The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Around 6:30 in the afternoon.

The last rays of the setting sun slanted into the conference room through the blinds, turning the floor orange.

"Done"

Lingyun gently pressed the confirmation button, buying the last 20 short contracts.

Thus, they successfully completed their task of establishing a short position in WTI crude oil futures for today.

The atmosphere in the conference room seemed to freeze for two or three seconds before being broken by Zhou Hua's slightly excited voice.

"With a principal of over 3500 million RMB, an average cost of $135.2 per barrel, and 100x leverage, that's over 360 million barrels of WTI crude oil futures short positions."

"Wow, this is incredible! I feel like I can control everything, it's so satisfying!"

Zhang Yuntian smiled and echoed with two sentences.

After a short chat, international oil prices, as if remotely controlled by Lingyun, began to accelerate their decline, quickly dropping to around $134.

"Wow! They made over $400 million just like that, that's robbery!"

Zhou Hua shouted excitedly.

Everyone was extremely excited to see such impressive investment profit figures.

Amid the cheers, Zhang Yuntian immediately started doing the math.

"Another four million made, that's fifty thousand US dollars in my pocket, a river-view penthouse is just around the corner!"

Chairman's Office.

Looking at the back-end transaction data and international oil prices, Chairman Zhao and General Manager Wang could not hide their excitement.

"We've struck gold!"

"That's right, it's just that we discovered it a bit late."

At this point, they had no more doubts about Ling Yun's abilities, and were even more confident that they could recover all their losses and even make a fortune within a month!

However, some are happy while others are sad.

Mr. Liu was very unhappy. His reverse risk hedging failed again, and he lost several million more!

When news came that the Nigerian government forces had recaptured some of the oil fields that had been seized by the rebels and were organizing forces to put out the fires, Boss Liu was so remorseful that he wanted to slap himself twice.

If I hadn't gone against that little bastard, I'd be lying here counting my money right now!

With the warehouse construction completed, Lingyun and the others had much less to do.

All that's left is to keep an eye on international crude oil futures prices, closely monitor any unforeseen events that may occur, and respond according to the established plan.

Unless a sensational event occurs that causes a sudden surge or plunge in international oil prices, requiring timely replenishment of margin or additional funds, or even liquidation of positions, the risk of oil price fluctuations will not be significant.

Under normal circumstances, there is no need to do any more trading; just wait for the right opportunity to reap the rewards.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Lingyun and the others began to review today's transactions and discuss the future trend of international oil prices.

This is just a formality; all team decisions are made by Lingyun alone.

He knows better than anyone how international oil prices will move.

After the debriefing session, Zhou Hua and Zhang Yun went downstairs to the company restaurant for lunch.

Ling Yun and Li Jie stayed in the meeting room, chatting while continuing to monitor the market.

Before long, three securities investment experts knocked on the door and entered the conference room to discuss investment strategies for targeting Merrill Lynch with Ling Yun.

After the US stock market opens tonight, an investment team organized by the Hong Kong Island branch will officially enter the fray and launch an operation to target Merrill Lynch.

This is just the beginning. If the attack on Merrill Lynch is successful, the profits will be substantial.

If the situation in the US financial markets continues to deteriorate and the adverse effects and losses caused by the subprime crisis continue to expand, this attack will escalate rapidly!

It was upgraded to a targeted operation against the entire European and American financial markets, taking advantage of the subprime crisis and the global financial crisis to reap the benefits of the entire international financial market.

As for whether this sniping operation would escalate, Ling Yun knew perfectly well and was absolutely certain!

Upon seeing the three investment experts enter, Ling Yun stood up and greeted them.

Then he gave Li Jie a few more instructions, telling him to continue monitoring the market.

He left his workstation and went to the second office area to have a meeting with three securities investment experts.

Ling Yun went straight to his second workstation, took out several documents from his drawer, and handed them to the three investment experts.

"This is the first investment strategy I've developed for the Hong Kong Island branch. Take a look, and if you have any opinions, we can discuss them further."

"Once the discussion is complete and a consensus is reached, we will send it to Chairman Zhao and the Hong Kong Island branch for their decision on whether to implement it!"

"Okay, Xiaoling, let's take a look first."

The three investment experts nodded in unison, took the investment strategy, and began to read it.

After watching for a short while, their eyes lit up simultaneously, revealing a mixture of admiration and shock.

Immediately afterwards, they exchanged a quick glance, then all looked at Ling Yun.

Without some serious skills, one wouldn't dare to go to Liangshan!

This young man is truly remarkable; his abilities are astounding. His understanding of European and American stock markets and Merrill Lynch is profound and insightful!

I couldn't have come up with this almost flawless and ruthless investment strategy myself.

First, there is a lack of understanding; second, the opportunities mentioned are not being recognized.

This shows that this young man was not bragging; he was indeed qualified to remotely command the Hong Kong branch to attack Merrill Lynch!

Ling Yun then turned on his computer and began to check the US stock market quotes and the stock price trend of Merrill Lynch.

There are still more than three hours before the US stock market opens, which is enough time to analyze, research, and formulate investment strategies.

Once the US stock market opens at 9:30 PM, we can launch an attack on Merrill Lynch and settle both the old and new scores!

In no time, the three investment experts had quickly reviewed the investment strategies in their hands.

After exchanging opinions, they began a discussion with Lingyun.

"Xiaoling, your investment strategy is brilliant! The analysis is logical and well-founded, almost flawless!"

"But the international financial market is constantly changing. What makes you so sure that Merrill Lynch's stock price will continue to fall? What if your judgment is wrong?"

"Merrill Lynch's stock price has plummeted 60% from its high of $100. Shouldn't it be due for a rebound? After all, Merrill Lynch is the world's third-largest investment bank!"

Ling Yun looked at the three investment experts, but then changed the subject.

"I'll explain my reasons later. I'd like to know first how much ammunition the Hong Kong Island branch is prepared to use to target Merrill Lynch?"

"Only by understanding the scale of funds shorting Merrill Lynch can I act with purpose and formulate investment strategies that are either more aggressive or more conservative."

The three investment experts were all taken aback, momentarily stunned.

After a moment's hesitation, they gave their answer.

"The Hong Kong Island branch is initially prepared to allocate US$100 million, plus four to five times leverage, in an attempt to undermine Merrill Lynch's share price!"

"If the sniping strategy proves effective, quickly generating investment profits, and the market trend remains unchanged, then we will increase the investment and leverage ratio!"

"The total investment should be kept around $200 million, and with leverage of at least five times, the short selling amount could very well exceed $1 billion."

Lingyun was fairly satisfied with this answer.

With a short-selling scale of one billion US dollars, if it can be doubled and then multiplied by 10%, this guy can earn at least one hundred million US dollars in commission!

If it increases three, four, or five times, my buddy can earn even more!

Ling Yun instantly understood the situation, and his eyes sharpened.

"This short-selling volume is about enough; it's enough to give Merrill Lynch a run for their money!"

"Now I'll explain why I'm so certain that Merrill Lynch's stock price will continue to fall, even to the point of bankruptcy!"

"The reason is simple: Merrill Lynch is now deeply mired in the subprime crisis and has no way to extricate itself!"

As he spoke, he picked up his laptop, pulled up the collected data, and began to analyze the situation in depth.

"Merrill Lynch may hold trillions of dollars in subprime bonds, which are worthless junk."

"Merrill Lynch's stock price is unlikely to rebound until a buyer is found, but who would dare to take over these junk bonds now?"

"Further analysis of the international financial market environment reveals that the subprime crisis is escalating and is on the verge of developing into a global financial crisis."

Ling Yun paused, his voice turning colder.

"As one of the main instigators of the subprime crisis, Merrill Lynch's real troubles are coming soon, such as huge losses."

According to Wall Street sources, many authoritative investment analysis firms believe that Merrill Lynch's actual losses could be as high as five or six hundred billion US dollars...

As Ling Yun provided his analysis, the three securities investment experts felt a chill run down their spines.

They could even sense that the investment strategy in their hands was becoming increasingly heavy!