Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

Zheng Liang was well aware of Lu Jiuge's anxiety, so he leaned closer and whispered a reminder:

"Ninth Brother, are we really just going to wait here like this? What if..."

"There's no 'what if'."

Lu Jiuge interrupted him, tapping the table hard with her index finger:

"Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. We can't afford any hesitation now, or it'll be all over!"

Hearing Lu Jiuge's resolute tone, Zheng Liang remained silent.

Just then, David Chen walked in from outside. Seeing the two men with serious expressions, he quickly stepped forward:

"President Lu, President Zheng, I just received some news."

"The delinquency rate for the first batch of subprime mortgages in the United States has exceeded the warning line, and many borrowers have stopped making payments altogether."

"Cutting off the supply?"

A young trader suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open:

"So fast? Wasn't there supposed to be a grace period?"

"My sources within Congress suggest that Wall Street capital has suppressed this matter!"

Lu Jiuge nodded in agreement:

"That's just how Wall Street capital always operates! But they can't possibly block all the news. Everyone, look around and see if you can find any clues."

After Lu Jiuge finished speaking, all the traders sprang into action and soon found a relevant report, which they projected onto the big screen.

Everyone looked up and saw the news headline:

California's subprime mortgage default rate rose 3% month-over-month, with a wave of defaults emerging among low-income families.

"this one?"

One of the traders whispered:

"A 3% default rate is just a drop in the ocean compared to the entire subprime market; it's at most a normal fluctuation."

The bigwigs on Wall Street must have known about this long ago, and they probably even thought it was a good opportunity to buy at the bottom.

You're wrong.

Lu Jiuge shook her head and corrected her:

"3% is just the beginning. Next it will be 10%, 30%, until it completely collapses."

He paused, scanned the entire room, and issued his latest instructions:

"Pass the word: everyone keep a close eye on the ABX index, especially the hourly fluctuation data. Report immediately if there is a drop of more than 5%."

"clear."

David Chen responded and immediately turned to make the arrangements.

In the following days, the atmosphere in the trading room became increasingly oppressive.

Every morning, the first thing everyone does upon arriving at their post is to stare at the ABX index on the screen.

The index trend is like a frog being slowly boiled in water, gradually dropping downwards with small daily declines, but without interruption.

With news of the US subprime mortgage default breaking out, Wall Street capital is starting to panic, and related news is constantly being reported.

Even so, the voices of Wall Street's financial community have not changed, with many expressing optimism.

The first to speak out were analysts from major investment banks, who publicly and confidently assured:

"This is just a short-term market adjustment. The subprime mortgage market remains healthy, housing prices will not fall sharply, and defaults are only temporary."

"Foreign capital is overreacting to panic; there are no problems with the market fundamentals."

……

As Lu Jiuge scrolled through these news articles every day, her tense mood gradually relaxed.

He didn't care whether these messages were deliberately released by Wall Street capital or whether they were genuinely unaware of the severity of the problem.

But none of that matters. He has already completed his plan and now he just needs to wait and see.

While Lu Jiuge was focused on the development of the subprime crisis, Zheng Liang brought another piece of good news.

"Ninth Brother, look, there's news again!"

Zheng Liang walked up to Lu Jiuge with the tablet in his hand:

"New Century Financial exposed to be hiding huge amounts of bad debts; its stock price has fallen for three consecutive days!"

Lu Jiuge took the tablet and scanned the news content in detail:

New Century Financial, the largest subprime mortgage lender in the United States, has internal bad debts exceeding $60 billion, far exceeding the company's net assets.

After reading the news, a preview appeared: an upcoming update, please stay tuned! Lu Jiuge handed the tablet to Zheng Liang and opened the stock trading interface of New Century Financial. She found that each share had fallen from $60 to $30, a direct halving.

"It's a bombshell."

Lu Jiuge muttered to herself, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.

New Century Finance was exactly what he predicted would be the first trigger to ignite the subprime crisis; lighting the powder keg was entirely within his expectations.

After glancing at New Century Financial's stock price for a while, Lu Jiuge stopped paying attention and turned her focus back to the ABX index, walking over to Chen Dawei's side:

"Old Chen, report on the latest ABX index!"

"Mr. Lu, the index has fallen by more than 15% in the past few days!"

"Okay, keep an eye on it!"

Lu Jiuge didn't say anything more and returned to her seat.

As the ABX index falls, the company's unrealized gains are growing rapidly.

"I glanced at the backend and saw that our CDS contract floating profit has increased by 80%, and New Century Financial's short position floating profit has also exceeded 120%."

Including the profits from shorting the ABX index, the overall unrealized profit has more than doubled!

David Chen held the tablet, his voice filled with disbelief:

"Our unrealized profits have now reached $40 billion. Even excluding the possibility of forced liquidation due to leverage, we've already doubled our profits!"

"That's doubled?"

Zheng Liang ran to Chen Dawei's computer and stared at the screen with wide eyes:

"The unrealized profit has really doubled? And it's only been a few days!"

He was so excited that he was incoherent. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Lu Jiuge with eyes full of shock and admiration.

Previously, a principal of 20 billion would have doubled to 40 billion, enough to make everyone cheer and celebrate.

But now, the entire trading hall is quiet.

Because everyone knows that this is just the beginning.

Lu Jiuge looked at the fluctuating profit data on the screen, her expression remaining calm, without the slightest joy.

He knew better than anyone that the current profits were nothing more than a sweet taste before disaster struck.

The ABX index has only fallen by 15%, New Century Financial's stock price has only halved, and the scale of subprime defaults has only just begun to emerge.

He remembered clearly that in his previous life, the subprime mortgage crisis took a full six months from the first news of default to the eventual global financial tsunami.

And now, only a few days have passed.

Stop focusing on the current profits.

Lu Jiuge issued the order:

"Keep a close eye on the market. The news hasn't fully unfolded yet, and the index will likely continue to fall. Now is not the time to celebrate!"

"But Mr. Lu, the unrealized profit has doubled. Should we reduce our holdings and take some profits?"

This was the first time David Chen had witnessed such a grand scene, and he couldn't help but ask:

"We've already made 20 billion, that's enough. Let's take our profits and secure our gains!"

"Take profits?"

Lu Jiuge chuckled lightly, her tone tinged with coldness, "Taking profits now is tantamount to incurring losses."

"The scale of the subprime crisis is far greater than you think."

He paused, then patiently explained:

"New Century Financial is just the first one; more investment banks and financial institutions will collapse in the future."

The ABX index will hit rock bottom, and that's when we'll start reaping the rewards!

After Lu Jiuge said that, the entire trading team felt even more confident.

Time passed slowly, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

It's closing time again.

Chen Dawei summarized the data and reported the battle situation:

"Mr. Lu, the market has closed. Today, the ABX index has fallen by 22%, and our total unrealized profit has reached a new high of 45 billion US dollars!"

After listening to the report, Lu Jiuge wasn't particularly surprised. He knew that this was just the beginning of the subprime crisis.

Lu Jiuge patted Chen Dawei on the shoulder and smiled, a rare occurrence for her.

"Old Chen, get ready. The real opportunity to make money hand over fist during the subprime crisis has arrived!"