The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Sunday, 10:00 AM.

Wangfujing Peninsula Hotel.

Zhang Lu, accompanied by two assistants and a full-time translator, entered the hotel lobby.

Today we are here for a business meeting, and the other party is the vice president of Hearst Corporation, a world-renowned fashion and media giant. They are all dressed in suits and are shrewd and capable!

Fortunately, it was already late September, the best time of year in the capital, so they weren't hot dressed like that, just a bit too formal.

As soon as I entered the hotel lobby, a vice president from a fashion magazine who had been waiting there for a long time immediately came to greet me with his secretary.

Zhang was able to contact the vice president of Hearst Group immediately and arrange a meeting, all through the introduction of the fashion magazine's boss.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries with the magazine's vice president, Zhang Lu and his colleagues walked towards the elevator together.

He had only taken a couple of steps when he suddenly saw it.

In the nearby rest area, Lingyun, Leilei, and Yanzi were sitting on the sofa chatting and laughing, looking very relaxed and comfortable.

A few meters away, Zhong Tao and his group, disguised as tourists, stood scattered, keeping watch in secret.

To avoid being recognized by her colleagues at the magazine, Yanzi wore a hat and sunglasses, covering most of her already small and pretty face, making her difficult to recognize at a glance.

Upon seeing Ling Yun and the others, a smile immediately appeared on Zhang Lu's face, but he did not stop walking.

At the same time, Ling Yun smiled and nodded, greeting him.

Their tacit interaction was so subtle and fleeting that no one except Yanzi and her friends noticed it.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Lu and his group had entered the elevator lobby and taken the elevator upstairs.

Ling Yun withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice:

"Attorney Zhang, go talk to the vice president of Hearst Corporation. Let's not sit here waiting idly, let's go out for a walk!"

"I haven't been to Wangfujing for a while, so I'm taking this opportunity to go for a stroll, and the weather is really nice today."

Yanzi and Leilei beamed with joy when they heard that he was going to take them shopping.

"Oh my god, did I hear that right? You actually have time to go shopping with us? Did the sun rise in the west today?"

"I can hardly believe it either. You've finally managed to win back your charms. We should cherish this opportunity and walk through Wangfujing from beginning to end."

While joking and teasing each other, Yanzi and Leilei quickly got up from the sofa, grabbed Lingyun's arms on either side, and were about to leave the hotel!

Unfortunately, Lingyun's phone rang at that very moment.

He took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and immediately whispered a few words of advice.

"Wait here for a bit, I'm going to take this call. We'll go shopping afterwards."

After saying that, he walked straight toward an empty flower bed not far away.

Seeing his actions, Zhong Tao immediately followed.

Yanzi and Leilei exchanged a glance and could only stand there and wait.

In a short while, Lingyun arrived at the flower bed.

He first scanned the area around the flower bed to make sure no one was within a four- or five-meter radius, then nodded to Zhong Tao who had followed him before answering the phone.

"Hello, Chairman Zhao, is there any new information?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chairman Zhao's excited voice rang out.

"That's right. I just received a call from Wang Mian in Hong Kong. About half an hour ago, Goldman Sachs responded and decided to accept our proposed stock index futures betting scheme and bet against us."

"Goldman Sachs' Hong Kong office general manager, Irwin, said on the phone that they wanted to sign a betting agreement with us as soon as possible, but requested that we use Goldman Sachs' standard stock index option betting agreement."

"They also demanded that our royalty payment be no less than $2000 million, with no upper limit, and said that if our payment was less than that, it wasn't worth Goldman Sachs wasting its time..."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yun let out a cold laugh.

"Clearly, those bastards at Goldman Sachs think they have us cornered and want to get rich quick, which is why they've set these conditions."

"According to our betting scheme, the leverage ratio is between 50 and 200 times, and in extreme market conditions, the leverage ratio can even soar to over a thousand times."

"If the extreme market conditions that Goldman Sachs is hoping for actually occur, the $2000 million in option premium alone would be enough for Goldman Sachs to swallow the entire Yuanda Group whole."

"hiss--!"

Chairman Zhao gasped, clearly startled.

He knew very well how terrifying leverage of thousands of times was in extreme market conditions, and he didn't even dare to think about the consequences if his bet failed!

How much is the entire Yuanda Group worth? If Goldman Sachs were to swallow it whole, I'm afraid I wouldn't escape being eaten alive!

Seemingly guessing what he was worried about, Lingyun immediately spoke up to comfort him.

"Those bastards at Goldman Sachs are dreaming! They want to use this opportunity to swallow Yuanda Group whole? There's no way they'll succeed!"

"This time, we are using the newly acquired Merrill Lynch Hong Kong Island branch for a performance-based agreement, which allows us to achieve complete risk isolation."

"If we win the bet, we can just sit back and collect the money. If we lose, at most we'll lose the several hundred million dollars transferred to this branch, and that's where the losses end."

Chairman Zhao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"Now I finally understand why, after the Hong Kong Island branch was acquired, you specifically instructed that the investment company should be renamed and operate independently, and not immediately merged into the Yuanda Group."

"At the time, I was thinking that maintaining such an independent financial investment company and paying for those financial licenses would cost at least several million yuan every year. Wasn't that too high a cost? So that's what you were up to!"

"Could it be that when you suggested acquiring the Hong Kong branches of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, you were already planning this move? Were you intending to use these shell companies to rip off Goldman Sachs? This scheme is brilliant!"

"Haha, it's not as exaggerated as you say."

Ling Yun chuckled twice, then changed the subject.

"I never intended to use stock index options to gamble against Goldman Sachs. This gamble was just a coincidence; I saw an opportunity and that's when I came up with this idea!"

"I had you guys keep these two shell companies running for a while, as a precaution, in case we ever needed them. I never expected the opportunity to come so soon!"

Next, Chairman Zhao talked about some other requirements put forward by Goldman Sachs.

In addition to demanding the use of Goldman Sachs' own stock index option betting agreement, Irwin made it clear.

Goldman Sachs is firmly bullish in this stock index options bet, leaving Yuanda Group with only one option: to be bearish.

Only in this way can the bet against Goldman Sachs on stock index options be realized.

In addition, there is a deadline for signing the betting agreement. Irwin hopes to get this done by 9 p.m. tomorrow night at the latest, so time is very tight!

After listening to Chairman Zhao's introduction, Ling Yun smiled dismissively.

"Clearly, those bastards at Goldman Sachs must have received inside information that the US government's massive bailout plan will definitely pass in Congress tomorrow night."

"This leads to the conclusion that once the bailout plan is approved, all three major US stock indices will rise, which is why they are so bullish and eager to sign a betting agreement with us immediately."

Just as he finished speaking, Chairman Zhao interrupted with a smile.

"I think so too. Paulson was the former CEO of Goldman Sachs. For Goldman Sachs, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, as well as the US government and Capitol Hill, were completely transparent."

"Indeed, Goldman Sachs is synonymous with insider information."

Ling Yun nodded in agreement and continued the previous topic.

"Since Goldman Sachs is so confident, we can take advantage of their eagerness to succeed. Have Wang Mian tell those bastards at Goldman Sachs that the option premium we invest will not be less than 3000 million US dollars."

"Furthermore, we have chosen to bet on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but this stock index options bet must use our betting agreement. If Goldman Sachs cannot accept this, then we will have to abandon the bet."

"The next point is the timing of signing the agreement. It can be signed on Monday, or even during the daytime on Tuesday, since the target of the bet is the Dow Jones Industrial Average the day after the bailout plan is approved."

"I bet those bastards at Goldman Sachs will accept these terms. In their eyes, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they're willing to break with convention and accept our terms."

Hearing his analysis, Chairman Zhao on the other end of the phone became even more excited.

"Seeing how confident you are, I'm completely relieved. Let's have a game of fishing like Jiang Taigong, where those who are willing will take the bait!"

Four or five minutes later, Ling Yun finally finished the call.

Then he returned to Yanzi and Leilei's side, and together they left the hotel and went shopping!

Meanwhile, Zhang Lu's meeting with the vice president of Hearst Group has begun!