Chapter 246: British Capital Tycoon

Wilson woke from a nightmare, cold sweat soaking the Italian silk pajamas worth HK$3,000 that he had custom‑made in Milan, always a symbol of his elegant life, now drenched and clinging to his body, making him feel more disheveled than ever.

He had barely slept all night, his mind replaying the countless small settlement slips, each number mocking him like a devil of stupidity.

Those seemingly insignificant numbers now looked to him like the Grim Reaper's scythe, cutting his empire's foundation piece by piece.

He trembled as he lit a cigar, a Cuban cigar worth HK$500, but now it tasted like chewing wax.

Everything in the luxurious bedroom mocked his failure—the priceless antiques, famous paintings, and the various honor plaques on the wall now all seemed so ironic.

At seven a. m., he rushed to the Taigu Group's operations room, unable even to attend his usual morning care.

Yuehan Xun was already waiting there, his face paler than yesterday, eyes sunken, clearly also sleepless.

Despair hung in the entire operations room; the traders who were usually full of vigor now hung their heads, as if they sensed the impending disaster.

"How's the situation?" Wilson asked, his voice hoarse, the once‑authoritative tone now full of fear and unease.

"Worse, Sir," Yuehan Xun said, pointing at the data on the screen, his fingers trembling, "the overnight settlement slips have added another HK$1‑plus billion. And this time they're not even trying to hide it—they're blatantly dumping. They don't fear us discovering it; they're even deliberately letting us see it!"

Wilson watched the continuously scrolling trade data on the screen, each entry feeling like a knife in his heart. The red numbers flickered on the screen, as if mocking his incompetence. He finally understood that he wasn't gambling against Lu Qingshan, but was carrying his sedan chair, becoming the most foolish piece in Lu Qingshan's meticulously designed chessboard.

"Damned yellow‑skin monkey!" Wilson snarled, pounding the expensive mahogany desk, which emitted a dull thud, "We've been played! Completely played by that Chinese kid!"

"Immediately cease all buying operations!" Wilson barked, his voice filled with anger and desperation.

"But Mr. Wilson, we've already invested HK$7.8 billion; if we stop now, the earlier investment will be all for nothing. Those funds also include pension and insurance capital; if they're lost, we'll face catastrophic legal consequences," Yuehan Xun warned, his voice shaking badly.

Wilson paced the room, his Italian handcrafted leather shoes thudding on the carpet, veins bulging on his forehead, his face ashen. Caught between a rock and a hard place, this was the trap Lu Qingshan had prepared for him. Continuing to buy meant taking the fall; stopping meant admitting loss. Whatever he chose, it was a dead end. The feeling of being completely controlled by someone else almost suffocated him.

"That damned Chinese kid has been acting the whole time!" Wilson roared suddenly, his voice echoing through the office, "He made us think he was short‑selling at a loss, when in fact he was secretly building a Long Position! We thought we were hunting a tiger, only to find we were the rabbit being toyed with!"

At 9:30 a. m., the opening bell rang again, the hopeful tone now sounding like a funeral toll.

This time the market atmosphere was completely different. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce's sell‑off orders flooded the market like a breached dam, the Hang Seng Index plunged 80 points at open, the bright red figure glaring at everyone's eyes. In the brokerage halls across Hong Kong Island, retail investors who had been cheering for wealth were instantly stunned; the bustling trading floor that had just been full of cheers fell silent, everyone staring at the numbers on the screen, unable to believe the sudden shift.

"What's happening? Why did it drop so suddenly?"

"It's over, my money's all gone!"

"Run! If we don't run now it'll be too late!"

The brokerage floor erupted into chaos; panic spread like a plague, everyone frantically selling the stocks they held.

In the Xinghan Group's Trading Room, the atmosphere was completely opposite. Ye Ning stared at the bouncing numbers on the screen, excitement flashing in her eyes, her hands flying over the keyboard as short‑selling contracts were rapidly built. The whole Trading Room pulsed with tense excitement; every trader looked like a soldier on a battlefield.

"Boss, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce members' sell‑off is proceeding smoothly!" Ye Ning reported, her voice suppressing huge excitement, "The Hang Seng Index has already broken the point and the decline is accelerating! Wilson's side can't catch our dump!"

Lu Qingshan nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, a gaze reminiscent of a jungle leopard. Now, at the crucial moment, he would use five‑times Leverage to create a massive Short Position. This was the final strike of the war, also the most dangerous strike. If successful, he would become the new king of Hong Kong Island's finance world; if he failed, everything would turn to foam.

"Put all our capital into it, establish the Short Position," Lu Qingshan ordered, his voice calm and steady, "Leave no room for margin. This battle is either king or defeat!"

"Boss, the risk is too great. If the stock rebounds, we could lose everything…" Ye Ning worried, after all it was an astronomical wager.

"It won't rebound," Lu Qingshan cut her off, turning to the massive electronic screen, confidence blazing in his eyes, "Wilson is now a startled bird, too scared to buy again. Retail investors seeing this drop will only panic‑sell. This is a one‑sided falling market; we just need to floor it, full throttle!"

His voice radiated kingly dominance, shaking everyone in the Trading Room. This is the true spirit of a Financial Giant Shark, daring to go all‑in at the critical moment, daring to bear risks ordinary people cannot.

Everyone in the Trading Room held their breath. HK$2.5 billion, multiplied by five‑times Leverage, equals a HK$12.5 billion Short Position! That figure could stop any heart, a sum capable of shaking the entire Hong Kong Island financial market.

Zhang Qiming's hands trembled, his voice shaking as he said, "Boss, if we lose, we're finished. HK$12.5 billion—that's money no one can earn in a lifetime!"

Lin Yuchen also inhaled a sharp breath of cold air: "It's like dancing on the knife's edge; a slight slip means endless ruin!"

"We won't lose," Lu Qingshan walked to the massive screen, watching the numbers crash, victory gleaming in his eyes, "Wilson has no strength left to fight back. It's no longer whether he wants to counterattack; he simply has no funds to do so. A hunter without bullets cannot defeat an angry Majestic Lion."

His words brimmed with dominance and confidence, inspiring everyone present. This is the true leader's bearing, giving the team confidence and strength at the crucial moment.