Chapter 425: The emperor called, asking what's on the menu

The phone receiver was gently placed back in its original position.

That slight "click" sound, in the dead-quiet apartment, was like striking a huge alarm bell, its echo buzzing in everyone's ears.

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

"Because, all of you, are on it."

Lu Qingjun's mind went blank; he stared blankly at his older brother, feeling as if a wad of cotton had been stuffed in his throat, unable to utter a word.

The other end of that call just now was the Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs.

The king of Wall Street.

And his older brother, in a tone almost like a proclamation, told the other party, you too are on my hit list.

This is not arrogance; it is declaring war on the entire Wall Street, on the planet's most powerful capital conglomerate.

"Crazy…… we've all gone crazy with him……" David Cohen collapsed onto the carpet, clutching his head, shaking uncontrollably, "We'll be torn to pieces…… swallowed whole by every shark on Wall Street, bones and flesh……"

His breakdown didn't last long.

Because Lu Qingshan had already turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over him and Li Junjie.

"Half an hour, I want to see the plan."

No threat, no encouragement, just a simple statement.

But that sentence was like an electric current, instantly piercing David Cohen's fear.

He jerked his head up; in his bloodshot eyes, fear was receding, replaced by a more fervent, more frenzied emotion.

Fear stems from the unknown.

But now he had seen Lu Qingshan's trump card, seen that crazy plan capable of overturning the whole table.

Rather than wait in fear to be devoured by sharks, better to…… become the fiercest shark!

"Damn it!"

David Cohen leapt up from the floor, his face showing a manic excitement.

"Done! Boss! You're right! We're not demons, we're the gods who create demons!"

He rushed to Li Junjie's side and snatched a keyboard.

"Li! Don't just stand there! We need to design the perfect offering for the gods!"

Li Junjie was also stunned by his sudden change, then reacted, his eyes igniting with the same light.

One is a Wharton School genius, the other is the heir carefully cultivated by the Far East Association's chairman; both are driven by a frenzied pursuit of risk and profit.

Lu Qingshan opened for them a door to a new world; beyond it lay a battlefield they never dared dream of.

"Separate warehouses! We must separate warehouses!" Li Junjie's voice hoarse from excitement, "13.7 billion USD, plus our existing funds, plus all the mobilizable power from Mr. Wilson's side, total funds exceed 30 billion! Such massive capital must be channeled through at least five hundred offshore accounts, disguised as different investment entities, entering the market in batches!"

"Right! And we cannot directly establish short positions!" David Cohen's fingers clacked on the keyboard, speaking as fast as a machine gun, "The market sentiment is now absolutely bullish! If we short directly, it's like swimming against the tide, alerting everyone! We must use options! Buy a huge number of put options! With minimal cost, lock in the right to sell at low prices in the future!"

"Also credit default swaps! We can sign CDS contracts with those small- and medium-sized investment banks, betting that Lehman Brothers will default on its debt in the future! This both hides our true intent and adds a layer of insurance for us!"

"Public opinion! We still need propaganda weapons!" Zhang Qianru joined the discussion, her expertise coming into play, "Boss, I suggest we let the legal team start drafting anonymously an analysis report on Lehman Brothers' financial fraud! Turn those toxic assets hidden in their statement annexes into easy-to-understand charts, make them into PPT slides!"

"Once we finish the layout, we'll dump these 'black materials' all at once to global media! I want the world's investors to see, at the same time, what rotten core lies beneath Lehman Brothers' glossy facade!"

The entire team had fully entered a state of war.

Each person was like a high-speed gear, meshing precisely with the others.

The chaotic emotions from earlier victory and fear were replaced by a higher-level excitement called "Creating History."

Lu Qingjun stood aside, completely unable to interject.

He watched this group of financial elites from around the world, who, after just a few words from his older brother, turned from a flock of sheep into a pack of hungry wolves, filling him with unparalleled awe.

He finally understood that what his older brother was playing was no longer a game of money.

This is a game of human hearts.

This is a game of power.

Lu Qingshan did not join their discussion; he simply sat quietly aside, like a calm observer, watching the war machine he himself had built enter peak operation.

Half an hour later.

A fifty-page thick document titled "Titanic Plan" short-selling scheme lay before him.

The plan was detailed to the extreme.

From the splitting and injection of funds, to the timing of purchasing options contracts, to the timing of igniting public opinion, each step had at least three backup plans designed.

"Good."

Lu Qingshan flipped through a few pages, then closed the plan.

"Execute it just like this."

"Yes!"

Li Junjie and David Cohen replied in unison, their voices full of the exaltation of about to step onto the battlefield.

"Ye Ning."

"Boss."

"Send the plan to Wilson. Tell him the Europe market side is entirely his responsibility. I want to see the first batch of put option contracts quietly sitting in our accounts before the New York market opens tomorrow."

"Understood."

"Also," Lu Qingshan paused, adding, "Tell him I've paid off Zoe Shason's debt. Have him retrieve her from the debt collection agency, find a place, and let him watch with his own eyes how we took his lost money and doubled it back from Wall Street."

Ye Ning's fingers paused on the keyboard, she lifted her head, seeming somewhat puzzled.

"I'm a proper hunter. To kill, one must also exterminate the heart."

Lu Qingshan gave a light explanation.

He wants everyone who opposes him to understand one principle.

Death is not frightening.

What's terrifying is watching, helplessly, as everything you lost turns into stepping stones for your enemies to climb higher, while you don't even qualify as a stumbling block.

Just as the entire team was preparing to split up and act according to the Titanic Plan,

That red encrypted phone rang for the third time.

Everyone's movements froze.

The atmosphere in the apartment instantly turned subtle.

Every time this phone rings, it means the stakes at the table must rise again.

Ye Ning answered the call and turned on the speakerphone.

On the other end of the line was still that aged, steady voice, though now it revealed no emotion.

David Rockefeller.

Lu.

Just one word.

"It's me." Lu Qingshan walked to the phone.

"The suite at the Waldorf Hotel has already been cleaned up." Rockefeller's voice sounded as if he were mentioning a trivial matter, "That young man from the Li family isn't in good mental shape; the doctor advised him to rest long-term."

"Young man, you should pay more attention to your health." Lu Qingshan's reply was equally calm.

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.

"Goldman Sachs's Belankfan just called me." Rockefeller finally got to the point: "He's very interested in your menu."

His tone was flat, yet everyone in the apartment sensed an impending storm.

"The Emperor himself is personally looking into the menu's contents."

"My menu is prepared only for guests." Lu Qingshan's reply was flawless.

"Then am I a guest?" Rockefeller asked.

"That depends on whether you want to sit down and eat together, or become… part of the dish."

Lu Qingshan's words drove the room's temperature down to freezing point.

David Cohen's breath halted.

This was the craziest, most direct challenge he had ever heard.

From the other end came a faint, almost imperceptible laugh, carrying a hint of appreciation and a hint of warning.

"Young man, the forest is vast; sometimes one gets lost."

"I never get lost."

Lu Qingshan picked up the Titanic Plan on the table and lightly patted it.

"Because I will burn the entire forest flat."

"Then, on the ruins, I will rebuild the new city I want."