The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Hong Kong Island, 9:30 a.m.

Goldman Sachs Hong Kong Island branch, General Manager's office.

Lewis sat on a single sofa, sipping coffee as a senior analyst from the Hong Kong Island branch briefed him on the situation.

"From yesterday afternoon until late at night, we were analyzing and studying those investment strategies that had missed their window of opportunity. The result was that every member of our team was completely convinced."

"It must be admitted that these investment strategies are brilliant; if placed at the right time, they would be like powerful money printing machines, capable of printing countless dollars."

"Even a complete novice in finance can quickly become a billionaire in a very short time if given a small amount of start-up capital and allowed to copy others' work."

"If these investment strategies weren't created after the fact, I'd be willing to attribute them to the genius of Warren Buffett. But that's not entirely true; even Buffett might not be that magical..."

While explaining the situation, the senior analyst also gave a presentation on his laptop.

He plugged those investment strategies of dubious origin into a data model, simulated the previous trends in the international financial market and the US stock market, and calculated the possible investment returns.

Seeing the profit figures in the data model skyrocketing like a rocket, Lewis and the general manager of Goldman Sachs' Hong Kong branch were stunned and speechless!

Deeply shocked, their eyes quickly turned red, filled with undisguised greed!

As Goldman Sachs executives, they knew better than anyone what these brilliant investment strategies meant!

Those are enormous gold mines, capable of bringing countless fortunes!

Unfortunately, these coveted gold mines were not theirs, and they had already missed their chance!

It took about ten minutes for the senior analyst to finish explaining the situation.

Immediately afterwards, this guy and the general manager of the Hong Kong Island branch looked at Lewis and asked the same question with great anticipation.

"Who is the genius behind these investment strategies, Lewis? Could you tell us? We'd love to meet this investment genius!"

Lewis looked at the two men, paused for a moment, and then gently shook his head.

"I'm very sorry, but I cannot tell you the name and background of this prodigy at the moment. This matter needs to be kept confidential."

"What I can tell you is that my trip to Hong Kong Island, and my upcoming trip to Beijing, is all for this amazing kid."

Upon hearing this, the general manager of the Hong Kong Island branch suddenly realized something, and a flash of excitement quickly appeared in his eyes.

He knew of Ling Yun's existence, but he never expected Ling Yun to be so amazing.

The senior analyst was completely baffled, having no idea who this amazing young man who had impressed him so much was!

Next, they continued to discuss these investment strategies.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, the general manager's secretary suddenly knocked on the door and came in.

Shortly after, the investment director of Goldman Sachs' Hong Kong office walked into the office.

After greeting everyone upon entering, the investment director immediately explained the purpose of their visit.

"Mr. Irwin, Mr. Lewis, the people from the Hong Kong branch of the Yuanda Group have arrived. It's a five-person negotiation team, and they seem to have ill intentions."

"These guys are using cooperation as a pretext, but their real intention is to engage in a high-stakes bet with us—a bet on stock index options with extremely high risk."

"Yuanda's Hong Kong Island branch has indeed made a lot of money recently, and they actually dared to take the initiative to seek to bet against us on stock index options. They are a bit too arrogant."

"How should we respond? Should we accept the challenge, or simply kick this overly arrogant negotiation team out? From my perspective, perhaps we can play this game with them."

After hearing his explanation, the three people in the office were all astonished.

"What?! They're willing to bet against Goldman Sachs on stock index options? Are these guys out of their minds?"

Erwin exclaimed in surprise, clearly in disbelief.

In the international financial market, which financial institution is unaware of Goldman Sachs' enormous influence and astonishing strength? Without exception!

It is no exaggeration to say that, to a certain extent, Goldman Sachs can even influence the trends of international financial markets and the US stock market on its own!

Especially in the field of international financial investment, Goldman Sachs' influence is almost unparalleled in the world, with only a handful of top financial institutions able to match it!

Even though Goldman Sachs suffered a major blow in this financial crisis and has not yet recovered, it is still a giant!

In this situation, Yuanda Hong Kong branch actually took the initiative to approach Goldman Sachs to bet on stock index options. Isn't that just courting death?

Just like Irwin, the senior analyst could hardly believe his ears!

However, Lewis's eyes lit up instantly.

Before the investment director could respond, he suddenly interrupted and asked:

"Is Far Eastern Group's Hong Kong Island branch going head-to-head with Goldman Sachs this time, or are they also engaging in betting against other financial institutions?"

"What is the specific underlying asset of the bet? Is it Hong Kong stock index options or US stock index options? Is it betting on whether the price will rise or fall, or on volatility?"

The investment director paused for a moment and quickly glanced at Irwin.

He only responded after seeing Erwin nod slightly.

"These guys from Yuanda Group are being a bit too arrogant. Judging from what they're saying, they're preparing to engage in this bet with many top financial institutions at the same time."

"Their chosen counterparties include not only Goldman Sachs, but also Morgan Stanley, UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and Temasek Holdings."

"As for the specific targets and methods of the betting, they did not explain immediately. They said that they would only explain the details and provide the betting agreement if we accepted the betting."

Hearing his explanation, Erwin and the others were dumbfounded once again.

This was so shocking that they murmured in disbelief.

"Fuck! These idiots must be out of their minds to gamble on stock index options against so many top financial institutions. They'll be bankrupt!"

"Have these guys forgotten who they are after making some money? Or have they just lost their minds because of it?"

Unlike Elvin and the others, Lewis secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly realized that since the Hong Kong branch of Yuanda Group had chosen not only Goldman Sachs as its counterparty, but also many top financial institutions, that was enough to explain the situation.

Yuanda Hong Kong Island branch is not targeting Goldman Sachs, much less itself!

His secret arrival in Hong Kong and the purpose of his trip to China were not exposed!

Lewis, who thought he had figured it out, was immediately relieved.

Then, he gave a disdainful sneer.

"Since these idiots from Yuanda Group are courting death, why should we be polite?"

"Irwin, go and meet these idiots, find out how they want to gamble, and take a look at their betting agreement."

"Before meeting these guys, it would be best to call financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and UBS to see if Yuanda Group has also approached them."

Erwin turned to look at him, frowned slightly, and did not respond immediately.

His reaction showed that he was somewhat disgusted by Lewis's overstepping his bounds!

Lewis noticed his displeasure but ignored it and continued talking.

"If this situation is to our advantage, then let's play this gamble with them. Even if things turn against us, we still have ways to turn things around."

"Regarding this bet, I will explain the situation to Lloyd, let headquarters conduct an evaluation, and make a decision on whether to engage in the bet with Yuanda Group."

"I won't attend the meeting, but I can monitor the negotiation process through the conference room's surveillance cameras to get firsthand information..."

Upon hearing him directly mention the group's CEO, Erwin immediately lost his temper and could only nod in agreement.

"Alright, I'll take some men to meet those idiots from Yuanda Group right away!"