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

Rewind time.

It was 3 a.m. the night before the roadshow.

Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Room 3206.

The room was pitch black, with only a sliver of pale light shining through the crack in the bathroom door.

Lin Che sat on the toilet seat.

Those expensive, heated smart toilet seats did not bring him any comfort whatsoever.

On his lap was the old Lenovo laptop covered in Sailor Moon stickers.

The screen brightness was turned down to the lowest setting, but in this narrow, enclosed tiled space, it was still as glaring as a welding torch.

The screen displays Interactive Brokers' professional trading interface.

The red and green numbers were jumping wildly, like blood vessels that were bleeding.

In the very center of the screen is a stock chart for a company called "YHOO".

Yahoo!

Once the king of the internet, now a has-been.

But tonight, it's the hottest target on Wall Street.

Because Yahoo holds a 24% stake in Alibaba, everyone believed that with the start of Alibaba's IPO and the creation of wealth, Yahoo's stock price would soar.

On the candlestick chart, Yahoo's stock price exhibits a dizzying 90-degree upward angle, a bubble driven by greed.

Lin Che stared at the line.

His pupils reflected the red curve that represented death.

"Buzz—"

The Nokia phone on the sink vibrated.

In the dead of night, the vibrations resonated on the tiles, like a trapped fly hitting glass.

Lin Che picked up his phone.

Caller ID: Broker - David.

This is a VIP line manager at Interactive Brokers.

Lin Che pressed the answer button, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder, without taking his hands off the keyboard.

"Mr. Lin."

David's anxious voice came through the phone, tinged with noticeable static. "I need to confirm your instructions one last time. You want to use all $130 million in your account to buy out-of-the-money put options on Yahoo that expire next month?"

"Yes."

Lin Che's finger hovered over the Enter key, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure.

"This was suicide!"

David's voice rose several decibels, even losing the composure of a professional manager. "The current market sentiment is extremely bullish. Yahoo is a shadow stock of Alibaba. How could it possibly fall after Alibaba's IPO? Besides, you've added 10 times leverage through options. If Yahoo rises another 2%, your entire principal will be wiped out!"

"David."

Lin Che interrupted him.

His voice echoed in the cramped bathroom, carrying a metallic, cold quality.

Do you know what "all the good news has been priced in" means?

"What?"

"Wall Street is betting that Yahoo's stock will rise after Alibaba goes public, but they forget that apart from its Alibaba shares, Yahoo's core business is a pile of crap."

Lin Che looked at the constantly fluctuating current price on the screen: $38.50.

"The moment Alibaba goes public will be the moment Yahoo's biggest windfall is realized. But before that..."

Lin Che took a deep breath.

The bathroom reeked of a mixture of disinfectant and shower gel, reminding him of the hospital morgue.

"Smart money will jump the gun."

"But......"

"Execute the command."

Lin Che didn't want to waste any more words.

"Okay, sir." David's voice sounded like he was reading a will to someone about to jump off a building, "but I need you to manually confirm the risk disclaimer in the system."

"Confirmed."

Lin Che moved the mouse.

The cursor hovers over a red button: [Submit Order].

$130 million.

This is all the wealth he laundered from underground banks.

If he loses, he will be burdened with huge debts, homeless on the cold streets of New York, or drowned in the Hudson River by the people behind Lao Zhang.

But if we win...

Lin Che closed his eyes.

Memories of my past life flashed through my mind.

In the spring of 2014, tech stocks suffered a bloody correction on the eve of Alibaba's IPO, with Yahoo's stock price halved in just two weeks.

That is the wheel of history.

And what he needs to do now is to drive himself, like a nail, deep into the gap between the wheels.

"Click".

A crisp mouse click sound.

【Order Filled】

A green dialog box popped up on the screen instantly.

Account balance: $0.00.

A new line of code appeared in the holdings column: YHOO 140419 P 35.00.

At that moment, Lin Che felt as if all the strength in his body had been drained away.

He leaned against the cold, tiled wall, panting heavily.

Sweat streamed down my forehead and into my eyes, stinging painfully.

This is not an investment.

This is gambling.

It's a gamble with your life.

"call......"

Lin Che stood up from the toilet; his legs were a little numb.

He walked to the sink and turned on the tap.

The cold water washing over his face calmed his wildly beating heart a little.

The person in the mirror was pale, with sunken eyes, looking like a ghost.

But the ghost was laughing.

His mouth split open, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

"Since you're here for a roadshow..."

Lin Che said softly to himself in the mirror.

"How can we do this without charging an entrance fee?"

......

Seven hours later.

10:00 AM.

Outside the main gate of the roadshow venue.

Lin Che had changed into a well-tailored dark blue suit.

He stood at the very back of the crowd, holding a cup of black coffee that had long since gone cold.

He was surrounded by hundreds of fund managers from major investment banks.

They gathered in small groups, exchanging information at breakneck speed, the air thick with the scent of expensive cologne and the simmering aroma of hormones.

"I heard the mobile data isn't very good this time?"

"Who cares? As long as Jack Ma can convince me, I'm willing to buy."

"But I heard that Goldman Sachs is preparing to launch an attack."

Whispers reached Lin Che's ears.

He glanced down at his phone.

Pre-market trading for US stocks has begun.

Yahoo's stock price is still rising, up 0.5% in pre-market trading.

His options account has already suffered a paper loss of $50,000.

This is just the beginning.

The real meat grinder starts the moment the roadshow begins.

"Squeak—"

The heavy, carved mahogany door was pushed open from the inside.

A blast of cold air hit me.

That was the central air conditioning in the banquet hall, running at full capacity, trying to cool down the boiling greed.

"Gentlemen, please come in."

Staff members politely guided the flow of people.

The crowd surged in like a tidal wave.

Lin Che mingled in the crowd, moving forward with the flow of people.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, he felt countless gazes upon him.

Those gazes weren't directed at him.

Instead, they were looking at the huge Alibaba logo on the podium.

But in the first row.

Mark Baum, the Goldman Sachs analyst with graying hair, suddenly turned his head.

Across the surging crowd, his hawk-like eyes accurately locked onto Lin Che.

On that list of questions, the red circle was so vivid it looked like a drop of blood.

Mark Baum stared blankly at Lin Che, twirling the red pen in his hand.

That was a silent declaration of war.

Kid, are you ready to die?

Lin Che met his gaze without flinching.

He raised his hand and threw the empty coffee cup into the trash can next to him.

Clang.

A crisp sound.

Lin Che straightened his tie and strode inside.

"The bulls are ready."

He silently recited the instructions, then reached into his pocket and found the USB drive containing the group-buying data.

"The short sellers are ready too."

"Now, it's time to hunt."