Chapter 400: You Call Them Police? I Sue the Police!

Ye Ning's news, like a bucket of ice water, doused the newly sparked party atmosphere in the apartment.

Lu Qingjun's smile froze, the fist he was swinging in midair halted, and he stared blankly at Lu Qingshan, then glanced at Ye Ning, his mind failing to catch up.

"What does that mean? The signal cut? Got caught by the police? This... what the hell does it have to do with the police?"

David Cohen just scrambled up from the carpet; hearing words like "New York Police Department" and "handcuffs," his legs went weak and he plopped back down with a thud.

The color drained completely from his face, and his eyes were filled with the dread of impending disaster.

"It's over... they've resorted to state power... this is an off‑board move! This is the most shameless tactic!"

He clutched his head and moaned in pain.

"We'll be labeled financial terrorists, prosecuted, and thrown into Rex Island Prison! That's hell! We're finished!"

The air in the apartment fell from a sweltering euphoria into a frigid abyss in an instant.

Zhang Qianru and Li Junjie's expressions also grew unusually solemn.

No matter how brutal the financial market's battle, it still remains within the rules.

But once the state apparatus intervenes, all commercial logic and financial models become meaningless.

That is a crushing force.

Amid this suffocating atmosphere, Lu Qingshan slowly turned.

There was no panic or anger on his face as everyone expected; instead, he smiled.

It was a composure born of seeing through the whole game, even knowing exactly what move the opponent would make next.

"Why panic?"

He walked up to the limp David and looked down at him.

"I thought they could hold out longer; I didn't expect them to lose patience so quickly."

He surveyed everyone, his voice steady, dispelling the panic in the air.

"Let me ask you, have we broken the law?"

Everyone was stunned.

Zhang Qianru was the first to react; she answered immediately: "No! Boss, all our operations are within the legal framework! Whether acquiring Prospector Capital or splitting funds through a trust account, they were handled by top New York law firms, with all procedures complete and airtight! Short Selling itself is also a legal transaction permitted by the New York Stock Exchange!"

"Then that's settled."

Lu Qingshan walked to the window, gazing at the financial jungle he had stirred into chaos.

"We didn't break the law, yet the police came. What does that indicate?"

He answered his own question.

"It shows they're scared, that they can't beat us in the market, so they resort to these low‑blow tactics to intimidate us, trying to force us off the table."

Li Junjie's eyes lit up; he adjusted his glasses and excitedly wrote in his notebook: "Stress Test! The boss is using expendable pieces to test the opponent's bottom line and reaction patterns! By analyzing their countermeasures, we can gauge their true strength and available resources!"

He lifted his head, looking at everyone with excitement.

"Ghost Andy and those people from the Butcher Bar were bait from the start! They were thrown out like Smoke Bombs! Their purpose wasn't to win, but to trigger the opponent's trap!"

Lu Qingjun understood only half, but he caught the point: "Brother, you mean those bastards getting caught was intentional on your part?"

"Not entirely."

Lu Qingshan shook his head.

"I only anticipated that when we inflicted substantive damage on Morgan Stanley, they would retaliate. Their retaliation methods are limited to those few options."

He extended one finger.

"First, they try to crush us with money in the market. They tried, but failed, and we pierced their defenses instead."

He raised a second finger.

"Second, they employ forces outside the rules. For example, their forte—lobbying Congress to trap us with legislation. But that move works too slowly; distant water can't quench immediate thirst."

Finally, he extended a third finger.

"Thus, they can only choose the fastest and most brutal third option: wielding the state power they can influence to physically eliminate our trading nodes, creating panic."

He looked at David, who was already looking dazed.

"Ghost Andy's trading model relies heavily on the internet and specific software loopholes, making it the easiest to sever with technical means. Those from the Butcher Bar have complex backgrounds and are already a primary focus of police scrutiny. These two points are the weakest links in our formation, most vulnerable to attack."

"I deliberately exposed our weakest spot to them. They immediately bit down on it."

David Cohen opened his mouth, feeling his brain could no longer process everything happening before him.

The boss actually used his own subordinates as bait to fish? And the fish he was after were the New York Police Department and the Morgan Stanley shark?

"But... but they were caught! People were caught!" David still couldn't comprehend.

"You have to catch them to blow the whole thing up."

Lu Qingshan's voice suddenly turned cold.

If only a trading hub were cut off, that's just a technical issue, not enough to cause a stir. But the New York Police Department stormed into the bar in full force, arresting dozens of traders; that can't be hidden.

He turned his head, looking at Zhang Qianru, who had remained silent.

"Qianru."

"Here, boss." Zhang Qianru immediately straightened up.

"You studied law at Princeton, so you should be well‑versed in the U. S. judicial system."

"Yes."

"Then I have a task for you now."

Lu Qingshan walked up to her and said word for word.

"I want you to immediately contact all the law firms we work with and assemble the strongest team of lawyers."

Zhang Qianru's breath caught; she vaguely sensed something, and her heart raced uncontrollably.

"Tomorrow morning," Lu Qingshan said, looking at her, a smile spreading across his face that sent a chill up everyone's spine, "we go to court."

"I want to file a lawsuit."

Everyone in the room held their breath.

"Who are we suing?" Zhang Qianru asked with difficulty.

"Both of them."

Lu Qingshan's voice was clear and powerful.

"First, sue the New York Police Department for abusing authority without solid evidence, illegal detention, and violating citizens' personal freedom and property safety."

"Second, sue Morgan Stanley for colluding with public power, maliciously suppressing competitors, market manipulation, and violating the Antitrust Law!"

"Boom!"

These two lawsuits exploded like heavy bombs in David Cohen's and Lu Qingjun's minds.

Sue... sue the New York Police Department?

And also sue Morgan Stanley?

Crazy!

This boss is completely insane!

David Cohen felt darkness flash before his eyes; this time he didn't even have the strength to slump, and he fell straight backward, luckily Li Junjie, who had reacted in time, caught him.

"Boss... this... this is impossible... we're foreigners, we have no backing; suing them is like a chicken egg hitting a stone!" David shouted with a sobbing voice.

"Who said we have no backing?"

Lu Qingshan gave him a glance, then picked up the red encrypted phone and dialed Wang Shanghong's direct line.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Comrade Qingshan, I just received news that you're in trouble," Wang Shanghong said, his voice steady.

"Minister Wang, the trouble isn't serious," Lu Qingshan replied lightly, "I just wanted to brief you on my next plan and ask a small favor."

"Go ahead."

"I'm preparing to sue the New York Police Department and Morgan Stanley."

On the other end, there was a full five seconds of silence.

One can imagine that even a high-ranking figure like Wang Shanghong was stunned by Lu Qingshan's earth‑shattering idea.

"Hahaha... good kid! How on earth did your brain grow like that!"

Wang Shanghong's laughter came through the receiver, full of amazement and admiration.

"Your move is trying to set fire all the way to the White House! Turning a financial war into a public showcase of politics and law! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

"I need an identity," Lu Qingshan said directly, "one that makes the U. S. judicial system reluctant to ignore it."

Wang Shanghong understood immediately.

"Tomorrow, the Huaxia Consulate General in New York will hold a press conference. At that time, the Consul General will announce to the media that 'Prospector Capital' is one of the Pilot Enterprises in the United States invested by the Huaxia official foreign exchange reserve fund through legal channels."

He paused, then emphasized his tone.

"We will express serious concern over this discriminatory enforcement action targeting our country's legally invested enterprises in the United States, and reserve the right to take further measures."

Lu Qingshan hung up the phone.

The whole room fell silent.

Lu Qingjun and Li Junjie were so excited their faces were flushed and their bodies trembled.

Their big brother, their boss, could mobilize the nation's power with a single phone call to back them!

David Cohen, supported by Li Junjie, had his mouth shaped like an "O"; he looked at Lu Qingshan, and his expression was no longer that of looking at a boss but of gazing up at a deity.

It turned out his biggest backing wasn't the $120 billion.

It was the rising Eastern great power behind him, with over a billion people!

Lu Qingshan ignored everyone's amazement and simply watched Zhang Qianru, who was fully in the zone, rapidly drafting legal documents on her computer.

"Qianru, tell the legal team we aren't aiming to win this lawsuit."

Zhang Qianru looked up, a little puzzled.

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Lu Qingshan's mouth, a chill of forest‑like cold within it.

"What we want is to blow this up. The bigger, the better."

"I want Morgan Stanley's stock price linked to every development of this lawsuit."

"I want John Parker, when he wakes up each morning, to think not about making trades but about how to explain to his lawyer why the New York Police Department happened to show up at the 'Butcher Bar'."

He walked to the floor‑to‑ceiling window painted with a bullseye.

"They want to flip the table and stop us from playing."

"Then we'll sue the entire casino, letting the judge decide who is cheating."

He picked up the black marker on the table and, beside the red bullseye, drew another circle enclosing the location of the Southern District of New York Federal Court.

"Ye Ning, notify Razor and Black Widow, and have them stand down temporarily, awaiting orders."

"Our next battlefield is no longer here."