The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Central, Hong Kong Island.

Just after eight o'clock in the morning, the area in front of the office building where Yuanda Investment is located was swarmed by reporters from various media outlets.

Numerous media reporters set up their cameras and lenses, aiming them at the office building entrance, trying to capture every possible employee of the Far Eastern Hong Kong Island branch.

Even employees of other financial investment companies in the office building occasionally become the subjects of interviews by these news media outlets.

Some of these television reporters even went so far as to broadcast the events live.

The most enthusiastic media reporters came from the financial channels of several television stations on Hong Kong Island, and they were all in high spirits!

The news that Yuanda Investment won its bet against Goldman Sachs and Barclays, and cornered these two top financial institutions, has caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong!

For Hong Kong's financial sector and even the entire society, this victory was unprecedented and explosive, giving everyone a sense of triumph!

Although Hong Kong Island is one of the international financial centers, it is several orders of magnitude behind New York and far behind London!

Logically speaking, local financial institutions in Hong Kong are not in the same league as Wall Street giants.

As a result, in the international financial market, they are suppressed everywhere and can only rely on others!

Wall Street giants, including Goldman Sachs, have branches in Hong Kong that act like they're the best in the world, looking down on local financial institutions on Hong Kong Island.

Their condescending attitude made their counterparts in Hong Kong grit their teeth in hatred!

Unfortunately, due to their own lack of strength and the vast gap between their investment performance and standards, everyone could only hold their noses and endure these stinky, dead foreigners!

Until Yuanda Investment emerged out of nowhere, creating a series of incredible miracles and rapidly becoming the most dazzling star company in Hong Kong's financial circle!

The results of this stock index options betting event have shocked countless people, making many in Hong Kong's financial circles stand tall and feel a sense of pride!

That's why we have such a large-scale operation now!

As we were talking, it was already around 10 a.m.

Escorted by two police cars, several cars drove straight to the office building and slowly came to a stop.

The car doors opened, and the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Island Monetary Authority and the Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission stepped out of their respective cars and stood beside their vehicles.

Upon seeing these two bigwigs, the numerous media reporters behind the cordon instantly became excited.

They quickly raised their cameras and video cameras, focusing their lenses on the two bigwigs while vying to ask questions loudly.

"Good morning, Mr. Ren and Mr. Fang. I'm a reporter from TVB's financial channel. May I ask if you're here regarding the bet between Yuanda Investment and Goldman Sachs and Barclays?"

"As far as we know, when Yuanda Investment negotiated the bet with Goldman Sachs and Barclays, the agreement was reached under the joint witness of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission. Is that correct?"

"Good morning, Director Ren, Chairman Fang. I'm a reporter from the South China Morning Post. It's a pleasure to interview you."

"Through this bet, Yuanda Investment won more than $40 billion from Goldman Sachs and more than $20 billion from Barclays. Such a crazy bet is unprecedented in the financial history of Hong Kong Island."

"Goldman Sachs and Barclays are willing to accept such staggering losses? What if they refuse to acknowledge these massive losses? How do the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission plan to handle this?"

As numerous media reporters asked questions, the scene suddenly became extremely noisy, as bustling as a vegetable market!

Before the two bigwigs could respond, Wang Mian, along with several company executives, came out of the office building to greet Director Ren and his group.

At the same time, two more convoys arrived in front of the office building.

Arriving by car were the negotiation teams from Goldman Sachs and Barclays, each led by the CEO of the Hong Kong branch of these two top financial institutions!

With all three parties involved in the betting event gathered, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became heated.

The media reporters gathered in front of the building were all like they were on steroids, desperately sticking their microphones forward, as if they wanted to shove them in the faces of the three representatives.

A barrage of questions emerged, flooding the representatives of the three parties.

"Good morning, Mr. Irwin. I'm a reporter from the Financial Times. Will Goldman Sachs fully cover the losses from this stock index options bet?"

"Hello, Mr. Wang, I'm a reporter from The New York Times. Why are you betting against Goldman Sachs and Barclays on stock index options?"

"This bet is extremely risky. Given Yuanda Investment's strength and experience, it seems unreasonable for them to proactively initiate such a crazy bet. Could you explain why?"

Hearing these sharp, incisive questions, the faces of everyone at Goldman Sachs and Barclays turned ashen.

They didn't answer any questions, all turning their backs to the excited reporters, as if they had collectively become deaf and mute!

They had all received instructions before coming here.

No one may give interviews to media reporters without permission!

Dealing with news media requires a crisis management team, and a unified message must be maintained to the outside world!

Compared to them, Yuanda Investment does not have this restriction.

After greeting Director Ren, Chairman Fang, and Erwin, Wang Mian, accompanied by his public relations manager, went straight to the group of media reporters.

Then he raised his hands and gently pressed them down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

With his action, the previously noisy scene quickly quieted down.

The next moment, Wang Mian smiled and said loudly:

"Good morning, friends from the media and colleagues in the financial industry. It's a pleasure to see you all. I am Wang Mian, General Manager of Yuanda Investment. Thank you for your attention!"

"I know very well why everyone is here. The results of the bet between Yuanda Investment and Goldman Sachs and Barclays on stock index options are in, and everyone can check them!"

"As a result, due to the sharp drop in the US stock market last night and into the early hours of the morning, Goldman Sachs and Barclays proactively offered to terminate their stock index options bet, acknowledging that the bet had failed!"

"The winners are naturally us. Based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average's decline at the end of the bet, Goldman Sachs will have to pay us $428 billion, and Barclays will have to pay us $232 billion..."

These words immediately caused an uproar at the scene.

"My God, a single bet yielded a staggering $660 billion! That's insane!"

"Wow! Goldman Sachs and Barclays have really messed up this time, while Yuanda Investment has made a killing. They must be ecstatic!"

Those nearby, including Erwin, turned even darker after hearing the translation from his subordinates!

They instantly realized that Wang Mian was using the news media to create momentum.

By publicly disclosing the outcome and amount of this bet through the news media, a fait accompli can be established in the public sphere, allowing us to seize the initiative in negotiations!

Although they understood this, Erwin and the others just gritted their teeth and didn't immediately refute it.

The results of the stock index options betting are right there; anyone can check them. You can't just lie through your teeth!

More importantly, without headquarters' permission, Erwin, the scapegoat, had neither the right nor the courage to speak out in his defense!

Looking at Wang Mian again, he smiled calmly and continued to talk eloquently.

"The results of this stock index options bet are in, and the next step is settlement. Only after successful settlement will this bet be considered complete!"

"We invited the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, and representatives from Goldman Sachs and Barclays today to address this issue."

As he spoke, he turned to the side and gestured towards Director Ren and the others.

The faces of the Goldman Sachs and Barclays representatives darkened further; they knew that Wang Mian was putting a checkmate on them!

As the losing party in the bet, they cannot immediately launch a counterattack unless they completely abandon all pretense and directly engage in a physical confrontation!

But the negotiations have just begun, and it's not time to completely break off relations yet!

Wang Mian put on a convincing performance before handing over the task of dealing with the media and financial colleagues to the public relations manager, and then turned to walk towards Director Ren and the others.

Upon approaching, he whispered a few words to Director Ren and the others.

He greeted Erwin and the others, then led the representatives into the office building and upstairs to Yuanda Investment!