Chapter 703: On the Eve of the Market Crash

The fifth day after Lin Dongfan was taken away.

Under the manipulation of interested parties, public opinion continued to condemn Zhengtong Group, but a subtle change was quietly taking place in the deep waters of the capital market.

The stock price of Rebirth Group showed a puzzling phenomenon.

Despite no major bad news being released, the stock price, which had previously risen slightly due to Zhengtong's 'misfortune,' began to show a 'secret decline' trend.

The selling pressure was not overwhelming, but it seemed as if an invisible hand was continuously, in small lots, tirelessly selling, causing the stock price to sink little by little as if being dragged by something.

At first, Li Hengbo and his trading team did not pay much attention.

They considered occasional fluctuations in the capital market normal, even thinking it was a 'rational optimism' pullback after the market 'calmed down,' regarding Rebirth Group's future competition with Zhengtong.

"Don't worry about it, some small retail investors and institutions are just taking profits." The financial director of Rebirth Group reported over the phone to Li Hengbo: "Our fundamentals are solid; we hold contracts with several major clients, and cash flow is ample."

Li Hengbo was enjoying Li Shuting's tenderness; hearing this, he waved his hand nonchalantly: "Got it, just keep an eye on it. Once we swallow Zhengtong, this fluctuation won't even be a ripple."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the business director hurried in, looking grim.

Boss, something's not right.

The business director lowered his voice: "We just received a call from the Asia-Pacific president of Trans-Pacific Trade; they……they suddenly notified us that the core component orders for the next quarter are suspended."

"What?!" Li Hengbo sprang up from beside Li Shuting, brow furrowed: "What's the reason? The contract was just renewed not long ago!"

"They said……they said it was headquarters strategic adjustment, needing to reassess supply chain risk." He Qixing's tone carried uncertainty: "But it sounds perfunctory."

Li Shuting also looked over concerned: "Hengbo, are you okay?"

Nothing, just a minor issue.

Li Hengbo forced calm, patting the back of her hand, but a faint ominous feeling rose in his heart. Trans-Pacific Trade is one of Rebirth Group's largest customers in the electronics division, with huge order volume.

This was only the beginning.

In the following hours, bad news came one after another.

"Dingsheng Capital sent a letter saying that, due to funding arrangements, their planned investment in the 'smart city' project is being postponed……"

"North America's Alpha Technology unilaterally suspended cooperation with our joint laboratory……"

"Several European long‑term partners reported that their order volumes have mysteriously shrunk recently……"

All of this happened overnight.

Rebirth Group's most important overseas and domestic core clients and partners, as if by agreement, began to suspend or terminate cooperation with Rebirth Group for various seemingly reasonable reasons!

These messages were strictly confined to a very small circle, not yet disclosed to the public, but within Rebirth Group's senior management they had already caused considerable shock.

Investigate! Have them look into it right away! What on earth is going on?!

Li Hengbo roared in his office, his golden cane striking the precious floor with a thud: "Who's pulling strings behind the scenes?! Is it Lin Dongfan and his gang?!"

He instinctively linked all these abnormalities to Lin Dongfan.

At the same time.

In a concealed club in Jingcheng,

Yu Youwei watched the Rebirth Group's continuously declining K‑line on the screen, and the internal report about the loss of core clients, and she gleeful smiled: "Hahaha! President Ye, you stabbed those few knives with perfect accuracy! I estimate Li Hengbo is now frantically stomping his cane."

Ye Jiaying elegantly sipped a cup of red tea, a faint smile of confidence on her face: "This is just the beginning. We need to let the news of client leakage leak out 'just right.'"

She picked up the encrypted phone, dialed a number, and spoke calmly: "All right, release the 'market rumors' about Rebirth Group's tight capital chain and sudden changes in multiple cooperation projects through third‑party channels, slowly. Remember, it's a 'rumor,' it's 'market concern,' not a definite statement."

Understood, President Ye.

Capital's sense of smell is the keenest.

First came faint rumors of client loss, then came the relentless, persistent downward pressure on the market……

Some institutions and veteran retail investors holding heavy positions in Rebirth Group's stock could no longer sit still.

Something's off, very off!

Is Rebirth Group facing some major bad news we don't know about?

First reduce holdings and wait!

Better to miss a kill than miss an opportunity!

Panic, like a plague, began to quietly spread among Rebirth Group's shareholders.

Selling pressure began to increase.

Although it had not yet turned into a panicked stampede, the slope of that downward curve was gradually becoming steeper.

Li Hengbo finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

He simultaneously ordered a blockade on the client‑loss news and deployed funds to prop up the stock in the secondary market.

"Buy! Push the stock price up!" Li Hengbo shouted into the phone: "We can't let panic spread!"

However, he soon discovered that the funds he used to prop up the stock were like a mud‑cow entering the sea.

Whenever he used a large order to lift the price a little, immediately more and more scattered small orders surged out, slamming the price back down.

The other side seemed to have endless ammunition, and their tactics were extremely seasoned and concealed, making the source impossible to trace.

"Boss……the other side……the other side seems to know our support price just as well……" the trader's voice trembled.

Li Hengbo's heart sank little by little.

He felt as if he had fallen into an invisible giant net; the other side, lurking in the dark, clearly grasped his every move, while he, in the light, was like a blind man passively taking blows.

He suddenly recalled Lin Dongfan's calm, composed gaze before being taken away, and his words: "Let the bullets fly for a while."

A chill shot up from his feet to his head in an instant!

"It's that damned Lin Dongfan! It must be that damned Lin Dongfan!" Li Hengbo howled wildly at the air, his face twisted.

He just couldn't understand:

That damned wretch, who in his view was already in a desperate situation, had been taken away by the Drug Administration Bureau for investigation; the current Zhengtong Group should be leaderless, so why could it unleash such terrifying counter‑strike power? All this seemed pre‑planned, and he, Li Hengbo, had missed a move on this chessboard!

Li Shuting watched his frenzied state, silently stepped back a step, a flash of disappointment and wariness crossing her eyes. She began to doubt whether the ship she had bet on was truly as sturdy as she imagined.

A silent noose was tightening round and round.

Customer churn, a quietly falling share price, market rumors… each one alone would be enough to deal a heavy blow to a company, but when they combine and erupt together, their power is devastating.

Rebirth Group's fate is sliding toward the abyss at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And all of this happened under the shadow that most people were still distracted by the big news of 'Lin Dongfan's downfall,' failing to notice it in time.

Yu Xiaowei watched the increasingly obvious signs of collapsing resistance on Rebirth Group's market display, blew a bubble, and said to Ye Jiaying with a giggly smile: "Manager Ye, it looks like that lame fellow's resources are even weaker than we imagined. We've only just begun, and he's already about to collapse? How boring!"

Ye Jiaying set down her teacup, gazing out the window as if she could see through time and space to the man who was cooperating with the investigation yet still held everything under control.

"What Dongfan aims to crush is not just Li Hengbo's confidence." She said softly, her tone carrying a hint of chill: "Rather, it is to take everything from him at the moment he is most proud, and the good show is still to come."