The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

As dawn broke, it was another day full of hope.

"call!"

In the office, Ling Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he stood up from his office chair, spread his arms, and stretched out a long yawn.

After relaxing for a moment, he looked down at the international oil price chart on the computer screen.

At this point, the US stock market had already closed.

As for the situation on the market, it can only be described as horrific, with corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood flowing.

The deafening cheers that erupted simultaneously from the United Securities investment team and the trading area of ​​Yuanda Hong Kong Island branch are the best proof of this!

Hearing the cheers outside, Ling Yun smiled as well.

Now he can't leave the office to go out and celebrate with everyone.

The international crude oil futures market hasn't closed yet; it will close in another hour.

Affected by the sharp decline in European and American financial markets, especially the collapse of the financial sector, international oil prices also began to plummet, falling by more than 3% throughout the day.

The drop was somewhat astonishing, but far below Lingyun's expectations.

The super market rally he anticipated was far more dramatic than today's crash.

After relaxing for a moment, Ling Yun sat back down in his chair and continued to watch the changes in international oil prices and pay attention to the various international financial news that kept popping up.

Just then, Director Xie knocked on the door and came in.

After entering the room, he closed the door behind him and said with great enthusiasm:

"We've made over four billion today from this short-selling of international crude oil futures. If you include the investment profits from various airlines, the gains are even more astonishing!"

"To be honest, the speed at which this kind of money is being made often makes me tremble with fear. This isn't investment; even printing money doesn't work this fast!"

"The total profits earned by China Aviation Oil since its inception don't even equal the profits gained from trading international crude oil futures during this period, and the difference is enormous!"

Seeing his bright smile, Ling Yun smiled and nodded.

"International oil prices plummeted by about 3% today, and our profits are indeed astonishing, but compared to what happened after the financial crisis, they are negligible!"

"So everyone needs to stay calm, the most exciting moment is yet to come!"

"As I said before, our profit target this time is at least 10 billion. Based on the current situation, once we start reaping the rewards, the investment profits will definitely be even more outrageous."

Upon hearing this, President Xie's smile widened even further, his grin stretching all the way to the back of his head!

He then sat down in the chair opposite him and continued to discuss the international oil price trend with Lingyun.

Shortly after the discussion, several directors from the joint securities investment team came to the office to report on the situation and review and summarize all the transactions of the day.

Their smiles were even brighter than Mr. Xie's; their old faces were practically beaming with joy.

After we entered and greeted them, they immediately started talking animatedly.

"The remaining 40% of our short positions in Lehman Brothers have been closed out, and our investment profit on Lehman Brothers has exceeded $25 billion!"

"To be honest, this investment performance is truly unbelievable. Even we ourselves can hardly believe it; it's like a dream!"

"According to your calculations, there's one more trading day tonight before Lehman Brothers officially declares bankruptcy. Shall we press our advantage and finish them off?"

"I agree with this suggestion. Given Lehman Brothers' current trend, it's bound to plummet again tonight. How can we miss such a golden opportunity?"

Ling Yun glanced at these smug guys, smiled, and shook his head.

"Now that the United Securities investment team has cleared out its short positions in Lehman Brothers and made a substantial profit, there's no need to keep watching this junk stock!"

"Everyone is right, Lehman Brothers' stock will definitely plummet again tonight, with a maximum drop of around 50%. It's indeed a golden opportunity."

"But have you all considered how much market capitalization Lehman Brothers still has? Can it still accommodate billions of dollars in rampant speculation and profit-taking?"

He stopped there with a smile.

The investment directors were all stunned, then suddenly realized what was happening.

Then their faces all turned red, and they were all somewhat embarrassed.

"That's absolutely true. Lehman Brothers' total market capitalization has shrunk to less than three billion US dollars, with a circulating market capitalization of just over a billion dollars. It no longer has the basis for large-scale speculation!"

"If we short-sell aggressively now, and Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, we might not even be able to escape. We'll end up losing more than we gain!"

"Well! We got a little carried away and didn't even notice something so important. How embarrassing!"

"Haha, that's only human nature, there's nothing shameful about it."

Seeing the slightly embarrassed expressions on the directors' faces, Ling Yun couldn't help but laugh.

Then, he changed the subject.

"From now on, our team can abandon Lehman Brothers stock; it has no speculative value whatsoever."

"If anyone outside the United Securities investment team wants to invest some money to play around, that's fine, but they must be quick to enter and exit."

"Getting back to business, we need to shift our focus to Merrill Lynch now. Merrill Lynch will be the market's focus in the next phase..."

Before we knew it, it was about 6:30 in the morning.

After the debriefing and summary meeting, Lingyun packed up her laptop and documents, ready to return to her office and then go home to rest.

Just then, Secretary Zhou suddenly knocked on the door and entered the conference room.

Then he quickly walked to Ling Yun's side, leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

The next moment, Ling Yun quickly picked up his things and left the conference room with Secretary Zhou, heading towards his office.

He saw it at a glance before he even reached the office door.

Deputy Director Zhang from the General Office, Director Li from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Director Zhang from the National Development and Reform Commission, Chairman Lou from China Investment Corporation, and several other bigwigs, including General Manager Kong and General Manager Sun, arrived together and stood at the door of their respective offices.

The scene was so breathtaking that many traders in the trading area stood up, staring in astonishment!

Ling Yun felt a chill run down his spine and quickly went forward to greet him.

Then I opened the door and invited all the big shots to come into the office together.

As soon as they entered, before everyone could even sit down, Deputy Director Zhang eagerly spoke first.

"Xiao Ling, could you tell me about the situation in the international financial markets? Is this global financial crisis about to erupt?"

"From the afternoon before yesterday to the early hours of this morning, the continuous plunge in the international financial markets was breathtaking, almost like a giant avalanche."

As soon as he posed this question, all the bigwigs looked at Ling Yun.

Ling Yun glanced at Deputy Director Zhang, then scanned Director Li and the others, and nodded firmly.

"That's right, esteemed leaders, this global financial crisis is about to erupt, and the landmark event should be the collapse of Lehman Brothers."

"Given Lehman Brothers' current situation, it will definitely declare bankruptcy by next Wednesday at the latest. We need to prepare for the impact of the financial crisis."

Even though they had expected it, the bigwigs were still shocked when they heard the result.

After a brief moment of shock, they became excited, their faces flushed and their eyes shining.

The next moment, Director Li suddenly uttered a few words of reflection.

"A global financial crisis is erupting next week—that's incredibly fast, but it's almost exactly as Xiaoling predicted!"

"If we could finalize this a month in advance, that would be perfect; we could be much better prepared."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Zhang smiled and shook his head.

Nothing in this world is perfect. The current situation is already quite good, and our country's preparedness is adequate.

At this point, he turned and patted Lingyun on the shoulder with admiration.

"Xiao Ling, you did a fantastic job. Thanks to your timely reminder, our country was able to respond promptly and avoid significant losses!"

"As you said, this global financial crisis is a golden opportunity and will surely become a catalyst for our country's economic take-off."

Ling Yun smiled and nodded modestly for a few moments.

"Thank you for your praise and recognition, leader. I am unworthy of such praise. As a descendant of the Chinese nation, this is simply my duty."