Chapter 404: Foolish and Rich? Then Give Them More!

The news Ye Ning brought made the newly rekindled scorching air in the apartment feel as if a ladle of boiling oil had been poured onto it.

"Trap!"

David Cohen practically sprang from the sofa, pointing at Ye Ning's communicator, his voice so sharp it sounded a little off‑key.

"This is a trap! Absolutely a trap! John Parker and the CEO of Goldman Sachs are golf buddies! They're in the same boat! They must have known our plan, so they're deliberately selling to us, hoping to kill our cash flow with exorbitant premiums!"

He moved around the room like an ant on a hot pan, gesturing endlessly with both hands.

"Think about it: we buy CDS and have to pay premiums daily, just like insurance premiums. If these MBS never default, we'll keep paying until the contract expires, and all our invested money will be wasted! They're mocking us, betting that we can't afford it!"

Lu Qingjun also sensed something off; he scratched his head, watching Lu Qingshan with a wary expression.

"Brother, this has a hidden agenda. A weasel wishing a chicken a happy New Year isn't sincere. We just wanted to buy, and they rushed to sell—there's no such coincidence under the heavens."

Li Junjie remained silent, but his tightly knit brows and the rapid fingers calculating on his notebook revealed his inner unease.

From any normal business logic, this matter reeks of a thick conspiratorial flavor.

A mysterious opponent that just stirred a bloody storm in the market suddenly turned the gun around, frantically buying "default insurance" on what's regarded as the safest asset.

As an ally of the attacked side, shouldn't Goldman Sachs's first reaction be caution and investigation?

Why would they rush in so enthusiastically to play the "insurance seller" role?

This defies reason.

Unless they are a hundred percent certain this insurance will never pay out.

They treat Prospector Capital as a fool who just won big at a casino and then, hot‑headed, starts betting recklessly.

They intend to use this method to siphon the fool's pocket money, penny by penny, reasonably and slowly.

Facing the team's turmoil and unease, Lu Qingshan calmly walked over to Ye Ning's side.

"How much are they willing to sell?"

"No limit," Ye Ning replied, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tension. "Their exact words were 'asmuchasyouwant'; whatever we want, they can provide."

"What about the price?"

"Half a basis point below Market Price."

"Heh."

Lu Qingshan let out a light laugh.

The laugh made everyone's hearts rise to their throats.

Price cuts, open supply.

This is no longer mockery; it's blatant humiliation.

They're like an experienced old hunter watching a newborn beast that just entered the forest, setting a trap so lazy they don't even bother to conceal it, then smiling as they hang a sign on the trap's edge: "Fool, come in."

"Boss…" David Cohen's voice trembled, "We can't buy! It's like throwing money straight into their pockets! It's suicide!"

Lu Qingshan ignored him, simply staring at Ye Ning.

"Reply to them."

His voice was low, yet it made the room's clamor vanish instantly.

"Tell them we've seen their Sincerity."

Everyone held their breath, awaiting Lu Qingshan's next words.

"Tell them our first batch of 2 billion US Dollars order is entirely for them to take over."

"Boom!"

David's mind buzzed; he felt as if a hammer had struck him hard, stumbling back two steps and collapsing onto the carpet.

It's over.

That crazy boss really jumped into the trap.

And without looking back, he leapt forward in an extremely bold manner.

Lu Qingjun grew urgent, stepping forward: "Brother! We can't! Isn't this plainly being set up against us?"

"Trap?" Lu Qingshan turned, looking at the panic and confusion on everyone's faces, and for the first time, patiently gave an explanation.

"What do you think is the world's biggest trap?"

He didn't wait for answers, continuing on his own.

"It's not a conspiracy, not a scheme."

"It's greed."

He pointed outside the window at the skyline of skyscrapers that symbolize the pinnacle of world finance.

"Why dare they sell to us so recklessly? Because they're greedy. They covet every premium we pay; to them, it's a guaranteed profit."

"Why do they think these AAA rating assets are infallible? Because they're greedy. They lust after the huge commissions and bonuses these products bring, so they selectively ignore the rot in the underlying assets."

"Their greed blinds them, making them arrogant and overconfident, stripping them of basic risk awareness."

Lu Qingshan walked to David, slowly squatting, looking level at his eyes that had scattered from Fear.

"David, remember. When your opponent becomes foolish out of greed, the only thing you need to do is satisfy that greed, making them even more foolish."

"They think we're simple‑minded but cash‑rich? Good."

"They're willing to sell us 2 billion? Not enough."

He stood, scanning everyone, his voice suddenly rising with an undeniable resolve.

"Ye Ning, add another 3 billion! Reach a total of 5 billion!"

"Tell Goldman Sachs that our boss greatly admires their efficiency and boldness; this 5 billion US Dollars is just an Appetizer! We have hundreds of billions more in the pipeline; as long as they dare to sell, we'll dare to buy!"

"I'll make them believe we're a super‑big fool from the East with so much money we have nowhere to spend it!"

The apartment fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by Lu Qingshan's earth‑shattering words.

Using fifty billion dollars to play the fool?

What madness, what monumental stroke!

Li Junjie's body began to tremble slightly, and the pen in his hand left a deep mark on the notebook.

He understood!

This is not a trap at all!

This is using money to catalyze the opponent's greed into an unquenchable blaze!

What the boss wants is not a gamble against Goldman Sachs, the investment bank.

What he wants is to make Goldman Sachs the "example", so that all of Wall Street sees that there is a super high‑roller from the East here, throwing money wildly!

Soon, every institution holding these junk assets will swarm like sharks smelling blood, scrambling to sell "insurance" to Prospector Capital!

They will treat it as a feast of division, each one eager to tear a piece of flesh from this "Eastern fool".

And Lu Qingshan, at the center of this feast, unfurled a massive net that no one can see.

"I… I…" David Cohen sat on the ground, looking up at Lu Qingshan, his lips trembling, his gaze shifting from fear to a fervent flame, "Am I… am I working for God?"

……

Meanwhile, in New York, at the Goldman Sachs Headquarters.

Lloyd, the head of the trading department, hung up the phone with a beaming smile.

"Done," he snapped his fingers at the excited senior traders in front of him, "That Eastern guy called 'Prospector Capital' took over all our CDS positions, fifty billion! Not a single cent haggled!"

Throughout the Trading Hall, a restrained chorus of cheers and whistles erupted.

"God, I've never seen money this foolish!"

"Do they think that shorting Morgan lets them short the entire United States?"

"Who cares, guys, this year's Christmas bonus looks like it'll be paid early! Thanks to the Eastern Santa!"

Lloyd leaned back in his chair, swinging his leg smugly.

"I've already had the middleman spread the word, saying Goldman Sachs is very optimistic about a long‑term partnership with this 'Santa'. Tell the market we're willing to provide him with unlimited 'gifts'."

He picked up a Newton's Cradle from the desk, gave it a gentle flick, and the steel balls began to rhythmically collide, producing a crisp sound.

"Let those Morgan idiots tangle with lawyers and the media."

"We only quietly profit by taking every penny from the fool."

While Goldman Sachs basked in the joy of sudden windfalls, the top‑floor office of Morgan Stanley felt a stifling atmosphere as if it could drip water.

John Parker stared expressionlessly out the window; the face that had been twisted by anger had now returned to calm, yet beneath that calm brewed an even more dangerous storm.

On his desk lay a preliminary investigation report on Prospector Capital, just delivered by a top private detective agency.

The report was thin; most of its content consisted of the shell company's legitimate registration information, of no value.

Only the last page attached a covert photograph.

The background of the photo is the entrance of Saint Remo Apartment.

An Eastern man in ordinary casual attire was stepping down from an unremarkable sedan.

The photo's resolution was low and somewhat blurry, yet the man's young, composed profile was still discernible.

"Lu Qingshan…"

John Parker tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, murmuring the unfamiliar Chinese name.

"A Huaxia national, recently arrived in New York via Hong Kong Island, not on any FBI or CIA watchlist, background… a blank slate."

He picked up the desk's internal phone and dialed a number.

"It's me."

A hoarse yet respectful voice came from the other end.

"Sir."

"I want you to mobilize all our forces in the East."

John Parker's voice was light, yet carried an undeniable chill.

"I need to know everything about 'Lu Qingshan'—his past, his family, his weaknesses."

He paused, looking at the young profile in the photo, and added the final sentence.

"If we can't find a weakness…"

"Then we create one for him."