A $50 million margin call? I'll short Wall Street.

Two days later.

The most active crude oil futures contract is still hovering around the $140 mark, without falling below it.

On the television screen, CNBC hosts were practically shouting as they reported on the situation in the Middle East and the weakening dollar, with every analyst on the line confidently predicting "150" or even "200" dollars.

Even retail investors are flocking to the crude oil market.

But in Farstar's main office, this fervor was perfectly shut out by the floor-to-ceiling glass doors.

Lu Ze sat behind a large mahogany desk, holding a Parker pen in his hand, signing a paper document.

"Click."

The door was pushed open, and Isabella walked in.

She didn't bring the regular position report that the whole company circulates every day today.

She was holding a blue, encrypted folder.

This is a "Liquidation Progress and Expected Profit Calculation Sheet" that can only be seen by three people: Yuanxing Capital's core executives, Lu Ze, and risk control director Matt.

Isabella walked to the table and placed the folder in front of Lu Ze.

She took a deep breath.

Even though she had seen countless figures on Wall Street, and even though she had been personally monitoring the liquidation progress for the past two days, her voice still trembled slightly when the figures were finally summarized on this one page.

"Boss, the first phase of the clearance sale is over."

Lu Ze didn't look up, continuing to sign the document: "Read it."

Isabella opened the blue folder.

"Following your instructions, we closed out approximately 50% of our total position in the $130 to $140 range using iceberg-style orders."

Her gaze fell on the first line: "Our first layer of open positions, which we used as cover—the energy stocks and ETFs with that $60 million principal. We closed half of that, locking in approximately $8.4 million in profits."

Lu Ze's pen didn't pause: "Standard or unremarkable."

"The second layer is crude oil futures. We used $80 million of our own capital, leveraged five times for safety."

Isabella continued reading.

"Oil prices rose from our average entry price of $105 to $140, an increase of 33.3%. With leverage, this portion of the return reached 166%."

"We closed out half of our long futures positions, and our actual profit is... $66.6 million."

Lu Ze finished signing the last document, put down his pen, and looked up at her.

The two transactions combined netted them a total of $75 million.

For a portfolio with a principal of $200 million, generating $75 million in cash profit in just over a month is an achievement that most hedge fund managers on Wall Street could boast about for a lifetime.

But this is just an appetizer.

Isabella swallowed hard and looked up at the last part of the folder.

That place records Farstar Capital's true trump card, the deal that Lu Ze made in mid-April despite opposition and even made Isabella suspicious.

"The third layer...call options."

Isabella's voice became somewhat hoarse, as if she were trying to explain how magic works to someone who doesn't understand it.

"In mid-April, we used $60 million of our principal to buy deep out-of-the-money call options expiring in July with strike prices in the $120-$130 range."

She raised her head and looked at Lu Ze, her eyes filled with a clear-headed reverence.

"Boss, I must admit, when you asked me to buy these options, I thought there was a high probability that the money would be wasted."

"Because when oil prices are at $105, betting that they will break through $120 or even $130 a month later is an extremely low-probability, almost absurd event in any normal pricing model."

"Because the entire market thought it was impossible, option premiums were extremely cheap at the time. With a principal of $60 million, we bought a bullish contract exposure controlling a staggering 150 million barrels of crude oil at a bargain price of $0.40 per barrel."

Isabella tapped her finger heavily on that line of numbers.

"But now, oil prices have broken through $140."

"Those deep out-of-the-money options that were previously considered worthless by the market have all become deep in-the-money."

"Moreover, due to the current extreme panic and frenzy in the market, the implied volatility (IV) of options has been driven sky-high. The time value plus the volatility premium means that our options not only capture the entire price difference from the spot market's rise, but also an extremely high emotional premium."

"The combined value per barrel has surged from $0.4 when we bought it to nearly $19."

Isabella closed the folder, placed her hands on the table, and looked directly into Lu Ze's eyes. Even though she tried her best to control herself, her breathing was still a little rapid.

"As per your instructions, we looked for the most liquid opportunity at the $140 level and closed out 40% of this options position."

"Boss, the net profit we've locked in through the options is..."

She paused for a second, as if allowing the astronomical figure to find its proper weight in the air:

"US$1.116 billion."

The office was deathly silent.

There was only a very low hum from the air conditioner.

1.116 billion.

Including the 75 million earned from stocks and futures.

In less than two months, Farstar Capital turned a $200 million principal into a mountain of cash enough to buy a mid-sized bank.

This is $1.2 billion, clean and clear, already transferred to Farstar Capital's offshore escrow account.

It is no longer a fleeting, illusory profit on a screen; it is real, tangible wealth that can be withdrawn at any time.

What's even more terrifying is the logic behind it:

Farstar Capital currently has $1.2 billion in idle cash from net profit on its books, and it still maintains nearly half of its options positions in the crude oil market!

This remaining exposure of over a billion dollars is now essentially being used to play with market money.

Even if oil prices were to halve tomorrow and fall back to $80, all of Yuanxing's open contracts would be liquidated and wiped out.

Lu Ze is now in an invincible position.

"1.2 billion...!"

Isabella muttered something to herself, then collapsed into the chair opposite Lu Ze, as if all her strength had been drained.

She had always considered herself a calm and professional manager, but in the face of a real, exponentially growing money machine, human reason is extremely fragile.

She looked at Lu Ze.

The man who had just created an incredible wealth myth still showed no sign of ecstasy on his face.

He didn't even open the blue folder to take a look.

He simply picked up the coffee cup on the table and took a sip of the already lukewarm black coffee.

"1.116 billion."

Lu Ze calmly repeated the number.

"What was the reaction of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other over-the-counter firms when settling these option profits?"

Isabella paused for a moment, then quickly recovered from her shock and resumed her COO demeanor:

"The reaction was huge. The head of Goldman Sachs' over-the-counter trading desk called me personally, his tone very...complicated. They clearly didn't expect us to close our positions so decisively and resolutely. They thought we would continue to be bullish above $140, and might even convert our option positions into physical positions."

"They tried to persuade me to keep that position, even offering us more favorable financing rates to encourage us to roll the profits into new call options."

"Did you agree?"

"Of course not."

Isabella gave a cold laugh.

"I told them that Farstar Capital's liquidation order was irrevocable. Please complete the cash transfer within one hour."

"well done."

Lu Ze put down his coffee cup.

He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at the sun-drenched Manhattan.

"They're urging you to stay because they have too many long positions bought at high prices. They need funds of our size to remain in the market, maintaining the illusion of liquidity for them."

"Liquidity is good now, so closing our positions is actually easier. But if we're late in the feast, we might not even have time to escape."

Lu Ze turned around, his back to the sunlight, and looked at Isabella.

"We've already pocketed $1.2 billion in cash."

His eyes sharpened, like a falcon locking onto its new prey.

"Not a single penny of this money should be wasted."