The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

After finishing his call with Paulson, Lauder sat down in his chair and fell into thought.

A few minutes later, he picked up his cell phone from his desk and dialed the number of the Barclays CEO.

Things went as he predicted!

The CEO of Barclays Bank received a call from the Prime Minister's office half an hour ago, clearly putting pressure on them.

The US has asked Barclays to find a way to resolve the debt issue related to its betting agreement with Grand Investment, which concerns the highest level of cooperation between the two countries.

While resolving this problem, Barclays must also ensure that it does not encounter major issues and prevent the existing banking crisis from escalating.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer even hinted in a phone call that Barclays could use some of its less important external company equity assets to repay the debt to Yuanda Investment.

He then explicitly instructed that Barclays Bank must participate in the second round of negotiations this afternoon at Yuanda Investment and could not evade it.

As for what outcome they can achieve, that depends on their own abilities!

After the Chancellor of the Exchequer hung up the phone, the CEO of Barclays was immediately caught in a dilemma, unsure how to resolve the situation.

He still hadn't come up with a suitable solution by the time Lauder called.

After listening to the Barclays CEO's explanation, Lloyd said helplessly:

"John, we're facing the same problem. I just got a call from Paulson, and he's putting direct pressure on me to resolve this issue as soon as possible."

"It seems we have no choice but to participate in today's negotiations with Yuanda Investment. We'll definitely be in a very passive position. Yuanda Investment's ability to make such a big fuss is beyond my expectations."

"Or rather, it was that little bastard behind Yuanda Investment who stirred up such a commotion. Paulson speculates that the bailout plan put forward by the Chinese side is very likely his doing..."

Next, Lauder told John, who was far away in London, about some of the information and speculations he had regarding Lingyun.

He did this not because he trusted John and Barclay so much, but because he wanted to join forces with Barclay.

With a unified stance and coordinated actions, we will jointly confront the creditors of both sides – a commitment made by Yuanda Investment.

After hearing Lourdes's explanation, John was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

Two or three minutes later, he gritted his teeth and said:

"I think you're right, Lloyd. We've all been outmaneuvered by this incredibly cunning little rascal, and we've been led by the nose by him from beginning to end."

"After listening to your explanation, I suddenly realized that the heavy losses our bank suffered from the precise attack on its stock by Yuanda Investment were very likely orchestrated by this little bastard behind the scenes. How despicable!..."

Upon hearing this, Lauder immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

If John only had doubts, he was absolutely certain in his heart.

The mastermind behind the covert command of Yuanda Investment's frenzied attack on Barclays Bank is undoubtedly Ling Yun!

As the investigation deepened, Lauder learned more and more about Lingyun, and at the same time, he became increasingly terrified!

He knew in his heart that if Goldman Sachs hadn't suspended trading earlier, he would have just happened to avoid the crazy crash of the past two days.

Otherwise, Goldman Sachs would have suffered a severe blow.

Ling Yun would never let such a golden opportunity slip by; he would definitely launch a massive attack on Goldman Sachs' stock.

The resulting huge losses could be even greater than those from the stock index options bet, and might even be crippling.

Thinking of this, Lloyd couldn't help but feel a pang of fear!

The call lasted for over twenty minutes before it ended.

Lloyd and John reached an agreement to participate in the second round of negotiations with Yuanda Investment today, and to see how things go first.

After hanging up the phone, Lauder immediately called Erwin, the general manager of the Hong Kong Island branch, and gave him direct instructions.

Let Erwin lead the team to conduct a second round of negotiations with Yuanda Investment and hear their asking price.

Erwin had no questions about his instructions and immediately nodded in agreement.

After making the call, Lloyd got up, put on his suit, and prepared to leave the office to go home and rest.

"Ding!"

A sudden, crisp notification sound momentarily stopped him in his tracks.

Lauder reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and checked the text message he had just received.

"Good evening, Mr. Lloyd. I know what Goldman Sachs and you did during the collapse of Lehman Brothers..."

This text is followed by several specific dates, each followed by a string of astonishing numbers.

Then came another passage, with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"I hope you can figure out what you should do next. I will decide whether to release the information I have or permanently seal it based on your performance..."

Lold was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

With his experience and intelligence, he immediately understood what had happened.

Who else but that idiot Lewis would have access to such top-secret information?

Lewis disappeared in Beijing, China. Who exactly did he fall into? The answer is obvious!

Once he understood all this, Lauder flew into a rage and started cursing.

"Fuck you! Lewis, you bastard, I swear I'll kill you, you traitorous bastard!"

While cursing angrily, Lold suddenly swung his arm, sweeping away a large portion of the items on the desk.

Little did he know that Lewis was not the only one who betrayed him!

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

Hong Kong Island, Yuanda Investment Conference Room.

The second round of negotiations between Yuanda Investment and Goldman Sachs regarding the debt related to stock index options has been underway for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent lounge, several representatives from Barclays Bank were anxiously waiting while drinking coffee.

In order to take a piecemeal approach, Yuanda Investment did not simultaneously begin negotiations with two top financial institutions.

Only after negotiations with Goldman Sachs were completed did Barclays, whose strength was far inferior, get its turn.

Representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which are responsible for regulatory oversight, also participated in this round of negotiations.

The initial stage of negotiations consisted of some familiar topics.

Yuanda Investment presented the signed stock index option betting agreement, as well as supplementary agreements and regulatory agreements signed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission, and demanded that Goldman Sachs pay compensation according to the contract based on the already released betting results.

Otherwise, Yuanda Investment is prepared to apply to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission to freeze all of Goldman Sachs' assets in Hong Kong Island in order to compensate Yuanda Investment.

Goldman Sachs representatives, led by Irwin, evaded the question, repeatedly stating that headquarters was studying the entire process of this stock index options bet and could not yet promise compensation.

Seeing their nonchalant attitude, Wang Mian didn't bother to say anything more.

After the investment director finished explaining the betting process and reiterating the rights, he picked up a folder in front of him and handed it to Erwin across from him.

"Mr. Irwin, as we mentioned before, your company does not necessarily have to repay all debts in cash when fulfilling this performance-based agreement. We also accept other debt repayment methods."

"For example, the large amount of land and commercial real estate your company controls, as well as the equity and debt assets of numerous listed companies, are all acceptable to us as long as their value is comparable..."

Erwin reached out and took the folder, listening to Wang Mian's eloquent speech while opening the folder to read it.

The contents of the folder are in both Chinese and English, so there is no reading barrier and he can understand them naturally.

After a moment, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"You actually want a controlling stake in the media resources held by Goldman Sachs? Given your company's state-owned background, that's utterly wishful thinking!"