices.

The South Ossetian War, the Nigerian Civil War, and the Middle East crisis are already well-known old news.

If these factors could lead to a sharp drop in international oil prices, then this rapid decline should have happened much earlier, instead of being delayed until today.

Only Ling Yun knew the full story: beneath the surface of the turbulent international political and economic situation lay a turbulent undercurrent.

Under the deliberate control of certain individuals and organizations, the real reasons for the rapid decline in international oil prices have been quickly overshadowed by other international news and have received very little attention.

Ling Yun was one of the few exceptions, and the other hidden masters behind the scenes also knew the real reason.

In fact, they were the ones who caused this problem.

After quickly reviewing international oil price trends and related financial news, and after a moment of deliberation, Lingyun finally issued a trading order.

"Listen up, all teams, and inform the Hong Kong Island and Singapore teams that if international oil prices fall below $110.5, immediately liquidate 30% of all accounts."

"If international oil prices fall below $110, close out another 40% of your positions. If international oil prices fall below $109.6, immediately sell off the remaining 30% of your positions."

"Everyone must remember to ship in small, dispersed orders, keeping the profits small and subtle. We absolutely will not make a single penny more than necessary; that would be too conspicuous and might attract the attention of international capital."

As this series of trading orders was transmitted, everyone became even more excited, and couldn't help but gasp.

General Manager Xie and the other directors exchanged quick glances, and they all felt their eyelids twitch violently.

Before they could speak, Ling Yun issued another transaction instruction.

"After dumping all short positions, everyone wait patiently until international oil prices fall below $109, then immediately switch from short to long positions."

"The investment scale for this long position is 500 million, with leverage increased to over 80 times. I will send the specific trading quota to each team later."

"The trading methods also need to be adjusted. They cannot be the same as last time to avoid leaving too obvious traces of manipulation. I will distribute the specific trading methods to everyone later."

"International oil prices may not fall below $109 until early this morning, or even until next Monday or Tuesday, but I am certain that international oil prices will break through $109 and then begin a corrective rebound."

The moment this complete reversal from short to long position trading order was issued, it shocked everyone once again.

"My God! Investing 500 million to go long, with at least 80 times leverage, that's 50 million barrels of crude oil traded! That's insane!"

Secretary Zhou's remarks drew echoes from everyone.

"Isn't that insane? Air China and China Eastern combined consume less than 50 million barrels of fuel annually, and this deal covers that entire amount!"

"If it were me, I wouldn't dare do that even if I had ten times the courage. Otherwise, I'd have a heart attack before the transaction was even completed!"

Just as everyone was discussing this, President Xie gently nudged Ling Yun's arm and asked in a low voice, his heart pounding:

"Will international oil prices really fall below $109? The speed of this decline is too drastic; countless investors and companies that went long will be wiped out in this crash!"

"From the beginning of last month when international oil prices hit a record high of $147.2, in just over a month, international oil prices have plummeted by $40—a painful blow!"

Ling Yun turned to look at President Xie and gave a firm answer.

"That's right, this round of international oil price crash will definitely fall below $109, and this is just the beginning; an even more severe crash is yet to come!"

Mr. Xie paused for a moment, then nodded gratefully.

"Thank you for reminding us. If it weren't for your timely reminder, China Aviation Oil would have suffered a huge loss this time."

"Now the situation is exactly the opposite; because we shorted international oil prices, we can actually make a fortune this time."

"Haha, congratulations to China Aviation Oil!"

Ling Yun chuckled twice, then lowered his voice and gave a few words of advice.

"Actually, you don't need to thank us. The actions of China Aviation Oil and the investment departments of various airlines have provided excellent cover for the joint investment team."

"But I must remind you of one thing: you must not follow the joint investment team to go long. This opportunity to go long will be fleeting, and I'm afraid that the airlines will not be able to react in time and will end up losing more than they gain."

"When international oil prices fall to $110, immediately close all your short positions, lock in your profits, and then patiently wait for the next shorting opportunity to come and reap the rewards."

Mr. Xie had no more doubts about Lingyun's investment advice.

The other directors standing next to him shared the same attitude.

They quickly exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison.

"Okay, we'll do as you say. We'll inform the investment department immediately and have them prepare to close out the positions at the $110 price level."

After speaking, the investment directors from several airlines took out their encrypted phones and went to the conference room to make calls.

Ling Yun then turned to look at the many traders in the trading area, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp.

Only then did those guys belatedly realize what was happening and excitedly responded.

"Received, we will strictly execute the transaction instructions."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone immediately got to work.

They either quickly assigned tasks or contacted their investment teams in Hong Kong and Singapore to prepare for liquidation.

Since this was the first time the joint investment team had executed a liquidation order, everyone's reaction was somewhat slow, but Lingyun was still satisfied.

He smiled slightly and immediately began to issue further transaction details to each team.

This also included the investment team of Yuanda Group in Shanghai, who sent a text message using an encrypted phone.

"$109, one-click clearance sale, that should get those bastards' attention."

It took Lingyun about ten minutes to distribute all the transaction details to each team.

The teams that received the details of the deal were all eager to get started, keeping a close eye on the continuously falling international oil prices.

Just then, Mr. Xie, who had finished his phone call, came over and gently nudged Ling Yun's arm.

"You haven't mentioned the other two main reasons for the plunge in international oil prices yet; everyone is very curious!"