The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

2019 5 Month 15 Day.

San Francisco, Microlight Technology office.

Lin Che stared at the calendar on the table.

Four days left.

Four days later, Google cut off supplies, and the Entity List was officially implemented.

That was the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

But before that, he had to disguise himself as a lamb to the slaughter.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

A document titled "Predictions for Commercial RISC-V Nodes" was swallowed by the machine, and when it came out, all that remained was a meaningless white slip of paper.

The office door was suddenly pushed open.

Jim Keller stood in the doorway, clutching a freshly printed notice, his face flushed.

"What are you doing?!"

Jim slammed the paper on the table.

He is very strong.

The coffee cup on the table shook from the impact.

"Stop all external business operations? Freeze supplier payments? Even cancel server rental contracts?"

Jim pointed to the pile of shredded paper on the floor.

"Lin, are you crazy? We've just settled the team in, and now is precisely the time to expand our computing power!"

Lin Che did not stop.

He continued to stuff a financial statement into the shredder.

Action machinery.

His eyes were unfocused.

It was as if they hadn't heard Jim's roar at all.

"Forest!"

Jim rushed over and unplugged the shredder.

The machine stopped.

The world suddenly became eerily quiet.

Lin Che raised his head.

Jim was stunned.

He had never seen Lin Che like this before.

His hair was messy, his eyes were sunken, and he had bluish stubble on his chin.

Those eyes, once as sharp as a wolf's, were now bloodshot, revealing a deep weariness and... terror.

"Jim..."

Lin Che's voice was hoarse, as if he had a handful of sand in his throat.

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

Jim frowned.

"Ring ring—"

The red secure phone on the table suddenly rang.

That was a number from across the ocean.

Lin Che was startled.

He stared at the phone, his hand hovering in mid-air for a few seconds, even trembling slightly.

Jim keenly noticed this detail.

Is that once-arrogant dictator trembling?

Lin Che took a deep breath and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Lin Che! Where's the money?!"

A roar came from the other end of the phone, a Chinese voice altered by a voice changer, filled with extreme anger.

"The investors are furious! Don't you know what's going on back home? If you don't see the US dollars coming back next week, don't even think about coming back! Just die in the Pacific Ocean!"

"Mr. Wang, please let me explain..."

Lin Che bent down, his tone almost pleading.

"The exchange rate is fluctuating too much right now, and CFIUS is investigating my accounts..."

"I don't care about CFIUS! I just want money! Three days! If I don't see 300 million in cash within three days, I'll expose everything you've got to the media!"

"Click".

The phone hangs up.

The dial tone echoed in the deathly silent office.

Lin Che slumped into a chair, covering his face with his hands.

His shoulders heaved violently.

Jim stood there, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He couldn't understand Chinese, but the despair that emanated from his very bones and the panic of being driven to the brink of despair didn't need a translation.

"The investors... withdrew their investment?"

Jim asked tentatively.

Lin Che didn't speak.

He let out a muffled laugh through his fingers.

That was self-deprecation.

"Jim."

Lin Che lowered his hand, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"The game is over."

"The political winds have shifted. Those guys in Washington want to target us, while domestic investors are scrambling to get out and save themselves."

Lin Che stood up and picked up his suit jacket.

His movements were somewhat unsteady.

"I'm going to New York."

"Where are you going?"

"Selling blood."

Lin Che straightened his tie and looked at his haggard reflection in the mirror.

The corners of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.

"Go beg those Wall Street vampires to have mercy and buy my corpse."

……

New York. Manhattan.

The intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.

Sequoia Capital headquarters building.

The air conditioning in the conference room was blasting, enough to freeze a person to the bone.

Mark Stevens sat in the head seat, twirling a Montblanc pen in his hand.

He looked at Lin Che sitting opposite him.

The young man who once gave him a hard time in Silicon Valley is now like a dog with a broken spine, huddled in an expensive ergonomic chair.

A glass of water was placed in front of Lin Che.

The water surface was swaying slightly.

His hands were shaking.

"Mr. Mark."

Lin Che spoke, his voice very low.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"I was surprised too."

Mark stopped twirling his pen, leaned back, and scrutinized Lin Che.

"Last time we met, you were threatening to open-source RISC-V and destroy half the chip industry. Why are you so... mild-mannered today?"

"Circumstances are beyond our control."

Lin Che gave a wry smile.

He took a thick document out of his briefcase and pushed it in front of Mark.

"I need cash."

"Lots of cash."

"And it has to be fast."

Mark raised an eyebrow.

The analyst next to him took the document and turned to the first page.

The analyst's pupils dilated instantly after just one glance.

He looked up abruptly, staring at Lin Che in shock, then quickly leaned close to Mark's ear and whispered:

"Boss, this is impossible... He's selling off those core assets."

Mark took the document.

Scan.

My heart skipped a beat.

This is a "suicidal" sell-off list.

Nvidia: $1.5 million in stock and call options.

Apple: $8000 million in long-term holdings.

Broadcom: $5000 million in highly liquid bonds.

……

They are all the hardest currencies in the US tech sector.

These assets have seen meteoric rises over the past year, making them "golden geese" that any fund would hold onto tightly.

"You're going to sell these?"

Mark closed the file and stared into Lin Che's eyes.

They were trying to find a trace of fraud in it.

"Why not just sell them directly on the secondary market?"

"The quantity is too large."

Lin Che's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"If the market is dumped in the secondary market, it will attract the attention of the SEC, and it will take at least two weeks to recover the funds."

"I can't wait two weeks."

"My domestic creditors are pressuring me, and you know the current political climate... I have to transfer the money out before CFIUS freezes my account."

Lin Che grabbed his water glass and took a big gulp.

Some water spilled on the tie.

He didn't wipe it.

He looked utterly disheveled.

"Mr. Mark, you are the winner."

Lin Che looked at Mark, his eyes full of pleading.

"These assets are currently worth approximately $4.5 million. I only need $4 million in cash."

"Consider the remaining 5000 million as my... toll fee for Sequoia."

"All I want now is to leave the United States alive with my money."

The conference room was deathly silent.

The only sound is the air conditioner blowing air.

Mark didn't say anything.

He was calculating.

He was observing.

He saw fear on Lin Che's face, and the helplessness of being crushed by politics.

That makes sense.

The recent tense atmosphere in Washington has indeed frightened many Chinese companies.

"You all go out first."

Mark waved.

The analysts and legal team left.

The door closed.

Only two people remained.

Mark stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling Manhattan.

"Lin, do you know?"

Mark had his back to Lin Che, his tone carrying a hint of victorious arrogance.

There's an old saying on Wall Street.

"When blood is flowing like a river, that's the best time to buy."

Even if it's your own blood that's being shed.

Lin Che didn't speak.

He just gripped the water glass tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"4 million..."

Mark turned around and looked at Lin Che.

A cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Lin, you're overestimating the current market sentiment."

"With escalating trade tensions, tech stocks are under pressure. Taking over such a large portfolio like yours would be very risky."

"That's Nvidia! That's Apple!"

Lin Che panicked and stood up.

"Their financial reports have just been released, and the results are amazing! These are high-quality assets!"

"sit down."

Mark coldly uttered two words.

Lin Che froze.

After a few seconds, he slowly sat down.

Like a deflated balloon.

Mark was enjoying the moment.

Enjoy the thrill of having the power of life and death over others.

That once arrogant genius, that "barbarian" who dared to run wild on his turf, has finally knelt down.

Mark walked back to the table and pressed the intercom button.

"Notify the legal department to prepare the contract."

He looked at Lin Che with the same gaze he would give a mouse trapped in a cage.

"However, the price needs to be renegotiated."

I want him to know.

Mark spoke into the microphone, enunciating each word clearly, his voice loud enough for Lin Che to hear.

"On Wall Street, every breath you take costs money."

Lin Che lowered his head.

It appears to be a desperate act of repentance.

But from an angle that Mark can't see.

Lin Che stared at the ripples spreading in the cup.

That was the prelude to a storm.

He silently recited in his heart:

Swallow it, Mark.

The more you swallow, the more gruesome your death will be three days later.