The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Irwin paused for a moment before responding.

"Tell the people at Yuanda Investment that we will report to headquarters, and only with headquarters' permission can we begin a second round of talks with Yuanda Investment."

"Okay, boss."

The general manager's secretary nodded in agreement and then left the office.

The door closed, and the office fell silent again.

After pondering for nearly two minutes, Erwin suddenly looked up at Paul across from him.

After a moment's hesitation, he said in a low voice:

"We're on the same sinking ship now, we live together, we die together, how can I trust you?"

The turn of events was so abrupt that Paul was momentarily stunned.

"Of course you can trust me, but I don't quite understand what you mean. Could you explain?"

Erwin looked him straight in the eyes and said, word by word:

"Goldman Sachs and Lloyd are such ruthless old foxes. We have to think about ourselves and our families; in fact, we have to fight to survive!"

"Our only hope of escaping slaughter lies in Yuanda Investment and that prodigy. You can..."

As he said this, he unconsciously lifted his buttocks and leaned forward to get closer to Paul.

His voice lowered considerably, but his tone became even more resolute!

Before we knew it, it was already around four o'clock in the afternoon.

After leaving the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission building, Ling Yun took a car to the headquarters of China Investment Corporation, intending to visit the two investment teams before going home to rest.

At this moment, in the office area of ​​the United Securities investment team, many traders were trading rapidly, shorting the newly opened stock markets in various European countries.

The atmosphere in the office area was exceptionally lively, with the clatter of keyboards creating a symphony of sounds.

As Ling Yun arrived, everyone turned to look at the entrance.

"Everyone, go about your business and don't worry about me."

Ling Yun raised his hand in greeting.

Then he went behind a trader and looked at the market data on the computer screen.

"How's it going, Qiangzi? How are the stock markets in Europe performing today? Did they plummet again?"

Qiangzi turned to look at him and nodded excitedly in response.

"That's absolutely right. The stock market trends across Europe are highly consistent with the investment strategies you provided. That's amazing!"

"From Germany to France, and then to the UK, all major European stock markets opened sharply lower, and then continued to fall, plummeting!"

"As of now, major European stock markets have generally fallen by more than 4%. At what price point should we take profits?"

Ling Yun glanced at the board and then shook his head.

"The European banking crisis is spreading rapidly, and coupled with last night's plunge in US stocks, European stock markets are likely to fall today!"

"As for the specific closing price, I will provide clear instructions later. Just follow those instructions!"

"Okay, we'll wait for your instructions."

Qiangzi nodded in agreement.

After chatting for a few minutes, Ling Yun turned and left, heading towards his office.

At the same time, President Chen and the others came out of their respective offices and gathered at the door of Ling Yun's office.

In a short while, everyone had gathered together.

After exchanging greetings, Ling Yun led President Chen and the others into the office.

After entering, everyone sat down on the sofas in the rest area and began discussing the situation in the international financial market.

Like other traders and analysts, Mr. Chen and his team were a bit worried after several days of sharp declines!

There are concerns that a sudden retaliatory rebound in international financial markets could catch everyone off guard and wipe out some of the previous investment profits.

So, as soon as they sat down, they began asking Lingyun for his opinion on the trends of European and American stock markets.

To be more precise, I asked him when he would close his position.

Ling Yun didn't hide anything and immediately gave his answer.

"There's no need to worry. Even though a coordinated interest rate cut by central banks worldwide is a done deal today, the effect of this market rescue measure will be quite limited."

"European stock markets, which have already opened, are experiencing a continuous plunge, primarily due to the European banking crisis, and this plunge is expected to continue throughout the day."

"Based on the current market trend, it should be no problem for European stock markets to fall by more than 7% today. Let's use 7% as the liquidation line."

"Once European stock markets fall below this liquidation line, each investment team will immediately liquidate its positions..."

Everyone was shocked to hear about the 7% drop.

"Holy crap! It's plummeted by at least 7%. If it keeps falling like this, all the stock markets in Europe will go to zero!"

"A complete collapse! This kind of drop is terrifying!"

While exclaiming in surprise, everyone's eyes shone with excitement.

Whether European stock markets rise or fall is of no concern to anyone; in fact, people hope they fall as much as possible!

The more European stock markets fall, the more money we make, so naturally we're very happy!

London, 9:30 a.m.

Barclays headquarters, CEO's office.

Watching his bank's stock plummet like a waterfall, Barclays CEO John's face turned ashen and extremely ugly!

Within an hour of the UK stock market opening, Barclays' share price had already plummeted by 18%, looking like it had hit rock bottom!

Even worse, there were constant sell-offs and market crashes.

If Barclays shows even the slightest sign of a rebound, these guys will immediately step in and nip it in the bud.

Seeing his repeated attempts to push the price up fail, John was furious, but there was nothing he could do!

Just then, a telephone on the desk rang.

John grabbed the phone and bombarded him with questions:

"Have you found out which bastards are shorting our bank's stock? I'm not finished with these bastards!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a helpless voice came from the phone.

"We found something, but it's not very valuable. There are far too many institutions and investors shorting Barclays in the international financial markets!"

"Because of the huge losses from the betting scheme, many investors are bearish on our bank's stock, and have even formed a tacit agreement to jointly short it!"

"Among these short sellers, both large and small, who are shorting our bank's stock, including Hong Kong Island's Grand Investment, they are not the biggest short sellers, but their actions are the most resolute!"

"The news that Yuanda Investment is shorting our bank's stock came from an insider. It's said they're retaliating because we refused a second round of talks!"

Upon hearing this, John nearly exploded with rage.

"Those damn bastards, do they really think they can take over Barclays Bank? Dream on!"

"They dare to mess with our bank's stock like this? Just wait for my revenge!"

After a fit of impotent rage, John asked about other details.

After his subordinate finished reporting the situation, he casually hung up the phone and then slumped into his office chair.

Unlike his previous exasperation, he now only felt a sense of helplessness!

He knew perfectly well that Yuanda Investment and the Yuanda Group behind it were not listed companies, and that the companies were located in mainland China and Hong Kong, not in New York or London!

Even if Barclays wanted to retaliate, it would be like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—it wouldn't know where to start!

Yuanda Investment has plenty of ways to retaliate against Barclays Bank and can take action at any time, or launch a covert attack!

The reason is simple: Barclays is a publicly traded company, completely exposed to the public eye!

Coupled with the global financial crisis and the outbreak of the European banking crisis, it can be described as one of the most perfect targets!

Thinking about this, John couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

After leaning back in his chair and thinking for five or six minutes, he was forced to make a decision as Barclays' stock price was about to fall below -20%!

The next moment, John picked up his phone and dialed the chairman of the Financial Services Authority.

As the call connected, he clicked his tongue and said:

"Good morning, Adair. On behalf of the Barclays Bank Board of Directors, I request an immediate halt to trading of the bank's shares."

We will release an announcement later explaining the reasons for the trading suspension.

The chairman of the Financial Services Authority paused for a moment before asking in a deep voice:

"Good morning, John. Did you suspend trading of Barclays shares because the bank's stock was being heavily shorted, causing the share price to plummet?"