The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

Midtown Manhattan at night, Goldman Sachs headquarters.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows lay the brightly lit Wall Street, but the atmosphere inside the office was unusually heavy.

"Tommy, since last Thursday, those five futures trading accounts of Yuanda Group have fallen silent."

A senior manager was reporting on the situation, looking utterly frustrated at being tricked.

"Even though international oil prices hit a record high yesterday, they remained unmoved and did not participate in the trading again."

"To make matters worse, this morning they transferred all the funds from five trading accounts. It seems they intend to abandon those accounts and quit altogether..."

Investment Director Tommy quickly flipped through the documents in his hand, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, looking as if his father had just died.

Before the senior manager could finish his report, he suddenly slammed his fist hard on the black walnut wood desk.

"Bang"

With a loud bang, everything on the desk jumped upwards.

"Fuck! We've been tricked by these bastards!"

Tommy hissed angrily, as if someone had stepped on his tail.

"It now appears that they decided to back down last Thursday and terminate all transactions."

"The reason we haven't made any moves these past few days is that we're waiting for the New York Mercantile Exchange to complete the settlement, so we can buy time to transfer all the profits back to China."

"I've been tricked! But this isn't over yet. I'm going to find out who this bastard who has fooled us is!"

After venting his anger, Tommy gave a few instructions to the senior manager opposite him.

Instruct them to continue monitoring the five futures trading accounts of Yuanda Group and to notify me of any unusual activity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research and analysis of the trading records of those futures accounts to understand and master the trading style of this mysterious expert.

In the future, if we encounter this competitor in the market again, we will be able to react sooner, be more vigilant, and respond promptly.

After giving his instructions, Tommy let the senior manager leave.

As soon as the office door closed, he immediately grabbed his phone and started calling the general manager of the Shanghai branch.

As soon as the call connected, he gritted his teeth and got straight to the point.

"Anthony, we've been screwed. The trader from Yuanda Group suddenly withdrew from the market before international oil prices hit record highs, catching us completely off guard."

"Now I have to admit, that bastard is a real expert. I need to be more careful so I don't fall for his tricks again."

"They made eight or nine hundred million dollars in profit this time. Send someone to Yuanda Group to gather information and see if you can uncover this mysterious expert."

"Hahaha"

A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone, filled with schadenfreude.

"Did I hear that right, Tommy? You actually got your comeuppance, that's rare."

"I knew you'd gloat, but this isn't the time for jokes. I'm going to get my revenge."

Tommy laughed and scolded in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, leave it to me."

Anthony stopped laughing, and his tone suddenly turned sinister.

"If this guy is really in Shanghai, I can dig him out. In less than three days, I'll even be able to find out the color of his underwear."

"His team made a fortune of eight or nine hundred million US dollars in the international crude oil futures market, which will definitely cause a sensation within the Yuanda Group. Investigating him will be no difficult task..."

Tommy hung up the phone after chatting for a while.

He casually tossed his phone onto the table, then turned to look out the window at the brightly lit street, his eyes filled with a terrifyingly gloomy expression.

Little did he know that, far across the ocean in Shanghai, someone was even more frantic than he was.

This man was Boss Liu. He tried every means possible, sending many of his employees everywhere to search for Ling Yun.

For four or five days in a row, he didn't even catch a glimpse of Lingyun.

9:30, Yuanda Group.

In the lobby of Building A, Zhou Hua and his two companions were chatting and laughing while waiting for someone.

At this moment, they were all beaming with joy and somewhat impatient.

Their gazes were almost fixed on the entrance of the office building, as if they were eagerly waiting for it.

"Today's the perfect day to sign off on the bonuses, I hope Ling Yun won't skip it?"

"He'll definitely come. Including the Hong Kong branch's dividends, he'll be getting over a billion this time. How could he not come to collect the money in person?"

"A dividend of over a billion! I'd crawl to the company even if I had to!"

Zhou Hua and the others whispered excitedly, their faces beaming with joy.

Just then, the person in question finally appeared.

Ling Yun, carrying a backpack and dressed casually, walked into the office building with Attorney Zhang and his assistant, chatting and laughing.

Upon seeing his attire, Zhou Hua and the others were all stunned for a moment.

After they realized what was happening, they laughed again.

"Wow! T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers—this guy's completely let loose!"

"Haha, he's already made up his mind to resign and return to Beijing, so he doesn't care about dress codes anymore. He'll just do whatever makes him comfortable!"

"He's worth billions, why should he care about what others think? He can wear whatever he wants."

While muttering their complaints under their breath, Zhou Hua and the others quickly went to greet them.

After I approached and greeted them, they laughed and complained in hushed tones.

"That's not fair. You ran off to find some peace and quiet, but left us in the company as a shield."

"Absolutely! Do you know how we got through those five days? Each day felt like an eternity!"

As they spoke, they each punched Ling Yun once, but it was as if they hadn't eaten.

Ling Yun dodged twice, then said with a sullen smile:

"Stop being dramatic. The best option is for me to leave immediately and let Attorney Zhang handle the aftermath with you."

"If I stay, there will definitely be a lot of trouble. After all, I am a group employee, and it is difficult for me to be as unyielding as Attorney Zhang."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Lu interrupted with a smile.

"That's right, it's most suitable for me, a professional, to play the bad cop; the effect is excellent!"

Zhou Hua and the others exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

"Indeed, that's a brilliant move!"

After chatting for a few more minutes, Lingyun pulled them to the glass curtain wall next to him to learn more about the situation.

As soon as they stood still, these guys started talking animatedly.

"Did you see the news? Late Friday night, Iran suddenly fired several missiles into the Persian Gulf, destroying two target ships and making the situation in the Middle East even more tense."

"International oil prices followed suit and broke through the $147 mark on Monday, setting a new historical high, but have since pulled back a bit."

"If we had held on until last night, we could have made at least 600 to 700 million yuan. That would have been over 7 million yuan per person as dividends. It's a pity we withdrew too early."

Ling Yun raised an eyebrow, looking at them with a half-smile.

"I didn't even know which guys were involved before. They were practically begging me to stop while I was ahead, and I reluctantly agreed. Now they're regretting it."

Before the words were even finished, Zhou Hua and the others blushed.

Ling Yun chuckled softly, then changed the subject.

"My buddy is going there to rest and recuperate, not to go into shock. Of course I know about these things. I've been closely monitoring the international financial market."

"Don't forget, I also need to develop an investment strategy for the Hong Kong Island branch. Without you guys guiding the direction, those guys in the Hong Kong Island branch are just a bunch of headless flies."

At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice even further.

"The reason my buddy disappeared for five days is because the profits we made in the international crude oil futures market last week will take at least three business days to be transferred back to China."

Zhou Hua and his colleagues were professionals, and they understood instantly.

"Hahaha, we knew you were planning this all along, and sure enough!"

"Don't worry, all the profits and principal we earned last week, after deducting relevant taxes and fees, have been transferred back to China..."

Next, they recounted everything that had happened in the past few days.

Even though Ling Yun was aware of most things, he still had to say them in person.

During these five days, they encountered some trouble.

For example, Boss Liu called each of them, subtly inquiring about Ling Yun's whereabouts.

They didn't reveal a single word and hung up the phone with some random excuse.

In reality, they had no idea where Ling Yun was, so they had nothing to say.

Even Zhang Lu didn't know where Ling Yun had gone, and could only passively wait for his call and communicate over the phone.

Everyone despised Boss Liu's actions.

And he made up his mind that after receiving his dividend today, he would never work with such a despicable guy again in his life.