Chapter 424: Put all the money we just won into it!

The air in the apartment froze solid for a full ten seconds after Lu Qingshan spoke those words.

The ecstasy that had just risen from the 13.7 billion dollar profit was instantly drained, replaced by a ridiculous, incomprehensible bewilderment.

"Huh?"

David Cohen let out a sound like air leaking from a tire.

He rubbed his ears, suspecting he had hallucinated from lack of sleep.

"Boss... you... what did you just say?"

He asked cautiously, his handsome face pleading, hoping he had misheard.

Lu Qingshan looked at him calmly and repeated himself.

"I said, now, let's discuss how to short Lehman Brothers."

Confirmed.

Not an auditory hallucination.

David Cohen's expression shifted from disbelief to terror, then from terror to collapse.

He jumped up from the carpet like a frog that had stepped on an electric switch.

"Short? Now? Short Lehman Brothers?"

His voice was sharp as glass being scratched, echoing in the room.

"Boss! Don't you remember? Just five minutes ago! It was us! We ourselves lifted this pile of dogshit to the heavens!"

He waved his arms like a frantic symphony conductor.

"We spread merger rumors! We mobilized Huaxia's National Team to cheer! We even... we even got the Federal Reserve to blow the sacred horn for you! Now the whole market thinks Lehman Brothers is heaven's chosen one, the next investment holy grail! Countless retail investors are pouring in their children's college tuition! And we, we are going to... short it?"

He clutched his hair, sank down in anguish, and let out a desperate groan.

"What is this? This is like lifting someone onto an altar with our own hands, then kicking them into hell with one kick? Are we devils?"

Lu Qingjun and Li Junjie also stared at each other, dumbfounded; though they didn't react as violently as David, their minds were thoroughly scrambled into mush.

This operation had completely exceeded their comprehension.

Lu Qingshan ignored David's wails, simply walked over to Li Junjie's computer, and pointed at the stubbornly upright red K line on the screen.

"Pay attention, this is financial war; in war, any pity for the enemy is self-harm. What did you think we were fighting for just now?"

He asked.

"To... to blow up Li Zexun and Zoe Shason?" Lu Qingjun ventured.

"That was just swatting two flies."

Lu Qingshan shook his head.

"That 13.7 billion dollars isn't our goal either; it's merely ammunition for our next war."

He turned to face the crowd, now gradually quieting but still wearing puzzled expressions.

"Do you think Lehman Brothers' stock price is currently at a high?"

"Of course!" David answered without thinking, "This is absolutely its dying flicker peak!"

"No." Lu Qingshan uttered a single word of denial.

"Those rushing in now are merely sensitive hot money and retail traders. The real big fish—those managing massive funds like pension funds and insurance companies—are still watching. The Federal Reserve's statement gave them a tranquilizer. They need time to convene, evaluate, decide."

"Only when they truly begin to act will Lehman's stock hit its final frenzy."

Lu Qingshan's voice was like a scalpel, precisely dissecting the market's greed.

"Everything we did earlier—pushing up the price, spreading rumors, luring the Federal Reserve to speak—had only one purpose."

"That is, to create for ourselves an unprecedented, perfect short point capable of absorbing all our funds."

"We should thank Li Zexun and Zoe Shason; their stupidity and greed lit the first fuse for us. We also thank Wall Street's retail traders; their frenzy added fuel for us."

"Now the fire is burning brightly. Everyone is enjoying the feast, waiting for the price to soar to the clouds."

His words made the apartment's temperature seem to drop a few degrees.

David Cohen, Li Junjie, and Zhang Qianru, the three people with professional financial knowledge, almost simultaneously grasped Lu Qingshan's terrifying true intention.

All color drained from their faces.

This isn't doing business.

This is raising pigs.

First inflate the entire market into a huge bubble, lure all the greedy in, then, at the bubble's most dazzling moment, stab it hard with the sharpest needle!

Take the 13.7 billion dollars we just earned from Li Zexun and Zoe Shason, add our own funds, plus all the capital of the Victoria Opportunity Fund and the Shason Family, forge it into the largest short position in history, and launch a Wall Street financial avalanche from the peak!

"My God..." David Cohen slumped into his chair, muttering, "You're not a devil... you're the god who creates devils."

At that moment, Ye Ning's internal line rang.

She answered a few sentences, then looked up.

"Boss, Mr. Wilson's call."

Lu Qingshan picked up the phone.

"Boss! We won! We won!" Wilson's voice on the other end, distorted by extreme excitement, "That bastard Zoe Shason is completely finished! He not only lost every penny he took from his family, he also owes the brokerage tens of billions! My people say he was dragged out of his Waldorf Hotel room like a dead dog!"

"Well done, Wilson." Lu Qingshan's tone was flat.

"Boss, this is all thanks to you! The Shason Family's power in Europe is at your disposal anytime!" Wilson's voice brimmed with fanatical adoration.

"Very well, I do have a new task for you." Lu Qingshan glanced at the screen's stock price, "Convert all your profits, together with your principal, into short positions. I want you, starting now, to short Lehman Brothers."

Wilson's ecstatic laughter on the other end cut off abruptly.

But only three seconds later, he replied in an even more fervent tone: "Understood! Boss!"

He didn't even ask a "why."

After hanging up, Zhang Qianru also approached and handed over a document.

"Mr. Lu, the indictment against Li Zexun and Zoe Shason for malicious market manipulation has been submitted to the Southern District of New York Federal Court through our partner law firm. At the same time, we have applied for an emergency asset freeze. Also…"

She paused, a strange expression appearing on her face.

"Just received news that Li Zexun, upon learning of the liquidation and indictment, suffered a mental breakdown, smashed things in his suite, was restrained by hotel security, and was taken to the psychiatric department of New York Presbyterian Hospital."

The apartment was silent.

Lu Qingjun swallowed, feeling a chill down his spine.

This killing really leaves no blood.

"Very good." Lu Qingshan set the document aside, as if he had only heard a trivial matter.

He turned his gaze back to David and Li Junjie.

"Now, you two, any more questions?"

David and Li Junjie exchanged a glance, then abruptly straightened, like two soldiers about to march to battle.

"Nothing else! Boss!"

They answered in unison, their voices brimming with exhilaration after being completely won over.

"Then get to work!" Lu Qingshan ordered, "Add the US$13.76 billion we just earned into the model! I want you to give me the most detailed Short Selling Plan within half an hour! I need to know at which price our capital can completely shatter market confidence!"

"Yes!"

The whole team, like a war machine fueled to the brim, sprang into motion again with astonishing efficiency.

At that moment, the red encrypted phone rang again, ill‑timed as ever.

Ye Ning answered, and this time a hint of change flickered across her expression.

She covered the microphone and whispered to Lu Qingshan, "Boss, it's not Charles's assistant… the other party claims to be Goldman Sachs's Chief Executive Officer, Laorde Belankefan."

Goldman Sachs.

Wall Street's ace investment bank.

Lu Qingshan walked to the phone and took the handset.

On the other end, a hoarse, steady male voice with a thick Brooklyn accent came through.

"Is this Mr. Lu? I'm Laorde Belankefan."

"Hello, Mr. Belankfan."

"Mr. Lu, this morning's fireworks were spectacular," the voice said, emotionless as if chatting, "the whole Wall Street is applauding you."

He paused, then shifted his tone.

"I'm just a bit curious… after a fireworks display, there's usually a main course."

"Do you know what the next dish on your menu is, Mr. Lu?"

Lu Qingshan, phone in hand, walked to the window and looked out at the bustling Capital Jungle.

He spoke calmly into the phone, uttering a few words.

"My menu, you'd better not look at."

"Because all of you are on it."