Chapter 427: Your Lifesaving Money, You Have to Ask Me First

Ye Ning's fingers striking the keyboard froze for an instant.

She lifted her head, and on her usually placid face, a clear confusion and incomprehension appeared for the first time.

"Boss, are you sure?"

"Pan Liu Xinyu… he must be the busiest person in the world right now. Moreover, we have no business dealings with Mitsubishi, so they probably won't…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

At this critical moment, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced an injection of capital into Morgan Stanley, a deal worth as much as 9 billion US Dollars, a super‑large transaction capable of reshaping the global financial landscape.

As the lead of this deal, Pan Liu Xinyu's office phone must now be bombarded by top bankers, politicians, and reporters from around the world.

Lu Qingshan, an up‑and‑coming Oriental on Wall Street, how could he possibly get the other side to answer his call at a time like this?

"He will answer."

Lu Qingshan's voice was soft, yet it carried a force that compelled belief.

He walked over to Ye Ning, looking at the personal file she had pulled up on Pan Liu Xinyu.

"Because I have what he wants most in my hands."

"What is it?" Li Junjie asked this time.

He, too, could not fathom what leverage Lu Qingshan could wield to intervene in a century‑defining deal already set between two financial giants.

Lu Qingshan did not answer directly; he simply repeated the instruction to Ye Ning.

"Call them."

"Yes."

Ye Ning no longer hesitated; she took a deep breath, and via the encrypted line began contacting Mitsubishi UFJ's headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

The atmosphere in the apartment turned eerie again.

David Cohen stopped wailing; like the others, he held his breath, pricked up his ears, trying to catch any sliver of information from Ye Ning's movements.

In the past twenty‑four hours, their hearts had been repeatedly forged by Lu Qingshan's baffling maneuvers, hardened like high‑strength alloy.

Yet even so, when they realized Lu Qingshan was about to intervene directly in the Morgan Stanley–Mitsubishi deal, that resilient heart still thumped violently.

This was no longer a simple matter of raising pigs.

This was like rushing in as two massive elephants were about to kiss, shouting to one of them, "You must get my permission first."

This was sheer madness.

"Connected," Ye Ning's voice broke the silence, "The other side is Mr. Pan Liu's Chief Secretary, Mr. Shi Yi."

She pressed the speaker button.

A courteous English‑speaking male voice, tinged with a distinctly distant and formal Japanese accent, came through.

"This is Chairman Pan Liu's office; may I ask who is calling?"

Ye Ning immediately replied in fluent Japanese: "Good day, Mr. Shi Yi. I am Ye Ning of Xinghan Capital. My boss, Mr. Lu Qingshan, has an urgent matter and wishes to speak with Mr. Pan Liu."

The line on the other end was silent for a few seconds, apparently searching for the unfamiliar name 'Xinghan Capital.'

"We are very sorry, Mr. Pan Liu is currently in a highly important meeting and will be unable to take any external calls today. If you have any cooperation intentions, you may contact us via email…"

"Mr. Shi Yi," Lu Qingshan interrupted the formulaic refusal, speaking in English, at a measured pace but with clear diction.

"Please convey a message to Mr. Pan Liu."

"Tell him I would like to discuss the disposal plan for the 'toxic assets' that Morgan Stanley holds."

"Toxic assets?" Shi Yi on the other end clearly hesitated.

"Yes." Lu Qingshan's voice carried a calm that seemed to see through everything, "They are the asset packages hidden in the appendix on page 120 of their financial report, valued at over 30 billion US Dollars but whose real worth could be zero… junk."

The line was dead silent.

Only the hiss of electricity could be heard.

Everyone in the apartment was stunned.

David Cohen and Li Junjie exchanged glances, each seeing the utmost shock in the other's reaction.

They had also studied Morgan Stanley's financial report, but who would scrutinize the hundreds‑page appendix filled with technical jargon and legal disclaimer clauses?

Lu Qingshan not only read it, but pinpointed the exact location and amount of the biggest hidden landmine within it!

"How… how is this possible…" David Cohen muttered, "This is Morgan Stanley's top commercial secret! How did the boss know?"

This was no longer a matter of analytical ability.

It was as if he had personally taken part in drafting the report!

The silence on the line lasted a full thirty seconds.

When the secretary named Shi Yi spoke again, his voice no longer carried the earlier distance and politeness; instead, it was an uncontainable shock and nervousness.

"Lu… Mr. Lu, please… please wait a moment!"

As soon as the words ended, the handset picked up hurried footsteps and faint Japanese conversation.

Clearly, Shi Yi rushed into the conference room at top speed.

In the apartment, the ticking of a clock could be heard.

Lu Qingjun watched his older brother's silhouette, feeling as if he were looking at an unfathomable iceberg.

The part above water was already astonishingly shocking, while the submerged portion was unimaginably massive.

Less than a minute passed.

The line sounded again.

This time, a noticeably older, steadier voice, now tinged with urgency and gravity, came through.

"Moshi Moshi, this is Pan Liu Xinyu."

The chairman of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group answered the phone himself.

David Cohen's jaw was about to dislocate.

"Mr. Pan Liu, hello, I am Lu Qingshan."

"Lu Qingshan still stood by the window, as if just chatting with an ordinary friend."

"Mr. Lu." Pan Liu Xinyu's English carried a heavy Japanese accent, but his tone was exceptionally solemn, "Regarding the issue you just mentioned about Morgan Stanley's assets, I hope to get a more detailed explanation."

"The $90 billion investment was, for Mitsubishi, also a huge gamble staking their fortunes."

"They certainly knew Morgan Stanley had problems, but they believed that, given Morgan Stanley's size and Wall Street's self-rescue capability, the problems were controllable."

"But now, a mysterious Easterner, with just one phone call, directly pierced the biggest abscess in their due diligence."

"How could Pan Liu Xinyu not be terrified?"

"Explanation?" Lu Qingshan let out a light laugh, "Mr. Pan Liu, my time is very precious. I'm not here to give you free financial advice."

"On the other end of the phone, Pan Liu Xinyu's breath caught."

"As a top figure in Japan's financial world, when had he ever been spoken to in such a tone?"

"But at this moment, he had no choice but to suppress his displeasure and ask in as humble a tone as possible: \"Then... Mr. Lu, what do you mean? \""

"My meaning is simple."

"Lu Qingshan turned around, faced the phone, and spoke word by word."

"$90 billion is a lot of money."

"Before throwing this money into a bottomless pit."

"I suggest you first send your most trusted person to New York to meet me."

"I have a better investment proposal here."

"One that can truly put your money to good use, and even let you gain more than Morgan Stanley would offer..."

"Lu Qingshan finished speaking, and without waiting for a response, he made a gesture to Ye Ning."

"Ye Ning understood, and promptly hung up the phone."

"In the apartment, there was a deathly silence."

"Everyone looked at Lu Qingshan with a god-like expression."

"First, he proactively hung up Rockefeller's phone."

"Now, he also proactively hung up Pan Liu Xinyu's phone."

"In this world, is there still a phone he dares not hang up?"

"Bro... you... what are you doing?" Lu Qingjun stammered and asked, "Are you really trying to steal Mitsubishi's business?"

"Not stealing."

"Lu Qingshan sat back down on the sofa, his face bearing an inscrutable smile."

"I'm helping him."

"He picked up the cup of water that had long gone cold, looking at his own reflection in it."

"It's also helping ourselves."

"Pan Liu Xinyu is now like someone holding a gold ingot but standing on the edge of a cliff. One step forward could save Morgan Stanley, but it's more likely that Morgan Stanley would drag him down into the abyss."

"And I merely whispered in his ear: friend, don't jump."

"Do you think he will come to me and ask where another path is?"

"Just as his words fell, Ye Ning's internal line phone rang."

"After she answered, her face showed the expected expression."

"Boss, it's Mr. Shi Yi's call."

"He said, Mr. Pan Liu hopes to meet you in New York right away."