Ex-wife becomes the world's number one hacker

On Monday morning, Jiang Yin, Tang Ning, and Li Tianmu were in the small conference room, where pre-market trading data was displayed on the screen.

Anonymous posts and public opinion have spread to more investment groups, quantitative trading programs have begun to slightly reduce their positions, and institutional investors have begun to cautiously reduce their holdings.

Tang Ning kept a close eye on the trading screen: "The market is about to open. Once the news is released today, the stock price will react immediately."

Li Tianmu laughed: "We gradually released information last Friday, and the public opinion fermented over the weekend. Today is the first big wave."

Jiang Yin clenched her fist: "Won't it be gentle this time?"

"No, it won't happen again." Tang Ning nodded firmly.

......

Xingxin Technology.

The opening bell rang like a dull thud, and Xingxin's stock price plummeted: on the minute-level chart, the decline rapidly widened to -5%, with a surge in trading volume, as retail investors and some institutions began to panic sell.

Chen Hui's heart sank, and an ominous premonition enveloped him once again: Is this it? The stock price... is falling too fast!

Inside the company, the unusual stock market activity finally caught the attention of Shen Lan and Ding Meiyu.

Shen Lan instructed Sun Lifeng and the finance department to quickly calculate the positions and risks, but Ding Meiyu was not too worried. She calmly said:

"Don't panic, the market will stabilize soon."

.......

Tianyu Technology.

Li Tianmu pointed at the screen: "The first wave of psychological warfare was successful; the market reacted exactly as expected."

Tang Ning watched the stock price fluctuate: "What follows is a series of attacks to spread panic completely."

Jiang Yin sat to one side and asked softly, "Is a storm coming?"

"Okay, it's here!" Tang Ning replied briefly, then said to Li Tianmu, "Start borrowing the coupons."

"The brokerage firm has already made arrangements, and the hedge fund quota is ready." Li Tianmu stared intently at the screen, his usual carefree and playful expression gone, his eyes bright and clear, as if he were a completely different person.

Jiang Yin stared at the fluctuating numbers on the screen, her heart pounding.

Tang Ning and Li Tianmu's fingers flew across the keyboard. On the hedge fund account interface, Xingxin stock was repeatedly borrowed, sold, borrowed again, and sold again, forming a huge but inconspicuous short position.

Because the market was already chaotic on Monday, their short positions were completely masked by market fluctuations.

Tang Ning pointed to the chart line and said to Li Tianmu, "Look at that curve. The selling pressure has increased, but the market thinks it's due to panic selling by retail investors and quantitative liquidation."

"We're going to create a smokescreen amidst the chaos, hehe." Li Tianmu smiled.

.......

Xingxin Technology.

Chen Hui stared at the market data, his face growing paler and paler.

9:30 Diving

9:45 Dip

Trading volume surged by 10:00 AM

He immediately ran to knock on Sun Lifeng's office door.

"Secretary Sun, the trading volume is unusually high, and funds are flowing out too quickly today. I suspect there is a systemic sell-off."

Sun Lifeng was busy at his desk when he heard this and frowned, saying, "How is that possible? Nothing happened last week."

Chen Hui lowered his voice: "The public opinion has been brewing over the weekend... perhaps the market has begun to suspect that the company has financial problems..."

Sun Lifeng frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then calmly said:

"As Mr. Shen said: Market fluctuations are within the normal range. We must remain prudent and not appear to be guilty."

Chen Hui said urgently, "But... something's really wrong today. The selling pressure is too continuous; it doesn't seem like retail investors."

"You're being too sensitive," Sun Lifeng interrupted him. "Don't overreact to watching the market."

Chen Hui could only grit his teeth and go back to continue observing.

But he knew in his heart that there were only two possibilities for this continuous selling pressure: either the institutions were withdrawing or... someone was shorting on a large scale, and the second one was what truly terrified him.

.......

Tianyu Technology.

At 10:40, Xingxin's stock price fell to -9.8%, and then broke through -10%.

Comment sections, forums, and financial bloggers began posting like crazy:

"This trend isn't right!"

"Is there a problem with the finances?"

"Could the anonymous post from last week have been real?"

Jiang Yin gripped the armrest of the chair: "Has it plummeted?"

Li Tianmu took a deep breath: "Yes, but this is only the first wave of the plunge. There will be a second wave this afternoon."

"The market is starting to panic." Downing, standing to the side, had eyes that gleamed like a wolf's.

.......

Xingxin Technology.

In the conference room, Shen Lan and Ding Meiyu were holding their weekly meeting with the company's senior executives.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Sun Lifeng rushed into the meeting room without even knocking:

"Mr. Shen, the stock price is falling too fast! It's already down 10%! Should we suspend trading? Should we issue a clarification?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lan's expression changed drastically.

She jumped to her feet: "Impossible! How could she have fallen so much?"

She, Ding Meiyu, and a group of senior executives rushed to the trading department. A dozen eyes were glued to the screen, watching helplessly as Xingxin's stock price plummeted like a freefall.

-10.3%

-10.7%

-11.1%……

Shen Lan's voice began to tremble: "...Who exactly is dumping shares?!"

But no one could answer.

.......

Tianyu Technology.

Tang Ning smiled as she watched the "free fall" on the screen.

The more the stock price falls, the more valuable their short positions become, and the first 40% to sell are now firmly at the highest point.

Public opinion and panic have spiraled out of control, and Xingxin Technology has yet to take effective measures to support its stock price.

Tang Ning chuckled: "It really is... slow."

Li Tianmu chuckled beside him, "The show is just beginning."

Jiang Yin, a tech geek, had never experienced anything like this before. She held her breath and stared intently at the falling candlestick chart.

She knew: this was their first real financial battle.

And Xingxin—the giant bubble that has just been punctured—has begun to fall into the abyss.

.......

Xingxin Technology.

The second wave of sharp declines on Monday afternoon stemmed from a major clue about fraud involving Xingxin Technology, released by an overseas hedge fund, Bethy – related-party transactions and circular trading.

Xingxin was in complete turmoil. Only at this moment did Shen Lan and Ding Meiyu finally confirm that Xingxin had been targeted by hedge funds and maliciously shorted.

Shen Lan quickly notified the trading and finance departments to mobilize liquidity to the greatest extent possible to support the market.

Panic spread rapidly like a virus, leading to institutional panic selling, fund liquidation, and stock price plunges of -18% and -22%.

The money poured in was swallowed up without a trace.

After the market closed, Shen Lan and Ding Meiyu sat in a small conference room discussing countermeasures. Lin Rongsen was on his way to Xingxin, and Gu Tingfeng was also on his way back from out of town.

Ding Meiyu pondered for a moment, then asked Shen Lan, "What's the background of this Bethy?"

"I don't know, I can't find it. It's registered in the Cayman Islands." Shen Lan's expression was solemn.

"If it's registered in the Cayman Islands, then it's basically impossible to trace," Ding Meiyu sighed. "How was this information leaked?"

Shen Lan rubbed her face: "I can't figure it out either. These things only exist on our computers. Besides you, me, and the CFO Lao Ma, no one else has any access to them."

Ding Meiyu pondered for a moment: "Would Ma Chao harbor any disloyal thoughts? Probably not. If he did, he would have run away long ago. What do you think?"

"It's hard to say. Given the current situation, it's not a good time to investigate him openly. I'll have Sun Lifeng keep an eye on him. We'll keep a low profile on the outside but be vigilant on the inside." Shen Lan stood up and paced back and forth in the conference room, arms crossed.

"I also asked the IT department to check if the computer system had been hacked and to see if it was stolen from outside."

Ding Meiyu glanced at Shen Lan, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Is Sun Lifeng...reliable?"

"Reliable," Shen Lan nodded confidently. "Besides, he doesn't have access to these documents. He usually handles the finance department's regular reports."

Then she stopped, sighed, and said, "I knew my right eyelid had been twitching these past few days, and sure enough, something bad happened."

Ding Meiyu pondered for a moment: "Don't be too pessimistic. Maybe Bethy just wants to make a little money. She may not have gotten all the information and might withdraw tomorrow. Then we can release the fake contract, and the stock price can recover."

Shen Lan nodded, then slowly began to pace back: "We need to have the public relations department issue a statement tomorrow to explain, so as not to attract the attention of the China Securities Regulatory Commission."

Two minutes later, she stopped and looked at Ding Meiyu: "What about tomorrow? The market might drop again when it opens."

Ding Meiyu: "Let's combine the strength of both companies to support the market first."

Shen Lan clicked her tongue: "I'm afraid the market will panic too much and drain the liquidity of both of our companies, but it won't make a difference."

"Then let's bet the money in our personal accounts, the family trust, everything we can get our hands on. We have to take a gamble, don't you think?" Ding Meiyu looked at Shen Lan, who was deep in thought.

"Well, that's the only way."

.......

Tianyu Technology.

After the market closed, the screen froze on a -22% drop.

In just one day, Xingxin Technology's market value evaporated by nearly 18 billion yuan.

Jiang Yin let out a long breath, only then realizing that her palms were covered in sweat: the capital market is truly terrifying.

Li Tianmu pulled up a data chart that clearly showed the average cost and unrealized profit of their short positions, as well as the scale of the market's follow-up selling.

"The first day was a resounding success," he summarized. "We only used 30% of the planned 'bullets' to trigger a 200% panic in the market, which was highly efficient."

Tang Ning closed the trading software and rubbed her sore eyes: "Tomorrow, they'll probably bet everything they have to prop up the market, right? The worst is yet to come."